Top 20 Best CRM Software in 2019 for Small Business And Startups

Competition is getting fiercer in the global market. Companies are trying to put their best foot forward for surpassing their competitors. In this highly competitive environment attracting and retaining customers has become a challenging task. Which is why most of the companies are taking the help of a CRM tool to serve the customers in the best possible way.

The CRM industry has seen exponential growth in the last few years. New players are constantly entering this market and trying to establish a strong foothold in the industry. Therefore, you’ll see a long list of CRM vendors while searching online. You’ll find everything from expensive tools with dozens of plans to customizable solutions with excellent features. From these ample options available, you need to filter and find the best for your organization.

Tough job- isn’t it?

Fright not, to help you I have listed the best CRM software for 2019. Businesses of all sizes have used these tools.

We will go through the pros, cons and prices of each CRM tool to make the right decision. See which tools are tailored for the enterprises and which you should be using for your small business or startup.

Let’s ponder over the fundamentals first before getting to the CRM software list of 2019.

The Basics

CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management. Yes, it is a certain term and means software that helps you in managing and optimizing relationships with your valuable customers. It helps in managing your contacts data up-to-date, tracking interactions with prospects and streamlining the entire sales process.

“Corporations invest in sophisticated CRM, or Customer relationship management, programs to effectively oversee their relationship with their customers at every point during the buying process”- Marc Ostrofsky

Why Small Businesses  Invest In A CRM

The more knowledge you have about your customers, the better you can serve them. With a specific CRM for small business, you can analyze the customer requirements and understand what they exactly need. CRM solution supports you in the journey of converting leads into sales. It is the best way to gain greater insights into customer behaviour, buying trends, customer interaction and potential future requirements of the customers.

With a CRM tool, you can:

• Track deals and identify risk in real-time
• Find out prospect’s needs and expectations
• Store all customer data and notes in one place
• Access vital details of the customer from anywhere
• Create custom fields to gather specific details about your customers
• Prioritize high-value opportunities
• Identify satisfied customers and convert them into brand promoters
• Automate most of the reductant tasks
• Spot hot deals and convert them quickly

To explore more benefits of this excellent technology, refer the blog” How businesses benefit from CRM system?”

Statistics About CRM

Here are a few crm statistics that you should know:

• 91% of companies with 10 or more employees have a CRM system.
• 64.2% of companies, rate CRM tool as impactful or very impactful.
• 75% of sales honchos said that a CRM could be a beneficial tool in boosting sales figures.
• CRM offers an average ROI of $8.71 for every dollar spent.
• A study by Nucleus Research states that CRM increases sales by 29% and sales forecast accuracy by 42%.

Top CRM tools For 2019

Based on the reviews written on various reviewing sites I have compiled these top 20 CRM software for 2019.

1) Salesforce

Pros:

Starting with a price of $25/user, Salesforce is easy to set up and can be placed in the cloud so easy to access. It has a broad spectrum of features and can be integrated with thousands of third-party applications. Salesforce is customizable to fit almost every use case and is secured, having granular security options. This CRM tool also caters multiple industries.

Cons:

One of its biggest downfalls is that it requires you to spend extra for advanced features. The tool is also slightly sophisticated and requires specialized resources. The new update changes the tab orders and complicates the dashboard escalating the difficulty level. Finally, the customization toolkits can be challenging to use, especially if you’re new to the concept.

Bottom line:

Salesforce is a power-packed solution that shows the quickest way to solve a business problem. However, this high-end CRM can be a little expensive for small businesses; it is an ideal solution for large-scale enterprises.

2. Insightly

Pros

Insightly’s price starts from $29/user. It is easy to use and invite new users. Along with this, its neat dashboard can be used for quick lookups, and it also offers training videos to familiarize new users with various functionalities. It has excellent lead and pipeline management. Finally, the tool has a strong support team for instant help and provides comprehensive options to import data making migration hassle-free

Cons:

On the downside, Insightly has limited reporting capabilities, and you must pay more to get highly useful features. Moreover, the visual impact is also missing, which can affect the effectiveness of the software.

Bottom line:

Insightly is an intuitive tool tailored for multi-level organizations. It has a broad range of features that helps in managing both marketing and sales. Insightly offers a free version, but that doesn’t consist the vital functionalities needed to ease sales and marketing process.

