Last updated - January 30, 2024
With the advent of technology, businesses tend to scale in profitability and customer satisfaction. But is it easy to cater to each customer as per their needs? No, rather it is a challenging and daunting task. To ease such situations, CRM or Customer Relationship Management tools have been developed. This CRM software helps you to manage day-to-day communications and data from prospects, contacts, and existing customers.
“CRM is your GPS to a better route on your Business Development journey.” ― Bobby Darnell
CRM systems also help create opportunities for automation and standardization of the existing processes to stay in touch with your customers and help them with effective responses instantly. With this guide, let us dive deeper into understanding the role of a valuable CRM and how it can help you scale your business by building concrete customer loyalty. Also, read further for a list of the most valuable CRM tools to boost your business in 2024.
What is a CRM?
Customer Relationship Management or CRM is a technology to understand your interactions with existing and potential customers. With the help of data analysis and studying large amounts of information, these tools help you offer effective and quick solutions to your customers’ needs. The tool supports marketing, sales, and customer service functions and processes for your business.
CRM software helps organize, record, and enable action as per available customer data. It also helps track and guide customers along each stage of their buying journey. The four steps in which a CRM tool functions are, communication, marketing, analysis, and automation or customization.
Broadly there are three types of CRM systems,
- Analytical CRM: Helps businesses make data-driven decisions and mine insights for a better response and solution
- Operational CRM: Best suited for businesses with linear sales processes and a large amount of repetitive operational tasks
- Collaborative CRM: For businesses with distributed sales and marketing, that connect with their customers across several locations, using diverse modes of communication throughout the sales cycle
Ultimately the goal of a Customer Relationship Management tool is to improve your business relationships and create a strong and loyal customer base.
How does a robust CRM help build a strong customer base?
With the help of a strong and reliable CRM, it is easier to effectively track your customer’s needs and to communicate with them. You have a clear understanding of their order details, their requirements, and the pattern that emerges in your interactions with them. Hence you can directly communicate with them and clear out the blockages, if any.
An efficient CRM software considers a holistic approach to the customer’s journey by trying to understand the total value of each customer over their entire life rather than on a transactional basis. Thus, helping the businesses to cater to their customers in a better way and maximize profitability through consistent loyalty.
7 Best CRM Software for Your Business in 2024
With an increase in your productivity, sales, and consumer base, it becomes mandatory to employ an efficient CRM tool. Some of the well-organized and beneficial Customer Relationship tools that can help you ease your customer management-related hassle are as follows:
ClickUp
ClickUp offers an excellent all-in-one productivity tool that helps you at all levels of sales activity and marketing campaigns. It works efficiently among cross-functional teams and helps close deals faster. It always delivers better team relationships, coordination, and quicker task delivery or response for a decent customer experience.
Some of the key highlights of ClickUp are as follows,
- Customization helps create a unique and flexible experience for both the teams as well as the sales representatives
- Workspace and spaces create a fabulous workspace for both, the teams and their members and track projects more efficiently
- Automation helps ClickUp to avoid repetitive tasks. You can also integrate different tools for enhancing workflow efficiency
- Simplified desktop and reporting help the user to get a strong knack for this tool quickly. Also, the reports with specific metrics and data give an easy way to analyze and upgrade performance
- Communication becomes seamless among teams and helps collaborate better
- ClickUp CRM Templates help create project personalization and sales automation
- ClickUp price plan includes a free forever plan for personal use, an unlimited plan for small teams, and a business plan for mid-sized companies
Note: ClickUp is an apt choice for Product Management and Mobile CRM. Also, it is most suited for freelancers, startups, small businesses, and enterprises.
HubSpot
HubSpot is a comprehensive Customer Relationship Management system that offers inbound marketing, sales, and customer support-related tools. It helps businesses align their projects, get insights, and communicate within teams using a centralized system to manage customer requirements.
Some of the key highlights of HubSpot are as follows,
- HubSpot CRM offers you a unified view of your customer’s journey by organizing and tracking customer interactions and related data
- Create and manage marketing campaigns, automate emails, analyze website performance, track lead generation, and create landing pages
- Using HubSpot automates your sales process, keeps your sales team updated, and closes deals effectively
- Create excellent customer support through features like ticket generation, knowledge base management, live chat option, customer satisfaction survey, and more
- CMS Hub helps create and manage websites with ease. Explore tools for content creation, SEO optimization, and personalization for a flawless website experience
- HubSpot offers seamless integration and automation to automate workflows
- The HubSpot CRM pricing includes Free tools, a Starter plan, a CRM Suite, and a Professional plan
Note: HubSpot is a complete CRM and is the best option for freelancers, startups, small businesses, and enterprises.
Salesforce
Salesforce is a cloud-based software solution that helps businesses manage their customer data, interactions, and sales processes. The CRM software can be used both as a Data Source for insights and trends or as an Analytics Tool for reporting.
