Which is the Best CRM Software for 2022?
CRM software is a powerful way for businesses to connect with their target audience, develop deeper brand relationships and strengthen customer loyalty. CRM tools are regarded the most popular sales tools for any business, followed by social prospecting software.Here’s our list of the best CRM software:
1. Pipedrive
Best Overall CRM Software
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Pipedrive is one of the simplest CRM software solutions available today, ideal for companies wanting deeper visibility into their sales strategies. This CRM software comes with AI-enhanced functionality, intended to give businesses focused insights into their deals and opportunities. Pipedrive is ridiculously easy to use with an intuitive interface.
The visual sales pipeline makes it quick and simple to track deals through various stages, and even create custom tags for leads depending on where they are in the buying cycle. Extensive reporting shows you how well each of your campaigns are working, and there’s communication tracking for emails, chats, and calls. Users can access Pipedrive from their mobile devices too.
Pipedrive makes it quick and easy for businesses of all sizes to track sales opportunities whenever and wherever they emerge.
Pros:
- Straightforward and intuitive user interface
- Unlimited custom fields for collecting customer information
- Easily track deals, values, and win probabilities
- Access custom reports to track recurring revenue
- Examine individual sales calls, emails, and demos
- Unlock source data reports to track where leads come from
- Access AI sales assistance support
Cons:
- Limited functionality for bigger businesses
- Problems with list separation
Pricing
Pipedrive offers various paid plans to choose from, and you can start with a free trial to test the technology first. The initial paid plan for $12.50 per month comes with all the basic functionality you need to organize pipelines and sales activities. You can upgrade all the way to an “Enterprise” level account with custom onboarding.Try Pipedrive
2. HubSpot
Best CRM Software for Marketing
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HubSpot is best-known as a software solution for marketing, sales, and customer communications. The HubSpot “hub” economy is a comprehensive technology stack, assisting with everything from email marketing to lead prospecting. The HubSpot CRM is just one of the tools in the HubSpot portfolio, and it’s available to access for free.
The HubSpot CRM offers a comprehensive environment to sales professionals, where they can get real-time insights into their sales funnel through an intuitive dashboard. Users can sort through won and lost deals, schedule appointments, track contracts, and even set performance benchmarks. The 100% free version of the solution means that companies of any size can get started instantly.
Features of HubSpot CRM range from lead and email nurturing tools to contact management and organization, over 300 integration with digital tools, live chat functionality, and sales pipeline reporting.
Pros:
- Completely free plan perfect for beginners
- Wide range of additional sales and marketing suites available
- Access to live chat functionality and chatbots
- Form building and lead capture information access
- Team email and conversations inbox to align discussions
- Free list segmentation and email marketing
- Ad management tools to track Facebook, Google, Instagram, and LinkedIn ROI
Cons:
- Can be expensive when used with other HubSpot “hubs”
- Free version is only suitable for beginners
Pricing
The basic version of the HubSpot CRM is completely free to use. When you’re ready to upgrade, the Starter package is available for $40, with $1k in ad management, limited conversational bots, and 10 reporting dashboards. Plans range all the way up to an Enterprise offer at around $3,200 per month, which comes with extensive segmentation, predictive lead scoring, API integrations, webhooks and more.Try HubSpot
3. Freshsales
Smartest Sales CRM Software features
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Freshsales is an intuitive software suite designed to simplify the way you manage both employee and customer relationships. The Freshworks ecosystem is made up of a series of different tools, including Freshdesk, for omnichannel customer service, freshchat, for chatbots and AI self-service, and even the Freshcaller cloud-calling system.
Freshsales promises opportunities to generate up to 10 times more qualified leads with a 360-degree view of your sales strategies and pipelines. Freshsales CRM is equipped with AI-powered contact scoring, real-time forecasting, and predictive analytics, to help you accelerate your revenue strategies.
Alongside some of the most intelligent tools in the market (including AI chatbots), Freshsales also offers stunning landing page creation, tailored email campaigns, page visit tracking, and an intuitive platform that’s easy to use.
