Review of the best CRMs for business: solutions for different niches

Entrepreneurs choose CRM for their business because this software can improve customer communication, increase sales, and automate key sales steps. According to Demandsage, a customer data management program can increase conversion rates by 300%. If you are looking to optimize your business processes, implementing a CRM system will be a great solution.

In this article, we have collected the best CRMs for business and described their features in detail so that you can compare the available options and choose the system that suits your needs. We will also look at the benefits of implementing CRM systems for business and the key criteria for choosing them.

What is a CRM system for business?

CRM (Customer Relationship Management) is a software for managing relationships with users and organizing sales. This tool allows you to automate email marketing, track communication with users, keep accounting records, generate sales statistics, and perform many other business tasks.

While you can do analytics and accounting manually using Excel or even Notepad, as your sales volume increases, these methods become time-consuming. CRM will help automate these and other routine tasks, allowing you to focus on more important aspects of your business.

Modern CRM systems offer a variety of integrations that make working with customers easier. Such integrations include messengers, payment services, delivery services, inventory systems, chatbots, etc. Thanks to this, entrepreneurs do not have to use additional programs - everything they need is already in the system.

Let's move on to an overview of the opportunities you will receive by using CPM for business.

Benefits of implementing CRM for business

CRM for business provides a wide range of useful tools for automating sales and optimizing work with users and their data. Due to the versatility of CRM systems, each entrepreneur can customize them to the individual needs of their business.

Thanks to the capabilities of this business automation program, you will receive:

Complete management of customer data

CRM provides access to a centralized database of all customer contact information, allowing each employee to easily contact a user or update their data in the database.

The system stores a detailed history of customer interactions, including their orders, requests, and product preferences. Using this information, you can segment your audience, create personalized offers, and build trusting relationships with your audience.

Automation of production processes

A CRM system helps you get rid of routine tasks by automating many business processes. It can manage orders, keep records, store documents, create reports, automate marketing, and provide planning tools. These capabilities significantly reduce the workload on company employees, allowing them to focus on more important stages of their work.

Marketing campaign management

CRM allows you to effectively manage all stages of the sales funnel, allowing you to improve your email marketing strategies. You can set up emails that are relevant to both customers and leads. For example, the system can automatically send a reminder email if a customer leaves an item in their cart without checking out.

Improving customer loyalty

A CRM system for business allows you to integrate telephony, create a chatbot and live chat to ensure prompt communication to resolve issues. CRM can also be configured to send messages containing reminders, information about the status of the order and personal offers. These functions create a sense of care and attention from the brand in customers, which helps to build trust, retain regular customers and attract new ones.

Convenient task distribution

The system provides all the necessary tools for convenient project management. You can assign tasks to employees, sort them by priority, control deadlines and track the overall efficiency of the team. Such capabilities ensure timely distribution of tasks and automation of management processes, which allows you to increase the productivity and quality of each project.

Generating analytics and reports

A CRM system greatly facilitates the process of analyzing business indicators. In particular, it helps analyze the success of marketing campaigns, sales statistics, data on interaction with leads, and employee productivity. Reporting and analytics help in strategic planning and making informed decisions to improve the company's performance.

Saving money and time

Business process automation through CRM allows you to significantly reduce the time and money spent on communicating with users, generating reports, and performing many other routine enterprise processes. This allows you to invest money in other areas focused on improving the company and increasing its profitability.

What businesses need CRM?

If you are looking to improve customer communication, increase sales, and automate routine tasks, you should consider implementing CRM for your business. With the tools it provides, you can significantly improve the efficiency of your business processes.

Although CPM can improve the performance of businesses of any size, small companies often choose an independent approach to optimizing their production processes. This is due to the fact that implementing such a system requires significant financial costs, as well as the uncertainty of some entrepreneurs in their ability to master its functionality.

However, even this problem has a solution, because there are free CRM systems that meet the needs of small businesses, you only need to pay for some additional features. The interface of most platforms has a fairly simple structure, so there should be no problems with configuration. And in case of any questions, you can contact technical support for help.

