Hands-on review of CRM Apps for Startups and Micro businesses

A WOW for your business on web is a 3 step process

1. Web Incubation 

Website with SEO features and Content Management System on cloud
Learn more on how to incubate your (existing or new) website on web towards creating a successful business presence on Web and Mobile

2. Inbound Lead Generation 

Digital Marketing activities, Social Media and SEO activities, Outbound Marketing
Click here read my blog on 15 smart tips on Inbound lead generation

3. Conversion of Lead to customer, and retaining the Customer 

 The third step is using a the right tools for Lead Conversion and Retention.
 For example a website's contact us and request for quote forms can be powered by forms created using CRM Leads and CRM Opportunities engine, so that you get to act faster and in a more structured way.

Also, in the blog below, i will be providing a hands-on review of Top 6 CRM Apps (To simplify, don't even call this tool as CRM tool, call it a 'Lead to Customer Conversion' Application!) aimed at Startups and Micro business. I am also going to provide my recommendation which may help you make the right choice for your business.

CRM for start-ups!

"CRM for start-ups??" - is this what is going in your mind? well, i was amazed to hear some of the very successful startups were well organized from the word go, using simpler versions of tools like CRM. Agreed, no startup would like to invest thousands of dollars on CRM tools, but there are now robust Cloud or Software As a Service (pay as you go) options available that gives you the power to take on established larger businesses.

The simplest of a CRM tool that exist today could be SohoOS, but there are plenty of other options available, especially if you are running your business on Google Apps. (As i have said in my previous blogs, if you are not with Google Apps, you are really loosing out on some very good productivity tools and features, that too almost at negligible cost, which will really allow you to take on mega-businesses.)

The CRM options below are arranged below in the order of maturity they possess, starting with SohoOs which works best you are a 1- to 2 person firm, all the way to Oracle CRM recommended for small and medium businesses with over 200 employees.
As you move down my list, you will find that options get more expensive, more feature rich.

Customization is a big factor in chosing CRM, and as you go down the order, you will find that option 6 is most customizability and option 1 is least customize-able of all. But that doesn't mean that, option 6 is better option than the others. It all depends on your scenario, employees you have, the money you would like to spend in CRM, the growth you are fore-seeing in the next 6 months to 2 years etc...

Remember, most of the CRM tools does allow you to import and export of data, and hence moving from one CRM platform to another  after  a year or two is an option available, so when your business is smaller, start small which will allow your employees to "use it". The more complex and feature rich CRM tools can wait until your business grows slightly bigger.
Now, let us get the review started!

1. SohoOS.com

 SaaS based, Simple yet great, works best when you are running your micro business or startup, all by yourself or have may be one or two partners/employees. SohoOS has a built-in hand holding or walk-through that even my 6 yr old daughter may find it easy to use! you must try it, even if you don't have a plan to organize your micro business operations yet.
Biggest drawback is, you can have only one user as Agent/Administrator of the SohoOS account.
Recommended for young startups in the initial years

2. ZOHO CRM

 SaaS based,Typically recommended for Startups, Micro Business and Small Business teams of up 20 to 50 members. This option is cheaper and works quite well, when used along with Google Apps. ZOHO has huge collection of other productivity apps, which can sync well with ZOHO CRM, e.g. you can create a contact us form from ZOHO, publish on your website, and bring all the leads, right into your CRM lead view, as the customer tries to contact you.
If you have just 3 users using ZoHO CRM, it is free forever, which is found to be very attractive and i have  not seen this aggressive pricing in any other CRM apps.
Recommended for startups and micro-businesses with more than two sales personnel 

3. SugarCRM

I never used it myself, but sugarCRM does have a huge fan following due to its open source roots. The point to remember is that, you will have to setup and host the software yourself. My recommendation to small business would be to NOT TO get into hosting sugarCRM or any other CRM, as you will loose the focus from your core business, and will end up dealing with infrastructure issues. There is an on-demand version of SugarCRM, but it has not been very successful and proven yet.

4. SalesForce.com 

Sales force pioneered SaaS based CRM offerings on the cloud, truly a legend of a product, but somehow does not work well with Google Apps!, my favorite platform for startups and micro business. Also, SalesForce.com is little more expensive when compared to ZOHO CRM.

5. Microsoft CRM 2011

Organizations which is having larger than 100 employees, Dynamics CRM is a good option, especially if you have existing investment in Microsoft .NET or SharePoint technologies. Yes, as you move up in the value chain, it gets more expensive.
On-Demand version of MS Dynamics CRM also does exist, but if on-demand is what you are opting for, it is rather better to go ahead with salesforce or ZOHO CRM

6. Oracle CRM on Demand

Powerful solution meant for medium to large business. Works better for small business above 200 employees. Strong SLA suppported service, most expensive of all options listed here. 

If you are interested in learning more on setting up a Website, Google Apps Business Email and ZOHO CRM for your startup, micro or small business, please fill up the form below>