We’re big fans of Microsoft Dynamics, but it’s not for everyone. So here’s an honest breakdown of the best and worst parts of the most popular CRM systems to help you compare and choose what’s best for you.
We looked at Monday.com, Pipedrive, Freshsales, Zoho CRM, Microsoft Dynamics Sales, HubSpot and Salesforce.
Salesforce
Considered by many to be the leader in the CRM industry, Salesforce is a cloud-based solution suitable for businesses of all sizes. Its platform is robust, customisable, and feature-packed. For SMBs, Salesforce Essentials is the tailored version offering the core features at a lower price.
Strengths:
- Cloud First: Salesforce was born in the cloud, so you can access from anywhere, anytime. So, no complex installations
- Feature Rich: Lots of tools to power your business from AI-powered insights to great analytics
- Always Improving: Regular updates mean you’re always up to date with the industry
- Customisation potential: Lots of scope for tweaks and customisations to fit your business
- Well supported ecosystem: A comprehensive Appstore – AppExchange – it’ll have most things you’ll need
Weaknesses:
- Price: While powerful, Salesforce can be costly, especially as you add more features.
- Overwhelming at First: With its huge capabilities comes a bit of learning. First-time user will need lots of guidance
- Complex Customisation: Customising is rewarding, but it’s not always straightforward. You’ll need to find a Salesforce partner to work on complex customisations
- Integration Fees: Many third-party integrations come with an additional cost. It’s best to budget for more than just the base.
- Advanced Features Need Expertise: Some of Salesforce’s powerful tools require a trained hand to use effectively.
Best Suited For:
Businesses aiming to expand. If you’re looking to grow quickly and are keen on a platform that’ll scale with you, Salesforce is perfect. Ideal for medium to large businesses, but small enterprises with big visions might also find it a system for the future.
Summary:
Salesforce offers an expansive suite of features, ripe for customisation. It matches Dynamics for features and customisation potential. While it’s a dream for those who like power and adaptability, newcomers face a steep learning curve. Budget-conscious businesses might need to consider carefully, but for those ready to make the most of its vast ecosystem, Salesforce often proves to be a huge positive for a business.
HubSpot CRM
Popular among SMBs because of its freemium model. HubSpot has a user-friendly interface, and as well as CRM, it provides tools for inbound marketing, sales, and customer service. Integration between these features makes it a comprehensive solution for businesses. It’s especially strong for businesses with busy marketing departments, with great automation and tracking capabilities.
Strengths:
- User-Friendly: HubSpot’s interface is well designed and intuitive.
- Freemium model: Their freemium model lets you try before you buy
- All-In-One Platform: Marketing, sales, service. It’s a collection of tools wrapped in one package
- Integrations: HubSpot has many third-party integrations.
- Training: HubSpot’s Academy is great for learning, full of useful resources
Weaknesses:
- Price: There is a free plan, but the advanced features can have a premium price tag. It’s essential to know what you’re signing up for.
- Scalability: For larger businesses, HubSpot might feel limited in its high-end capacities.
- Customisation Curves: Unlike some CRMs, there’s a limit to how much you can tweak HubSpot.
- Data Depth: While the reporting is adequate for many, some analysts might find its analytics lacking.
- Contacts Cap: The pricing model is based on contacts. If your list grows, so will your costs.
Best Suited For: Growing startups and small to medium enterprises. If you’re on the lookout for a simple, but comprehensive toolkit without the hassle of a steep learning curve, HubSpot is worth trying.
Summary: HubSpot CRM serves as a straightforward entry into the CRMs, especially for those who’ve never used one before. With its freemium model and an all-in-one approach, it’s a great toolkit for many SMBs. It is rich in features and user-friendly, but businesses with huge customisation needs will be frustrated. For most, though, it’s a comprehensive tool with an emphasis on ease and education.
Microsoft Dynamics 365
A suite of business applications that covers CRM, ERP, and more. It’s known for its flexibility, scalability, and integration with other Microsoft products like Office 365. The CRM part of Dynamics 365 (Dynamics 365 Sales) includes sales, pipeline management and marketing applications.
