Selecting the right CRM solution for your business can be a daunting exercise for some, but for others it’s really not that hard. Here is why. If you are trying to address high-level business objectives such as:

• Streamlining the sales process to improve sales execution and reporting
• Building your brand through marketing automation
• Improving the buying experience of your customers using automated ticketing or a customer portal
• Integrating your CRM with third party solutions

Then you have just ruled out the majority of vendors in the industry.

Limitations of Basic CRM

Many people view CRM software as a commodity market and to some degree they are correct. By producing basic products, several hundred vendors have quickly been able to enter the market. As a result, 90 percent of the solutions share the same limitations.

• Basic out-of-the-box solutions with minimum functionality
• Free crm or just a few dollars a month
• No contract – and month-to-month billing
• No implementation, no personalized training, and no onboarding assistance
• No phone number to call; support is via e-mail and that is because the vendors do not have the staff available for personal assistance
• Limited to no customizability – this alleviates phone calls for assistance
• No product enhancements from year to year, particularity with free versions
• Limited to no integration with third party solutions
• No security or role permissions to secure data
• Uses inexpensive second and third tier hosting services to keep the cost as low as possible
• No future growth into departmental applications

If you have very basic requirements and the limitations above do not concern you, then you have a ton of popular choices. You will have a tedious job finding the best solution among the myriad of players.

If you have higher-level business objectives and you want to realize the maximum benefit from the software, look at the recommended CRM products highlighted in this list. These were selected based on their feature set, implementation experience, years in business, diverse set of customers, quality of their hosting service, level of customer service offered, and integration with third party solutions.

List of Popular CRM Solution Providers

*Recommended: The highlighted products in this list offer a feature rich solution backed by a company that can assist with implementation, support, training, and integration. (Not all CRM vendors are listed)