September 28

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Best CRM For Small Business: Choosing The Best Software Tools

By Hanson Cheng

September 28, 2022


  • minute read

CRM software tools help businesses manage customer data and interactions. They can track sales, marketing, and customer service activities. CRM software tools can also help companies automate email marketing, lead generation, and target market analysis tasks.

With various platforms offering many features and functionality, it can be challenging to determine which CRM software tool is best for your business needs. 

In this article, I will help you narrow down this selection process when it comes to the best CRM software tool for your business by providing an overview of the top options on the market.

Let's get right into it.

What Is The Best CRM Software?

The following are the best CRM software to consider in business.

1. Microsoft Dynamics CRM

Best Overall CRM.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM

Microsoft Dynamics CRM allows you to combine multiple CRM tools into one, making it easy to track various customer interactions and sales processes.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM is also a great choice for multichannel marketing campaigns as it offers seamless integration with other software.

With this platform, you can go beyond sales force automation as it offers a 360-degree view of your customers, so you will always know how to best build relationships and interact with them.

This also ensures you can empower your agents with the information they need to provide excellent sales and customer service.

Key Features:

  • Gain insights into your customers' buying habits and preferences
  • Prioritize leads using account and contact scoring
  • Build custom dashboards to keep track of your sales process
  • Run multichannel campaigns featuring emails, webinars, and more
  • Target matched audiences based on their interactions with your brand
  • Personalize the buyer experience by segmenting your lists

Pricing:

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Pricing

There are various pricing plans available for Microsoft Dynamics CRM, depending on the size of your business and your specific needs.

2. Freshsales

Best For Accelerating Your Revenue.

Freshsales

Freshsales provides personalized engagement options that make it easy to connect with your customers.

For those looking to shorten their sales cycle, Freshsales is an excellent option as it has a visual interface that makes it easy to see your sales process and where each lead is.

In addition, providing context to any interaction means you can provide your team with the information they need to succeed.

Whether you're running chat campaigns or email drip campaigns, Freshsales allows you to nurture your leads and move them through your sales pipeline.

Key Features:

  • Use AI-powered chatbots to engage with visitors to your website
  • Capture visitor information with Leadbot forms
  • Understand visitor intent, identity, and behavior with real-time intelligence
  • Gain complete context with Freshsales' entire contact timeline
  • Focus on the best leads with lead scoring and grading
  • Communicate seamlessly across channels with Freshsales' two-way email sync abilities

Pricing:

Freshsales Pricing

Here are the pricing plans for Freshsales:

3. Zendesk CRM

Best For Its Power Dialer.

Zendesk CRM

Zendesk CRM provides customer relationships management software for businesses of all sizes.

The software includes several features, such as contact management, ticketing, and automation.

With a power dialer and a visual pipeline, Zendesk CRM is designed to help sales teams close more deals in less time.

Moreover, access to scripts, notes, and call logging means you can provide your team with the resources they need to do their job to the best of their abilities.

Zendesk CRM also includes a mobile app to manage your customer relationships on the go.

Key Features:

  • Email tracking and automation to help you stay on top of your customer relationships
  • Activity reporting to help you see which activities are driving results
  • Mobile CRM to help you manage your customer relationships while out in the field
  • Automatic dialer with text capability to help you reach more customers in less time

Pricing:

Zendesk CRM Pricing

Zendesk offers these pricing plans:

4. Salesforce CRM

Best For Opportunity Management.

Salesforce CRM

Salesforce CRM is one of the best startup CRM and has several features designed to help businesses close more deals, such as opportunity management and quotes.

With this, you can help your sales team close more deals in less time with such intelligent, proactive features.

With its AI-based Salesforce Customer 360 feature, you can also get a complete view of your customers to provide them with the best possible service.

With every customer touchpoint in one place, teams will never not know what the next best action step should be.

Integrations with the MuleSoft integration platform and Tableau data visualization software also help make Salesforce CRM a complete solution for an online business.

Key Features:

  • Account and contact management to help you keep track of your customers
  • Opportunity management to help you manage your sales pipeline
  • Sales Data to help you track your sales performance
  • Accelerate productivity with Salesforce's Lightning interface
  • Workflow and approvals to help you create automation-based marketing based on the right triggers

Pricing:

Salesforce CRM Pricing

Pricing starts at $25 per month.

A free trial is also provided with no credit card required to get started.

