Best CRM/database for SME?

Sausage76

Free Member
Feb 15, 2011
27
1
London
Hello

I am looking for recommendations of cheap CRM/databases? I have a number of contacts and they need to go somewhere better than excel. I am thinking online, fairly easy to customise fields and good sales tracking.

Somebody mentioned Filemaker, and I know that if you move to MicroSoft Pro you get a database.

Any others?

Cheers
WS
 

haywarddavid

Free Member
Apr 19, 2011
3
2
Plymouth
I used to work for FileMaker; it's a very diverse and versatile product and would make an excellent platform to develop a CRM Application that could be hosted online and integrate with office etc. However the drawback is exactly that, FileMaker itself isn’t going to work as a CRM out of the box, you’d need to develop it (or get a developer or try to find an off the shelf product which suits).

I’m with Yiuwin in backing SalesForce.com. It’s fully online, robust relational database which is easily customisable (with no programming skills), scalable and most importantly excellent at tracking sales and forecasting.

If you are needing something completely bespoke and therefore would like to explore FileMaker then I’d be happy to put you in touch with a Developer but it sounds like SFDC could be for you.
 
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Phil Richardson

Free Member
Mar 10, 2011
199
47
Nottingham
Isn't there a free contact management system which comes with Outlook, it's only a single user but you can add notes and set call backs etc.

If you do want a CRM system we use Microsoft Dynamics CRM which is good and the hosted solution is quite cheap. Sugar CRM is one I have never used but gets good results. Google open source CRM and see what comes up.
 
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W

wecandobiz

We have a CRM system available to members of our site and it's aimed at SMEs.

You can see some videos showing what it (and the site in general) offers here.

Upgrade to a Pro for £60 for the year to get access to the simple version of the CRM.

If you want integrated email, SMS and survey marketing plus powerful reporting then it's £18 a month extra.

If you sign up give me a nudge via PM with your email address and I'll set you up with a 1 month trial of the full thing so you can see what it can do.
 
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marcusstronen

Free Member
Feb 3, 2011
3
0
Are you using other software to manage projects/billing?

You might be better off skipping basic CRM and getting something that incorporates all of your functional needs, and that way you won't have to (attempt to) integrate a list of different apps together later down the road that don't function together all that well.

With an ideal consolidated app you could manage contacts, leads, with all sales automation features, while at the same time being able to manage to-dos, projects, reminders, timesheets, invoicing, support, and other features under one system. Usually works best for those in the 1-100 range company size. WORKetc is an example of these, as it can do everything i've listed above. You can google them, worth taking a look at.
 
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manojnair29

Free Member
Jul 25, 2011
2
0
Hello

I am looking for recommendations of cheap CRM/databases? I have a number of contacts and they need to go somewhere better than excel. I am thinking online, fairly easy to customise fields and good sales tracking.

Somebody mentioned Filemaker, and I know that if you move to MicroSoft Pro you get a database.

Any others?

Cheers
WS
Whats your budget btw? are u looking for a bespoke solution?
 
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Montaigne

Free Member
Jul 9, 2011
1,044
310
Picnic is ridiculously basic, WebCRM have a free trial but when you sign up say that it can take up to 8 working hours for you to get an email and Capsule looked quite good but I signed up for a free trial, still don't have an email confirming my sign up and when I requested my login details to be re-emailed that hasn't turned up either.
 
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