In today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software has become an indispensable tool for sales teams. A robust CRM system not only streamlines operations but also enhances customer interactions and drives sales growth. But what are the best sales CRM options available today?
As we enter 2024, here are the 12 best CRM software options that are making waves in the UK business sector.
What makes a good sales CRM?
A good sales CRM excels in user-friendliness, customisation, and integration capabilities. It should provide comprehensive insights into customer interactions, streamline sales processes, and facilitate effective communication within teams. Crucially, it must securely manage customer data and adapt to the evolving needs of a business, ensuring scalability and efficiency.
Best sales CRM compared
| CRM Software | Pricing (per user, per month) | Key Features | Free Trial Availability |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salesforce | £20 – £240 | Comprehensive suite, customisable, scalable, AI analytics | 30-day free trial |
| HubSpot CRM | £38 – £960 | User-friendly, free basic services, upgradeable, marketing and service hubs | Free version available, Paid plans offer a free trial |
| Zoho CRM | £9.50 – £36 | Affordable, customisable, integrates with Zoho products, AI assistant | 15-day free trial |
| Microsoft Dynamics 365 | £49 – £168 | Integrates with Microsoft products, customisable, enterprise-level functionality | 30-day free trial |
| Pipedrive | £12.50 – £79 | Simple interface, visual sales pipelines, activity tracking | 14-day free trial |
| Freshsales | £12 – £55 | AI-based insights, built-in phone system, automation tools | 21-day free trial |
| Oracle NetSuite CRM | Starts at £79 | Comprehensive solution, e-commerce, inventory management | Free demo available, no standard free trial |
| Insightly | £23 – £79 | Project management features, unified customer view, customisable | 14-day free trial |
| SAP Sales Cloud | Starts at £52 | Enterprise-level, sales automation, complex data management | 30-day free trial |
| Copper | £20 – £95 | Integration with Google Workspace, simple automation, data entry | 14-day free trial |
| SugarCRM | Starts at £41 | Highly flexible and customisable, advanced analytics and reporting | 7-day free trial |
| Keap (formerly Infusionsoft) | £63 – £159 | Advanced automation, marketing automation, online sales capabilities | 14-day free trial for paid plans, Free version available |
Salesforce
Salesforce stands as a titan in the CRM industry, offering an extensive range of features suitable for diverse business scales and requirements.
Its core strengths lie in high customisability, advanced analytics, and a comprehensive ecosystem of apps. With capabilities ranging from sales and customer service to marketing automation, Salesforce caters to various business needs.
The platform’s robustness and scalability make it ideal for businesses seeking long-term CRM solutions. However, its complexity and pricing might be challenging for smaller businesses.
Pricing
Salesforce offers multiple tiers, typically starting from around £20 per user per month for the Essentials plan. More advanced plans, like the Professional and Enterprise versions, can cost significantly more, often exceeding £100 per user per month for the most comprehensive features.
HubSpot CRM
HubSpot CRM, renowned for its user-friendly interface and no-cost entry-level option, is an excellent starting point for small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). It simplifies CRM processes with intuitive tools for sales tracking, email marketing, and customer engagement.
HubSpot stands out for its seamless integrations with other business tools, offering a unified platform for sales, marketing, and customer service.
The CRM’s scalability allows businesses to add advanced features as they grow, but its more sophisticated functionalities can become costly.
Pricing
HubSpot offers a free version with basic features. Their paid plans start from around £38 per user per month for the Starter package, with more advanced plans like Professional and Enterprise going upwards of £74 and £330 per month, respectively.
Zoho CRM
Zoho CRM offers an affordable, feature-rich platform suitable for businesses of all sizes. Its integration with other Zoho applications enhances its functionality, providing a cohesive business management experience.
Key features include sales automation, performance analytics, and multi-channel communication.
Zoho CRM’s customisation options and AI-powered sales assistant, Zia, provide personalised business insights. While it is cost-effective and comprehensive, its user interface and steep learning curve may be daunting for new users.
Pricing
Zoho CRM’s pricing starts from around £10 per user per month for the Standard edition. The Professional edition is approximately £17 per user per month, and their Premium and Enterprise editions range from about £25 to £35 per user per month.