Pros:
- Intelligent predictive and real-time insights
- AI-powered contact scoring and lead management
- Extensive selection of powerful integrations
- Access to the complex Freshworks ecosystem available
- 360-degree sales platform to access full customer information
- GDPR compliant and highly secure environment
- Excellent customer support
- Mobile app access for mobile workers
Cons:
- Billing is managed per user, which means it can add up for bigger teams
- Some businesses will need higher packages for more contacts
Pricing:
Freshsales promises a simple pricing structure, starting at $0 for feature-limited “Free” plan and $15per month for the cheapest “Growth” package when you pay annually. This supports 1,000 marketing contacts, live chat, web forms, Facebook messenger, website tracking and countless other features. You can upgrade all the way to a $69 per month product, which supports up to 5,000 marketing contacts. If you have a specific set of requirements, you’ll need to contact Freshsales directly.Try Freshsales
4. Zoho CRM
Best CRM software for small businesses
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Zoho CRM is a well-known CRM solution for small businesses. This CRM solution is currently responsible for powering about 150,000 businesses worldwide. With Zoho CRM, you can conduct sales meetings and presentations with your team within your customer relationship management tool, organize webinars, and even convert attendees into new leads.The Zoho CRM gives team leaders a comprehensive view of business operations, so you can track essential marketing and sales opportunities, increase conversion rates, and more. Comprehensive visual reporting features make it easier to pinpoint where you are in reaching your targets, and you can even access analytics from the Zoho mobile app.
Zoho also has a built-in AI-powered sales assistant, designed to help you make better decisions about customers based on their profiles. You can also access process and performance management tools, and sales enablement services, like price quoting and sales scripts.
Pros:
- Extensive omnichannel customer support via live chat, phone and email
- High-level automation options for various sales tasks
- Tons of integrations with third-party tools like Outlook and LinkedIn
- Mobile version with access to visual reports
- Data security, integrity, and regulatory compliance built-in
- Free plan available for smaller companies
- Predictive sales features and AI insights
- Holistic team and schedule management
Cons:
- Not the best tutorials for beginners
- Integrations can be a little clunky
Pricing:
Pricing starts at £12 per month for the Standard package, which comes with scoring rules, workflows, pipeline control, mass email management, and custom dashboards. There are also three higher-tier packages ranging all the way up to the £42 per month Ultimate package, with advanced BI and higher feature limits. A free version is available for up to 3 users.
Try Zoho CRM
5. Close
Best new CRM Software solution
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One of the lesser-known options on this list, Close is a CRM software option explicitly built for sales teams. The solution comes with a clean and intuitive user interface, where companies can track their deals, and make sure they never miss out on a powerful opportunity.
One of the best features of Close is its ability to bring conversations with customers in various environments together in the same space. For instance, you can bring SMS, calling, video, and instant messaging discussions into the same inbox. There’s automatic logging and syncing for your sales hub, as well as data insights powered by artificial intelligence.
The Close CRM environment is perfect for hybrid and remote teams keen to stay connected when working with leads all around the world.
Pros:
- Excellent support for sales team
- Free trial available for beginners
- Convenient and easy to use sales tracking
- SMS, video, calling, and other channels all in the same place
- Full context overview on every deal
- AI insights for your sales teams
- Convenient reporting and analytics features
- Collaboration features for growing teams
Cons:
- Not as well-known as some alternatives
- Fewer integrations than some competitors
Pricing
Pricing for Close is straightforward, starting at around $25 per user for the Starter plan per month. The most expensive plan is the $145 package, which offers ultimate all-in-one CRM and sales productivity. Every package comes with pipeline views, data importing and exporting, built-in inbound and outbound calling, and countless other features.Try Close CRM
6. Salesflare
Best CRM Software for Automation
Excellent customer relationship management is easier to accomplish when you can empower and augment your team. Salesflare supports companies in reducing the workflow for their team, while ensuring everyone can keep their customer data as updated as possible. There’s a visual drag-and-drop sales pipeline where you can track team progress, and email marketing too.
Users can track their customers when they visit their website and look for lead conversion opportunities. You can also automatically access enriched insights into customer contact data, with profiles that automatically seek out publicly available info about your clients. Other automation features range from email marketing options to automated reminders on when to follow up with clients.
