CRM software for small business?

[Smallbusinessman]

Hello everyone.
At present, I am managing my marketing through a mixture of Excel spreadsheets and Word documents. I need to install some proper CRM software on my PC. I have never used CRM software. I have heard of Goldmine.
Can anyone recommend a simple application for a single user which will store contact details, notes of telephone calls and "next action" with due dates, and which will give reminders on the due date.
Thank you.

 

[Deleted member 114251]

Hi There

Personally I use a service called Insightly. It integrates with Gmail well and does the whole telephone notes, email notes, projects, tasks etc.

It is an online service though and not a program that is installed.

 

[Merchant UK]

Have you looked at this freebie http://www.zoho.com/crm/contact-manager.html

 

[wecandobiz]

We offer a CRM system which does what you ask to Pro members of our business networking site. £60 for the year and you get sales leads into the bargain.

PM me if you want to know more.

 

[TangerineDream]

For me this is an easy choice. www.salesforce.com. Its the worlds leading CRM, its on line and you pay monthly.

It will grow as you do and is fab.

 

[Smallbusinessman]

Thanks to everyone for the replies so far. I am looking for something which is relatively cheap. Also, in the notes of telephone calls, I need lots of space so that I can write down in detail exactly what has been said. I do not need modules for estimating, billing, etc. More suggestions would be very welcome. Thank you.

 

[garyk]

You need to decide if you need a 'contact manager' or a customer relationship solution. One simply records customers/prospects and communication history. The other is there to create campaigns, track spend and return on those campaigns and measure key metrics like conversion ratio (prospect to customer) etc. etc.

 

[Smallbusinessman]

Gary - thank you for explaining this. The prospects for the service number no more than hundreds; each one would be individually contacted (a lengthy task). It appears that I need a contact manager, not a CRM.
Can anyone suggest some suitable Contact Manager software?
Thanks in advance.

 

[michaelallen]

How are you managing projects? Billing? Collaboration between employees?

These are important questions you should be asking, as if you don't use software to manage these operations right now you may very well be doing so at some point down the road. The problem is, once you've already set in stone some type of CRM software, integrating additional project management/billing software can be a huge hassle. You end up with multiple apps that don't integrate, cost a lot, etc.

If you think you may need to manage these things at some point later on, I'd look into an app that integrates them already. Instead of dealing with costly integrations, you would have one app to manage all operations, which has numerous benefits with overall efficiency, workflows, collaboration, and other things. WORKetc is an example of this, integrating CRM with project management, timesheets, billing, and other features - you would capable of using it to manage everything your business does. Apps like WORKetc are made specifically for small businesses as the benefits are noticeable rather quickly.

 

[Smallbusinessman]

Michael, thank you for explaining this in such detail. I have now looked at WORKetc's website. The points that you have made are very valid. However, it appears that WORKetc is much more powerful than I will ever need (and at $39 per month too expensive). I will never use the scheduling, job costing, billing, etc., features

Basically, I need a product that will allow me to store details of prospects, details of contacts, notes of telephone calls, the outcome, next action, daily reminders. Does anyone have experience of Amphis, ACT! or anything similar, basic and cheap? All suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[Richard Glynn]

There's a good overview of hosted CRM services here:

http://www.appappeal.com/apps/crm/

 

[CDAPartnership]

I can happily recommend salesforce.com I have subscribed for one of my businesses at £36 pa !

It works well and is easy to follow, having also migrated from spreadsheets to CRM, sales force made the whole process easy.

Give them a try.

 

[Somecamel]

Have a look a look at capsule CRM aswell- Very basic on the forefront but pretty powerful on the inside aswell.

Also have a look at the google apps market place- lots of crm's on there

 

[Smallbusinessman]

Thank you to all the people who have replied so far. Please keep the suggestions coming!

 

[Digital Investments]

salesforce.com is always a good CRM for such activities, with the added bonus of allowing youto easily expand the CRM in accordance with your business growth.

For project management, we personally use Base Camp, which we use to manage both internal and client projects.

Hoe this helps!

 

[Smallbusinessman]

Hi. Thanks for the reply. Is it the 'cloud' version of salesforce which you use?