5. Nimble CRM

Best For Client Integration.

Nimble CRM

Nimble CRM integrates with Outlook/Gmail/Office 365 and other email platforms so you can manage your customer relationships right from your inbox.

With its social CRM features, you can also get a complete view of your customers through various social channels.

With no setup or training required, Nimble CRM is designed to be easy to use.

Whether you run social media, customer service, or sales, Nimble CRM can help you build better relationships with your customers.

If your business goals involve working smarter and building better customer relationships, Nimble CRM is worth considering.

Key Features:

  • Unify your contact data from multiple sources into one platform
  • Get actionable and accessible contact records so you can quickly find the information you need
  • Stay organized with Nimble's customizable interface
  • Engage at scale with the provided automation features

Pricing:

Nimble CRM Pricing

Nimble Business starts at $19 per month.

6. HubSpot CRM

Best For Free CRM.

HubSpot CRM

HubSpot is a comprehensive CRM platform that offers a free CRM version with no time limit or user restrictions.

You can upgrade to paid versions if you need more advanced features like sales productivity tools and more advanced reporting.

If you're tired of manually updating reports, HubSpot Sales Hub can help. With this feature, you can get real-time reports on your sales pipeline, so you always know where your deals stand.

With sales activity and productivity CRM tools, you can also automate repetitive tasks to focus on selling.

And with HubSpot's integration with tons of other software, you can easily use this free CRM to your existing tech stack.

Key Features:

  • Reporting dashboard gives you all the data you need in one place
  • Company insights help you understand your customers better
  • Deal tracking allows you to never lose sight of a deal
  • Pipeline management helps you close more deals
  • Email tracking is used to track when emails are opened, and links are clicked

Pricing:

HubSpot CRM Pricing

Hubspot CRM is free to use; however, there are also premium plans available that offer more features. The pricing plans are as follows:

7. SugarCRM

Best For A Clean Interface.

SugarCRM

SugarCRM has been named Champion CRM platform two years in a row, and it's easy to see why.

Users love this CRM software for its simple and clean interface, which makes it easy to use.

SugarCRM can also be easily customized to fit your needs regardless of your sales, marketing, and service process.

With its drag-and-drop interface, you can quickly build custom workflows and automate repetitive tasks.

This means that SugarCRM can be easily scaled to fit your needs no matter what business size you are.

Moreover, with its quote management systems (QMS), you can quickly generate and manage quotes to close more deals.

Key Features:

  • CRM reporting & dashboards ensure you have all the data you need to make decisions
  • With sales forecasting, you can predict future activity levels
  • Mobile CRM app so you can take your CRM with you wherever you go
  • CRM customization and configuration to fit your specific needs
  • CRM campaign management to create and track your marketing campaigns
  • Case management and bug tracking solutions help you solve customer issues

Pricing:

8. Salesmate

Best For Growing Relationships.

Salesmate

Salesmate is a straightforward CRM software that helps you manage your sales pipeline through a great user experience.

From tracking contacts to managing deals and closing sales, Salesmate helps you at every step of the way.

You can also get repetitive tasks out of the way with Salesmate's automation features.

If you want to turn your business into a revenue machine that works for you, not the other way around, Salesmate can provide the required solution.

Key Features:

  • Bulk emails & texts allow you to communicate with your clients easily
  • Email campaigns let you create and track your marketing campaigns
  • Calling through its power dialer helps you make calls quickly and efficiently
  • Email & calendar sync so you can keep your sales activities organized
  • Sales activity tracking to see what's working and what's not
  • Call recording so you can listen back to important calls and learn from them

Pricing:

Salesmate Pricing

Salesmate offers three paid pricing plans:

The prices are based on a per-user per month basis.

There's also an enterprise plan, which is custom-created based on one's specific needs.

9. Pipedrive CRM

Best For Building A Sales Pipeline.

Pipedrive CRM

Pipedrive changes your sales funnel into a sales pipeline so you can see every single deal at the various stages it might be in.

With Pipedrive, you can also get an overview of your entire sales process to optimize and improve it.

With deals that can be added or imported from various sources, you can easily keep track of your sales.

With AI technology, you can get real-time insights into your sales pipeline to make better decisions.

Created for salespeople that need to manage their sales process, Pipedrive is one of the best CRM software tools out there for those that want to get their sales team organized.

