Best CRM Software and Tools in India for Small Businesses
Wondering and looking for the best customer relationship management CRM software and tools in India? Well, let us give you a detailed account of it.
“A customer is the most important visitor on our premises. He is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him. He is not an interruption of our work. He is the purpose of it. He is not an outsider to our business. He is part of it. We are not doing him a favour by serving him. He is doing us a favour by giving us the opportunity to do so.”
– Mahatma Gandhi (during a speech in South Africa in 1890)
As Mahatma Gandhi rightly says, for any business, nurturing customer relationships is the key to success. However, maintaining it can be quite tricky and demanding. If not done right, you may lose your customers to your competitors.
Many of us record customer information on sticky notes, notepads, spreadsheets, or even in our memories. It leads to errors, confusion, and mismanagement, all of which negatively affect our client relationship management.
When your business grows, it brings with it the necessity to collate data. A Customer Management Software or Customer Relationship Management(CRM) tools can help you there.
In this post, we’ll explain to you what is CRM application, its features, and benefits, and walk you through the top CRM companies in India and free CRM tools for small businesses in India.
What is CRM Software?
A CRM allows you to maintain and develop meaningful relationships with your customers. It streamlines the way you collect, store, manages, and track customer data. It captures complete interactions across sales, marketing, and support. Everyone who has access to it can view them in a single place. In other words, it helps the entire team be on the same page.
For a customer-obsessed business, it is important to have a cohesive CRM tool. CRMs can be differentiated based on the location of the solution’s servers. They are –
Cloud-Based CRM
The CRM is hosted on the vendor’s own server, and you can access the data remotely. This type of CRM system allows us to access data from anywhere with an internet connection.
On-Premise CRM
The CRM is built in-house. The CRM system and the data are located at the company’s own servers and are only accessible from the company’s premises.
Since the introduction of cloud services, the tide has shifted dramatically in favor of cloud-based CRMs.
Here are the key features of a CRM –
- Contact management
- Lead management
- Opportunity management
- Email marketing functionality
- Marketing automation
- Sales automation
- Reports and dashboards
- Sales analytics
- Sales forecasting
- Mobile CRM
- Collaborative functionality
- Third-party app Integration
Now that you know what is CRM tool is or which platform is dedicated to customer relationship management, let’s explore its benefits.
Benefits of CRM Software
The benefits offered by CRM software usually depend on the type of tool you choose and its features. Having said that, there are certain common benefits offered by all CRMs. Here are they –
- Centralized customer data
- Structured customer data
- Improved data quality
- Increased data security
- Better customer communication management
- Increased sales team productivity
- Improved customer service and support
- Better customer retention
- Easier sales reporting
- Better data-driven decisions
- Increased sales
Now that you’ve understood the functionalities and benefits of the CRM tools, it’s time to look into the list of CRM tools used commonly by Indian companies.
Best CRM Software and Tools in India
If you are an Indian company, you can find thousands of CRMs today available for instant use. However, this makes it extremely challenging to find the best one for you. To cut you some slack, we’ve listed some CRM tools examples that are used in India-
EngageBay
It provides a host of CRM solutions that can help businesses automate multiple customer management processes. Engagebay allows high levels of customizability. It allows your business to plan, strategize, and implement solutions from a single platform.
Zoho
A true Indian company, Zoho is probably the best CRM software in India because it offers unlimited scalability.
It is recommended for all types of businesses, right from sole entrepreneurs to large businesses. It comes with several features, such as multi-channel communication and extensive customization. This makes this the #1 homegrown CRM in India.
Salesforce
The big daddy of all CRMs, Salesforce is a comprehensive CRM solution that comes with all the essential features one would want in a CRM. The tool even comes with a dedicated dashboard to access all the customer information 24 X 7 from any device.
Maple CRM
This is another free CRM software for small businesses that are quite popular among Indian businesses. It gives a complete overview of their marketing and sales performance.
It also improves customer relationships and retention. One of the most interesting features of this CRM is the invoice and quotation builder.
Agile CRM
This is probably one of the easiest-to-use CRM software currently available. Not only that, but it also comes with a multitude of innovative features and integrations.
In this CRM, the marketing and sales features are combined together to offer better customer engagement and improved sales.
Nextsky Sales
It is a manufacturer-focused CRM solution ideal for high-velocity businesses in India. The CRM supports the seamless management of sales and contacts. The CRM focuses on monitoring user behavior and optimizing sales operations.