Strengths:
- Integrated: Dynamics 365 pairs seamlessly with most other Microsoft products. If you want to integrate with Office 365 or the Azure platform, it’ll be straigtforward.
- Scalable: As your business grows, so can Dynamics. It’s designed to be expandable.
- Intelligence: Microsoft’s huge investments in AI are paying off and you’ll find many repetitive tasks are now intelligently automated
- Customisable: Tailor Dynamics exactly to your business. You can make Dynamics work to follow your business workflow.
- Robust Security: Microsoft’s got a solid track record when it comes to security.
Weaknesses:
- Pricey: For some SMBs, Dynamics can feel costly
- Steep Learning Curve: It is powerful, but you’ll need to invest time in training. There are courses and your provider should help
- Integrations: While it pairs easily with Microsoft products, integrating third-party tools can sometimes be time consuming
- Frequent Updates: Staying up to date means regular updates. This is great for features, but sometimes annoying for users, particularly when features and layouts change
- Complex Setup: Getting Dynamics up and running can take a while, particularly if you have complex customisations
Best Suited For: Businesses that already love and use Microsoft’s products. If you’re keen on integration and plan to grow, Dynamics is a promising partner. It’s especially appealing to medium-sized businesses or those ready to scale up.
Summary: Microsoft Dynamics 365 offers a robust, customisable CRM experience deeply rooted in the Microsoft ecosystem. Its scalability and wide range of features make it a solid choice for growing businesses. But with this great power comes a learning curve.
For those ready to invest in mastering it, Dynamics 365 promises an integrated, comprehensive solution.
Zoho CRM
Known for its affordability and breadth of features, Zoho CRM is particularly suited to SMBs. It offers multichannel communication, AI-driven sales assistant, analytics, and more. Also, Zoho has an entire suite of products that can be integrated with its CRM.
Strengths:
- Price: Zoho offers an great price to performance ratio for SMBs.
- Comprehensive Suite: Beyond CRM, Zoho has an ecosystem of apps, from email to project management.
- AI Assistance: Zia is Zoho’s AI-driven sales assistant. She’s provides insights and streamline tasks.
- Multichannel: Connect with your audience wherever they are with Zoho’s multichannel support
- Automation: Zoho can automate many repetitive tasks
Weaknesses:
- Interface: While feature-rich, the UI feels a little dated and will need some getting used to
- Integrations: Zoho plays well within its ecosystem but, integrating with other systems is difficult
- Overwhelm: With a sea of features, newcomers might find themselves lost initially
- Support: Some users report that customer support, while helpful, can sometimes be slow.
- Training: To harness its full power, be prepared to invest time in understanding the platform’s nuances.
Best Suited For: Small to medium enterprises seeking an well-priced all-in-one solution. If you’re keen on integrating various business operations under one roof, Zoho is worth considering.
Summary: Zoho CRM is a fantastic suite for SMBs looking for comprehensive features at a good price. Its strength lies in its integrated ecosystem and a focus on automation and AI-driven insights. The platform might seem daunting at first, but if you’re prepared to persevere you’ll find a robust, budget-friendly system.
Freshsales
A product by Freshworks, Freshsales is a cloud-based CRM that is well-liked for its intuitive UI and a suite of features like email tracking, lead scoring, and built-in IP phone. It’s designed to streamline sales processes for businesses.
Strengths:
- Clutter-Free: Freshsales offers an elegant, intuitive interface. Users enjoy its focus and simplicity
- Built-In Phone & Email: No need for third-party integrations for basic communications.
- AI-Powered Insights: Freddy, their AI assistant, gives insights, helping you make data-driven decisions.
- Event Tracking: Know your customers better. Track their interactions with your product or website for a personalised approach.
- Affordability: Freshsales is sensibly priced, especially for SMBs.
