Customer relationship management (CRM) software comparison

Looking for a collaborative CRM that allows your sales and support teams to work seamlessly together? Or maybe your small business needs a full set of sales tools, complete with detailed reports? We’ve compared our picks for the top CRM software and highlighted some key features for each, so you can narrow down your choices.

Choosing software that focuses on a specific type of CRM—analytical, collaborative, or operational—doesn’t mean you lose out on the benefits the other types of CRM provide. Most popular CRM software features aspects of all three types.

Even so, it’s essential to consider your company’s unique needs when choosing a CRM. In general, we recommend these types of CRM for the following uses:

• Automate and streamline marketing, sales, and customer service: Operational CRM
• Use data to understand your customers: Analytical CRM
• Organize and share customer information across teams: Collaborative CRM

Additionally, here are some other features you should take into account when choosing a CRM:

Should you go straight for the CMS that provides the largest number of features and capabilities? Maybe not. If you’re a small business, it doesn’t make sense to spend excess money on CRM capabilities you’re not using.

Still, you’ll want to look for a CRM that can scale with your business. Higher pricing tiers should allow you more users, of course. But they should also add features that streamline your operations once you’ve grown into new sales territories, added new teams, or started offering new services or products to your customers.

Ensure your team can use your CRM anywhere and at any time. A mobile-friendly CRM software allows salespeople, marketing specialists, and customer service representatives to access critical information even while they’re not at the office.

Look for a CRM that allows you to import and export your data, preferably with a system you already use, like Excel.

Once your data is in the system, you’ll want to be able to organize and visualize it in customizable dashboards and reports that allow your teams to make business decisions quickly. This includes dashboards and reports for real-time customer information, as well as trends and forecasting.

While most CRMs are sales-focused, it’s important to consider whether you need additional capabilities for your marketing, customer service, and other teams. When weighing the value of a potential new CRM, determine if you need the following features—or if you’ll potentially need them in the future:

• Lead management
• Sales forecasting
• Email management and tracking
• Marketing campaign management
• Social media management