Let's consider a few areas in which a CRM system is particularly useful:

• Online store. CRM for an online store helps automate sales and improve customer communication. Its features allow you to monitor sales, segment your audience, create personalized offers, and track product popularity.
• Service industry. The service industry requires constant communication with customers, and a CRM system helps to streamline this process. High-quality communication allows you to increase customer loyalty, improve brand awareness, and keep their attention on your offerings.
• B2B. This segment is characterized by complex and long-term transactions. CRM allows you to structure important data, track the stages of interaction with the client, analyze the success of transactions and build long-term partnerships.

Key criteria for choosing a CRM for your business

The first thing to consider when choosing a CRM system is its focus (for example, a beauty salon or a training center). By choosing a CRM that is designed to meet the needs of your niche, you will receive a set of all the necessary tools to achieve your goals. You will not need to worry about implementing additional features, because everything you need is available in one platform. 

Other criteria to consider include:

• Ease of use. The system interface should be intuitive and have a simple structure so that even a person without high technical skills can easily master the system's functionality. Since managers work in the CRM system every day, important data such as customer contacts, sales statistics or inventory balances should be structured and accessible.
• Affordability. Before choosing a CRM system, it is important to determine what goals you want to achieve and what functions you want to automate. Analyze the required number of users, messages, requests, orders, applications, and other functionality. Based on this data, choose a CRM with the best price-quality ratio.
• Possibility of additional settings. Each entrepreneur has an individual approach to work, so it is worth finding out in advance about the possibility of integrating unique functions into the system.
• Availability of workflow automation. CRM should independently perform the necessary calculations, create statistics, maintain inventory records, and automate other business processes. This will allow you to devote more time and resources to more important tasks.
• Quality of technical support. Make sure that the business automation software you choose has technical support. This is important because you want to be sure that you have someone to turn to if you have questions about setting up the system or fixing technical problems.
• Ability to integrate third-party programs. To ensure convenient communication with the client or high-quality accounting, CRM must have integrations with relevant applications. This is convenient when several required tools are available in one platform.  

It is worth noting that the listed features are not mandatory for all CRM systems. For example, if the program completely satisfies you with its order processing automation, the presence of integrations may not play such an important role. The best CRM for business is the one that fully meets your needs and adapts to the specifics of your enterprise.

Let's move on to a review of CRMs for business, where we will take a detailed look at their functionality, scalability capabilities, and approaches to achieving your business goals.

The best CRM systems for businesses in various fields

To help you choose a CRM for your business, we have compiled a selection of the leading platforms on the market. Each CRM system has its own unique features, so we suggest you familiarize yourself with their characteristics and choose the one that best suits your needs.

Salesforce

This CRM platform is one of the most widely used in the world, as it offers a full set of tools for marketing automation, analytics tracking, customer service, and other business processes. It is a universal system, as it is able to adapt to the needs of any business thanks to a large number of features and integrations.

Location: San Francisco, California, USA.

Functional characteristics:

• Using AI in customer communication, sales forecasting, data visualization, analytics creation, etc.;
• Lead search and data management;
• Intuitive interface;
• Full sales automation;
• Possibility of customization;
• Sales funnel management;
• A large number of useful integrations;
• Storing information in a single database;
• Marketing campaign management;
• Ability to connect a chat bot;
• Creation of statistics and analytics;
• Creation of statistics and analytics;

Tariff plans:

Salesforce offers two groups of pricing plans: one for enterprises, the other for small and medium-sized businesses. A 30-day trial period for using the platform is also available. Here are the pricing plans for business owners:

The tariff is calculated for one person, and payment is made monthly. You can also expand your plan by purchasing the app or add-on you want.

SalesDrive

CRM system from a Ukrainian manufacturer that helps automate sales and manage your customer base. This system meets the needs of online stores and small businesses. Thanks to a number of useful integrations, you will be able to fully control your sales and maintain effective communication with customers.

Location: Kyiv, Ukraine.

Functional characteristics:

• Website and marketplace integrations;
• Cooperation with delivery services;
• Creating automatic SMS mailings;
• Messenger integration for convenient communication with customers;
• Phone call tracking;
• Warehouse management;
• Tracking financial transactions;
• Creating analytics and reports;
• Order status tracking;
• Document management;
• Communication with suppliers directly in the platform;
• Creating advertising campaigns;
• Maintain a calendar to assign tasks and create reminders.

