An ideal client management software can benefit your business by effectively tackling marketing and sales management processes. With a customer management system in place, you can automate processes such as entering accurate lead information and tracking sales. It also boosts the security of your processes, making sure your client’s data is in safe hands. Furthermore, CRM can offer a vast range of integrations that can further improve the functionality, helping you tailor the CRM to your business needs. The ultimate goal is to boost sales with the help of proper automation processes implemented by CRM.
We have brought you 7 of the industry’s leading tools for customer relationship management for small businesses. To help you make an informed decision, we have provided details such as features, prices, and the downsides of each of these customer management solutions.
1. Zoho CRM
With Zoho CRM, you get features such as marketing automation, note-taking, performance management, remote work, and journey orchestration. However, Lead generation remains its most important feature. Additionally, it is highly customizable and can be easily set up for use.
Zoho CRM is a freemium service, which offers a free plan that never expires. It also has a 15-30 day trial period for its paid plans. Businesses can schedule a demo with the Zoho CRM by reaching out to them at: [email protected]. The price for the ZOHO CRM business plan starts at 800 Indian Rupees.
However, there is a steep learning curve for operating the CRM. Zoho is also a bit limited with its integration and needs to improve its customer support. Also, the best features are limited to the pricier plans, so Zoho isn’t the cheapest solution on this list.
2. Salesforce
In recent years, Salesforce has gained a lot of exposure and is today one of the leading CRM in the industry. It offers over 1000 3rd party integration, which is the highest number of integration available. Like Zoho, it also offers a great range of customization options. With Salesforce, you get features such as process automation, pipeline and forecast management, Opportunity management, lead management, and contact and account management.
While Salesforce doesn’t have a free version, it does offer a 30-day trial. You can also fill out a Demo Request Form to see if Salesforce is the right fit for you. One of the most expensive business CRMs, Salesforce plans start at 1,872 Indian Rupees.
The downside of Salesforce CRM includes a stale user interface with a steep learning curve. As we have mentioned, it is also not affordable for businesses on a fixed budget.
3. EngageBay
Another well-known name in the industry, the EngageBay customer management system, is one of the best choices for small businesses everywhere. EngageBay’s free plan is forever free, and you don’t have to upgrade unless the needs of your business change. The free plans offer services such as live chat, contact management, 360-degree contact view, email tracking, tasks, deals, and G Suite integrations.
Compared to Salesforce, Engage Bay is more affordable. The premium plans start at 992 Indian Rupees. With the paid plans, you can get features such as multiple deal tracking and 3rd party integrations, which improves the functionality of the CRM and helps you work efficiently. Staying true to its name, Engagebay offers great customer service. With EngageBay’s Scheduling process, you can quickly book a demo for your small business.
But with Engagebay, there are a few things you have to look out for. Like most CRMs on this list, it takes time to learn the user interface. Some of its features, such as social posting, need a little improvement. You might not find sufficient documentation with EngageBy and will have to contact customer support. It’s a good thing that they are very responsive.
4. Freshsales
Freshsales, an effective customer management system, is known for its exceptionally intuitive AI assistance that offers advanced insights. It is a very simple CRM that offers a free plan with functionality such as a mobile app, contact and account management, contact life-cycle stage, email and phone, and built-in chat. Its reliable customer support is available 24/5. You can add more features to the CRM with 3rd Party integrations.
Freshsales’ free plan doesn’t have hidden costs. So you have the option to use it for free forever. You can also get a 21 day free trial of the paid plans ranging from 1,000 to 5,000 Indian Rupees. Freshsales doesn’t offer a demo. You have to sign up for the CRM software to experience the features.
While free plans offer a lot, they don’t allow you to generate reports. And reports are essential for the survival of small businesses. It also lacks a few other important features that you can get by upgrading to paid plans.
5. Maple CRM
Maple CRM, a professional-client management software, allows you to experience highly effective services such as a user-friendly interface, workflow automation, invoice builder, team management, task management, and automated lead assignment. It also offers a mobile app with the help of which it will be easy to be prompt and respond to your client’s issues regardless of your location.
Additionally, it offers a wide range of customization features and lead management tools. Its combination of features makes it ideal for small-sized businesses. Its customer support comes highly recommended and highly reliable. They always come through. Alas, Maple doesn’t offer a free plan. It does have a short 7-day free trial, after which you’ll have to upgrade. The premium plans range from 600 to 7,000 Indian rupees.
In order to request a free demo, you can head over to the website and find the Request Free demo tab on the top right corner. Fill in the details and send the request. Although it is a feature-rich customer management system, it still has a few issues, such as freezing or slowing down at times.
6. BitRix24 CRM
BitRix24 comes loaded with exceptional customer and client management tools such as pipeline management, 360-degree customer view, sales reports, sales funnel, sales, and automation. It is also highly adept and sends out prompt notifications for new opportunities, activities, and tasks. Additionally, it also offers support for repeat sales.
Bitrix24 CRM does have a free version that you can use as a trial. The free version offers 5GB of storage. Both the free and professional pricing plans offered by BitRix24 allow you to add unlimited users. The price ranges from 3,000 to 12,000 Indian Rupees. Although the paid plans are pricier than Salesforce, they offer better features. The free version is also feature-packed. You can get in touch with Bitrix24 Partner located near you to get the desired services and solutions tailored to your business.
While the support is reliable, BitRix24 doesn’t have a sales and support chatbot. That could be a dealbreaker for some small businesses. The UI is also a bit difficult to master.
7. Capsule CRM
While Capsule isn’t a heavyweight in the midst of the leading champions on the list, it does have a lot to offer. Its extensive range of features includes GDPR compliance, sales pipeline, Google Data Studio, task automation, and auto-enrich profiles. Additionally, it also offers more customization and integrations. With Capsule CRM timely reminders, you’ll never have to worry about missed opportunities.
Capsule CRM may offer a free version, but it isn’t as elaborate and feature-rich as Bitrix or Engagebay. The features are limited, and the paid plans are priced within the range of 1,400-4,100 Indian Rupees. The Capsule Customer Management System offers a 30 day free trial for all its plans.
Its services, while useful for small businesses, are better suited for large scale businesses. It also needs to work on improving the user interface.
Final Words:
We have covered some of the industry’s top-ranking client management tools suitable for small businesses. Apart from these tools, visitors can also try customer management solutions such as Hubspot CRM, Insightly CRM, Agile CRM, Vtiger CRM, streak CRM, and SalezShark Engage CRM. Most of these can do wonders for small businesses and help them effectively monitor sales and increase their revenue.
