The Top 6 Free CRM Software Systems For Small Businesses 2020
When a business grows and they receive more and more paying customers, it can be a struggle to keep up.
Does this sound about right?
Well, the solution to this is purchasing a CRM system.
But the question is, how do you choose which CRM software to buy?
This blog is the perfect way of finding out which CRM software system is best for your small business. So sit back and relax as you read our detailed summary that includes hours’ worth of research.
The aim of this is to not only help you choose the perfect CRM system for you, but to also educate more people about these systems and how they can benefit your business.
Before we get into the bit you are here for, we all need to know first what we are actually looking for.
So, What Actually is a CRM Software?
CRM stands for ‘customer relationship management’. So, already this should give you a basic indication of what is included in these systems. They allow a business of any size to manage communication with customers, clients, leads and prospects. It is extremely efficient and beneficial for any type of business to have a CRM system integrated with the everyday work that occurs in the office. Whether you require CRM email marketing, a CRM database or any other CRM tools, the systems listed in this blog contain everything you would ever need for customer relationship management for a small business.
Now, what is the best CRM for a small business?
It all depends, it is your decision to make. This is because every business is different and certain features on a CRM might pull you towards them instead. Although we can’t give you a straightforward answer for the best CRM software, we can give you a list of 6 that you should definitely take a look at.
It should be noted, this list is not in any particular order, it is just 6 CRM systems that we absolutely love for small businesses!
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1) Zoho CRM
The Good
Zoho CRM is a very popular award-winning CRM system that many small businesses adore! It’s extremely popular for its cost effective services when compared to one of the bigger market competitors such as salesforce. Zoho is not restricted to a certain business type or niche as many other CRM’s in the market can tend to be. It also comes with a free version and 4 different pricing plans.
- Standard: £10 Annually or £14 Monthly
- Professional: £16 Annually or £24 Monthly
- Enterprise: £30 Annually or £36 Monthly
- Ultimate: £85 Annually
Each version has specific features and limits that come with each that you can check on Zoho’s pricing page.
Zoho also have available a mobile app which allows for management on-the-go that is quick and easy to use. Other features that Zoho includes are lead and prospect management, customer analytics and customer management.
The Bad
Although Zoho is highly rated by thousands of people and companies, it doesn’t mean that there are no faults. Youtubers ‘TheMarksGroup’ said in a video that the process of sending emails can be annoying and inconvenient. Zoho has also been known to have a lack of support when it comes down to support and the support team itself.
The Summary
Zoho is without a doubt one of the leaders when it comes to the market for CRM systems for small businesses. Everything from its low prices and ease of use, it is almost a perfect CRM software system. However, the word ‘almost’ must be highlighted. There are always going to be issues in every system, and Zoho definitely has them. Zoho is an amazing free CRM system for small businesses and is definitely worth checking out.
2) Insightly
The Good
Insightly is yet another highly-rated CRM system on the market for small businesses. Compared to Zoho it has an amazing email tracking feature that the users of insightly absolutely love bits! A free version is included in the CRM which makes it great for small businesses. There is everything you need in a CRM system here in insightly, including great task management and easy customer management. Insightly is also known for its inexpensive pricing plans.
- Plus: $29
- Professional: $49
- Enterprise: £99
As you can see, they have similar prices to Zoho which really does keep these two close on the market.
The Bad
So, what’s not so good about insightly? Well, for starters, many customers complained about the system that insightly use for their free version. This includes a free version that is restricted and valuable features are hidden behind a pay wall. It makes sense that not every feature would be free, but it can be annoying with the way this is done.
Another popular complaint for the customers of insightly is that just like Zoho, the support can really lack in quality. If you are a small business using a system, you want to be sure that there is amazing support available in case you have some issues.
The Summary
Insightly is an amazing option for anyone requiring a CRM system. Including great features like sending and tracking emails, routing leads to the correct sales person so that they are dealt with properly, tracking important metrics and great workflow automation. If you can get past the few annoyances that come with insighlty, you could have yourself an amazing CRM system for your company.
3) Telagus
The Good
Telsa Media’s CRM creation ‘Telagus’ has been in development for over 3 years now and continues to grow day by day. This CRM system has only recently been put out to the public for sale and already the customers are loving it. Everything from the sleek and easy to navigate design, to the highly-rated drag and drop email campaign system and the world class lead and prospect management, this CRM really is something special.
Not only does it include all of these features as mentioned before, there is also a plan to include ‘online live chat’ on your website which as we all know is a crucial way of gaining leads and helping people out when they visit your website. The team at Telsa Media have a number of developers working on it every single day to improve the system. It is easy to get support from the team and any issues are resolved almost instantly. The price per user for Telagus at the moment is £80. However, Telagus do have a free 10-day trial where you can explore all of the features in a good time frame.