Salesflare’s feature set covers everything from relationship strength insights to out-of-the-box dashboards where you can track crucial metrics.
Pros:
- Quick and simple to get setup with your new service
- Intuitive backend for all users
- Insights into customer relationship strengths
- Tons of automation options for streamlined teams
- Access to useful analytics and reporting features
- Powerful dashboard functionality
- Full integrations with a range of powerful tools
- Access to a smart pipeline with automated follow-up suggestions
Cons:
- No email builder for custom designs
- Limited flexibility for enterprise companies
Pricing:
Pricing options start with the “Growth” package for $29 per user per month, with all the CRM features you might expect, plus tons of tracking and automation options. The most expensive package is the Enterprise plan, for $99 per month per user, with access to a dedicated account manager and custom training.Try Salesflare
7. Engagebay
CRM with the Most Robust Free Plan
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EngageBay is a powerful and comprehensive CRM tool that can help businesses streamline their customer relationship management. EngageBay is a great choice for businesses that are looking for an all-in-one solution to their customer relationship management needs. The software also provides strong of automation capabilities and offers a very generous ‘free forever‘ plan, that includes many of the essential features and marketing-focused nice-to-haves such as custom forms, email sequences, web pop-ups, and a landing page builder.
Pros:
- Robust ‘free forever’ plan
- All-in-One approach to CRM, with live chat, forms and landing page tools
- Great automation capabilities
- Offer a range of integrations (Gmail and Office 365 integrations included in the free plan)
Cons:
- Interface is not the most intuitive at times
- Onboarding process could be improved
Pricing
While being quite generous, Engagebay’s free forever plan still limits the number of sequences, landing pages and branded emails sent per month.The Basic plan doesn’t add many features and mainly expands the number of lists and contacts one can have as well as increases the monthly email sequences cap. The plan costs $11.99 per user per month (billed annually).
The Growth plan unlocks the automation tools. The plan also comes with a dedicated EngageBay account service representative and costs $19.99 per user each month (billed annually).
The Pro plan builds on the Growth plan by expanding the number of automations and removing cap on the number of contacts you can store in the CRM. The plan costs $39.99 per user per month (billed annually).
Engagebay also gives you freedom to choose the package that best fits your needs. If you don’t need all the bell and whistles, just pick one of the CRM-only plans. However, if you very much interest in everything Engagebay has to offer, there are also feature-packed All-in-One plans that will satisfy even most demanding users.
Try Engagebay
8. Salesforce
Best CRM Software for Enterprises
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Salesforce is among the most famous CRM solutions on the market today, with more than a million users across the globe, and endless features to explore. The comprehensive Salesforce software model comes with access to a Sales cloud for better conversion opportunities, a service cloud to support improved client experiences, and a marketing cloud.
The Salesforce environment stands out around the globe for its amazing community. There are even dedicated learning experiences available for people who want to take full advantage of the Salesforce ecosystem. You can close more deals by intelligently identifying opportunities within your Salesforce module and access contact management and sales performance management tools too.
A comprehensive visual workflow, endless integrations, and access to some of the most advanced intelligence in the market makes Salesforce a go-to choice for bigger brands.
Pros:
- 24/7 customer support from a dedicated service team
- Lots of automation and personalization features
- Cloud-hosted system for faster performance
- Open API with tons of integrations available
- Comprehensive sales, service, and marketing
- Built-in Einstein lead scoring
- In-built process builder with lead generation tools
- Large number of third-party integrations
Cons:
- Not suitable for on-premises deployment
- No live-chat support
- Can be complex for some
Pricing
Salesforce is a comprehensive CRM offering with a range of products and modules to choose from. The exact experience you want from Salesforce will dictate how much you pay. You can start with something as small as a $25 per month per user plan and range all the way up to $1,250 per month per user options.Try Salesforce
9. AgileCRM
Best CRM software with appointment scheduling
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AgileCRM is a lightweight and reliable customer relationship management tool, designed to help companies automate their sales and marketing efforts. The AgileCRM ecosystem is based in the cloud, making it highly scalable and efficient. This SaaS CRM is also among the most affordable options for beginners.