Weaknesses:
- Features: While user-friendly, businesses with complex needs might find its features lacking
- Integration Limitations: It does integrate with other tools, but the list isn’t as extensive as some competitors
- Mobile: The mobile app, doesn’t always offer the full depth of its desktop counterpart
- Customisation Constraints: Tailoring Freshsales has its limits
- Transition: Migrating data from other CRMs can sometimes be difficult as works differently from many CRMs.
Best Suited For: Startups and small to medium businesses seeking a hassle-free, intuitive CRM solution. If streamlined operations and simplicity are important for you, Freshsales is worth considering.
Summary: Freshsales is a breath of fresh air for those tired of complex CRM platforms. It combines simplicity with power, making it a top pick for businesses seeking great customer management without the bells and whistles. With its built-in communication tools and an emphasis on ease of use, it’s great for SMBs, though businesses with more complex needs might find it lacking.
Pipedrive
In the fast moving world of sales, businesses need a CRM that is efficient and user-friendly. Pipedrive is a tool built by salespeople for salespeople, focusing on visual pipeline management and actionable insights.
Strengths:
- Look and feel: Pipedrive’s visual sales pipeline is its selling point. It allows teams to easily manage deals and monitor progress.
- Activity-Based Selling: With its focus on activities, you’re prompted to take action, helping to ensure leads and deals never go cold.
- Customisable: You can cater the platform to your needs. Whether you have one sales process or several, Pipedrive can accommodate the way you work.
- Integrations: With an expanding marketplace, Pipedrive integrates with lots of third-party apps.
- Automations: You can reduce manual work with Pipedrive’s automation features, freeing up more time for selling.
Weaknesses:
- Features: While rich in many tools, Pipedrive lacks some advanced features present in more comprehensive CRMs.
- Email editor: The built-in email client can be weak and it can be easier to use standalone email tools.
- Reporting: While its reporting is adequate for many, data gurus will need deeper insights.
- Scaling: As a business grows, they might feel the need to migrate to a more robust platform.
- Interface: Though generally user-friendly, occasional UI changes can throw off long-time users.
Best Suited For: Small to medium-sized enterprises, especially those focused on sales. If visual management and actionable insights are important to you, Pipedrive is an interesting option.
Summary: Pipedrive, with its visually appealing and activity-centric approach, is a force to be reckoned with in the CRM arena. Built with the salesperson in mind, it focuses on action and simplicity. While it may not be the most feature-packed option out there, its strengths lie in its user-friendliness, customisation, and integration capabilities. For sales department focussed SMBs, Pipedrive can be a great choice.
Monday CRM
In an era where communication is critical, Monday CRM steps up as a CRM that integrates seamlessly with Monday.com’s collaboration platform. With its strong emphasis on teamwork and transparency, this CRM leans into the modern need for interconnected teams.
Strengths:
- Collaboration: The CRM champions collaboration, ensuring everyone is kept up to date.
- Visual Workspaces: Track leads, manage customers, and monitor deals through colourful, customisable boards.
- Integration: With a huge array of integrations, the CRM connects easily with other tools.
- Automation: Spend less time on repetitive tasks and more on meaningful work, thanks to its robust automation features.
- Templates: There’s many ready-made templates designed for a variety of business needs.
Weaknesses:
- Learning: The shift from a traditional CRM to Monday CRM’s board-centric approach can be difficult for some
- Price: As you scale and require more advanced features, costs add up
- Reporting: While its reporting tools are adequate, they might not work for those who need in-depth analytics
- Notifications: The platform can sometimes be too chatty, leading to notification overload
- Adaptation: Those deeply rooted in other CRMs might find the migration and adaptation process tough.
Best Suited For: Businesses already using or considering Monday.com for project management. The CRM is a natural fit for those who prioritise collaboration, transparency, and visual task management. It’s especially appealing to startups and SMBs that would like a unified platform for multiple tasks.
Summary: Monday CRM merges the world of customer relations with the collaborative essence of Monday.com. With its strong focus on visual workspaces and team cohesion, it offers a refreshing approach to CRM. While it might require an adjustment period for traditionalists, its integration capabilities and emphasis on teamwork make it an appealing choice for many modern businesses.
