Businesses come across plenty of tasks every day. They communicate with leads, receive a lot of information, follow up with customers, store customer details, and do many other things. Companies that are ready to adapt and leverage special tools survive in this highly competitive environment.
CRM is a platform that helps marketers keep everything in one place and prevent chaos or any kind of data loss. With such a system, business owners can be sure that all their interactions with customers are marked, the progress is tracked, and performance is easily accessible.
The only problem that arises with CRM integration is the difficulty in choosing one platform from the dozens of options marketers can find online. This task might be overwhelming, but it’s easier when you know what you’re looking for. Identifying your goals before picking up the platform is a must for the success of your business.
This is essential because all cloud CRMs vary in features, pricing, usability, etc. Some of them prioritize sales pipelines, others marketing automation, and a few offer both.
To make it easier for you to choose, we’ve listed five cloud CRM platforms that show their effectiveness for companies, either small or large: SendPulse, Mailchimp, Brevo, ActiveCampaign, and Constant Contact. But first, let’s explore a short guide on selecting the right platform.
How to choose the right CRM
When you are just starting a business, it might be a challenge to select the right platform that meets your expectations and encourages company growth. That’s why we’ll provide you with essential steps you should pay attention to.
1.Identify your business goals.
First of all, you should have a clear understanding of the things you want to achieve after implementing CRM properties. You might need it to structure all your customer data, improve relationships with customers, increase your team productivity, automate repetitive tasks, or personalize experiences for your audience.
It can be anything, but you need to have these goals at hand so that you can identify the right platform and evaluate the performance of your marketing efforts.
2. Outline your existing processes and information.
If you already have an established business, consider taking notes of how your company operates right now. You need to map processes related to leads entering the system, deals’ progress, the type of data you gather about each of your leads and customers.
You should also figure out which of these processes are manual and take a lot of time from your team, which data you need about your customers, what integrations you use, and want to incorporate in the future. After understanding this information, you’ll be able to choose a platform that combines it all.
It prevents you from going from one system to another because it doesn’t meet your primary requirements.
3. Make a list of must-have features.
Although all CRMs have some basic features in common, they still have a lot of differences that might be crucial for your business.
That’s why consider listing all features that are a must for your team. For instance, you might need pipeline views, contact history, basic automation, lead scoring, advanced forecasting, and many others.
This also prevents you from overpaying for features you don’t need at all.
4. Pay attention to usability.
One of the main points when choosing a CRM is its simplicity and ease of use without previous experience. Look for a system with an intuitive interface and a visual dashboard.
It will significantly simplify the learning process for your team and make the most of CRM. You should also ensure that the platform is mobile-friendly so that you can use it on the go, despite the device you use.
An intuitive service prevents you from having problems with adoption, data quality, and investment.
5. Ensure CRM has all the necessary integrations.
If you don’t want to overpay, it’s important to check the platform for all the tools you need for future operation. Go to integrations and check whether CRM offers all the tools you use. They can be related to email, chat, accounting, forms, or analytics.
You should also make sure that the platform lets your business scale in case you have more customers and team members in the future. Your next task is to check whether it supports custom fields, workflows, and automations when your company grows.
6. Take advantage of its free plan or trial.
Once you identify a couple of the best platforms for your team, consider testing them using a free plan or trial. It’s always a good idea because you don’t need to incur any additional costs while having a clear understanding of what this or that CRM integration really offers.
After that, choose the one that suits you in terms of usability, pricing, integrations, etc.
Now it’s time to proceed to the five platforms and all the most crucial points about each of them. Let’s explore.
5 Best CRM Platforms to Consider
There are lots of good services you can use to improve your communication with customers but there are five of them that stand out in terms of functionality, pricing, and ease of use. Let’s take a look at them one by one.
SendPulse
SendPulse CRM is a multichannel platform that combines the most essential tools for proper communication with customers. These include contact management, pipelines, communication tracking, and automation, which are easy enough for beginners to start using its CRM effortlessly. The system’s interface is user-friendly, enabling you to manage leads and customers efficiently.
Since SendPulse is not only a CRM but a multipurpose solution, it seamlessly integrates with other marketing channels so you can use them within one place without having to switch. It helps you start your communication with leads, successfully close deals, and follow up with them post-purchase.
The CRM lets you store all contact and company information in one place. It also allows you to add custom fields, attach documents, and even keep an eye on each interaction with contacts on your list.
With SendPulse, the process of managing deals no longer feels challenging because it’s intuitive, meaning that each pipeline clearly shows you progress when customers move from one stage to another. Besides, you can tailor each pipeline based on your business needs so that you can prioritize the main tasks at a specific moment. Your team will always know what to do next to become closer to reaching your business goals.
Built directly into the CRM, task management enables you to add reminders, assign responsibilities, and follow up on deals with no need to leave the platform.
Another valuable feature worth mentioning is communication tracking. With the platform, every interaction through different channels like email, chatbots, or forms is recorded.
