Small businesses in 2022 should look at these 10 CRM tools

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For small businesses, the most difficult initial task is identifying your initial customers. But, once the first rush of customers comes in, it becomes challenging and difficult to manage your existing customers and guide prospective customers to your channel. Many small-scale businesses don’t have funnels simply because they’re busy trying to meet deadlines as well as client expectations.

This is where CRMs come in. Small business CRM software aids companies in organizing their sales processes and building to increase their customer base.

This article will take you on a more in-depth look at the reasons every small business should have a CRM, what factors make an excellent CRM solution and what software is suitable for your requirements.

What Is Small Business CRM Software?

Let’s get started by discussing what CRM actually is. CRM is a term that means “customer relationship management,” which is specifically the procedure of keeping an eye on your customers’ needs, specifically in relation in relation to sales cycles.

CRM Software is a form of the digital platform that businesses utilize to manage their relationships with customers and other functions of business that involve sales marketing, customer service as well as operations.

However, not all CRM software is alike. Some CRMs are built for large corporations, whereas others are made to be CRM software designed for small-sized firms. It’s because even the top CRMs available could cater to a large corporation and may not be the most efficient CRM solution for small businesses to utilize (or purchase).

Why Do Growing Businesses Need to Use a CRM?

Today, it is difficult for any business to function without having a digital platform in place to manage their information. Digital systems and tools such as CRMs, or small-scale sales software, assist both small and large companies alike to not just keep up with the latest technological advances of customers but also gain a competitive edge.

However, some small-sized businesses still depend on manual tracking of their clients using spreadsheets or even spiral notebooks. While the “minimalistic” CRM systems can serve as a good start for small businesses, however, when you are planning to expand your operations, then you’ll require an effective customer management system that can grow with the number of customers you have.

What Are the Benefits of a CRM System?

There are numerous benefits when using CRM tools for small-sized businesses that will help you streamline your day-to-day operations and help you grow your business more quickly. Here are some of the ways that even an SMB-level CRM could aid a small-sized business in its expansion:

  1. Stronger Customer Relationships

The ability to share your customer information with your entire team from one central location means that you’ll be able to provide a consistently pleasant experience for your customers, regardless of whom they’re speaking to in your company. In this way, you’ll develop stronger relationships with your current customers and nurture your prospects from one place.

  1. Keeps Your Teams Connected

The best small-sized CRMs have the ability to manage projects and allow employees across your company to keep one another informed about specific tasks without having to quit the platform. This can help reduce mistakes or accidents that typically result from a lack of or insufficient communication between teams.

  1. Better Understanding of Your Business’ Performance

The saying goes that “what gets measured, gets managed.” When it comes to expanding small-scale businesses lacking the right data to assess your business’s performance can be a deterrent aspect. CRM software gives small-sized businesses the ability to serve more customers at higher levels by providing sales forecasts as well as specific analyses.

  1. Centralized Database of Information

A CRM provides small-sized businesses the ability to keep all customers’ information and customer data all in one place. Instead of fragmented systems, where employees have to search for information through different systems that are not compatible, CRMs allow users to find any pertinent information about any customer in a flash.

  1. Improved Customer Segmentation

With all the information that CRMs accumulate on your customers, you’ll be at separating your customer base by different kinds of dimensions. For instance, in addition to the basic filtering criteria such as demographics, you could use CRMs to categorize your customers based on more specific information like their average size of purchases or the frequency of their purchases.

  1. Saves Time and Money

One of the lesser-known aspects of customer relationship software or software for managing clients is the possibility of automating different aspects that you run. From one-on-one communication with your clients to administrative tasks and overall operation management, CRM tools assist small-scale businesses in making better use of their time which can lead to greater profitability.

Of course, all of it is contingent on the CRM platform your small-scale business chooses to use.

What Makes a Great Small Business CRM?

From a strictly subjective perspective, certain CRMs for small-scale businesses could be more effective than others, depending on the features you require and like. However, in general, there are numerous options that are popular among SMBs and new businesses.