3. Salesmate

Price:

Pros

Salesmate is one of the software with the lowest prices with $12/user. It is easy to use and affordable and can be customized sales pipeline fitting unique sales process. Salesmate also eliminates manual work by providing seamless automation. It also has a built-in virtual phone system. It can also be synced with Google Apps(G-Suite) and allows user to create unlimited customer reports.

Salesmate has a great mobile app that is quick and responsive. The app is also well-designed and customizable dashboard. It provides a daily reminder for completing tasks on time and is easy for lead nurturing and management. The app also has excellent tracking and analytics capabilities. The app also provides great visibility into each stage of the sales pipeline and integrates with a full spectrum of third-party apps.

Cons:

There aren’t a lot of cons to the salesmate software. The only two are that the outgoing emails sent through the system do not create contacts directly, and it lacks marketing automation features.

Bottom line:

Salesmate is an intelligent CRM software for small business and startups with a wide spectrum of vital features to improve your sales process. It amalgamates ease of use with excellent customer relationship management functions. It is affordable and perfectly suits the on-the-go working environment.

4. PipelineDeals

Pros

PipelineDeals software starts from $25/user and the software has a simple interface and powerful sales engagement features. Users can also access and add contracts from anywhere. Another feature that sets it apart is that it offers real-time deal status update and allows users to set workflows and automate tasks.

Cons:

The software has limited integrations with third-party applications and lacks click to dial options.

Bottom line-

PipelineDeals is a well-designed tool that helps companies in streamlining operation and standardizing processes. It easy to set up and use. PipelineDeals helps businesses of all types in effectively managing and maintaining strong customer relationships.

5. Hubspot

Price:

Hubspot starts from $50/user (for marketing hub & sales hub – $400 for service hub). It eliminates manual work by providing seamless automation and automatically logs every interaction. The software also offers educational support and allows users to schedule communication with contacts. It integrates with various applications and platforms and has excellent tracking and analytics capabilities.

Cons:

Hubspot needs a 12-month contract to work. It doesn’t have A/B testing is the primary or pro package. While HubSpot does offer a wide range of tools, most of them are free on other platforms.

Bottom line-

Hubspot is renowned for its marketing automation tools. The user can easily generate campaigns and instantly get relevant information about any specific company by just adding the company’s name. It is convenient to use; businesses can find everything they need in one place.

6. Pipedrive

Price:
Pipedrive’s price starts from $12.50/user, and it provides a clear overview of sales. It can be easily integrated with third-party business systems and aids in picking and focusing on the right deal with an organized timeline. The software also offers customization for unique business needs.

Furthermore, all conversations and related information about contact are stored in centralized repository. The software also allows users to import data and sync emails and provides timely notification about each event. Finally, it is recommended because it enables the projection of sales revenue

Cons:

Pipedrive doesn’t have the necessary features for sales other than pipeline in the basic plan and filtering data becomes cumbersome at times.

Bottom line:

Companies of any size can use Pipedrive. It supports over 100+ apps and integrations. Pipedrive makes work easier and faster. Businesses can easily set up customizable pipelines and manage their leads efficiently.

7. Zoho CRM

Price:

Zoho CRM starts from $12/user. It has a broad spectrum of customization options and offers compelling reports and visualizations. It allows users to customize the look and feel of the page. The CRM tracks customer interactions and enable mass updates. It is also easy to create quotes with this software and integrates well with G-Suite apps.

Cons:

It becomes complicated to integrate the CRM with Zoho’s other suite of software products, and additional purchases are essential to make the solution robust.

Bottom line:

Connecting with customers across multiple channels gets easier with Zoho CRM. It is simple yet highly effective CRM. Zoho is fast to deploy. It aids businesses in streaming their marketing, sales and inventory management functions with a bunch of software products.

8. Vtiger

Pros

Vtiger’s price starts from $10/user, and it loads faster due to less complicated functionalities. Users can create new workflows by setting up conditions, alerts, and actions and can effortlessly create or edit modules with drag-and-drop tools. The software offers open source add-ons for Microsoft Outlook, and the vital data is stored in a secured data warehouse. Finally, it provides uninterrupted access to data.

Cons:

Vtiger’s installation is a bit tricky, and the notifications on the mobile app are sometimes delayed.

