Unlocking Growth: Choosing the Right CRM Tool for Your Business's Scale and Success

A common theme from new clients is that they have difficulty tracking their communications and interactions with prospects and customers.

How do you manage thousands of contacts? Do you know who navigates your marketing funnel and at what stage? What marketing and sales efforts are most valuable to your business? While the answer isn’t surprising, the number of options and considerations might be.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software is vital for any modern marketer. It allows them to manage their prospects and contacts, track their touchpoints and communications with them, and determine which strategies and tactics are most effective at driving results.

Over the years, VIA Studio has worked with many clients on onboarding, managing, and utilizing CRM platforms to achieve their goals. We have experience with enterprise-level CRM projects for large organizations and small to medium-sized business-level CRM integration for start-ups and local companies.

Enterprise-Level CRM Platforms

Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics 365 stand at the pinnacle for large-scale organizations, offering unmatched functionality and customization options, albeit with a price tag to match. They can can quickly reach six-figure annual investments in licensing, onboarding, and administration. Here's what we've learned.

Salesforce

Pros:

• Sales Pipeline Management: Best-in-class with Sales Cloud, offering detailed pipeline visibility and forecasting.
• Customization: Tailor Salesforce to fit your business needs by trimming unnecessary features.

Cons:

• Complexity: Can be overwhelming for those without the need for intricate systems.
• AppExchange: External integrations add cost and management overhead.

Microsoft Dynamics 365

Pros:

• Microsoft Suite Integration: Seamless connectivity with Microsoft tools like Outlook. Users don’t have to spend time switching between platforms and accounts to do their jobs. They can focus on their tasks and know their activities are actively logged into the platform.
• Power BI Reporting: Advanced analytics and reporting capabilities through Power BI.

Cons:

• Intensive Implementation: Custom setups require significant development effort. The time commitment is massive.
• License Requirements: Additional cost for Microsoft licenses, unless already integrated into your IT infrastructure.
• While the platform is robust, it lacks many ready-made process automation solutions.

Small to Mid-Level CRMs

For smaller budgets and simpler needs, HubSpot and Constant Contact offer powerful, user-friendly solutions without the enterprise-level investment.

HubSpot

Pros:

• Robust Reporting & BI: User-friendly data organization and sales analytics.
• Marketing Automation: Intuitive automation flows and scheduling functionalities.

Cons:

• Annoying Sales Tactics: For an advanced technology platform, their sales tactics were developed in the 1950's, requiring you to call them on a phone line.
• Cost: Full feature access can become pricey for some businesses. Do we love most of what HubSpot offers? Yes. Is it worth what they charge? Unfortunately, only if you’re a certain size company (with a certain sized budget). There are still some automation processes that we would love to have in HubSpot, but the costs sometimes don’t justify the features and functionality.

Constant Contact

Constant Contact recently purchased a tool we used called SharpSpring. These notes take both tools into consideration.

Pros:

• Beginner-Friendly: Easy to use with extensive support and prebuilt templates.
• User Support: Exceptional service with quick response times.

Cons:

• Limited Customization: Not suited for complex, bespoke needs.
• Feature Depth: Basic functionalities that might not suffice for advanced users.

How VIA Studio Can Assist

Choosing the right CRM is a strategic decision that impacts every facet of your operations. VIA Studio's extensive experience across the CRM spectrum ensures you make an informed choice, balancing budget, functionality, and ease of use to find your perfect match.

If the path to CRM enlightenment seems daunting, reach out. We're here to illuminate the way, crafting a CRM strategy that aligns with your business ambitions. Contact us today!