  1. Multiple Integrations

If you’re a smaller company that already uses several platforms for communicating with your customers–whether via sales, marketing, or customer service, you’ll probably need an integrated CRM system that works with these platforms. The best CRM for small-scale businesses is one that is seamlessly integrated with your various platforms, effectively creating a completely digital system for running your business.

The most popular kinds of integrations that small-sized businesses are looking for in CRMs are:

  1. On-the-Go & Cloud-Based Functionality

Smaller businesses are beginning to depend heavily on online tools and platforms to manage their day-to-day tasks. This is why a lot of the most well-known and popular CRMs for small-scale businesses are developed to be cloud-based software. A number of these CRMs provide a smartphone-based edition of their program, which allows small-scale entrepreneurs and their employees to handle interactions with customers from any location.

This is particularly beneficial for retailers or any other business that utilizes smartphones, tablets, and various other devices that mobile to communicate with their customers.

Small business CRM systems that provide integrated iOS and Android apps (as opposed to browser-based applications) are also able to connect their data and capabilities to other mobile apps. The most effective mobile CRMs have been designed completely from scratch, which generally creates a more pleasant user experience.

  1. Organizes, Aligns and Enhances Your Funnel

One of the biggest challenges for small-sized businesses is understanding how to set up and design your sales funnel top to bottom.

The best choices for small-scale CRM software not only aid you in organizing and collecting your data but also utilize it to improve and tweak your funnel.

Cross-platform integrations can also ensure the teams in your business are working in tandem as well as using similar data throughout the customer experience. This will prevent messages as well as support ticketing from becoming confused.

What Other Criteria Should You Look for in Choosing the CRM for Your Business?

Instead of comparing small-business CRMs against each other based on their features, it’s better to begin looking for a CRM after defining the specific requirements of your business.

Your team and you will have to take into consideration a number of aspects of evaluation, for example:

It is crucial to spend the time you can to discuss these issues in depth in your group. Implementing a CRM system for your small-sized business could be costly, and you must ensure that you’re choosing the correct solution for your needs.

When you’ve reached an agreement on these evaluation aspects, you’ll have to do some more steps to narrow your choices.

Small Business CRM Features to Look for

Here are a few most important features to look for when buying an enterprise CRM for small-sized businesses:

  1. User-Friendly Interface

The user experience may not be the primary feature that pops into the forefront when thinking about the criteria to use to consider for your CRM. It’s usually because CRMs that are user-friendly are simple and simple to use. However, CRMs that are unwieldy and difficult to navigate may result in a lot of frustration. Even the most advanced capabilities aren’t worth much if they’re difficult to utilize.

  1. Industry Specialization

Today, you can find CRMs designed specifically for certain kinds of industries or business types. For example, if you’re a marketing firm or a real estate agent, You’ll probably come across CRM solutions that are specifically designed to meet the particular requirements of your company. It is possible that an industry-specific CRM is best for the product or service that you provide and has specialized capabilities that standard CRMs do not come with.

  1. Customizability

On a personal basis, it’s best to make use of a CRM that allows you complete control over the activation of features and user access rights. Even if you’re using a CRM for small businesses designed for your specific sector, your company’s requirements will likely be different from those of other companies. Being able to modify your CRM for your business means you can eliminate all features that you don’t require and make the experience clear and easy.

  1. Automation

With the use of smart technology increasing, We’ve noticed more CRMs incorporating AIand ML-based features and tools in their software. These capabilities are a big step in helping your business operate independently and stay connected to your clients even when you’re sleeping.

  1. Affordability

Of course, one of the primary factors to consider when evaluating any CRM is the amount of its cost. Particularly for small companies who are just beginning or are bootstrapping, it is important to choose CRMs that are cost-effective and within your budget.

  1. Scalability

If you’re inclined to select an option that you could manage, take into consideration whether the one you’re considering can grow with your company as it expands. Low-cost or free CRMs might seem like a good solution for your particular scenario, but you have to consider whether the CRM you pick is able to control the future business needs of your company.

  1. Easy to set up and use

Another crucial aspect to think about when evaluating CRMs is how simple to set up and use for your company. Many CRMs look stunning on paper and include amazing and powerful functions. However, you might notice that some CRMs seem more appealing simply because they provide an easy-to-use experience.