Bottom line:

Vtiger is an open source CRM that aids companies in getting organized and managing sales as well as support for rendering excellent buying experience to their customers. It helps the companies in getting better by providing in-depth analytics.

9. Capsule

Pros

Capsule’s price starts from $18/user/month. The software is flexible and easy to get started. It allows users to categorize data using tags and contact lists can be created and used to send group email. Capsule supports integration with leading small business solutions and enables users to track the progress of their tasks and projects.

Cons

There’s a huge gap between free and professional account, and the storage limit needs to be increased. Only limited tools can be integrated, and customization can be challenging.

Bottom line:

Capsule CRM gives businesses complete control over their contacts and sales. They can easily keep a tab on their customers and related information using this high-end tool. Capsule is a well built and easy to navigate. There is no long-term lock, users can upgrade and cancel as per their requirement.

10. OnePageCRM

Pros

OnepPage CRM’s price starts at $11/user. It captures leads from across the web using web forms and lead clippers and tracks deals in progress. The dashboard provides a neat list of to-do task and is easy to navigate. It also has an excellent interface and extensive learning resources.

Cons

The CRM doesn’t have an inbuilt calendar though you can sync it with your own. It’s reporting functions are limited and customization options for large-scale organizations. Moreover, there’s no built-in calling.

Bottom line:

OnePage CRM is a cloud-based CRM that allows the business to focus on the next step of action with a clean and systematically organized dashboard. All the important information is available in place, making it easier for users to keep a tab on things that matter for their business.

11) Nimble

Pros
Nimble’s price starts from $9/user, and it easily filters and segments contacts. The software also aids in enhancing communication and automatically adds business and contact information to the leads based on their email signature. It also allows users to track communication history and progress of various tasks and provides timely reminders. Finally, it also has great workflow automation.

Cons:

No sales are reporting under the basic plan and no pipeline management under a basic plan. It lacks email tracking functionality and doesn’t offer built-in calling or third-party integration.

Bottom line:

Nimble is a social CRM that automatically creates and updates relevant information about the prospect or customer. It seamlessly syncs with all the social media channel and gives the users the details they need for converting their leads.

12. Nutshell

Pros:

Nutshell starts from $19/user/month. It offers extensive integration with advanced third-party apps and allows users to keep track of daily follow-ups. Nutshell provides a tutorial to acquaint the users with the platform and will enable users to create, search and edit contact data easily.

It also offers unlimited online storage and provides multichannel customer supports and integrates with Microsoft Office, G suite and office 365.

Cons:

The software has limited integrations and multi-language options, and there’s no email automation under the basic plan. Furthermore, there’s no product training under the basic program and no sales activity report.

Bottom line:

Nutshell is a simple yet impactful CRM that helps businesses in staying organized and keeps them well-informed about sales opportunities in their database. It is a fully customizable solution that has an attractive interface and is quick to set up.

13. Close.io

Pros

Close.io’s price starts from $59/user and one of its most significant benefits is that it automates follow-up process. It also allows users to create custom fields and reduces data-entry. The software automatically logs calls and emails, captures contact data of customers and is built-in VOIP.

Cons:

Close.io’s price is high as compared to various other competitive CRM for similar features.

Bottom line:

Close.io is a CRM designed for an inside sales rep. It improves productivity and helps sales reps in making more calls as well as emails instantly. Close.io is very flexible and can be easily tweaked. This cloud-based solution is a perfect fit for small and mid-sized organizations.

14. Copper

Pros

Copper’s price starts from $19/user/month (up to 3 users only). It provides an all-round view of the business and allows users to create customized reports. The software offers flexible pipeline management tool, and the API is extendable via Zapier integration. Copper also works best with G-suite.

Cons:

There’s lack of customization, and it doesn’t offer enough training videos. It also lacks call integrations.

Bottom line:

Copper is a comprehensive tool that eliminates manual entries and increases efficiency. mainly focused on providing G-suite integration, It is an actionable system that allows its users to set multiple targets and gives them complete control over their progress.

15. Zendesk Sell

Pros

Zendesk Sell starts from $19/user/month. It allows users to manage and track tasks as well as activities and users can view progress against contacts. It helps the sales team in assigning and managing sales quotes and allows users to analyze and measure sales metrics. It also supports a mobile application.

