I will be the first to admit that in the web and online marketing space, we love our acronyms and abbreviations almost as much as the military and big business. With that being said, what the heck is a CRM? CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software.
It is a database that is used to keep track of client actions, leads, and sales opportunities. Logging this critical information gives insights to your sales, marketing, customer support, and financial teams or simply allows you to help keep track of everything and adjust interactions to improve your client relationships.
CRM software is frequently confused with comparable business programs such as content management system (CMS) or customer data platform (CDP) software. CMS software is used to create and publish website content. CDP software gathers consumer data from many sources, such as web forms and social media accounts, in order to evaluate and anticipate customer behavior.
What a CRM Is
Customer relationship management systems are intended to collect and manage the vast amounts of data collected by sales teams on leads, prospects, and clients. CRM software has been around for decades, but its popularity is growing as features get more sophisticated. CRMs are also gaining popularity as a simple tool to manage sales activity across different channels and as a dependable approach to improve the customer experience.
What a CRM Does
CRM software performs various functions, from housing a customer contact database, organizing mass email campaigns, and monitoring service tickets. CRMs have been shown in studies to boost sales efforts in a variety of ways, including:
- 56% of companies targeted their audiences based on CRM data. (Salesforce)
- 74% of users believe that CRM software enhanced their access to customer data. (RingLead)
- Data accessibility is capable of shortening the sales cycle by 8–14% on average. (Paywall: Nucleus Research; Alternative Source: TruJay)
CRM features differ from system to system and even from various service plans from the same provider. Some systems solely assist sales activities, while others integrate marketing and sales capabilities to create a 360-degree picture of the whole customer experience and all possible interactions.
At Cube Creative Design, we are a HubSpot Agency partner and highly recommend it to our clients. Below we have compiled a brief comparison of the major players in the industry versus HubSpot.
Top 4 CRM Comparisons to HubSpot
Because your CRM should be the lifeblood of your small business’s sales and marketing operations, selecting the right CRM for your needs is critical. This article compares four of the most popular CRM solutions to make the decision-making process more manageable.
HubSpot vs. Salesforce
While there are several CRM solutions available, HubSpot and Salesforce are routinely recognized as the best. Both systems offer a comprehensive solution that can scale with the needs of big sales teams. However, the contrasts become apparent when you consider how both platforms were created and how that foundation contributes to ease of use and adoption.
HubSpot
HubSpot is a cloud-based CRM platform that provides sales, support, marketing, and content management software to help growing organizations thrive. It delivers a single source of truth, allowing your front-office staff to strengthen client connections and create a best-in-class experience. HubSpot was developed in-house on a single code base, so you get a unified experience that is easier for your team to adopt and utilize.
Salesforce
Salesforce is a cloud-based CRM platform that includes apps for sales, service, marketing, and other functions that connect customers and businesses. Salesforce was created via acquisitions, so the experience and relationships may change based on the products you use. As a result, Salesforce may provide a steeper learning curve and need more administrative personnel or a larger expenditure to get systems operating together.
HubSpot vs. Zoho
In your search for a CRM for your small business, you may be wondering how Zoho software compares to HubSpot. Both systems provide a plethora of features and tools for all of your front-office personnel. When you examine issues like implementation, continuing support, and maintenance more closely, discrepancies appear.
HubSpot
HubSpot is a cloud-based CRM platform designed to be easily customized to fit the demands of your small business without introducing extra complexity. It's simple and free to get started, and it's flexible enough that you can build your small business on HubSpot precisely as it looks in the real world without months of bespoke development effort.
HubSpot's marketing, sales, content management, and customer support tools are designed to help small and expanding businesses run better so they can grow better.
Zoho
Zoho is a cloud-based CRM system designed for small and medium-sized enterprises. The CRM includes sales and marketing automation, customer support and help desk, product setup and reporting, and customer analytics available through its interface.
HubSpot vs. Insightly
In your search for a good CRM for your small business, you may be wondering how Insightly compares to HubSpot. Insightly includes basic CRM and project management tools to assist your team in completing tasks efficiently. The HubSpot CRM platform comprises a set of sales tools that allow salespeople to spend less time on paperwork and more time on establishing connections and gaining new business.
HubSpot
HubSpot CRM is a software system that specializes in sales automation. Users of HubSpot CRM can manage content, channels, and marketing performance all in one place. You can also track the individuals who are essential to the success of their company.
Insightly
Insightly is a CRM and project management tool that allows you to schedule activities and events, get email notifications, and integrate social media. Insightly assists small companies in managing contacts, organizations, partners, vendors, and suppliers.
HubSpot vs.Agile CRM
You may be wondering how Agile CRM compares to HubSpot CRM. While both compete on pricing, features, and integrations, HubSpot CRM is better suited for organizations with 11-50 workers, while Agile CRM is best suited for enterprises with 1-10 employees. HubSpot CRM is also intended to provide a more intuitive user experience, allowing salespeople to spend less time on administrative tasks and more time on what matters most: developing excellent connections and gaining new business.
Agile CRM
Agile CRM incorporates the three components of Customer Relationship Management, including specialized sales, marketing, and service features. Determine who the customers are, record contact information, automate interactions, and arrange appointments. With Agile's drag-and-drop dashboard-based UI, you can track subsequent deals, improve workflow, and handle client tickets.
HubSpot
The HubSpot CRM was built from the ground up to reduce manual effort and assist sales teams. It was designed for the current world to assist users in getting up and running and selling. HubSpot CRM handles all of the little details - logging emails, recording conversations, and maintaining data - in a highly user-friendly manner, saving up important selling time in the process.
Conclusion
In this short post, we have covered a lot from what a CRM is, what it does, and the four of the best solutions out there. If you find yourself on the hunt for a good CRM, schedule a free consultation; we would be happy to demo HubSpot and how we have implemented it for most of our clients.
