If you’re reading this, maybe you have been painstakingly searching for the best CRM software for your small business, maybe you just happened to stumble upon this somehow and are looking for a way to support your business needs, or maybe you have been putting off integrating a CRM platform and need a little convincing.

Highlighted below are some of the best CRM tools you can implement in your small business. BUT, I have some good news and bad news.

Bad news: There is no one perfect CRM platform to solve all of your needs without at least some long term investment in onboarding or an employee learning curve.

Good News: We have something that you can integrate with these platforms that will solve this problem. I’ll go into detail later… hold tight.

Just remember that every business, small or large, should look to integrate a CRM – it can boost employee engagement, sales and retention, and ultimately improve the relationship with your customers.

…And the best CRM Software are:

Salesforce

Okay this software might be the first one that comes to mind for business owners small and large, but it doesn’t garner a reputation for nothing. Salesforce remains one of the top complete package for a cloud-based CRM software solution. Salesforce has a small business edition lets you take advantage of the software’s multiple tools and resources at a more affordable price tag.

Not to go unnoticed is its amazing resources to report your data and forecast sales, workflow automation, and opportunity management. If we were to highlight a downside of Salesforce, is that users need to invest time and efforts to onboard users and customize their interface for their business needs. Good news is that there are many tools that integrate with Salesforce that will fix these pain-points.

Zoho

If you’re looking to get your feet wet and integrate a CRM software with less commitment, take a look at Zoho. This software is free for up to 10 users, and has the ability to store your data on a cloud that can be accessed from your mobile devices when you’re on the run or unplugged from your desk.

Some features in Zoho include customer service case management, invoicing, password storage, and website visitor tracking. If you’re looking to get creative, Zoho also offers users the ability to customize their own features. While less expensive than other CRM tools, it is not exactly ready to use “out of the box” and can take some time to set up.

Insightly

Insightly is a CRM tool that is gaining attention for its simplicity and usability. This CRM platform has a simple dashboard, menu, and tools that will hopefully create easy adoption.

Small business owners might choose this software because it integrates with popular applications like Gmail, Outlook, QuickBooks, and Xero and can store contacts and help aid project management goals. However, if you’re business is expanding quickly, you might look to more scalable CRM platforms that can handle more than a team of 20 people.

InfusionSoft

InfusionSoft is a CRM software that is task orientated. Highlights include a “My Day” dashboard that keeps track of your daily tasks for a simple solution for lead management. Companies with 25 employees or less might look at this software to create automated sales and email marketing campaigns. Like the other CRM options we mentioned, there is an initial learning curve when setting up this software and using its functionalities.

Pipedrive

If sales is the name of your game, Pipedrive might appeal to you. This CRM software can aid in increasing your sales in a very different approach – by highlighting your sales weaknesses and helping you patch those weak points by increasing new contacts and leads, for example.

Pipedrive looks to guide your sales team with focus on deal making and gives managers insight into performance (and they also have a mobile app for easy accessibility). Just note that they have not yet integrated Outlook to their set-up.

Nimble

Social networking means big business, and Nimble is a CRM platform with that target niche in mind. Nimble is a CRM system that helps its users manage social all on one screen.

You are able to integrate your email, Twitter, Facebook, and Skype into the system and view them all together. There are some complexities with the system that might hinder user adoption, so there might be a need to invest more in educating your employees.

The Perfect Condiment:

Okay, there’s no doubt that a CRM software is key to the long term success of a business, small or large, but back to the bottom line. There are no doubt investments and obstacles in your way, which is maybe why you have been putting off a CRM integration.

Tools like WalkMe, an integrated software that helps reduce the pain of transitioning and onboarding to these new systems, can increase the success of your CRM planning and usability. An online guidance software like WalkMe, in conjunction with a CRM integration, might be the perfect duo- the match you have been looking for.

WalkMe can take the responsibilities of user adoption, onboarding, usability, user experience, and overall boost the success of your long term goals.

I think you may have just run out of excuses.