Best CRM For Startups Aiming To Grow in 2020
Meta-description: Learn which CRM features you need the most as a startup, and which CRM
platforms provide them.
Title: Overview of Essential CRM Features For Startups
Editor’s Note: In this article, we outline some of the key features to look for when deciding which
CRM platform to use as a startup company. If you have a question about a feature we haven’t
covered, or if you need help setting up your CRM platform of choice, reach out to us at ScienceSoft,
and our team of experts will provide further assistance.
Each startup faces the following dilemma: how to quickly achieve sustainable growth with limited
manpower and resources? Or to put it more succinctly, the main challenge for startups is how to
accomplish more with less.
When you can’t afford to brute-force your way to growth, you have to be clever instead and use
tools to make the task easier. And CRM software represents one such tool. CRM enables startups to
punch above their weight and achieve business outcomes which match those of their more
established competitors. According to a summary by HubSpot, businesses using CRM experience:
• a 29% increase in sales
• a 34% increase in sales team productivity
• a ROI of $8.71 per dollar spent on CRM
• up to 12% decrease in sales cycle duration
To learn more about the key features of CRM for startup companies, check out our short primer on
topic in the paragraphs below.
4 Key Features of Startup CRM
1. Contact Management
Contact management is a basic CRM feature that every startup can benefit from. Each contact is
defined by information such as their name, address, phone number, email, etc. CRM software keeps
this information synced and up-to-date, as well as accessible to everyone on your team. This makes
it easy to maintain relationships with customers via their communication channel of choice, which
is essential for providing personalized customer experiences. Advanced CRM tools can search the
web to find and fill in missing contact data automatically, so your team can concentrate on more
important tasks.
2. Workflow Automation
Startups typically have limited manpower, which means they can benefit greatly from workflow
automation. CRM enables startups to automate repetitive, error-prone tasks such as entering data,
sending emails, posting on social media, or writing reports. Additionally, some CRM software
allows you to create more complex automated workflows, further enhancing team productivity. For
instance, you connect your CRM with your lead database, arrange leads into custom segments, and
then enroll each segment in a drip email campaign. There is a learning curve to setting up complex
automation like this, but the productivity gains are well worth it.
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3. Real-time Analytics
All B2C interactions generate data as a side-effect. By analyzing this data, startups can gain insight
into things like sales trends, marketing campaign effectiveness, team performance, customer
lifetime value, and others. And since doing the analysis manually is not an option for startups, CRM
software can pick up the slack with built-in analytics and reporting tools. More sophisticated CRM
tools can even generate predictions based on the data provided, allowing you to forecast sales
performance. These features are often powered by complex AI algorithms in the back-end.
4. Customer Service Dashboard
Effective customer service is a key factor of startup success. It is also notoriously difficult to
provide since startups often lack a dedicated customer service department. Fortunately, CRM
software makes it easy to provide quality customer service in a convenient manner. Your customer
service representative can access relevant customer data from a unified dashboard, allowing them to
respond to queries through multiple communication channels with only a few button clicks.
Top 3 CRM Platforms for Startups
There are many CRM solutions available on the market, each with its own unique set of features.
Here are 3 we found to be most useful in a startup context.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales
Dynamics 365 Sales is a feature-rich CRM platform by Microsoft. It comes equipped with a variety
of features for streamlining the sales process, including contact tracking, task automation, predictive
analytics, and more. The standout feature is the AI-based contextual suggestion engine, which helps
sales representatives close deals faster.
The basic subscription starts at $65 per user/per month for the Sales Professional version of the
software, and you can expand your subscription with different sub-apps.
Learn more about Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales.
Salesforce Sale Cloud
Salesforce Sale Cloud is the industry standard for sales CRM. Its extensive list of features includes
contact management tools, workflow automation, file sharing, integration with other apps, and
more. The Sale Cloud has multiple deployment options, including a desktop app, SaaS-based web
app, and a mobile app.
The Essentials subscription that covers up to 10 users costs only $25 per month, and you can gain
access to the full feature list with extensive support for $300 per month.
Lear more about Salesforce Sale Cloud.
HubSpot CRM
HubSpot CRM is a CRM suite that is especially popular among startups and small businesses. It
comes with essential features for running email campaigns, managing contacts, communicating
with customers, and producing reports and analytics. It’s greatest feature is its simplicity, which
makes it easy to implement within any organization.
HubSpot CRM is completely free of charge, and if you need additional features, the Starter Sales
Hub subscription costs $40 per month.
Learn more about HubSpot CRM.
Grow Your Startup With CRM
For startups, each customer represents an important stepping stone towards success. In order to
handle customers in a way that maximizes their value, startups began using CRM solutions to help
offset their manpower and resource limitations with smart automation, reporting, and management
features. To get the most out of your CRM platform of choice, consider reaching out to
ScienceSoft’s team of CRM experts.
Contact Us: Gain a Competitive Edge With CRM
Reach out to us, and our team will help you with your issue in as little as 30 minutes.