Tariff plans:

The cost of the tariff varies depending on the number of users in the system, the average value of which is:

Payment is made once a month, but you can save on the cost of the tariff by changing the quarterly payment to an annual one - in this case the price will be reduced by 20%. The platform also offers a 14-day trial period of using the CRM solution for business.

Zoho

A multi-industry CRM system that can be adapted to the needs of any business. Zoho offers numerous integrations with other systems and programs, which provides convenient management of all business processes. Thanks to its rich functionality, it allows you to build long-term relationships with customers, as well as significantly increase the profitability ratio.

Location: Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.

Functional characteristics:

• Built-in AI with the function of creating forecasts;
• Workflow automation;
• Collection of a client base;
• Contact management;
• Development of a sales scenario;
• Integration of messengers, mail, telephony, etc.;
• Ability to customize the interface to suit business needs;
• Conducting analytics and creating reports;
• Creating a sales funnel;
• A set of diverse sales tools, including partner portals, calendar, accounting, Google Workspace and Office 365 integrations;
• Gamification of the system, which helps to encourage team members;
• Mobile version of CRM;
• Marketing automation tools;
• Target audience segmentation, which helps in creating personalized emails;
• Google Ads integration;
• Guaranteed data security in accordance with GDPR and HIPAA;
• Possibility of implementing additional features into the system;
• Inclusive interface.

Tariff plans:

Zoho offers a free CRM for businesses that supports up to three users and provides a basic set of tools. To expand the functionality, you need to purchase a subscription plan, the cost of which varies depending on your business needs.

Payment is made monthly and assumes one user in the system. If you change from quarterly to annual payment, you can save up to 34%.

KeyCRM

CRM system for online commerce and services that helps automate sales and improve communication with customers. By choosing a Ukrainian CRM system, you don't have to worry about integrating payment systems or marketplaces, because KeyCRM has taken care of it for you. The platform has a large number of integrations, including messengers, telephony, SMS, payment systems, marketplaces, and postal services.

Location: Kyiv, Ukraine.

Functional characteristics:

• Collection of a customer base from messengers, landing pages, forms, chats;
• Processing orders from Rozetka, Prom, OLX, Kasta and other marketplaces in a single system;
• Creating invoices for orders and tracking them thanks to the integration of postal services, including Nova Poshta, Ukrposhta, Justin, FedEx;
• Full warehouse management, tracking of product balances;
• Using Telegram, Viber, Email, Instagram and other messengers directly in the platform;
• Maintaining a calendar to add events, such as meetings with partners or client records;
• Guarantee of complete data security;
• Generating reports on sales, manager performance, and financial transactions.

Tariff plans:

Users are offered a preliminary testing of the system's functionality during the first 30 days of use. Then, it is necessary to purchase a tariff with the following characteristics:

If you use more resources, you need to pay an additional $9. There is also a fee of $19 for integrating additional marketplaces, as well as $15-25 for connecting a number in messengers.

Vtiger

A multifunctional CRM system for various types of businesses: from law firms to marketing companies. The main feature of this software solution is the use of artificial intelligence, which helps improve user experience and optimize content.

Each function is located on a separate screen, making the interface clear and easy to use. In case of difficulties with the setup, users can find solutions in the database of ready-made answers.

Location: Bengaluru, Karnataka, India.

Functional characteristics:

• Automation of sales processes: collecting customer data, creating a sales funnel and deal script;
• Ready-made mailing templates;
• Documentation maintenance;
• Schedule planning: adding events to the calendar, creating reminders, etc.;
• Tracking the status of transactions;
• Sales forecasting;
• Integration of artificial intelligence: the possibility of advanced computing, the use of a chatbot, the creation of a virtual assistant;
• Creating reports and analytics;
• Integration of popular services, including Google Meet, Zoom Meet, Microsoft Teams, Webex;
• Distribution of tasks between managers;
• A separate window with letters, applications, and notes;
• Creating marketing campaigns;
• Mobile version of the CRM system;
• Chrome extension: create notes, assign tasks directly in the browser;
• Warehouse management: goods accounting, inventory management.

Tariff plans:

Vtiger offers a 15-day trial, after which you can choose one of the following plans (prices are per user):

The site has a convenient calculator that automatically calculates the cost of the tariff according to the tools you need to achieve your business goals.