How Much Is a CRM for a Small Business?

The total cost for the CRM for small-sized businesses will depend on three primary elements: the package/tier of service, the cost, and the number of users.

The top and most well-known CRM platforms usually offer a variety of packages or plans depending on the needs of the user. If you’re only searching for the essential features, such as dealing and contact management, then you’ll probably opt for an affordable plan that’s reasonably priced. At the other end of the range, you can find complete CRM systems that can provide massive sales automation as well as other advanced capabilities.

In general, CRMs are priced per month by the number of users within your organization. This means that the price of the CRM month will be the same as the base cost of the platform multiplied by the number of employees who use it.

If you’re evaluating the number of people who will use your CRM, ensure that you’re only adding members to your team who need access to the CRM in order to accomplish their duties. While many customer-facing positions require CRM rights, however, most employees who are focused on operations and production are unlikely to have much need for this kind of software.

Paid plans usually start at just $7 per user. They may go up to $99 per user.

Is There a Completely Free CRM?

There are numerous CRMs with no-cost plans for users who are new to the platform. Although these are usually trimmed-down versions of CRMs with full features, they offer all the essential features that every small-sized company needs to be able to effectively manage managing customer relations.

However, some companies may consider the “freemium” CRMs to be restricted, given that the free versions are usually restricted by features or capabilities.

In the end, If you’re in search of an effective CRM solution for your small-scale business that’s free, the best option is to find an option that provides all the tools for sales that you require without having to push you to upgrade to a higher-end plan. Make sure to choose platforms that give you access to all of their marketing and sales tools without cost. In some instances, you might even be able to locate a small-business CRM that will specifically meet your needs and goals, for example, such as Semrush CRM, which is a free CRM service for digital marketing companies.

Do you want to know the ways Semrush CRM can assist your business in scaling?

Start using Semrush CRM for no cost —

The 10 Best Small Business CRM Solutions

If you conduct easy Google searches, it’s possible to see numerous CRMs across the internet and each one with its distinct characteristics and capabilities.

In order to help you find how to navigate the ocean of CRMs available, we’ve compiled an overview of the best small business CRMs of 2022:

(Disclaimer Prices below are current in May 2022.)

1. Semrush CRM

Key Features:

From the same team that gave you one of the best search engine optimization and marketing tools, Semrush CRM is a completely free customer relationship management application designed for marketing and advertising teams as well as agencies. It lets you connect your sales pipeline and funnel with information from client projects, which makes it a great choice for companies that are growing and need to manage their clients’ information on one platform.

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Start using Semrush CRM today for free –

2. Hubspot CRM

Key Features:

One of the most well-known platforms for managing customer relationships, Hubspot’s free CRM provides users a wide array of vital features like managing up to one million contacts and even marketing via email. For small businesses that rely heavily on email to conduct one-on-one communication with clients and leads, Hubspot also helps you keep track of whether recipients receive your emails and how often they open them.

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3. Pipedrive

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If you’re in search of an elegant and intuitive user interface, Pipedrive is certainly worth a look. In addition to aiding in the organization of your day-to-day communications across multiple devices, the CRM is notable because it lets users see the entire process of selling from the moment of the sale until the closing.

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4 Insightly

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Insightly’s principal value proposition revolves around its Business Intelligence (BI) features that, as the name suggests, provide small-scale businesses with valuable insight into their sales data and performance. The CRM also has a sidebar extension that helps to enter customer information into your CRM on as-you-go.

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5 Keap

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Keap offers a complete CRM system that is designed to adapt to the needs of your business. Templates that are pre-set and custom workflow automation enable your company to operate on autopilot and could save your staff 10 hours per week, on average.

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6. EngageBay

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From solopreneurs to established businesses, EngageBay offers one of the complete CRMs available at an affordable cost. It comes with a variety of marketing tools, including the builder of landing pages as well as lead generation form. It is the ideal CRM solution for companies that wish to oversee their marketing and sales through a single interface.

