You cannot do business without Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software. Check out our top CRM systems of 2022.
Business management CRM systems that work best
Managing your growing business requires software that goes beyond Excel spreadsheets. Having a CRM system on hand becomes an essential tool as it allows you to manage everything from one place.
CRM software makes your day-to-day operations more efficient by managing how you interact with your customers’ tasks and ensuring that key data is readily available. Also, you can set up a business that is organized, efficient, and never misses a sale. From initial contact through to purchase, you can simply track customer interactions.
In 2022, here are the top five CRMs
- Pipedrive
- Insightly
- Really Simple Systems CRM
- Zoho
- Nutshell
- 24Stack
Software More Than Just Sales
Contact information isn’t the only thing CRM systems track and maintain. Some CRM systems now offer much more than just sales tools.
Even though CRM systems include the basics, you can take advantage of additional features by integrating them. With an integrated CRM, you can segment your customers, send email campaigns, and monitor their engagement. With an integrated customer service app, you can handle customer support directly from the CRM and record every interaction with the customer back to their record.
Choosing the right CRM software for your business can be difficult. Throughout this article is an outline of five of the best CRM systems you can choose from in 2022, including their key features, levels of support, and costs so you can get a start on the right CRM system for your business.
Among the 6 top CRM systems reviewed, all offer a variety of packages. Each review is based on a trial, a recommended, or a featured plan.
Pipedrive
Pipedrive is a dedicated sales management software. It does not include modules for marketing, project management, etc. As per Pipedrive’s website, its CRM system is designed for small sales teams with intricate or lengthy sales processes.
Pipedrive’s CRM features what?
As a CRM user, you begin with the ‘Gold’ plan. This plan allows you to track emails, create product catalogs, automate workflows, and give permissions to various members of your sales team. The cost per user per month starts at US$29/UK£24.20, and key features include:
- An easy-to-use and manage sales funnel
- a mobile app that can be used on a variety of devices
- Reporting on sales
Pipedrive’s most significant drawback is that it lacks many CRM capabilities outside of sales management. Their customer reviews reinforce this claim.
Pipedrive’s customer service
Pipedrive offers a few support options:
You can search their resources page for blogs, tips, and case studies. As well as a support center with videos, webinars, and tutorials, there is a live chat feature.
Insightly
Although Insightly has been around for close to a decade, its market presence has only been felt since 2016 thanks to $50 million in venture capital funding. Despite Insightly’s recent addition of a project management module into its standard product, many customers feel it is poor and lacks many basic features.
What features does Insightly CRM offer?
It provides customization options, MailChimp integration, and dynamic layout rules, and is priced at US$49/UK£37.50 per user per month. Key features include:
- A ‘command center’ for project management. CRM section displaying a project’s status along the pipeline
- Grouping and segmentation of Contacts, Organisations, Leads, and Opportunities
- Dedicated Android and iOS apps
A significant drawback of Insightly is its expensive pricing plans.
Insightly’s CRM Support
Within a few days of signing up, you will receive an email inviting you to a 15-minute meeting to determine how Insightly can help you. Although there aren’t a lot of in-built features to help you learn the system during the onboarding process, you can sign up for the company’s webinars and watch numerous learning videos.
During the trial, you can contact telephone support if you need further information. After the trial, you will have to pay if you need more than email support.
Really Simple Systems CRM
With Really Simple Systems CRM, you can manage your sales and marketing in one place. Small and medium-sized businesses operating in B2B use CRM. You can set it up in a few minutes and learn to use it without sacrificing quality.
What features do Really Simple Systems CRM offer?
A 14-day trial of the Professional plan using the marketing tool is available. With this software version, users can manage and track leads and customer contacts more efficiently. Your CRM system offers a marketing tool to collect leads from your website, build campaigns, and send newsletters directly.
With the Professional plan, pricing starts at US$30/UK£20 per user per month. It includes two-way email integration, custom settings, user permissions levels, and quotations. If GDPR compliance is important to your organization, Really Simple Systems is fully compliant. Zapier can now be integrated with the CRM system which means thousands of business applications can be integrated.
Really Simple Systems CRM Support
Really Simple Systems, as the name suggests, is easy to use. Several resources are available to help you get started, such as step-by-step guides, webinars, and tutorial videos. Each page of the CRM system has a pull-out help drawer that provides quick tips and advice. Additionally, Real Simple Systems offers free phone support, live online chat, and a dedicated support hub. Critics praise the CRM’s support as being superior to its peers.
After you sign up for the CRM system, you will be contacted by an account manager and can arrange a call to discuss your business requirements and see how the system works.
Zoho
In the CRM market, Zoho CRM is one of the larger players and is part of the Zoho suite of business management tools. Designed to be easy to use, it targets businesses of all sizes. Zoho CRM integrates with many third-party applications, in addition to the other Zoho products.
What are the features of Zoho’s CRM?
You’re automatically enrolled in Zoho’s ‘Enterprise’ plan. The features include multi-user portals, territory management features, as well as custom modules and buttons. Pricing starts at $35/UK£30 per month per user, and key features include:
- Business card scanning and import from social media with this app
- The CRM offers numerous integrations
- with the AI assistant system Zia
As a downside, Zoho Premium only includes 1 GB of storage. For each extra 5GB of document storage you require, there is a charge per month.
There isn’t a lot of free support offered by Zoho to help your business set up the CRM system. There are, however, webinars, training videos, and documentation available for self-learning. Direct contact with Zoho support is only possible via email. Advanced training starts at US$699/UK£549 per user.
Nutshell
This top CRM system was introduced in 2010 and is the newest on my list. While Nutshell may seem eccentric, it’s an excellent sales management tool for small businesses.
Nutshell’s CRM contains what features?
Upon joining Nutshell, you are placed on the ‘Pro’ plan at US$39/UK£30.50 per user per month and gain access to sales automation, CRM, and opportunity management. This plan includes:
- Recording of phone conversations and telephony
- Multiple ways to manage your sales pipeline
- Personalized reports
However, there is one disadvantage: it does not offer any marketing functionality, although it is compatible with third-party apps. Its limitations on features have affected users’ reviews.
Customer Support at Nutshell
The Nutshell CRM customer support team offers guides and pre-recorded videos to help customers and users learn how to use the system. Nutshell’s live chat service and webinars are available for additional support. You can also reach them by phone during office hours.
24Stack
The 24Stack platform is helpful to decrease the workflow by saving time. It provides functional and user-friendly solutions for businesses. It is typically used to:
- generate more leads,
- boost sales,
- and streamline internal processes
ThisCRM app is entirely free for one user with the edge of a secured workspace. If you require a business plan, it is just $99.00 per month. This includes an unlimited number of users and an unlimited number of the company’s other apps.
The top five CRMs for 2022 – the conclusion
In the 2022 list, all of the best CRM systems have something unique to offer that will solve different management issues and help you drive your company forward. To find what works best for you, you’ll need to try a few. Make sure you know what success looks like in your organization when you are addressing certain pain points with your CRM, so you can measure its value.
