CRM Ratings Methodology

Pricing

When analyzing pricing, and more importantly, value for price, our team considers a number of factors beyond standard subscription fees. These include short and long-term pricing, the availability of commitment-free plans, the inclusion of a free plan and the length of its free trial. We also consider whether or not providers offer a money back guarantee, as well as any hidden fees or addon fees.

General Features

As important as pricing is to small businesses, it isn’t so important that it outweighs the features of a CRM. This category is chock full of features we look for and then weigh each subfactor according to what different types of businesses need. A solopreneur is likely more interested in a free or low-cost plan for one user, while a marketing agency may be on the hunt for a CRM with built-in email marketing.

Pipeline Management

Although a standard feature for CRMs, we check the ease of use of these pipelines. It should be simple to set up, be highly customizable to meet the needs of various businesses and utilize a visual sales pipeline for all those who need to use or see the process. Additionally, some providers limit the number of pipelines a user can have, so we also took into account which providers offer high pipeline limits and unlimited pipelines.

Customization

A CRM typically allows customization in some way, but we look for how you’re able to customize the tool to the way you work. We look for customizable dashboards, pre-built templates, customizable fields, forms and reports.

Analytics

Users can expect the best CRMs to include built-in analytics and pre-built reports, but the best providers also offer customizable reporting dashboards that allow you to choose the KPIs most important to your business. This can be a valuable tool for data-driven businesses seeking to make more informed decisions.

VoIP or Mobile Integration

Given that many businesses operate on the go, it’s important to consider choosing a CRM that’s easy to use from your mobile device or VoIP provider. For example, a click-to-call feature makes it much faster to contact customers and clients, while also eliminating the risk of manual errors that can lead to wasted time. We also look for advanced features such as autodialing and call recording.

Client Portal

Client portals are important to businesses–particularly service providers as it gives clients the ability to log into their own dashboard where they can see appointments, important documents, view outstanding bills and pay said bills. Not all CRMs include client portals (and not all small businesses need this feature), so we don’t penalize CRMs for not having this feature, but we do give a little extra credit to those that do. The list of features above is by no means complete, but it’s a good look at how we vet CRMs and ensure they’re built for small businesses.

Expert Analysis

Our experts get a generous say in whether a tool is worthy of consideration based on their industry knowledge and first-hand experience with the CRM. This includes the evaluation of qualitative factors such as ease of use, user experience and value for price. Another big factor is how much we trust a provider, which may come down to pricing transparency, refund policies or our own experience with the product or support.

Customer Support

Another key consideration is the availability of support, as well as the channels in which support is available (e.g., live chat, phone, email, tickets). We give priority to providers that offer 24/7 support by live chat and phone as this gives users round the clock access to live support. On top of that, we also review the availability of self-help support options, such as a helpful knowledge base, forums, webinars or how-to video content.