There is even a recent WhatsApp CRM integration. SendPulse also provides you with real-time analytics, delivering all insights related to sales performance. Built-in forecasting allows you to predict future revenue potential.
SendPulse CRM offers quote and order management, allowing you to manage client offers without relying on separate tools. When it comes to security, there’s no need to worry about your contact data and information about your company because the service is secured with two-factor authentication and complies with GDPR standards.
If you are new to using CRM, the platform will provide you with guided onboarding and support available 24/7. All in all, SendPulse isn’t only a CRM but a platform designed to grow your business while supporting you from day one. No special skills or experience are required to use it because it’s intuitive and straightforward.
Pricing: SendPulse has a free plan, which allows 1 account owner and 4 invited users, 2 sales pipelines/boards, and 1 GB storage, 5 automation flows, 1 event, and 50 elements in Automation 360. The price for paid plans starts at $8/month (paid annually). For this price, you get 1 user, 2 sales pipelines, 8 flows, 5 events, 50 Automation 360 elements, 2 boards, 3 GB storage, 1 email inbox, and 8 saved segments.
vcita
vcita is a client management and CRM, specifically designed for smaller services-based business. All your contacts, scheduling, payments, and messages are right there in one place. The concept, here, is really quite straightforward: you can see what’s going on with each client without having to log into five separate systems.
Because vcita is more than a traditional CRM, it connects all daily tasks with actual, live clients. From your client’s entry page, you can view your client’s information, previous visits, upcoming bookings, invoices, and messages all at one time. You can take your client all the way from lead to actual appointment booking and payment all in one straight path.
The CRM allows you to store contact and business information, notes, documents, and an entire history. You can also add tags and basic custom fields so that organizing customers by type, status, or priority is not at all difficult. Everything that has recently happened, and what has to happen next, shows up when you open a client.
The daily management of your business is all part of your system. The online scheduler and shared calendar at vcita enable you to schedule client meetings, and you can manage all your commitments with one glance. This means that fewer people will be late or forget their appointments, thanks to reminders and follow-ups.
All communications relate to your CRM, and all communications with your clients involve a self-service area that lets them make bookings, make payments, send messages, and upload documents. And all you need to do is send emails or text messages, answer questions, and manage conversations from your client card, not your inbox.
You can also send personal messages by means of simple campaigns. For instance, you can send reminders to clients, and notifications to everyone else who availed of your services. This is one of those times when you need to remember that your emails are automatically connected with your CRM, and you can therefore identify each and every recipient you are emailing. Safety is part of its setup, as vcita is cloud-based and has up-to-date security measures and various plans designed to help teams handle confidential client information.
Pricing: There’s a free trial by vcita that you can test with your clients and business processes. The pricing plans begin at $29 and provide more functions and accounts depending on your business growth.
Mailchimp
Mailchimp, which was first known for its email marketing, now also offers a CRM. With its help, marketers can better understand the needs of their target audience and communicate with them properly. After discovering more about your customers, you can communicate a more relevant message and outline a clear strategy in your CRM.
As a result, your team will know what steps they need to take to move your leads down the sales funnel. Mailchimp is especially good for people who already use its marketing tools because they don’t need to search for a separate tool to store their customer data and other information related to deals, channels, and strategies.
The service is about simplicity. It’s a good fit for businesses focusing on audience engagement, campaign tracking, and simple contact organization rather than complex sales structures.
When you use Mailchimp, you can group your contacts into “Audiences” based on their similar characteristics. By segmenting your leads and customers into groups according to their needs, demographics, and preferences, you can later deliver more personalized experiences.
The platform also lets you categorize customers based on behavior, tags, or engagement levels. Mailchimp’s CRM provides you with a clear view of how clients engage with your campaigns so that you can take all the necessary actions for their improvement. Every contact’s profile gives you a clear picture of clicks, opens, and responses, and makes it easier for you to personalize their experiences.
Automation is another crucial asset of the service. It lets you set up sequences based on the actions customers perform. You can welcome new subscribers, follow up after purchases, or re-engage inactive customers. Its simple analytics provides you with data for more well-thought-out decisions regarding your future campaigns. Mailchimp also offers solid data protection through TLS encryption.
Although Mailchimp’s CRM has some limitations, it’s still a good platform for marketers prioritizing trusting relationships with customers and analyzing customer behavior to make their experiences with a business even better. Its interface is simple yet has everything small and medium-sized companies need. CRM, email marketing, and automation altogether make it a good starting point for an organized customer management.
Pricing: With the platform’s free plan, you can have 1 seat and 500 contacts. The cheapest paid plan will cost you $13/month for 3 seats, 500 contacts, and 2 roles.
Brevo
Brevo is an example of a versatile solution combining a CRM, email marketing, and automation. The platform is created with marketers striving for flexibility in mind. With its help, you no longer need to switch between multiple services because Brevo helps you to manage contacts, run campaigns, and track sales opportunities in a single place. The platform is user-friendly and accessible, meaning that you can seamlessly tailor pipelines and workflows to meet your primary requirements.
