Maybe you did not use CRM before, or the one you used was very limited in functions and does not meet your needs anymore. Anyway, you are in search of a good starting point now. Where do you begin?
As with any product, price is not the only decisive matter. There is a list of benchmarks against which you can measure the best CRM for advertising agencies and decide which one plugs the gap in your sales and marketing processes tightly. Generally, CRMs offer automation, email marketing, data entry, and some analytics, intra-team communication, and other features. Some have nicer interfaces, and others have more tools included. But each team and each company have unique interests and goals. How to match the functionality and these goals? Give answers to a set of questions first.
Top 10 CRMs for digital agencies and teams
- Nimble
- HubSpot CRM
- Podio
- Insightly
- Salesforce
- Keap
- BenchmarkONE (previously Hatchbuck)
- Salesflare
- Sage CRM
- Piperdrive
- What is the key function you need to optimize? Email work, workflow, sales, or setup of big campaigns?
- Automation of what actions and processes will save you more money (or time)?
- Do you and your team have time to learn the CRM or do you need to jump on the bandwagon and start working right away?
- What are your preferences regarding UI? Should it be modern in looks, resemble the social newsfeed or an HTML page?
- Will you expand soon, so more features are required, or will a limited basic package be enough?
When you are done with answers, you can explore the list of new and updated CRMs and decide which one is the best marketing CRM from your viewpoint. Then you can pick safely.
Top 10 CRMs for digital agencies and teams
Nimble
Nimble is one of the most optimal and easy-to-use CRMs currently out there, suitable for digital agencies, small businesses, and developing marketing teams. A digital agency will find in Nimble the elaborate social media profiling of customers and data extraction, email tasks bundle, workflow management, and advanced integration with office suites like Google Workspace. Its focus on social media scouting and data integration are particularly valuable for ad targeting and audience segmentation. Nimble is truly a breeze to roll out and use, and no special learning is required. Pricing is affordable. The monthly fee is $19 per user if paid once a year, and $25 per user is paid monthly.
HubSpot CRM
This long-standing CRM for digital agency seems to have always been here for us. HubSpot offers a full package of basic management and communication tools that help to build a strong mutual connection with clientele. Email tools, analytics, workflow tools, smart content management – these are its strong sides. On the weaker side, the toolkit is truly basic and lacks some modern sophisticated functions. It also takes time to learn to navigate it. As a take-off strip, however, HubSpot is irreplaceable, since it is free in its main version.
Fees for add-ons: $45 per month for the Starter plan of additional tools and options. Professional and Enterprise plans will range from $300 to $4,000.
Podio
Podio is a compact but efficient CRM that is fit for tackling both marketing and commercial matters like sales and budgets. The package contains all necessary instruments: workflow and project management, full-scale intranet, and tools for product planning and evaluation. It is a great match for agencies with small to mid-size teams, as prices are very modest: free starter plan, Basic for $9, Plus for $14, and Premium for $24 monthly.
Insightly
This CRM for digital agency can easily become your trusted helper if you harness the power of its Business Intelligence feature. Microsoft-built, it collects past and present data on sales, leads, and other customer actions and translates it into digestible metrics and graphs. In other aspects, it is a classic CRM with email and workflow management, office suits integration, workflow management, and analytics that lets you see what marketing tools are the most (and least) effective in terms of ROI. Such a powerful tool cannot be supplied for nothing: prices begin at $29 per basic Plus plan, move to $49 for Professional, and peak at $99 for Enterprise (fees are per user per month, mind you).
Salesforce
If you look for the state-of-art CRM for digital agency that will have it all and then some, pick Salesforce. It has an overwhelming number of features and tools, from reporting, analytics and visuals to prompts for various sales steps to be taken. It will take you a bit of time to explore the system and learn its capacities, but once you’ve found your way around it, you’ll appreciate its power. Some teams do not like it for this very reason – a big number of advanced features that not every digital tribe needs. Pricing is surprisingly low for such a powerhouse: from Essentials plan for $25/monthly to $300 per month for Unlimited plan.
Keap
Keap makes virtual record keeping and customer engagement a breeze. The CRM for digital marketing was designed for small teams, independent entrepreneurs, and even individual freelancers. It covers marketing processes automation, elaborate management of contacts, a cool email toolkit, and even some basic features of digital marketing. You can even pick the data up from various digital sources and store it under one roof for future processing and use. Pricing is average: from $49 for Grow plan to $149 for the Pro plan (per user per month).
BenchmarkONE (previously Hatchbuck)
BenchmarkONE/Hatchbuck offers only the essential CRM tools that can be used immediately without any fuss. It is a cloud-based system that includes a dashboard, an email toolkit including templates, and a space for storing documents. Contact management, automation, and the socials are all included. It is an out-of-the-box solution for digital and marketing teams. The only possible glitch may be getting used to the HTML design of the interface. The basic version is free, and then fees start at $39 per month (one user) and go up to $199 for the Enterprise plan.
Salesflare
With its cutesy design and all the features necessary, this is probably the best CRM for marketing agencies of a small and middle size that do B2B. The tool collects info about clients on the socials and automatically records it in one place, helps the team track the negotiations through integrated chats and manage workflow, connects smoothly with other systems, and alerts about sales opportunities. The only potential drawback is the need for manual updates after Gmail synchronization. Monthly fees start at $29 for Growth plan and increase to $49 for Pro plan and $99 for Enterprise plan (all billed annually).
Sage CRM
Sage CRM digital marketing kit is for sales sages and gurus that deal with large-scale sales volumes and need a suitable tool. Hence, Sage is the best match for big teams that are scattered across departments (or even branch offices) but need to stay on the same page regarding marketing and sales operations. Sage can connect sales or marketing teams to customer support, delivery, or even accounting teams, thus ensuring smooth collaboration and fast problem-solving. Expect to find an email management bundle, lead prompts and operations, and even features for territory management.
Pricing: monthly fees begin at $45 per user.
Piperdrive
Piperdrive is more of a niche product, but if your agency has a focus on boosting sales, it’s fit for you. The CRM is targeted at entities with a long sales cycle, and its key feature is to alert sales teams to opportunities with leads, conversions, and customers. With this purpose, the platform can be integrated with a wide variety of third-party workflow and data-gathering tools, like Trello, Gmail, G Maps, and Outlook. You can try it for free, and then you need to choose among the Silver ($12.50), Gold ($24), and Platinum ($49.17) monthly plans.
Afterword
All CRMs listed above are worth the money you will pay and the time you will invest in harnessing them. They are contemporary, powerful, and offer everything you need for digital marketing campaigns. Not sure where to start? Begin from the top of the list, with Nimble, and get the taste of really efficient and collaborative marketing campaigns.
Disclaimer: This article contains sponsored marketing content. It is intended for promotional purposes and should not be considered as an endorsement or recommendation by our website. Readers are encouraged to conduct their own research and exercise their own judgment before making any decisions based on the information provided in this article.
