Free CRM Software: Your Complete Guide

86% of customer service agents say that customers expect more than they used to, with 81% saying customers expect a more personal touch than they have in the past.

Customer expectations will only continue to rise. Luckily, providing better and more personalised customer service is possible with the right CRM (customer service management) platform.

That doesn’t mean it needs to be expensive. There are CRM options that are affordable for businesses of every size. In fact, there are even free CRM offerings. Let’s take a look at how you can find a CRM for less.

What we’ll cover:

• What is a free CRM?
• What to look for in a free CRM system
• Using CRM free trials
• Nonprofit CRM solutions
• CRM for less

CRM (customer relationship management) is a system for tracking interactions with customers and prospects to strengthen customer relationships and build your business. CRM unites teams across sales, service, marketing, commerce, IT, and more by unifying all of your customer data into a single view of each customer. When everyone in your business is working with the latest customer information, you can create better customer experiences.

While CRMs are invaluable to the companies that use them, there are some organisations that don’t have the budgets for full CRM features and capabilities. But there are still some low-cost or no cost options available.

Free customer-management software generally offers more limited capabilities than other CRMs. They work as a “freemium” product, which offers some limited features for free with the expectation that users will pay for more advanced offers. These systems usually institute strict caps on the amount of data and customers you can store in the system, as well place limits on the number of users it permits.

There are also open-source free CRM options. These tools are available to anyone, but require an investment of time and resources to install, configure, and maintain (responsibilities that are not on a company when they go with a paid cloud CRM). Open-source CRMs may let you customise the platform through integration of third-party applications.

Try to find CRM tools that offer real-time reporting options, provide full or self-service customer support, and support your needs without requiring major overhauls to your existing company processes.

The hard truth is that to enjoy all of the advantages of a CRM, you’ll need access to the best CRM providers on the market. Luckily, some offer CRM free-trial options. As opposed to open-source options, these trials provide full the same access to features and support as the paid versions. These trial versions are just that, trials, and expire after a set amount of time.

While they are not a permanent solution, free trials of CRM software can serve as a reference point for comparing other free and open-source alternatives. They can also give you an accurate idea of how helpful a paid option might be, to give you a sense of whether the investment may be worthwhile.

Nonprofit organisations often have the same need for customer-focused solutions as conventional businesses, but without the budgets to support a CRM solution. Despite this, there are powerful CRMs built specifically for nonprofit organisations, which can be implemented with minimal cost and effort.

Nonprofits may even be eligible for discounted or free CRM pricing through programs like Salesforce for nonprofits.

CRM is designed to help you grow your customer relationships. Even if you don’t have the budget to invest in a bigger solution, you still have options.

Limited free CRM options, open-source CRM tools, free trial CRM software, and limited-duration trials that offer full functionality can help you give your customers the attention they deserve while helping your business grow.