NetHunt

NetHunt is a popular Ukrainian CRM system for business, suitable for both small and large businesses. It is especially useful for companies operating in the B2B sector. One of the main advantages of the system is the ability to integrate Gmail, which allows you to conveniently manage email campaigns and communication with customers. 

NetHunt functionality helps automate the sales process and ensure effective interaction with leads, increasing business productivity.

Location: Kyiv, Ukraine.

Functional characteristics:

• Managing client data, preserving interaction history;
• Tools for increasing the lead base;
• Integration of Google services;
• Sales funnel management;
• Generating reports to analyze the efficiency of work processes;
• Ensuring convenient team collaboration;
• Data security guarantee;
• Automation of key sales stages;
• Using various channels for communication directly within the platform;
• Access to the mobile application;
• Ability to add new modules according to the company's needs.

Tariff plans:

You can start exploring the system with a 14-day free trial. The platform offers five monthly per-user pricing plans, the main ones being:

You can save 20% of the cost of the selected tariff, provided that you choose annual payment.

Pipedrive

Pipedrive CRM is an easy and intuitive business automation system. It offers a wide range of features that help you conveniently manage sales and effectively interact with customers. With a simple interface, Pipedrive is an ideal choice for small businesses and marketing agencies that need convenient sales funnel management.

Location: New York, USA. The company also has offices in Estonia, Portugal, the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, and other countries.

Functional characteristics:

• Deal management with AI;
• Tracking sales success analytics;
• Client communication management;
• Adaptation of functions to the needs of the company;
• Access to the system in the mobile application;
• Target audience segmentation;
• Implementation of a chatbot that provides 24/7 customer service;
• Customer data management;
• Sales automation;
• Generating reports and analytics;
• Tracking correspondence with users in email;
• Integration of other services;
• Data confidentiality guarantee;
• Visual data sorting.

Tariff plans:

You can start your acquaintance with Pipedrive CRM with a 14-day free trial. Then you can choose from 5 plans with different sets of tools to suit the needs of each company. The cost of the plan is calculated per user in the system, and payment is made monthly. The main plans include:

As with most CRM systems, you can save up to 26% of the cost of the selected tariff by choosing an annual payment. There is also the possibility of implementing additional tools into the system. For example, by paying 41€ you will be able to view visitors to your website, as well as statistics on the time they spend on the pages and the resource from which they came to the site.

HubSpot

HubSpot offers a free CRM system for automating small business processes. The platform integrates marketing, sales, and customer relationship management tools. It also comes with unique tools, including the ability to create your own websites using a drag-and-drop builder.

Location: Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

Functional characteristics:

• Calendar for planning events and meetings;
• Full Email and Outlook integration;
• Sales automation tools;
• Email builder;
• Seamless customer service using a chatbot;
• AI-based assistant;
• Generating reports and analytics;
• Marketing tools for lead generation;
• Creating a sales funnel;
• Setting up search advertising campaigns;
• Documentation maintenance;
• Tracking and managing transactions;
• Managing customer contact details;
• Landing page builder;
• Monitoring the success of email campaigns;
• Designer of forms;
• A single window for communication with customers;
• Request management according to SLA;
• Data synchronization from external systems.

Tariff plans:

HubSpot's business CRM system is available for free for up to 2 users. If your company's needs exceed this figure, an extended plan is available:

This plan not only allows you to increase the number of users, but also provides additional features not available in the free version.

Flowlu

Flowlu is a CRM for small and medium-sized businesses that combines all the necessary tools for sales automation, customer base development, user communication, marketing campaign analysis, and project management. The platform's intuitive interface provides easy navigation and effective project management.

Location: Dubai, UAE.

Functional characteristics:

• Customer base management;
• Email and telephony integrations;
• Generating potential customers using lead magnets;
• Sales automation tools;
• Calendar with tasks and events;
• Sales funnel setup;
• Kanban board that visualizes all sales stages;
• Customer communication management;
• Possibility of additional settings to suit your company's needs;
• Notifications with reminders about important events;
• Convenient team collaboration;
• Accounting;
• Built-in internal messenger.

Tariff plans:

The platform offers a free plan for up to 2 users and 1 GB of storage. To expand the capabilities, the following paid plans are available:

You can save 20% on the cost of the tariff by choosing annual payment.