Some of the main highlights of Salesforce are as follows,
- The CRM tool integrates well with third-party applications and offers customization options to tailor your specific business needs
- Salesforce CRM offers comprehensive solutions for scalability, flexibility, and for extensive ecosystem of apps and extensions
- Offers excellent customer support with features like live chat, case management, knowledge sharing, and omnichannel support
- This CRM offers a centralized view of customer data, history, and interactions for better engagement
- Helps streamline your sales process with tools for lead generation, sales forecasting, pipeline management, and much more
- Salesforce offers plans for all, be it Starter, Professional, Enterprise or Unlimited
Note: Salesforce is an analytic CRM best suited for mid-sized businesses and enterprises.
Google Sheets
Google Sheets is a web-based spreadsheet editor that uses fresh data through sharing and real-time editing. It helps you track customer relations with details including customer name, contact information, and notes about the customer.
Some of the main highlights of Google Sheets are as follows,
- The most important feature of Google Sheets is seamless collaboration and real-time editing
- The Built-In Version Control helps reduce the chaos for recovery of files/data and duplication of files too
- The CRM helps analyze very large data sets using Google’s Cloud data warehouse and analytics engine
- Using Google Apps Script automation of Sheets, Drive, and BigQuery operations into one workflow is possible
- Google Sheets also help you to create CRM reports and track inventory levels
- This CRM software offers plans for Personal use(free), Business Starter, Business Standard, and Business Plus
Note: GoogleSheets offers a spreadsheet CRM and is best suited for freelancers and SaaS-related work
Zoho
Zoho has proved to be an excellent option as an entry-level CRM tool. It helps businesses of all sizes to scale using a strong customer relationship experience, an in-built AI sales assistant, and other impressive features like sales pipeline management, analytics, automation, etc.
Some of the key highlights of Zoho are as follows,
- Zoho helps reduce the cost by centralized data and free migration integration with a third-party application
- It offers 5000 records in the free version i.e. contacts, deals, accounts, and campaigns
- Offers automation to increase sales, better customer segmentation and automates sales reports
- The tool helps generate leads using forms, social media, and email marketing, that automatically update in the CRM
- Zoho CRM also offers some unique AI features along with paid plans
- It offers flexible plans for different billing requirements like Free, Standard, Professional, Premium, and Elite
Note: Zoho acts as a single repository for scaling your business and is best suited for small businesses
Monday Sales
Monday Sales CRM is a perfect Customer Relationship Management solution to customize your sales cycle, automate the process, and streamline your communication. You can centralize all your apps, tools, processes, and files under one head.
Some of the key highlights of Monday Sales are as follows,
- The CRM tools offer features like email sync and tracking, email composition, bulk emailing, management of any lead or contact-related activity
- Helps keep track of your sales pipeline, targets, team performance, etc.
- Get clarity of projects using a custom dashboard, sales forecasting, activity tracking, and tracking goals for the team as well
- It is a fully customizable, no-code sales tracking platform that lets you manage, automate, and streamline your entire sales cycle
- The CRM tool keeps an automated track of communication with the clients and helps save time with personalized email templates
- Monday Sales offers pricing plans for different segments such as basic CRM, Standard, Pro, and Enterprise CRM
Note: Monday Sales CRM helps streamline work for maximum productivity and is best suited for sales teams
Pipedrive
Pipedrive is a cloud-based sales CRM software that offers pipeline management. Thus, enabling the business to grow using activity-based selling methodology. You can also plan your sales strategy, monitor its performance, and convert a potential deal into an end sale.
Some of the main highlights of Pipedrive are as follows,
- This CRM tool makes a valuable pipeline management solution that is best for companies with remote teams
- Offers a variety of features like customizable sales pipeline, email integration, sales, and activity tracking
- Create your own sales pipeline with three simple steps, set up your pipeline, track progress, and automate growth
- It has a simpler, more intuitive user interface that creates a robust CRM
- Pipedrive is an expensive tool and offers plans like Essential, Advanced, Professional, Power, and Enterprise
Note: Pipedrive CRM is a valuable tool for sales pipeline and deals and is most suited for mid-sized businesses and enterprises
Create a Strong Footprint…
CRM as we call it is all about customer satisfaction and how to upgrade in meeting your customers’ needs. With the above list of CRM tools, you must have gained a clear understanding of some of the best tools to up your game. These tools help you get rid of the pain of repetitive tasks like maintaining customer details and the progress of interested prospects and also keep track of the conversions and strategize your sales pipeline accordingly. This software not only helps you in client dealings but also in maintaining clarity within teams about targets and results.
All-in-all your business grows only if you have a strong, loyal, and ever-expanding customer base. Thus choosing a strong CRM software becomes all the more important. With more information, let us learn and grow together!