Key Features:

  • Customizable pipeline management so you can adapt it to your sales process
  • Activity reminders so you never forget to follow up with a client
  • Team collaboration so you can work together on deals
  • Track progress accurately so you can see where each deal is at
  • Automate growth so you can focus on selling, not administrative tasks

Pricing:

10. Act! CRM

Best For Building Lasting Client Relationships.

Act! CRM

Act! CRM helps small and midsized businesses build lasting relationships with their customers. With Act!, you can easily manage your contacts, deals, and activities in one central place.

This means you can turn your prospects into lifelong customers who keep returning for more. With Act!, you can also get repetitive tasks out of the way with automation features.

With both a CRM and marketing automation tool, Act! gives you the power to decide which items need to be automated and which are better served when done manually.

Key Features:

  • Unmatched flexibility and choice mean you can use Act! In a way that serves your business
  • There's less busywork involved, so you can focus on servicing your customers as best as possible
  • Act! keeps you connected on all fronts, so you never miss an opportunity to reach out and build better relationships

Pricing:

What Is The Best CRM For Small Businesses?

Some of the best CRM platforms for small businesses are:

  • HubSpot Sales CRM
  • Zoho CRM
  • Freshsales CRM
  • Salesmate CRM

The above CRMs are all great for small businesses because they offer features that can help a small business grow. They also have affordable pricing plans that won't break the bank.

Best Free CRM Software

The best free CRM software is:

  • HubSpot Sales CRM
  • Zoho CRM
  • Salesmate CRM

These are all great options because they offer a lot of features for free. This means you can get started with a CRM without having to pay anything.

Best Startup CRM

The best CRM for startups is:

  • Salesforce CRM
  • Insightly CRM
  • Zoho CRM
  • Pipedrive CRM

When starting a business, it's important to track your customer relationships from the very beginning. The best CRM for startups will help you do just that, keeping all of your customer data organized and easily accessible.

What Are The Features Of A Great CRM?

Some of the critical features of a great CRM are the following.

Contact Management

Being able to manage your contacts and leads is crucial for any business. A great CRM will allow you to store and organize your contacts easily, so you can always keep track of who you need to follow up with. From networking with new leads to keeping in touch with existing customers, a sound contact management system will help you stay on top of your relationships.

Lead Management

A good CRM will also help you manage your leads, so you can nurture them until they're ready to buy. With lead management features, you can track where your leads are in the sales process and make sure you're following up at the right time, based on people's specific needs.

Pipeline Management

Another crucial feature for businesses is pipeline management. A great CRM will help you track your deals through the entire sales process so you know where each one stands. This way, you can focus your efforts on the most likely to close.

Activity Tracking

Activity tracking is also essential for sales teams. A good CRM will let you see all the activities associated with a contact or lead so that you can follow up appropriately. This includes things like emails, phone calls, and meetings.

Reporting & Analytics

Reporting and analytics features are critical to a successful business. With these features, you can track your sales progress and see where you need to improve based on accurate data.

Integrations

The more integrations a CRM offers, the better you will be able to utilize it. Since businesses use various tools in their daily operations, you'll want to ensure they integrate with your CRM. This way, you can have all your data in one place without having multiple sources of truth.

Automation

Automation is also a valuable feature in a CRM. With automation, you can automate tasks like lead nurturing and email follow-ups. This way, you can focus on other aspects of your business without getting bogged down with work that doesn't need human intervention.

Customer Support

Finally, ensuring your CRM has good customer support is essential. If you run into any problems, you can get help from someone who knows the software well.

Whether your online business manager faces any issues when attempting to connect with customers or, as the business owner, you feel you're not using the CRM solution to its full potential, having support that can help you every step of the way is important.

Conclusion

There's no doubt that a business owner that wants to learn how to make money online through building relationships with their customers needs to use a CRM software tool.

Such tools can help you keep track of your customers, build better relationships with them, and find new ways to improve your business.

The best CRM software tools will offer a wide range of features, an intuitive interface, and affordable prices. Coupled with excellent customer support, these tools can help you take your business to the next level.

Last Updated on September 28, 2022 by Hanson Cheng

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Hanson Cheng

About the author

Living in Bali with my Fiancee and puppy, (Alina and Pickles).
Scaling online businesses and sharing lessons learned on this website and in our email newsletter.

Always happy to hear from you, so find me on Instagram if you want to say hi!

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