CRM System

moonchild77

Does anyone know of a very good FREE or affordable CRM system out there? (To manage all customer relationionsips

Thanks:)

micdug

You've not given much detail there - CRM systems can be large and complex beasts so I am going to make an assumption that you are working on your own or may be a two three person operation. Taking at face value that you just want to manage customer contacts and no other functionality.

1. I'd strongly recommend a cloud solution. You can download and install Sugar CRM for free but it's extremely complex to get going and beyond most small companies. Being in the cloud there is no techy skills, servers or anything complicated required.

2. Make sure it's mobile. If you have a smartphone having it sync with your CRM system makes it much more useful because you'll have all this info at your fingertips when you are out and about. Don't bother with CRM that runs on your laptop only such as Microsoft Outlook contact manager, Act etc

3. Social is big in CRM now so make sure it has social functionality built in i.e. connects to LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook etc. Depends on your market but can be useful for getting more info about your customer.

4. Usability Usability Usability!!! Get a free demo or free basic account. They all offer it and nothing is worse then a CRM system that is too complex or hard to use for you - you just won't use it and waste time and effort getting it to work.

So... my recommendations

Highrise is super. If you know how to use Facebook you can use Highrise (similar look and feel) plus they have a free version for 2 users. Very Web 2.0 and social with apps for iPhone, Android etc. My recommendation for the small/micro business with limited IT skills.

Salesforce. The big daddy at the moment and starts at €1.60 per user per month (very limited edition). Only makes sense if you want to greatly expand over time as it targets 100+ companies.

Zoho is free again for up to 3 users. Not bad as a CRM system but the bigger benefits arise when you integrate with its wider suite (everything from financials to project management).

Others you might have heard of - MS CRM, Sage etc are good but overkill and too expensive.

Without more detail thats as good as I can give you.

Jonlav73

How about Profitsflow.com CRM it does everything you want and more. It works on a cloud so you can access it anywhere from your smart phone, laptop, etc.

micdug

Jonlav73 wrote: »

How about Profitsflow.com CRM it does everything you want and more. It works on a cloud so you can access it anywhere from your smart phone, laptop, etc.

I see your only other post also regards profitsflow. If you are advertising something you could at least indicate the price given the OP's request for free or low cost solution. I'm all for supporting indigenous software companies, but your site is very poor and gives no way of comparing profitsflow to competitors. I can't say I'd shortlist your product based on the site - needs to be much more transparent on pricing and capability.

Tangled

Recently started using Zoho to manage customer database, sales enquiries leads etc. Finding it good so far, it seems like there is a lot more functionality on it than what I'm using it for but great for what I want at the moment - track enquiries, leads, customers etc, set up tasks, follow ons and sales calls. Is this the kind of thing you have in mind OP?

moonchild77

Im going with onepagecrm now

Thanks everyone for your help

Jonlav73

micdug wrote: »

I see your only other post also regards profitsflow. If you are advertising something you could at least indicate the price given the OP's request for free or low cost solution. I'm all for supporting indigenous software companies, but your site is very poor and gives no way of comparing profitsflow to competitors. I can't say I'd shortlist your product based on the site - needs to be much more transparent on pricing and capability.

Hi Micdug, it is low cost depending on how many users, if you want it on your own server and if you want integration to other software. There is a pay monthly option. As for the website I don't see prices on many websites as they are often tailored to a companies needs.

CompanyBureau

We use act and find it very good. Not sure if it has any smart phone integration, but does now integrate with 3cx if you have VOIP. There is also social media integration on the latest version.

finisklin

Is there any good resources out there for CRM systems e.g. blogs, websites etc that focus on best practise, campaign management, targetting niches? My query is not focussed on the system/software side. Any insights into the effective use of social media and CRM would be useful.

I have a limited knowledge of this area and find it interesting. Any help appreciated.

micosoft

Jonlav73 wrote: »

Hi Micdug, it is low cost depending on how many users, if you want it on your own server and if you want integration to other software. There is a pay monthly option. As for the website I don't see prices on many websites as they are often tailored to a companies needs.

Not having a go - just feedback for your business. She did ask for a simple cheap (or free!) system so her own server or integration was unlikely. She went for a nice looking system (not used it) at $19 per month on their website - are you anywhere close to that?

At this point pretty much all the CRM companies that do cloud give pricing up front, SF, Oracle, Microsoft. Not having pricing on your site, the inability to sign up and trial it online etc all speak to your product being expensive. Thats not necessarily a problem if you have a niche or it's an integrated solution (SAP etc) but it would put off most SME's....

micosoft

finisklin wrote: »

Is there any good resources out there for CRM systems e.g. blogs, websites etc that focus on best practise, campaign management, targetting niches? My query is not focussed on the system/software side. Any insights into the effective use of social media and CRM would be useful.

I have a limited knowledge of this area and find it interesting. Any help appreciated.

Just google social crm. There is a ton of free information out there and whitepapers available from various parties. Just remember that Social CRM is at the hype stage and a lot of suppliers want to push their view (and make money of course). Zdnet have a useful blog which brings together a variety of news on the topic. http://www.zdnet.com/blog/crm

Jonlav73

micosoft wrote: »

Not having a go - just feedback for your business. She did ask for a simple cheap (or free!) system so her own server or integration was unlikely. She went for a nice looking system (not used it) at $19 per month on their website - are you anywhere close to that?

At this point pretty much all the CRM companies that do cloud give pricing up front, SF, Oracle, Microsoft. Not having pricing on your site, the inability to sign up and trial it online etc all speak to your product being expensive. Thats not necessarily a problem if you have a niche or it's an integrated solution (SAP etc) but it would put off most SME's....

We start at around €19 per month per user. We are having a look at the website and pricing. Thanks and I appreciate the feedback. Cheers.