When using its CRM, you can be sure that all your customer data is centralized. It allows you to easily manage customer profiles and segment lists.
Brevo lets you tag contacts, record attributes, and filter based on customers’ actions or level of engagement.
Besides, all deals are organized through customizable pipelines. With the service visualizing all the deals and interactions with customers, your team can react fast and take the necessary action. They can instantly decide whether you need to call your lead or send this person a reminder. Everything is in the system, making it so much easier for your team members to figure out their next tasks.
Brevo, like other CRMs, also offers task management. It enables you to create and assign follow-ups or calls directly from the deal view. In case you need to ensure consistent communication with customers, you can take advantage of the platform’s automation. It allows you to deliver messages on autopilot based on customers’ activity.
Brevo’s security is also powerful, ensuring two-factor authentication and GDPR compliance. You can always use its 24/7 multichannel customer support in case you have some questions or problems with your onboarding.
In short, Brevo combines marketing with CRM simplicity, providing you with control over your communication with customers and all data you have..
Pricing: The service invites users to enjoy its free plan, covering 50 open deals and one pipeline. If you need a paid plan, you’ll need to pay a minimum of $9/month for sales automation, unlimited deals and pipelines, unlimited connected calendars, and mailboxes.
ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign is well known for its automation, yet it’s not the only marketing product the platform offers. It also has a CRM designed for companies striving to automate their business and simplify all the processes for team members. Its CRM not only stores all valuable customer data but also connects marketing, sales, and customer experience using a single automation tool.
The “Deals” feature is an important part of ActiveCampaign’s CRM. It enables you to set up pipelines crafted to your business goals. When a customer performs a specific action, either replies to an email or better engages with your content, the deal automatically moves to the next stage based on the pre-defined rules.
This brings your business to a new level, allowing your team members to prioritize more urgent tasks. It results in fewer repetitive tasks and ensures that interactions happen when they are supposed to.
It also offers a “Lead scoring” feature, which is simple yet powerful. ActiveCampaign lets you identify criteria based on which your prospects will be qualified. After that, CRM updates scores on autopilot once leads engage with your brand using various channels, including emails, site, or messages.
Lead scoring, along with task management, lets your team prioritize people who are more likely to perform a desired action and avoid spending time on leads that aren’t interested in your product.
The platform has everything needed for your data security. These include multi-factor authentication and GDPR compliance. If you are a beginner, you’ll also have access to all the necessary information, extensive training, and free one-on-one onboarding sessions. ActiveCampaign is a good choice for companies seeking growth and scalability.
Pricing: Instead of a free plan, ActiveCampaign has a 14-day free trial during which you have the chance to test its CRM and check its CRM’s features. Paid plans start from $15/month for 1,000 contacts, 10,000 emails, and 5 actions per automation.
Constant Contact
Constant Contact is a multipurpose solution that, besides all the other marketing tools, offers a CRM to small businesses that want to organize all customer data and make the most of it. It’s suitable for business owners who search for an email marketing service that combines a robust CRM. You can store and manage contact information while doing marketing.
The service provides an intuitive interface, making it so easy to start using CRM without any prior experience. You don’t need too much effort to consistently communicate with your audiences while taking advantage of the platform.
With the service, you can create signup forms to collect customer data and put it into your CRM or import the existing contacts seamlessly into it. After that, you’ll be able to segment your customers based on their behavior or engagement with your content.
Each contact profile provides you with a history of marketing interactions. This is crucial for your understanding of how these people interact with your brand. It also unveils what needs to be done next. With all its features, the platform is a great fit for nurturing long-term relationships based on consistent communication and follow-ups.
ConstantContact takes care of its customers and their security. That’s why it offers TLS and AES-256 encryption and full adherence to data protection regulations.
Customer support is also high-level so whenever you need some assistance or help, you can contact customer agents using chat, phone, and its learning resources. The platform is nice for small businesses and startups because it’s about a friendly interface and reliability.
Pricing: Constant Contact has a 14-day free trial. As for paid plans, you’ll need to pay $12/month for 500 contacts.
Finding the Right Fit
The choice of CRMs out there is huge, and all of them have some major advantages. But your main task here is to choose one that suits your purpose and helps you reach your goals. Some of the platforms prioritize marketing while others focus on nurturing leads and improving engagement. Some of them have powerful automation tools, while others have everything for your email marketing campaigns to succeed. The choice is yours. You just need to identify what you want to achieve with your CRM integration. It will serve you as a guide through dozens of solutions.
If you look for a single platform for managing contacts, sales, and communication, consider using SendPulse. Its CRM offers all the crucial tools like pipelines, tasks, analytics, quoting, and interaction tracking to manage your communication, and combines it with automation and marketing capabilities. Moreover, SendPulse provides you with a free forever plan so you can try all the tools without having to pay and figure out whether this platform is the right choice for your team and business in general.