Microsoft Dynamics 365
Ideal for businesses entrenched in the Microsoft ecosystem, Dynamics 365 offers deep integration with Microsoft products, enhancing productivity and data cohesion.
This CRM solution is highly customisable, addressing complex sales processes and unique business needs, especially for larger organisations. It combines CRM and ERP capabilities, offering broad functionality from sales to finance management.
Dynamics 365’s strength lies in its enterprise-level capabilities, but this also makes it a more costly and complex solution, potentially overwhelming for smaller teams.
Pricing
Dynamics 365’s pricing is complex due to its modular structure. The Sales Professional module starts at around £49 per user per month, while the more comprehensive Sales Enterprise module is about £71 per user per month. Customisation and additional features can increase the cost.
Pipedrive
Designed with simplicity and user experience in mind, Pipedrive is a CRM solution focusing on sales management and pipeline visibility. It offers an intuitive interface that allows sales teams to track interactions and manage deals efficiently.
Key features include sales forecasting, activity reminders, and customisable pipelines. Pipedrive’s strength lies in its ease of use and straightforward setup, making it ideal for teams that value simplicity over complex functionality.
However, its limited features for marketing and customer service may necessitate additional tools for comprehensive CRM needs.
Pricing
Pipedrive’s pricing starts at around £12.50 per user per month for the Essential plan. Their Advanced and Professional plans are approximately £24.90 and £49.90 per user per month, respectively. There’s also an Enterprise plan for larger teams.
Freshsales
Freshsales, part of the Freshworks suite, is an AI-powered CRM designed for high-growth businesses. It offers lead scoring, email tracking, and sales analytics, with a focus on streamlining the sales process.
Its AI assistant provides actionable insights, helping sales teams prioritise leads and tasks. Freshsales integrates well with other Freshworks products, creating a cohesive business management system.
While it’s a strong contender for growing businesses, companies requiring advanced customisation might find its features somewhat limiting.
Pricing
Freshsales offers a free tier with basic functionalities. Their paid plans start from around £12 per user per month for the Growth plan, with the Pro and Enterprise plans costing around £25 and £39 per user per month, respectively.
Oracle NetSuite CRM
Oracle NetSuite CRM provides an all-inclusive solution that extends beyond traditional CRM capabilities. It integrates ecommerce, inventory management, and marketing, making it suitable for businesses seeking a comprehensive system.
NetSuite’s real-time analytics and cloud-based platform offer accessible, insightful business data. This CRM is particularly beneficial for mid-size to large enterprises that need an extensive range of functionalities.
However, its complexity and cost may be prohibitive for smaller businesses or those requiring a more straightforward CRM solution.
Pricing
NetSuite is typically on the higher end, with prices starting at around £80 per user per month. Given its extensive features, the total cost can be significantly higher, especially for larger organisations or those needing custom solutions.
Insightly
Insightly distinguishes itself with robust project management features, blending CRM functionalities with project oversight. It’s particularly useful for sales teams that handle project delivery and require a unified view of customer interactions and project milestones.
Insightly’s key features include lead management, workflow automation, and custom reports.
While it offers a unique combination of CRM and project management, businesses looking for more advanced sales or marketing-specific features might find it lacking in those areas.
Pricing
Insightly’s plans start from around £25 per user per month for the Plus plan. The Professional plan is approximately £49 per user per month, and the Enterprise plan can exceed £80 per user per month.
SAP Sales Cloud
As part of the SAP suite, SAP Sales Cloud is tailored for larger organisations needing robust, enterprise-level CRM functionalities.
It offers comprehensive tools for sales forecasting, performance management, and customer engagement. Its integration with other SAP solutions makes it a strong choice for businesses already within the SAP ecosystem.
The platform’s strength lies in its enterprise-focused features and scalability, but its complexity and cost might be daunting for smaller businesses or those with simpler CRM needs.
Pricing
SAP Sales Cloud is generally targeted at larger businesses and can be quite expensive. Pricing often starts around £100 per user per month, but customisation and additional modules can increase this substantially.