- Plus: $29
- Professional: $49
- Enterprise: £99
The Bad
What brings Telagus issues at the moment, is the fact is that it is still growing. Now, many people see this as a good thing as we are improving. However, not many people at the current state of the system know about its existence.
The Summary
If you want a good priced CRM that tackles all of the problems that your small business faces, look no further than Telagus. This ever-growing software is forever improving and is a great CRM for the price and features that it includes.
4) Pipedrive
The Good
Pipedrive is yet another CRM software that has an award to its name. It’s extremely popular in the world of small businesses simply because of the pricing. Pipedrive integrates a really sleek and simple drag and drop style of handling contacts. You can simply drag a lead into a prospect section, or into a client and it’s that easy. CRM systems are all about making things easier and quicker to deal with, Pipedrive does this perfectly. Customers of the software love the fact that there is an activities section that can actually integrate with your calendar on Gmail. However, the pricing really is one of the stand out factors of Pipedrive.
- Silver: £12.50 Annually or £15 Per Month
- Gold: £24.20 Annually or £29 Per Month
- Platinum: £49.17 Annually or £59 Per Month
As you can see Pipedrive really went in on trying to be one of the best priced CRM software systems.
The Bad
The price of Pipedrive is amazing, there is no doubt about that. However, these amazing prices come with some pretty big sacrifices in features and functionality. Pipedrive simply is missing many features that the other CRM systems in the competition provide. This turns a lot of people away from actually using the software as they are missing some crucial CRM tools that businesses need. It seems there is a trend in CRM providers lacking support and help for their systems, as Pipedrive has also had some complaints about their support system.
The Summary
So, all in all Pipedrive is an extremely easy and simple system for an even better price. As this blog is created to help smaller businesses this could be an amazing software to go to. Pipedrive however, just simply isn’t as good as the competitors. Low prices come with restrictions and you really do lose some features that are needed to some businesses. It’s all down to the business’s needs, if everything you would ever need is in Pipedrive then you’ve hit a gold mine. For most of the businesses out there in the world, sadly Pipedrive might not be enough.
5) Freshsales
The Good
Freshsales is the CRM software created by Freshworks. It’s not as well known as some other CRM’s but it is one of the most highly rated CRM systems around. From built in email notifications and progress tracking of deals to always be on top, this CRM does not lack in features. A feature that is great is the fact that leads can actually be scored so that the sales team can always know which leads are most likely to convert into a customer or client. Also the insights that are available give context to each contact so that you can always plan your conversations. This specific feature is great in today’s world as we all know the best way to get a customer is by building relationships with the customer. Freshsales have a number of different pricing plans available. Including an amazing 21-day free trial.
- Blossom: £12 Annually
- Garden: £20
- Estate: £40
- Forest: £65
As you can see there are many different pricing plans which you can check the details of here.
The Bad
The things that let Freshsales down is yet again, the support. There have been complaints about the support that is provided when people need it most when using this CRM system. Also some people say how when working with a larger number of contacts on the system, it can be very clunky to use the software.
The Summary
Freshsales is an incredible CRM software that offers so much for the money. The reviews are almost all incredibly positive and the users of Freshsales really do love the software. It is without a doubt a great option for any small businesses looking to use a CRM system.
6) EngageBay
The Good
EngageBay is a popular and highly-rated CRM system on the market for small businesses. In fact, it is a completely integrated marketing, sales and service automation platform, with a free CRM.
Compared to Zoho it is far less costly and has more features, including a Service Automation Bay. There is everything you need in a CRM system here in EngageBay, including great task management and easy customer management. EngageBay CRM is absolutely free while the other features are among the lowest priced in the market. Their customer support is top-of-the-line.
- Free: Free
- Basic All-in-one: $8.99
- Growth All-in-one: $29.99
- Pro All-in-one: $47.99
As you can see, they have much lower prices than Zoho which really does give them an edge.
The Bad
So, what’s not so good about EngageBay? Well, not too many to list. They can have more integrations and more templates though.
The Summary
EngageBay is an amazing option for anyone requiring a CRM system. Including great features like sending and tracking emails, routing leads to the correct sales person so that they are dealt with properly, tracking important metrics and great workflow automation. And at such an affordable price point, you could have yourself an amazing CRM system for your company.
Conclusion
So, there you have it, there is Telsa Media’s top 6 free CRM systems for small businesses. As mentioned before, it is literally impossible to say which system is perfect for you as every business is different and has different needs. However, we hope that this list that has took hours of research has provided you with some valuable information.
Everything from email marketing, lead and prospect management, analytics and tracking, CRM systems are extremely useful for businesses in today’s world.
More About Telagus
Telagus as mentioned earlier in the blog was created by us. We have an amazing support system for our users that use the software. We continue to grow day by day and always look at how we can improve the software. We would like to thank everyone who has used Telagus in its early days and we look forward to moving forward with you all and bringing in new people to the software.
Call us today on 0208 131 5389 for more information on Telagus or go to www.telagus.com.