Cratio CRM
The last one on this list, this CRM comes drastically improves sales and marketing performance. The CRM is also available in a mobile-ready version, enabling you to manage customer data from your smartphone.
Now that you have gone through the CRM tools list, let’s look at some of the best CRM software for small businesses.
Best Free CRM Software and Tools for Small Businesses
Here are the CRMs that are ideal for small businesses in India.
Bitrix24
Bitrix24 is the best CRM for small businesses because, unlike most CRMs, the free version of Bitrix24 allows you to manage unlimited users and contacts. This is the main reason why we have placed this software at the top of this free CRM software list.
Cost of the paid version: Paid version starts at INR 2,790 per month for 5 users.
Availability: Web, Windows, Mac, iOS, Android
HubSpot CRM
Another big name on this list, HubSpot, is ideal for small businesses that are looking for multiple third-party integration options. If your business uses several apps or tools and you’re looking to integrate a CRM, then HubSpot CRM is the best choice for you.
The free version gives access to over 800 apps for integration, and most of them are free. This feature makes it the next-best choice for businesses that have limited resources.
Cost of the paid version: The starter pack comes with a price of $45 per month for 1,000 contacts.
Availability: Web, Mac, Windows, iOS, Android
Insightly
Insightly is ideal for businesses that are looking for a solution that combines customer management and project management. The software works perfectly well for both sales and product teams. The free plan allows only two users, but the features of Insightly are quite unique, even for free users.
Cost of the paid version: The paid plan starts at $29/user on a monthly basis.
Availability: Web, iOS, Android
Capsule
If your small business is looking for a smart, simple, and easy-to-use CRM, then Capsule is the one for you. When other CRMs are looking to add complex marketing and sales features to their platform, Capsule is always on a mission to make their CRM simple.
This has helped them greatly in attracting customers. The software is beginner-friendly and requires only a minimal knowledge of sales, marketing, and computer.
Cost of the paid version: The paid plan starts at $18/user on a monthly basis.
Availability: Web, iOS, Android
Vtiger
It is ideal for small businesses that are looking for inexpensive upgrade options. The tool is particularly admired for providing a free version that accommodates 10 users and 3,000 records. However, the navigation is slightly different from other CRMs, adding to the complexity.
Cost of the paid version: The paid plan starts at $10/user on a monthly basis.
Availability: Web, iOS, Android
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How Lio Automation Can Help You Business Process
Automation surely does make a difference in running a business whether small or large. It can be tricky and overwhelming at first to switch all the business processes to automation but not with Lio.
Lio Automation gives you many amazing features that make your work super simple and effective. There are very many features that will help you and your business in various aspects. From connecting and staying in touch with your customers, to working together as a team, and everything in between, Lio Automation will truly make your business run smoothly and make it reach new heights of success.
If you are using Lio Automation for your business processes consider all your data safe and secure all the time. Not only is the data saved in the cloud, but it also offers a data versioning feature in which you can actually see the many changes the document or file has gone through and who has made those changes. You can save the version of the file as required by you.
Another great feature that Lio Automation offers is colour formatting the sheet. Colour formatting can help bring information and more clarity to the audience. Applying colours to different parts of any data will let you narrate a more effective story that easily catches one’s attention as well.
You can create dashboards for each file which would give you the clear details of your company’s operations, marketing campaigns, sales and other analytics. This is one useful feature that would truly make a difference to your business and help your see all the processes clearly so that you can make well-informed decisions.
Since customers are a big part of any business and staying in touch with them is a crucial job, Lio automation gives you the ability to automate Whatsapp communications. Automating WhatsApp communication is another popular trend that businesses can benefit from. With the help of this, you would be able to save a lot of time, boost your customer retentions and renewals, save a lot of money, have lower operating costs and much more.
Lio Automation also makes working in teams very easy with their Task feature. you can not just assign tasks to your team efficiently. You can set the priority of each task along with the due date. Your team will get a notification about the task automatically, even on Whatsapp, they can see their assigned tasks in the app, mark them complete, and you will get a notification on Whatsapp!
Not just this, Team management and work allocation are made super easy with Lio Automation. You can also work with teams in real-time and see all the changes happening.
You can share invoices and receipts with your customers while also sharing the payment links with them to make the whole transaction process smoother and absolutely hassle-free for everyone.