Copper
Copper is notable for its deep integration with Google Workspace, making it an ideal CRM for teams that rely heavily on Google’s suite of tools. Its user interface mirrors Google’s, ensuring a minimal learning curve for new users.
Copper focuses on simplicity and automation, offering features like automatic data entry, pipeline tracking, and insightful reporting. The platform enables teams to manage leads, nurture customer relationships, and close deals directly within the Google Workspace environment.
Copper is particularly suited for small to medium-sized businesses that are looking for a CRM that seamlessly blends into their existing workflow.
Pricing
Copper’s Basic plan starts at around £19 per user per month. Their Professional plan is approximately £49 per user per month, and the Business plan is around £99 per user per month.
SugarCRM
SugarCRM offers a high degree of flexibility and customisation, catering to businesses with unique workflow needs. It provides a comprehensive set of CRM functionalities, including sales automation, customer service, and marketing tools.
SugarCRM’s platform is highly adaptable, allowing businesses to create custom modules, workflows, and fields to fit their specific processes.
The software also offers advanced analytics and reporting capabilities, providing deep insights into customer interactions and sales performance. SugarCRM is an excellent choice for businesses that require a tailor-made CRM solution to meet their specific operational needs.
Pricing
SugarCRM’s pricing starts at around £40 per user per month for the Sugar Sell product. More advanced plans and additional features can increase this price.
Keap
Keap is best known for its advanced automation features, making it a great choice for small businesses and entrepreneurs. It combines CRM functionalities with marketing automation, sales automation, and online sales capabilities.
Keap’s strength lies in its ability to streamline and automate repetitive tasks, such as email marketing, lead capture, and follow-ups.
This focus on automation helps small businesses save time and resources while nurturing leads and managing customer relationships. Keap also offers e-commerce functionalities, making it a comprehensive tool for businesses looking to manage their sales and marketing efforts in one place.
Pricing
Keap’s pricing starts at about £63 per month for basic plans, with more advanced plans costing upwards of £159 per month.
FAQ about best sales CRM
A Sales CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system is a software tool that helps businesses manage, track, and analyse interactions with potential and current customers. It streamlines sales processes, improves customer relationships, and enhances sales management through data analysis and automation.
A CRM system centralises customer data, allowing sales teams to keep track of leads, customer interactions, and sales pipelines. This centralisation improves communication, enhances customer service, and enables data-driven sales strategies, ultimately leading to increased sales efficiency and revenue.
CRM systems improve sales performance by providing valuable insights into customer behavior, automating routine tasks, enabling efficient lead management, and facilitating targeted marketing efforts. They also help in accurate forecasting and sales reporting, which are crucial for strategic decision-making.
Yes, most modern CRMs offer integration capabilities with various business tools such as email platforms, social media, accounting software, and productivity tools. This integration helps create a seamless workflow, reducing manual data entry and improving overall efficiency.
Absolutely. Even for small businesses, a CRM can provide significant benefits by organizing customer information, improving lead tracking, and streamlining sales processes. Many CRM providers offer scalable solutions and pricing plans suitable for small businesses, ensuring that you only pay for what you need.
Choosing the right CRM depends on your business size, industry, budget, and specific needs. Consider factors such as ease of use, customisability, integration options, scalability, and the specific features that align with your business goals. A trial period can also be helpful to evaluate if the CRM fits your business needs.
CRM costs vary widely depending on the provider, features, and number of users. Some CRMs offer free versions with basic functionalities, while others charge per user with prices ranging from £10 to over £200 per month. It’s best to compare different options and consider the total cost of ownership, including any setup or additional feature costs.
The implementation time can vary from a few days to several months, depending on the complexity of the CRM system and the specific needs of your business. Cloud-based CRMs are generally quicker to deploy than on-premise solutions.
Yes, CRM systems play a crucial role in customer retention by providing tools to manage customer relationships effectively. They enable personalized communication, timely follow-ups, and better understanding of customer needs, which are essential for maintaining long-term customer relationships.
While modern CRMs are designed to be user-friendly, some training is usually beneficial, especially for complex systems or businesses with specific usage requirements. Most CRM providers offer training resources, and investing in training can significantly enhance the effectiveness of the CRM system.