Why This Matters
Customer relationship management (CRM) is a process in which a business or other organization administers its interactions with customers, typically using data analysis to study large amounts of information.
Keeping track of your customers in an organized, accessible way helps you build and manage your relationships with your customers. Customers are the lifeblood of your business and it’s important to know where they are in their buying cycle, as well as have a place to add all relevant information about them for sales follow ups and tracking their needs. This is especially important if you have multiple sales staff or a turnover in sales staff, so your customer intelligence stays with your business. A CRM will help you manage customers and potential customers, freeing up your time and energy to focus on growing your business.
How your CRM integrates with the various ways you communicate with customers is important. For example, if you contact your customers mainly through email think about how it integrate with your email program. If your main communication is through social platforms or Shopify, how does it integrate with that?
If you’re not ready to implement a CRM you may want to keep a customer list for the purpose of email marketing. Check out Customer Lists for information on creating lists.
As with any software purchase, it’s important to understand your requirements/needs, what features you are looking for (nice to have vs. must have). Making a list of things you would like to “operationally do” will help determine your software requirements. Do this before looking for a software to meet those needs.
Resources
How to Select a CRM (Features & Functionalities) – A great starting point to consider which features and functions you might need for your CRM.
Top 6 Free CRMs – A list of free customer relationship management (CRM) softwares.
Best Free CRM Software – A list of eight CRMs that will serve a variety of businesses and use cases.
Free & Low Cost CRM Solutions for your Business – If you are looking for a low-cost or free solution, you may want to consider this breakdown of options by BDC.
Best Small Business CRMs – Breaking down what makes a great small business CRM.
Best CRM Software For Small Business – Based on expert reviews.
Recommendations
Zoho CRM – Feature-rich sales platform and deep selection of add-ons make it ideal for businesses needing scaling capabilities. The CRM offers customization options to accommodate growing teams and some slick artificial intelligence tools to help high-volume teams identify qualified leads. Zoho also has products for accounting, collaboration/projects, help desk, email campaigns, surveys, forms, social media, and human resources. Some of these, such as Campaigns, Desk, and Survey, also offer free plans to get started. Zoho CRM is free for up to 3 users, and paid plans start at $12/month.
Insightly – A popular CRM choice because of its no-nonsense approach to managing people and projects. The free version is designed for a two-person team, such as a start-up creative agency where both may be sharing sales and project management duties. The Gmail add-on notifies you of email opens, saves conversations in a contact record, and lets you create tasks, leads, and projects. You can also get email notifications for items assigned to you or when records are updated. This is particularly handy if your teammate isn’t in the same office as you.
Hubspot – This free CRM allows unlimited users and up to 1 million contacts. It’s easy to use and connect to existing email programs like Gmail & Outlook 365, and also includes some features normally found in paid plans such as live chat/bots, email tracking, and meeting scheduling. The user interface is straightforward, with major functions presented across the top with dropdowns for each.
Vtiger – Includes sales, marketing, and help desk features in their all-in-one plan, and also offers a sales-only CRM for those just looking to get their feet wet. It also has project and inventory management, telephone, social media integration, and internal collaboration. This makes it a great option for small businesses looking for an affordable, do-it-all CRM. Vtiger pricing is $30/month/user.