 

[Digital Investments]

Hi, yes, if interested you should give the free trial a go and they provide excellent support, so be sure to use it as much as you can to really get it working for your business

 

[Smallbusinessman]

Thank you everyone who replied. If anyone has any more ideas, please post them. I still have to evaluate all the replies

 

[SmallBizMarketing]

For me this is an easy choice. salesforce. Its the worlds leading CRM, its on line and you pay monthly.

It will grow as you do and is fab.

Salesforce is very expensive though for small businesses.

I came across Highrise recently which integrates with Mail Chimp for fab email marketing too.

Worth considering.

 

[amphis software]

you might find the Software Satisfaction Awards 2011 shortlist for SME CRM and Customer Management useful here (if you scroll quite a way down)

http://www.softwaresatisfaction.co.uk/2011-shortlist

the Software Satisfaction Awards 2011 are based entirely on the feedback of more than 10,000 end users of business software.

 

[kjmcculloch]

Amphis Customer is what I use. Other than needing to upgrade my version of word to work with it I have found that it does everything I need. It's fairly cheap, and I all the information resides on my pc and not someone elses server.

It's also quite simple to use.

Kris

 

[Smallbusinessman]

Thank you everyone for all the replies and suggestions. Has anyone tried Tactile CRM, http://www.tactilecrm.co.uk/
It is £6 per month, cloud based. I would be grateful for any replies.

 

[Attaintm]

Hi, there is a free CRM solution you could use called Zoho which is worth having a look at.
There are a number of web based CRM solutions that you can pay for monthly such as Salesforce. These can be quite slow to use if you have a poor internet connection though.

Goldmine is client based and simple to use.

 

[ReformedGeek]

Good morning. We've just launched the beta version of a CRM website aimed at small businesses. It can be used on a 90 day free trial and totally free to our website customers. The UI needs a little work but functionally it's all there.

One of the big things it does is produce properly embedded HTML MIME emails for marketing. So Outlook and similar email clients don't have to download additional images, they are all present and display instantly.

It's available through our TCRM website if you'd like to look it over. Any feedback would be appreciated.

Thanks
Gareth Boucher

 

[midlandnetworking]

I can thoroughly recommend BuddyCRM.com It does what Goldmine does but a lot better for less money. Also it's web based so your data is always safe and you can access it anywhere in the world.

We trialled various CRM packages including Salesforce before settling on Buddy. Also the guys their are extremely helpful and went out their way to set our data up, the staff picked it up within 1 day as it's not complicated to use.

 

[Smallbusinessman]

Thank you midlandnetworking. I had never heard of this provider. I will research it further.
Can anyone suggest any other solutions, please?

 

[midlandnetworking]

forgot to say they offer a free trial off their website. www.buddycrm.com


thanks

 

[Digital Investments]

Salesforce is very expensive though for small businesses.

This is true, but it really depends on your long term strategy - if you are intending to sell your business down the line, then salesforce becomes a more appealing choice (in my opinion) because the chances of your system integrating with your acquirer are much higher, not to mention sales force is SO flexible. While you may pay an extra £x a year now, you could very well find that your decision has made you dividends down the line. Of course, its all down to individual preference and circumstances.

BTW, i am in no way affiliated to salesforce

 

[midlandnetworking]

Agree, salesforce can be expensive. I pay £25 per month, good value.

 

[Bidyut]

Hello everyone.
At present, I am managing my marketing through a mixture of Excel spreadsheets and Word documents. I need to install some proper CRM software on my PC. I have never used CRM software. I have heard of Goldmine.
Can anyone recommend a simple application for a single user which will store contact details, notes of telephone calls and "next action" with due dates, and which will give reminders on the due date.
Thank you.

Hi,
Choosing the right CRM could be tricky, you rarely find a CRM which suits your business perfectly. I reckon the only way to do that is by getting a custom-built CRM. I know it might sound like a rip-off but getting a custom CRM built according to personal specifications is much more affordable than you think. Let me know if anyone is interested.

 

[Digital Investments]

Hi,
Choosing the right CRM could be tricky, you rarely find a CRM which suits your business perfectly. I reckon the only way to do that is by getting a custom-built CRM. I know it might sound like a rip-off but getting a custom CRM built according to personal specifications is much more affordable than you think. Let me know if anyone is interested.

Custom CRM systems are good once you are established and have a clear direction, not to mention to finances to cover, but for young/small businesses this really isnt practical, unless your business is REALLY unique.