With a slick and simple user interface, AgileCRM offers everything companies need for project and contact management, as well as appointment scheduling, bookings, and email marketing. You can see all of your contacts in one space, and easily drag-and-drop people into lists based on their lead quality.
The all-in-one CRM software handles things like tracking deal stages and milestones, gamification for sales teams, and event tracking customer service.
Pros:
- Free plan for up to 10 users
- Cloud-based environment for quick scaling
- Multi-cloud chat windows
- Workflow automation and easy data entry
- Extensive customer support
- Comprehensive email marketing and tracking features
- Third-party integrations with billing, social, and customer support
- Exit intent pop-ups and lead tracking
Cons:
- Only available in English
- Not suitable for on-premises deployment
Pricing:
There’s a free version of AgileCRM for beginners which supports up to 10 users. Every premium package comes with a wide selection of features, including custom data fields, lead scoring, deal milestones, social monitoring, helpdesk technology and more. The paid plans start at $8.99 and range up to $47.99 per user per month.10. Insightly
Best CRM software for Lead Routing
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Another Unified CRM platform focusing on sales and business growth, Insightly is a modern software solution committed to helping companies strengthen relationships with their clients. Features include extensive lead routing, which tracks the most important information about a lead to determine which agent they should communicate with.
Marketing, sales, projects, and integrations with third-party tools can all co-exist in the same environment, helping businesses to convert any interested lead into a dedicated customer. Integrations are available with market-leading tools like Dropbox, MailChimp, and email, and pipeline management features make it easy to track sales team performance.
You can try Insightly for free before you buy it and discover for yourself a range of opportunities to build personalized marketing campaigns for your teams. Insightly also offers a range of extensive automations for quicker growth.
Pros:
- Compatible with Android and iOS devices
- Visual dashboards for tracking important metrics
- Data integrity, security, and regulatory compliance
- Highly flexible appointments, calendaring, and events
- Automated tracking and updates
- Customer support offered through a range of platforms
- Convenient and intuitive interface
Cons:
- No live chat support
- Only available in one language
Pricing
Pricing for Insightly start with the simple $29 per user per month package, known as “Plus.” This package supports basic features, along with collaboration, mobile applications, and project management. The most expensive “Enterprise” package is $99 per month, and comes with extra automations, sales models, and reporting features.11. Apptivo
Best Scalable CRM Software
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Apptivo is one of the market leaders in CRM software solutions. Created to combine a range of technologies in one environment, Apptivo supports over 200,000 companies around the world, with features like online invoicing, customer relationship and project management, expense reports, and more. With Apptivo, companies can combine a variety of different requirements into a single solution.
Part of what makes Apptivo so scalable for modern businesses is how well it can adapt to suit the needs of different companies. You can use your CRM to track the sales process and close deals rapidly, and access project management or online invoicing tools to improve your business workflow.
Apptivo is accessible on the move with dedicated smartphone apps. The CRM software also comes with a range of modules, such as territory management, competitor analytics, contracts, sales planning, work orders, customer contact details, and lead pipeline control.
Pros:
- Comprehensive CRM solution with endless features
- Adaptable enough to suit a range of companies
- Tones of territory and project management tools
- Contracts and sales planning
- Workflow and work order management
- Access to helpdesk and service tools
- Powerful invoicing features
- Integrations with Slack, G-Suite, and various other tools
Cons:
- Performance can be slow at times
- Some features may be unnecessary for certain business types
Pricing
Pricing starts with the “Lite” service for smaller teams, which allows for up to 25 workflows, 8 custom dashboards, and a host of integrations. The most expensive paid plan is Ultimate for $20 per month, which comes with access to 57 different apps for CRM and sales management. You can also get a custom Enterprise quote.12. Nimble CRM
Best Customer Profiles
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Simple but effective, Nimble is a CRM designed to make managing customer relationships as smart and straightforward as possible. Specially designed for G-Suite and Office 365 integrations, the Nimble CRM software can connect employees wherever they are, making this solution perfect for the hybrid workplace. Nimble allows you to update contact data, company insights, and more with ease, and manage an entire visual workflow in a simple interface.