Lio also makes collecting valuable reviews from customers very easy with its automation process. Along with this, you can also manage leads very easily with the help of automation. Now no lead would be missed and can be responded to the minute you receive them.
There are several other amazing Lio automation features that are made so that you and your business can benefit from them. Excited to know more about it? Start with your Lio automation process for your brand and start your journey to success.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How does a CRM boost sales?
CRM not only helps to streamline your complete sales pipeline but also enables your sales team to close the sale faster. It completely optimizes your team’s daily schedules and ensures that your customers are not ignored.
It helps to prioritize tasks and to contact key prospects on time. A dedicated sales CRM software helps reps to spend more time with customers instead of wasting time on manual processes. This improves conversions and boosts sales.
How does a CRM increase customer satisfaction?
We are living in an era where customers are the king. Due to the abundance of options, a customer can leave you with the click of a button. With a CRM in place, you can easily anticipate the concerns of your customers and address them instantly before they can escalate further.
Also, CRM helps you predict customer needs beforehand and tailor their experience to their satisfaction.
Should I try a free CRM trial?
Of course, you should. Many CRM providers offer free trials to individuals, small businesses, and large businesses to check whether the software meets their needs.
This is usually a no-questions-asked trial where you can explore all the features to your heart’s content and make an informed decision in the end. The trial period is usually around 7 days to 1 month. Some companies offer even longer trial periods based on special requests.
Do I still need a CRM if my customer base is small?
Yes, you should have a CRM even if your customer base is small because it’s hard to keep track of every interaction.
A CRM is the best way for your business to grow as it streamlines processes and gives you valuable business insights to scale up. This makes CRM even more important for small businesses.
How safe is my data in a CRM system?
Well-known CRM providers usually adhere to all the data privacy guidelines. They value your data enormously and will not misuse it for any reason. Be assured that your data is secure, backed up, and confidential inside a good CRM.
Conclusion
Every CRM is different and comes with a unique set of features and benefits. Some are perfect for large enterprises, while some are ideal for small businesses. It all depends on the number of customers you have and the level of automation you seek in your CRM.
The more customers you want to manage and the more automation you want, the costlier it will get. The free versions should suffice in your initial days as it has all the necessary features required by a small team.
10 Comments
This is an amazing article! Please tell me the different types of CRM?
Hello Mahadev,
thankyou for your kind words.
CRM systems are categorized according to their salient features. The four most common types of CRM systems are:
1. Strategic CRM
2. Operational CRM
3. Analytical CRM
4.Collaborative CRM
I run a small business but I don’t have CRM. lease explain in short what happens to my small business if I don’t use a CRM.
Hello Shailesh,
Without a robust CRM, there are numerous drawbacks.
You run the danger of accumulating inaccurate data if a poor CRM system isn’t in place. Maintaining inaccurate or outdated data when working with consumers is the worst thing you can do because it could completely wreck your organization and cause a lot of issues. Without a CRM system in place, you wouldn’t be able to tell if your staff is genuinely making an effort to put the needs of your customers first.
The way you write your posts encourages people to learn more about the subject, just as I did. Can you please explain the difference between collaborative and analytical CRM?
Hello Parvathy,
thank you for your kind words.
Analytical CRM assists senior management, marketing, sales, and support workers in determining the best method to service customers. The primary purpose of this kind of CRM application is data analysis.
It examines consumer data from numerous touch points to gain a better understanding of an organization’s present situation whereas an organization can share customer information among various business divisions, such as the sales team, marketing team, technical and support team, by using collaborative CRM, also known as strategic CRM.
I had no idea a CRM system could provide so many advantages. Wow. This is amazing. Thank you for enlightening us.
Hello Sajid,
Thank you for your warm words.
I am pleased that you found this article informative.
Happy reading!
Can you also brief a bit about mobile CRM, its uses and advantages? Thankyou a lot..
Hello Tarini,
Mobile CRM (Customer Relationship Management) provides a complete CRM experience on smartphones, tablets, and other web-enabled devices. It enables sales, marketing, and customer service teams to access and manage critical information in real-time from any location.
The ultimate benefit of a mobile CRM app is unquestionably its ability to provide data untethered from a desktop.
Mobile CRM software allows you to efficiently track, manage, and respond to customer service cases. It can be liberating to be able to use your platform for daily tasks like writing and sending emails, scheduling meetings, and updating contact information.