Cons:

It offers limited functionalities and no bulk email functionality. Zendesk Sell Mailchimp integration and Zapier integration. It has no sales forecasting.

Bottom line:

Zendesk Sell is an all-in-one sales solution that aids in generating, nurturing, tracking and converting leads. It provides businesses with full visibility into their sales cycle. Sales teams can customize the deals pipeline and use it the way they want.

16. Sugar CRM

Pros

Sugar CRM’s price starts from $40/user. The software has an innovative UI and offers comprehensive deployment options. It allows users to instantly create and manage quotes and supports 30+ languages. The software also enables users to analyze and predict sales growth.

Cons:

Learning Sugarcrm framework is slightly challenging, and the structure is vast and time-consuming. There is a lack of native chat functionality, and advanced workflows are not covered under the basic plan.

Bottom line:

Sugar CRM is an open-source platform that is used by several large-scale enterprises. It is a best-in-class solution that offers sales, marketing and supporting capabilities. Sugar CRM helps businesses in driving leads, managing vital data and streamlining the sales process.

17. Freshsales

Freshsales price starts from $15 user/month, and it enables the projection of sales revenue. It allows users to capture leads and group them based on their engagement with the website. It also allows users to track emails for understanding who clicked and opened the email and allows users to sync email, calendar, and contact tools.

Users can store and retrieve data associated with customer contacts and accounts and view scheduled meetings and appointments in one single view.

Cons:

It lacks robust reporting and has limited integration. It’s advanced customization not available under the basic plan and the calling feature provided through Fresh Caller app.

Bottom line:

Freshsales is a powerful system that fits right into the daily workflow of various sales teams. It offers built-in phone as well as email integration and allows companies to score and rank leads. Freshsales provides a 360-degree view into customer’s behavior and notifies sales teams for taking timely actions.

18. Act CRM

Pros

Act CRMs, price starts from $35/user/month. It is highly customizable and offers software-based communication tools. It can be integrated with Excel, Outlook, MS word as well as has an added web page integration module and enables users to monitor and manage their deals. The software displays the probability to close a deal and gives users the flexibility to automate marketing-related tasks,

Cons:

Its Initial set up is complicated, and the interface is difficult to navigate. Most of the functionalities are not intuitive and provides marketing automation feature as an add-o, and the support is paid.

Bottomline

Act is a high-end CRM that offers an ultimate toolset for boosting the growth of a business. It provides impeccable sales and marketing features that connects businesses with lucrative opportunities. Act is a solution that can be used by companies in any market.

19. Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Sales

Pros

Microsoft Dynamic’s price is $65/user/month and is very user-friendly. It has a broad spectrum of applications that supports iOS, Android and Window phone devices. Users can keep contacts updates in an organized system, and it enables customization of programs as per unique sales workflow. It also allows users to automate market-related activities.

Cons:

Learning the system’s functionalities can be challenging, and customization needs expert resources. Finally, goal management and territory management not covered under the basic plan.

Bottom line:

Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Sales is an all-in-one solution that provides integrated solutions for tracking leads, automating processes, generating sales and improving operations. It minimizes duplications and enhances efficiency by integrating with popular applications like Outlook, Lync, Word and other Microsoft applications.

20. Apptivo

Apptivo’s price starts from $8/user/month and covers major areas of business-like sales, project and invoicing. The email integration makes it easy for users to connect their email boxes, renders more transparency into client engagement and enables customizations.

Cons:

The mobile app has limited functionalities and doesn’t have built-in calling functionality.

Bottom line:

Apptivo is a cloud-based suite that offers modules to businesses for managing contacts, leads, customer service tickets, and overall sales. It is a conglomeration of CRM features, project management tools, and invoicing features for small and medium-sized businesses.

Wrapping Up

Choosing a CRM is a critical decision for your small business. So, take it wisely. There are many things you need to consider while making this decision. Like the price, features, and requirements. So, I researched and covered the main points in this best CRM software list for 2019.

Discuss with your team and find out their requirement to understand what features your company requires. Based on the need analyzation of your company, explore these CRM tools and select the best fit for your organization.

Thanks, blogger, Michelle Joe, for your contribution. You can find her on twitter: @michellejoe524