Nimble will allow you to combine all of your social media communications and connections in a single environment, with access to live profiles that update automatically. You can easily update profiles whenever you have a conversation with your customer, and Nimble helps you out with in-depth segmentation options too.
Automated reminders also prevent you from missing out on opportunities when you’re trying to set the stage for better long-term growth.
Pros:
- Collaborate and communicate easily in one environment
- Clean and simple user interface
- Extensive third-party integrations
- Email tracking to engage leads easily
- Fantastic functionality with G-Suite and Office 365
- Scalable and customizable design
- Extensive task and project management
- Tons of data security and GDPR compliance
- Wonderful automatically updating customer profiles
Cons:
- Only one pricing option
- May be too simplistic for bigger brands
Pricing:
There’s only one plan available for Nimble CRM, which is either $25 per month per user if you’re billed monthly, or $19 per month per user when billed annually.What is a CRM Software?
CRM or Customer Relationship Management software is a kind of digital tool designed to help companies access, manage, and understand customer data on a significant scale. Customer Relationship management tools can collect information from various channels. You can gather data from phone calls, email campaigns, feedback forms, and more.Through a CRM, companies can build a better insight into the customer journey and how certain factors might affect customer purchasing habits. The aim is to learn what matters most to each segment of your audience, so you can personalize your sales strategies to suit different needs. CRM solutions sometimes also work alongside other tools, like sales prospecting and service systems, to improve the overall customer relationship.
CRM solutions often connect various departments, including marketing, sales, and customer service groups, as well as business intelligence and business leaders. 91% of companies with more than 11 employees now use a CRM.
What are the Benefits of CRM Software?
Ultimately, customers want to buy from brands that offer a consistently excellent experience. CRM solutions help businesses to understand what their customers want and need, so they can outshine the competition, and earn loyalty. The benefits of CRM solutions include:- Improved client relationships: CRM solutions allow you to understand your customer, so you can turn one-time clients into repeat brand advocates. A simple 5% increase in customer retention is enough to increase business profits by up to 95%.
- Enhanced brand reputation: A CRM gives you the information you need to position yourself as an authentic, customer-first company. You can show your clients you understand them, deliver better service, and strengthen your brand reputation.
- Better sales opportunities: When you know everything about your customer’s preferences and expectations, you can suggest upselling and cross-selling opportunities that improve the amount clients actually spend. CRM applications can increase revenue by up to 41% per sales representative.
- Improved collaboration: Every member of your team can access the information they need to make better customer-driven decisions. This reduces the silos between employees and enhances the efficiency of your workforce. You can ensure that everyone in your team is aligned towards the same vision.
- Better competitiveness: The better you understand your customer, the easier it is for you to develop the services and products that will set you apart from the competition. CRM applications have a huge impact on your business intelligence and future decisions for growth.
What Should You Look For in CRM Software?
As customer service trends continue to evolve, the features of CRM solutions are growing too. Today’s software solutions come with a wide variety of features to choose from, ranging from AI analytics to automated lead tracking. Just some of the features to look at include:- Sales and lead management: You should be able to track leads from all environments, including sales calls, email sign-ups, inbound marketing and more.
- Lead qualification: A great CRM will help you to identify which of your leads are most likely to generate positive outcomes with AI insights.
- Marketing tools: Many CRM solutions come with access to social media integrations and email pipelines to strengthen customer relationships.
- Integrations: Integrations with existing tools make it easier for you to keep all of your customer information in one place, and design better reports.
- Analytics and reporting: Your CRM should show you how you’re making progress in your sales and service efforts:
- Mobility: With more hybrid and remote teams around the world today, it pays to have a CRM which features its own smartphone app.
- Project management: Task and project management workflows allow you to track the performance of your team and improve efficiency.
- Security: Your solution needs to keep all of your customer data and business insights secure according to the latest security and privacy standards.
- Collaboration tools: Features that allow employees to connect on customer relationship management strategies can strengthen business outcomes
- A simple interface: An easy-to-use backend interface will be crucial to ensuring your teams can actually use your CRM effectively.
- Automation: The ability to automate things like sending emails, or getting reminders on when to follow up on a sales call is extremely helpful.