Customer relationship management has become an integral part of sustainable business growth as it allows companies to engage their existing and prospective customers in a well thought-out and calculated manner.

A concrete CRM strategy not only enables online companies to expand their customer base and increase overall customer satisfaction and but also provides them with game-changing insights about their customers’ behaviours.

Additionally, due to cloud-based CRMs; this information is now available right at your fingertips and can then be converted into actionable insights to drive your company’s growth forward.

It is due to this that we find 87% of companies including both leading multinationals as well as SMEs employing cloud-based CRMs. According to an estimate, as many as 50% of businesses with ten employees or less are using CRM software to increase their productivity and revenue.

These solutions are becoming a necessity for all online businesses because of the fact that they open your eyes to the needs and preferences of your customers and allow you to reach out to them in an effective manner.

The demand for CRM solutions is expected to grow even higher as experts are projecting the industry to reach an astounding 48.4 billion USD in revenues by 2020.

However, this escalating demand for cloud-based CRM has caused the market to be flooded with CRM solutions and is causing business owners much difficulty in deciding the brand that fit the best with their business.

So, to help you decide, we have conducted an in-depth analysis of two industry leaders in cloud-based CRM, i.e. Salesmate and Pipedrive so that you know exactly which solution would provide the best value for your line of work:

1. Salesmate:

Salesmate is an intelligent cloud-based CRM solution that is ideal for transforming leads into sales. It finds its appeal among online business owners due to its ease of navigation and the astounding degree to which it can be personalised by every member of the sales team.

This skyrockets the productivity of your sales force as it allows your sales staff to work with a software that they can manoeuvre flawlessly. The platform also streamlines your sales process thus enabling you to manage your pipeline efficiently.

In addition to this, it automates several components of your sales workflow and therefore speeds up the entire process; leaving your workforce free to do what matters most i.e. engage potential customers.

Salesmate ascertains that you do not lose out on valuable leads by promptly notifying your sales team of all the leads that have not been followed-up so that you can engage them in a timely manner and convert them into sales.

The software also maintains records of all your valued contacts and the communications that are carried out with them respectively.

Features:

Here are some of Salesmate’s most amazing features:

a) It uses an advanced predictive algorithm to put forth a perceptive and accurate sales forecast.

b) You can use it to generate enhanced reports that will allow you to monitor, assess and improve your sales activities. These reports include the amount of time consumed on various sales activities, ROI analysis and pipeline conversion, among others. It can also be used to analyse your sales results on the basis of channels and users in order to identify marketing channels and customer groups that are generating the most revenue.

c) It can easily be tweaked as per your industry’s requirements owing to its flexible layout and the sheer convenience with which you can manage deal stages.

d) It also simplifies your sales function by automating many activities such as the delegation of responsibilities amongst the sales team and the sharing of essential correspondence such as welcome emails to very newly added customer.

e) The software also offers robust applications that can easily be synced with your PC/ tablet/ laptop/ mobile calendar so as to keep you updated with respect to upcoming deadlines.

Devices Supported:

The software offers powerful applications that fit well with all types of devices including PCs, tablets, laptops and mobile phones.

Pricing Plans:

Salesmate offers the following pricing plans:

• Monthly plan is for 15 USD per month
• Annual plan for 12 USD per month
• It also offers a 15-day free trial

2. Pipedrive:

Pipedrive is yet another intuitive CRM solution which offers its users a comprehensive overview of all important sales leads and crucial deals. It boasts a simple and elegant interface, effective sales forecasts and a convenient overview of pipeline matrices that go a long way in enhancing your sales force’s productivity.

Features:

The key features of Pipedrive include the following:

a) It provides a clear snapshot of the entire sales force as it carries out critical activities that demand immediate attention such as the identification of lucrative deals. Moreover, it also allows you to monitor the performance of each sales agent, compare lost and secured deals and maintains all pertinent information and correspondences in one database.

b) It paves the way for highly-organised lead management via its detailed configuration opportunities as well as its ability to import lead from other systems.

c) Pipedrive can be customised to a great extent in accordance with your industry’s needs. It also offers a one-click system whereby you can add customized fields to your sales pipeline and run entire modules (i.e. turn them on and off) with a single click.

d) The software also connects your contacts and deals with your email so that you can access all of them simultaneously.

e) It also offers a graphical representation of your sales reports so that they are easy to interpret and can conveniently identify any issues in your sales process.

Devices Supported:

Pipedrive is thoroughly responsive and can be used across all types of devices such as laptops, PCs, tablets and mobile phones.

Pricing Plans:

Pipedrive offers the following pricing plans:

• Silver plan for 10 USD per month
• Gold plan for 25 USD per month
• Platinum plan for 75 USD per month
• It also offers a 14-day free trial

Verdict:

Both these CRM solutions have strengthened their stronghold within their industry via flawless performance and continuous innovation. However, any of these solutions should only be adopted once you have a clear idea of what you want out of your CRM software.

The reason for this is that both of them have distinct qualities that allow them to be much more suitable for certain types of businesses. For instance, if you have just started your business you may want to go with Pipedrive as it offers high-quality features that are easy to navigate.

However, if you have an already established online business and wish to deploy a solution that offers a more advanced set of options and generates a good ROI; then you should go for Salesmate. This is due to the fact that Salesmate enables you to manage an already established clientele with utmost brilliance and also offers much more automation than Pipedrive thus allowing you focus your human resources in acquiring and retaining customers.

AUTHOR BIO

ABOUT Erica Silva

Erica Silva is a blogger by choice. She loves to discover the world around her. She likes to share her discoveries, experiences and express herself through her blogs.
Find her on Twitter:@ericadsilva1