Best CRM Software with Pricing

HubSpot includes most standard CRM features, plus an extensive array of less common ones. Noteworthy mentions include the company insights tool, which competitors lack, plus advertisement management, website traffic analysis, and email scheduling functions.

Accessibility is another major factor. Hubspot offers a generously featured free plan that can be used by all businesses, regardless of their team size. Though lacking some of the high-end functions offered by their paid plans, smaller businesses may find that the free package provides ample resources to manage their customer relations.

Freshsales is next on our list as it is a comprehensive CRM platform with a host of useful features. Some of its key features include AI-driven lead scoring, activity capturing tools, and integrations with software like Google Calendar, MailChimp, and Office 365. Freshsales has an extensive pricing range that starts at $180.00 per year, with the most costly starting at $828.00 per year.

Salesforce is third on our list as it is an excellent CRM platform that offers the most customization options. Salesforce can be used for marketing, e-commerce, and sales, offering a powerful range of features with a gentle learning curve. Salesforce offers plenty of price points, making it accessible to a number of different business sizes. The cheapest plan is €25.00 per month (up to 10 users) while the most expensive is €300.00 per user per month.

Be sure to view our list of free CRM solutions for details about software that won't break the bank. For more information about maximizing the efficiency of your business's processes, consult our list of the best ERP software.

1. CRM software is best utilized when integrated with emailing, HR, accounting, and similar platforms. Inquire about third-party integrations before settling on a CRM solution.
2. Your chosen software should be able to accommodate business-related developments. Avoid non-scalable solutions, as well as contracts that make it difficult to upgrade your CRM package within a reasonable timeframe.
3. CRM software houses sensitive information, so data breaches can tarnish both the reputation and financial standing of your business. Be sure that your preferred CRM is a secure one.

The main benefit of CRMs - having all your customer info stored in one searchable place - is unfortunately what makes them a valuable target to hackers.

Information about your customers stored in a CRM is also the most potentially damaging to a business in the hands of hackers. This could expose your customers to things like identity theft, fraud, false billings, and third-party data sales, not to mention advanced threats to your own business, such as corporate espionage, lawsuits, and lasting damage to your business's reputation.

CRM Software companies Salesforce and Redtail are two high-profile cases of CRM data breaches that affected a number of important businesses. Some companies affected by CRM breaches Include:

• J.P. Morgan Chase.
• Yahoo!
• Marriott International.
• Adult Friend Finder.
• eBay.

Data breaches have been on the rise. In 2014, 12.7 million Americans fell victim to identity theft, according to a report by Javelin Strategy & Research.

How to Protect Your CRM Data:

• Employ a strict needs-based access system for CRM authorization, ensuring that employees who no longer need access to the software are automatically ejected.
• Use the most advanced encryption software and ensure that your security is always updated and aware of new threats.
• Add additional user authentication layers.
• Use range restrictions on cloud-based CRM software with IP addresses.
• Train your employees in data security best practices, including limiting access and usage, using individual login accounts instead of sharing, and limiting the number of employees who can download data.
• Set up security alerts to notify you of unauthorized access to the CRM platform.
• Google the CRM software’s name plus “data breach” or “hack” and read through any news before purchasing it to ensure that it’s a reliable platform.
• Get cybersecurity insurance. You should always assume the worst and cover your bases.

Security features to look for in CRM Software:

• Device regulation in offline mode for protection with mobile CRM usage.
• Customized data access to control authorization, even across designations and platforms.
• Browser app based CRM for protection with external browsers.
• Controlled data sharing for protection with sharing and copying customization options.

1. Focus exclusively on improving sales.

CRM software is often conceived as a multi-purpose tool for achieving a host of business objectives, with everyone from Marketing, Sales, Finance, and company executives providing input on what they want from it. This detracts from the real purpose of using a CRM platform: improving sales.

A winning CRM strategy is one that focuses exclusively on maximizing sales, instead of having your CRM software do things like report on progress and improve forecast accuracy. If your sales team feels like they're not able to improve the sales process with their current CRM tool, it means that your CRM software is serving other departments, and offers no value to your sales team.

Choose a CRM software that gets the best out of your sales team. Factor only their needs when choosing a software, and grant them full autonomy over its function in the workplace. Help them sell better and watch your revenues grow.

2. Ensure that there is proper training.

Instruct your sales management to educate their teams on CRM usage, and to ensure that there is continuous improvement. See to it that sales management are teaching their teams to use customer data in their sales strategies in order to create more opportunities, and not to merely use it for reporting on activity, call volume, and other metrics. Give them a proper sales education.

3. Leverage the power of customer data.

CRM software has analytics tools that help you navigate an ocean of customer data. A good sales strategy involves analyzing customer data to establish customer purchasing histories and identify various trends and behaviors, so it might be useful to train your data scientists on how to use your CRM software to get the best out of it. Let customer data guide your sales and marketing strategies.

4. Integrate sales and marketing teams.

Your business makes more sales when your Marketing and Sales departments work together. Marketing identifies leads and sales hunt them down. Your CRM platform can take this alliance to the next level. When using the CRM platform collaboratively, your teams can identify more suitable business opportunities, develop a unique customer profile, and develop better marketing material, creating a more efficient sales strategy. Teach your Sales and Marketing departments how to use your CRM platform collaboratively.

5. Leverage the power of social media.

Combining customer data with their social data multiplies the value of your CRM software, allowing for a more effective sales strategy. Be sure to invest in a CRM platform that integrates social media data, and goes beyond responding to comments and monitoring mentions and interactions, to integrating social data into your sales strategy.

6. Ensure that customer data is regularly updated.

You cannot leverage customer data if the customer data is not accurate. See to it that customer data is updated regularly. A Sales and Marketing team that enjoys exclusive control over the CRM software will have the incentive to do so.

7. Integrate with other software like Accounting and VOIP.

Although integrating too many departments can be counter-productive, it is useful to combine certain kinds of data. Combining CRM software with accounting software merges customer data with financial data, creating a richer, more insightful customer report. Combining your CRM software with VOIP software (for making calls over the internet), means your sales team will have a comprehensive dashboard of relevant information to draw from while on the phone. Look for CRM software that offers these sorts of integrations.