Investing in an effective customer relationship manager (CRM) software may be one of the best steps that you can take today to bolster productivity, improve the customer experience and improve many other aspects of your business.

A CRM could be effective in most business types and industries because of how functional it is in different ways. Through a CRM, you can manage your relationships with customers, partners, vendors and more. You can improve marketing campaigns and address other critical tasks.

However, each CRM offers different benefits and has unique functionalities. This means that some CRM tools may be more suited for your company’s specific operations than others.

If you are searching for a CRM program that is beneficial for your business activities, these are some top contenders to consider.

Salesforce

Salesforce is considered by some to be the top CRM for small businesses because of its user-friendly design and varied functions. Through this cloud-based CRM program, you and your team can access contact profiles at any time and from any location.

You can rank and rate leads and contacts to ensure that you don’t miss any opportunities. You can generate customized reports to keep everyone moving in the right direction. This tool also has special management functions which allow you to generate managerial reports at the administrative level.

Insightly

Insightly is another cloud-based platform that offers maximum usability from any location. It has a robust contact management platform that lets you view contact history, social media accounts, project involvement and other relevant details. You can also automate workflow by syncing this CRM with other software programs.

This program lets you capture leads when you scan business cards, receive emails from new customers or even based on website traffic. It even allows you to route leads to the appropriate individuals in your office.  This can help save time and improve your bottom line.

Dynamics CRM

Dynamics CRM is a customer relationship management tool designed specifically with sales-related tasks in mind. Like other CRM programs, it is a contact relationship manager at its most basic level, and it has a user-friendly dashboard design with incredible functionality.

As a Microsoft product, Dynamics CRM can easily be integrated with Office 365. It allows you to create, monitor and manage sales goals. You can also create and manage marketing campaigns within the program.

Dynamics CRM is one of the few platforms that has invoicing and quote generation functions built into it. Administrative or managerial access also gives you the ability to monitor the efforts of your team easily with advanced report generation capabilities. This can save time as well help you to improve your managerial activities.

Zoho

Zoho is the CRM to use if you prefer to have all of your business management solutions rolled into a single platform. Through this well-rounded program, you can more easily keep track of customer relationships, leads and sales.

You can also take advantage of an email service built within the CRM. This lets you capture and manage leads more effectively. Financial management related to accounting, bookkeeping and invoicing are also facilitated through the app. Some financial records can be linked to specific accounts for improved management and tracking. Zoho even lets you create mobile apps within its platform.

Hubspot

Hubspot is a free CRM tool that has diverse functionality. It functions as a contact manager, but its benefits exceed that as well. It lets you plan, manage, automate and analyze inbound marketing campaigns. It also has sales management tools to help you schedule and track appointments with new clients and leads.

Since this is a free application, it may make sense to try this program out initially before testing a few of the fee-based CRM programs that may appeal to you.

Final Thoughts

Because each business is unique, there is not a catch-all CRM that can be considered the best option for all businesses. Instead, you should spend time analyzing your work activities to determine the needs of you and your team. Then, you can try a few different CRM programs for several weeks each. By doing so, you can find the right program that is most effective for your team’s needs. After implementing the use of a CRM, you may notice that your team is more productive and your relationships with your customers are improved.