What's the best marketing/CRM tool for a startup?
Hi All,
We are looking for a product that fits our marketing requirements but many of those available are typically geared towards sales CRM. Do you have some suggestions on any tools?
We don't need all of the 'fancy' features but rather just the ability to capture leads from our website, campaign, lead scoring, nurturing, and closing.
Requirements:
-Capture the lead from website
- Lead Scoring and profiling
- Lead nurturing
- Follow-up, task call management and tracking
- Deal closure and tracking
- Contact Management
Please don't include suggestions of Salesforce or Pardot (they are too expensive)
I had tried bitrix and Agile CRM but found that bitrix is totally confusing.
Thanks!
Expert Answers
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Sep 28, 2020
You should try Hubspot they have a free version that will help you and you can upgrade according to your requirements.
Sep 22, 2020
There's a few different things you should consider when picking a CRM for your startup.
Usability
I put this at the top because if your salespeople don't use the tool, it doesn't matter how flashy it is. CRM and Salespeople often don't get along when it's implemented for managers, (for their love of fancy charts and graphs) at the expense of salespeople's time.
Budget
Depending on your budget, you might want to pick a CRM that either has a freemium model, or is affordable for your team. Budget might not be an issue for you, but definitely something to consider. As a bootstrapper myself, I know all too well what it means to have pennies matter.
Workflow
Many CRMs impose some sort of workflow - converting leads to opportunities etc. This might jive with your sales process or it might not. It's important to consider the flexibility of the CRM's workflow, so you don't get stuck with something ridged that doesn't really speak your language.
Growth
What capacity does this system have to growth with you as your company scales? You want to assume things go well, and you'll need more capabilities. How will the system handle that? One word of caution though, you don't want to think too far ahead and pick a system too big for your britches.
Sep 21, 2020
I haven't used MailChimp in a while, but I believe it can do most of what you're looking for. I don't think it gives you lead scoring and when I was using it, only the premium versions give you contact list segmentation.
Sendinblue is an interesting tool I was introduced to. I like it so far but I haven't used the lead scoring feature.
I know HubSpot Marketing Hub provides all of that in their paid versions. It looks like they've expanded the features in the free version but I don't know if that includes marketing automation or automated lead nurturing. It includes "email marketing" but I'm not sure if that includes marketing automation.