Best CRM Software Companies in 2021

In today’s business world, the word CRM is thrown around to describe a strategy and also to refer to popular business software. Currently, CRM has become a staple tool used by businesses of all sizes to strengthen their ties with customers. 

When we talk about a CRM strategy, we are referring to the methodology used to engage with the customer base. But when we talk about the software, it means a lot more. 

CRM software has gradually become the gold standard for managing contact information. Right from new leads, clients, prospects, and deals, a CRM software stores and helps you manage important information. A CRM solution provides a much-needed glue that binds sales, marketing, customer service activities into a single system. 

The CRM market continues to grow at an incredible rate, driven by high demand from small and medium businesses (SMBs) and dwindling software development costs. 

Most businesses make use of CRM software to streamline their customer relationship management. While deciding whether your company should invest in CRM software or not is the first step, choosing the right CRM company or vendor can become a tricky affair. 

Choosing the right CRM company can go a long way in creating indispensable bonds with your customers. To simplify your quest to find the best CRM company, Tools Metric has compiled a list of some of the best CRM platforms we feel offer the best value and features. 

SEE ALSO: 7 Exciting CRM Industry Trends to Watch Out in 2021

CRM Tools Must-Haves 

But before we look at them, let’s try to understand what sets an average CRM tool apart from a great CRM tool. 

• Contact management

It is important to always keep in mind that ultimately your customers are the crux of your CRM strategy. This is why contact management is so crucial. Ask yourself How you can improve engagement with your customers? Where should you ramp up your sales efforts? What is the best way to connect with customers?

The bottom line is that the best CRM solutions come with powerful features that provide answers to all the questions mentioned above. 

• Ease of use

The ease of use of any business tool is arguably the most important parameter. After all, users should be able to get a good sense of how the software works without investing a lot of time in training. 

Today, the top CRM vendors offer in-app directions, definitions, and blogs that better understand the different features of a tool. High-quality onboarding programs and responsive support are also two key areas top-tier CRM vendors have continually tried to improve. 

• Customization

Remember, the CRM should work on your company’s tunes and not the other way around. The CRM software should be able to effortlessly sync with your business operations. 

Data requirements, niche processes, company-specific terminology, and applications in use can vary across different organizations. A CRM software should be able to cater to all these requirements by providing flexibility and customization options. The best CRM software companies understand this and provide great customization options. 

• Reporting

If you are not able to quantify the data you have collected, you will not be able to manage it. Typically, a CRM platform should be able to provide visually appealing reports on different data points such as average value, sales cycle, loss reasons, etc. 

• Degree of automation and integrations

With advances in machine learning and AI, automation has taken the business world by storm. As the market continues to become more and more competitive, companies are increasingly focusing on boosting productivity. 

That is exactly where automation comes in and the top CRM solutions automate mundane tasks and boost employee efficiency. We understand that a single CRM tool may not be able to provide everything you are looking for. Hence, it should be able to integrate with other third-party applications your organization uses.  

Best CRM Tools in 2021

Now let’s take a look at the best CRM tools and why they make it to our list. 

Zoho CRM (available on iOS, Android, and Web)

Best known for: Scaling up a business

Regardless of your company’s strength, Zoho CRM offers affordable pricing plans that will scale with your company’s growth. Zoho offers a Free plan that is available for up to three users. 

Bigin CRM is the perfect plan for your business with pricing starting from as low as $7 per month/user if you are a small business. If you are a large enterprise, CRM Plus should be your natural choice. CRM Plus consolidates marketing, sales, help desk, and various other channels into a single platform. 

Zoho CRM has garnered immense popularity around the world due to its ease of use. Furthermore, Zoho is extremely accommodating to the evolving requirements of a company. It also offers one of the best and comprehensive reporting features. 

Salesforce Sales Cloud (available on iOS, Android, and Web)

Best known for: Customization

Salesforce Sales Cloud ranks high when it comes to customization. If a company requires a lot of flexibility and a high degree of customization, Salesforce Sales Cloud is the best choice.

With Salesforce Sales Cloud, the options to build a personalized platform based on a user’s preferences are unlimited. The Tool Builder allows users to create tailored custom process management automation. 

The software also grants you the ability to control access to edit and view fields. Besides, what makes Salesforce Sales Cloud one of the best business tools is its AppExchange which provides endless third-party integrations for paid and free applications. 

Pipedrive (available on iOS, Android, and Web)

Best known for: Ease-of-use

If you are looking for a CRM platform that is incredibly easy to use, Pipedrive is a smart choice. The primary objective of the platform is to empower sales teams and increase their sales. With the singular objective of increasing sales, Pipeline does not offer tons of service features and applications that could distract users. 

The platform’s user interface is as straightforward as it can get. With all the menu items placed on the left and the search bar at the top, users do not have to invest time figuring out the layout of each page. 

Pipedrive’s reports offer detailed information on key sales metrics such as conversion rate, deal duration, average value, forecasting, etc. It also tracks revenue generated and ensures users are on top of their weekly or monthly goals. 

Ontraport (available on iOS, Android, and Web)

Best known for: Automating online transactions

If your company is involved in selling memberships, services, and products online, you should consider Ontraport. The platform comes with a wide range of robust features that can create spotless customer experiences. 

Getting used to Ontraport’s features and layout could take some time. However, once users are acquainted with the same, automating online transactions feels like a walk in the park. The marketing suite provides pre-built and personalized automated campaigns to attract customers. 

Nutshell (available on iOS, Android, and Web)

Best known for: Sales management and reporting

Just like Pipedrive, Nutshell is a sales-centric CRM with tons of features to simplify the lives of sales representatives and managers. The features that make a lasting impression on users are the customization and reporting options. 

Right from the notifications to sales pipelines, managers can personalize pretty much everything. Nutshell offers a range of built-in reports for average value, sales value, new leads, and other sales metrics. Apart from these, users can also create custom reports to measure data. 

How can CRM Systems add value?

A CRM software solution is a central hub for a company’s business data. Although on-premise CRM solutions were widely adopted until a decade ago, at present, cloud CRM systems are gradually replacing them. 

Why are cloud CRMs gaining popularity? The answer lies in the accessibility it provides. Users have access to vital company information in real-time even when they are on the field. 

 Besides that, customers do not have to worry about the maintenance and software installations as these tasks are handled by the vendor. A CRM software not only stores data but also equips users to leverage data to formulate effective and engaging marketing and sales strategies. 

In recent years, these platforms also enable companies to add workflows and automate routine and repetitive tasks. This not only allows users to focus on other important tasks but also facilitates the growth of the company.

SEE ALSO: 4 Highly-effective Ways to Use CRM and Market Segmentation to Boost Brand Value

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