Sugar

A comprehensive CRM system that combines all the necessary tools for business process automation. Thanks to built-in artificial intelligence, the system helps increase profits by providing detailed analytics on sales success and monitoring the effectiveness of each stage.

Location: San Francisco, California, USA.

Functional characteristics:

• Flexible settings that can adapt the system to business needs;
• Recommendations for improving each deal;
• Sales performance analytics;
• Predicting user behavior;
• Marketing automation tools;
• Reducing customer service costs;
• A single customer database that helps improve the quality of service;
• Large selection of built-in applications;
• Using AI in creating reports, forecasts and trend analysis;
• A number of useful integrations, including Dropbox, Office, LinkedIn, SugarChimp;
• Built-in Jump Start program that synchronizes data from external resources;
• Data storage in the cloud with a guarantee of confidentiality and security.

Tariff plans:

Sugar offers four pricing plans, designed for one user in the system, to meet different business needs:

Keeping

Ukrainian CRM system for online stores that provides tools for sales automation, lead communication, and marketing campaign management. Best suited to the needs of small and medium-sized businesses.

Location: Uzhhorod, Zakarpattia region, Ukraine.

Functional characteristics:

• Saving all interactions with customers;
• Creating sales funnels;
• Collaboration with suppliers directly in the platform;
• Target audience segmentation;
• All information about the client in one window;
• Automatic booking, cancellation, return of goods;
• Accounting and documentation management;
• Automatic creation of tasks based on agreements;
• Tracking the status of deals, creating notifications about the approaching or delayed deal;
• Access to sales history;
• Integration of banking systems: PrivatBank and Monobank;
• Tracking financial transactions;
• Online checkout for an offline store;
• A number of useful integrations, including Nova Poshta, Rozetka, Khoroshop, Epicenter, Weblium, Prom;
• Sales automation: creating and completing deals, generating documents, filling in fields, etc.

Tariff plans:

Keeping provides a free version of the CRM system for one user with a minimum set of features. To increase the functionality, the following tariff is offered:

If you need more users in the system, you can get this feature for an additional fee. For example:

• For 16-30 additional users — ₴250 per person.
• Up to 200 additional users — ₴105 per user.

Freshsales

Freshsales is a CRM system for businesses from Freshworks, equipped with rich customer relationship management functionality. This platform is best suited for small and medium-sized businesses due to its intuitive interface and process automation capabilities.

Location: San Mateo, California, USA.

Functional characteristics:

• A large number of features from Freshworks;
• Possibility of team collaboration;
• All client information in one window;
• Warehouse management;
• Automation of sales processes;
• Deal management;
• Generating reports and analytics;
• Implementation of a chatbot that automatically processes requests;
• Using AI in customer service;
• Freshchat for communication from different platforms in one window;
• Creating marketing campaigns;
• Maintaining sales history;
• Statistics on the effectiveness of interaction with customers;
• Target audience segmentation.

Tariff plans:

A free CRM for small teams of up to 3 users is available, as well as a 21-day trial. Three pricing plans are offered, supporting one user per system:

You can also purchase additional tools, including:

• Creating custom documentation — $19/month per user.
• Using an AI-based agent — $100 per 1000 sessions.

CRM for business from GudHub

We offer a comprehensive business automation solution in your field. The GudHub CRM system includes a number of useful tools to ensure high-quality communication with customers, manage business processes, and track analytics of their success.

Among the opportunities you will gain by implementing this system into your workflow:

• Statistics generation: analysis of many aspects of the business, including customer behavioral data, sales performance, team efficiency, financial transactions, and marketing campaigns.
• Lead database management: creating interaction history, shaping client interests, adding contact information, saving data on previous purchases.
• Documentation storage: create a page where all contracts, applications, questionnaires, invoices, instructions, and other important company documents are stored.
• Target audience segmentation: creating marketing campaigns according to the stage of the sales funnel that customers are in.
• Project management: monitoring implementation, distributing tasks among employees, assigning status, assessing performance effectiveness.
• Automation of a number of production processes: automatic bookkeeping, inventory management, sending emails, customer service, creating analytics, etc.
• Create an account for each employee: store contact information, history of completed tasks, available vacation hours, or other important company data.