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7. Salesforce

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Being among the best CRMs in general, Salesforce is one of the most sophisticated customer relationship management tools for small-sized companies. It’s because Salesforce is a collection of platforms and features designed to tackle every aspect of the consumer experience, from text messages to email marketing, as well as digital advertising.

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8. Bigin by Zoho CRM

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Bigin is an online pipeline-based CRM solution by Zoho CRM which is specifically tailored to small-scale companies. It is designed to be light and easy for users, Bigin offers all the basics needed to set up a reliable CRM system. It also leaves out the complicated functionalities and lengthy learning curves associated with large-scale CRMs.

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9. Capsule

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If you are a business that relies heavily on cloud-based platforms for working and collaboration, Capsule provides a sleek online method of managing customer relationships. A trusted partner for thousands of businesses all over the world, the small-business CRM solution offers plenty of customizing features that range from user-specific permissions to customized filters and views for sales pipelines. Capsule’s extensive customization options make it the ideal CRM for small-scale businesses that want to move from a simple and simplistic solution to one with more sophisticated capabilities.

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10 Agile CRM

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Agile CRM is advertised as a small-business platform by Fortune 500 functionalities. It includes features like sales gamification and even an inbuilt wireframe tool that can be used to help you prototype your digital products and assets. Their single-click integrations and plugins allow you to connect your CRM to every third-party application and service that you are currently using for business.

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These are only a few of the numerous CRM options available to small-sized companies. It’s worthwhile to allocate a suitable period of time in order to sift through the various small-business CRMs that are available to ensure that you’re not leaving out any of the compatible platforms.

But, even the most effective overall CRM for small companies could not be the most effective CRM for small businesses. Here’s how to find the best solution for your specific needs.

The Best CRM System for Marketing Teams and Agencies

Although there are numerous CRMs targeted specifically at marketing agencies, only a few offer the sophisticated capabilities that marketers regularly use to complete tasks and projects for their customers.

Certain CRMs that are fully-fledged, like Hubspot and Keap offer marketing automation tools; however, these tools typically cost more. Furthermore, many CRMs are created as all-purpose platforms designed to cater to different kinds of businesses and industries.

For companies searching for a CRM service that is easy to integrate with their daily marketing operations, Semrush offers its own free CRM.

How to Use Semrush CRM?

Semrush CRM is a client relationship management system designed specifically for online marketing companies. Based on Semrush’s online marketing software, Semrush CRM is aimed at helping businesses generate more business and increase efficiency while keeping their existing clients satisfied.

What Can You Do With Semrush CRM

In contrast to other CRMs specifically designed for companies, Semrush CRM is built entirely from scratch and is the extension of an already existing platform for marketing. It offers a variety of advantages to marketing agencies that are growing:

These are only some of the most important functions that come with Semrush CRM. For more information about the features, Semrush CRM can offer, visit the main page.

How to Start Using Semrush CRM

Beginning with Semrush CRM could be as easy as joining and adding your customers to your database of contacts.

Once you’ve signed up for your account after which, you’ll have the ability to oversee and manage your entire customer’s workflow from onboarding to execution; for each customer, you connect to your CRM, you’ll have the ability to connect information that comes from different Semrush software for marketing to the profile of your client.

For more information about how you can make the most out of Semrush CRM for your company, look up this post.

Conclusion

As technology-driven digital transformation becomes more integral to customer journeys, companies, regardless of size, must make use of CRMs and other sales-related platforms to stay ahead of the demands of customers, especially small companies.

Not just do CRM systems permit small companies to keep all of their customer information all in one location, however, but many CRM platforms offer additional functions, like collaborative project management as well as advanced marketing automation.

Although there are a variety of famous and well-known CRMs in the marketplace, there are some CRMs are more effective than others based on the type of business you’re operating. The main determining factors are based on your individual requirements and also the different types that you’re employing.

Agency and marketing teams particularly require a CRM that is able to connect to specific marketing tools and keep track of ongoing projects for clients.

For digital agencies trying to grow their client base, Semrush CRM is a robust solution that can be integrated with other Semrush tools and is free.

Contact us for your digital marketing services.

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