15 Best Customer Database Software of 2024

Updated Aug 6, 2023.

To make the most of your lead generation efforts, you need customer database software to manage the customer data you’ve collected.

Choosing the right CRM database software can be challenging. To help you out, I’ve reviewed 15 deal management tools that stand out for their functionality.

Monday icon

Monday CRM

Customer data management software that uses project management features to help sales teams manage their sales pipeline and workflows.
Pipedrive icon

Pipedrive

Client database software that helps both big and small businesses close deals. Concentrate on driving leads down the sales funnel.
Keap icon

Keap CRM

Keap CRM is a client database management tool that brings marketing and sales teams together to collaborate for increased sales.
Freshworks icon

Freshsales

CRM database software that emphasizes sales effectiveness through a robust telephony system and AI that recommends which leads to prioritize.
Zoho icon

Zoho CRM

Zoho CRM utilizes marketing automation and conversational AI for everything from sales pipeline analysis to report generation.

Our work is supported by affiliate commissions.

In this review, we’ll look at some of the unique features of the market’s top customer database software tools.

By the end of this article, you’ll be able to decide which tools to test before finally buying your top CRM database software.

Best Client Database & Customer Database Software

Here is the list of the best customer database software solutions we’ll be reviewing:

1. Monday CRM

Best Customer Database Software for Workflow Management

Pros
  • Customizable to fit any sales workflow
  • Helpful in-app walk-throughs
  • Can manage overall work since the platform is a work OS
Cons
  • No integrations and automations in the free and basic plans
  • Free and basic plans don’t allow branding of forms
Monday icon
Monday CRM
4.6
Editor’s Take

I love Monday CRM for its intuitive interface and the vast customization options it provides. I was impressed by how easy it was to create workflows, launch email marketing campaigns, and automate sales processes. Testing the Shopify integration proved that Monday CRM is one of the best customer data management tools for engaging captured leads and selling to them.

Best For
Intuitive workflow management
Price
$0 – $16 per user per month
Annual Discount
Save 18%

Monday CRM is a full-featured CRM with everything sales reps, teams, and managers need to close deals.

You can move your customer data into the project management module and collaborate with colleagues on product development, service delivery, or whatever other work you need to do.

All data, including interactions, is centrally-managed and can be accessed through the mobile app.

Best Features

Workdocs

collaborate on documents using chat tools, boards, and charts, with real-time updates to keep everyone in sync. You can use Workdocs to run brainstorming sessions, discuss projects and transform written text into action items for execution.

Contact management

improve customer data management by keeping customer information, documents, tasks, and interactions in a central location. You can log all communication, send emails from the CRM, and connect all customer interactions to your sales pipeline.

Lead management

use customizable forms to capture leads on your website and landing pages or import them from other tools. Lead management includes linking the leads to marketing campaigns, tracking activities through a timeline, evaluating customer interaction, and offering after-sales support.

Reports

pull up-to-date reports for insights into your sales pipeline, sales agents’ performance, product sales, etc. Use custom dashboards to see client data or pick from eight available data visualization options to get detailed reports and share them with your team.

Integrations and automations

you can sync data between Monday CRM and tools like Zendesk, Shopify, and Stripe. You can even add social media integration through Zapier and use automations to launch custom workflows and improve your business processes.

2. Pipedrive

Best Customer Data Management App for Target-focused Sales Teams

Pros
  • Easy setup
  • Deal-driven workflows
  • 24/7 chat and email support
Cons
  • Limited CRM functionality
  • No phone support
Pipedrive icon
Pipedrive
4.4
Editor’s Take

Pipedrive goes straight into pursuing the deals that need to be closed. It pulled client data from LinkedIn and Google, giving me all the information I needed to personalize my email marketing campaigns. If you’re a sales rep or manager whose eye is always on your targets, then Pipedrive is for you.

Best For
Focusing on deals
Price
$12.50 – $99 per user per month
Annual Discount
Save 17%

Pipedrive is specially built for sales management. Since its focus is on closing deals, it doesn’t come with marketing automation or task management tools. These can, however, be added through integrations.

Sales performance is enhanced through workflow automation, and the in-built AI tool analyzes historical data to generate insights for improved performance.

Best Features

Contact management

connect your contacts with their associated deals and get a visual history of their interactions. Use the Google Maps integration to know where your contacts are and build context for lead nurturing by including notes and file attachments.

Customizable sales pipeline

define custom fields and stages, drag-and-drop stages to update deals, and measure sales activities. You can also create pipelines for individuals or teams and turn features on or off.

Automation

you can automate sales activities such as sending personalized emails when a deal is created or triggering specific actions when deals reach a new stage. You can automatically pull data from social sites to learn more about your prospects through the smart contact data.

Sales inbox

improve email marketing using Pipedrive’s customizable email templates or create your own, track every email for open and click rates, and schedule activities from your inbox. This customer data management software also allows you to schedule your emails to be sent when contacts are likely to read them.

Reports

personalize your reports with custom data fields that track any variable you want to monitor. Set goals for individual reps, teams, and the whole company and track the progress on customizable dashboards. You can share links to reports with stakeholders who are not Pipedrive users.

3. Keap CRM

Best Customer Management Software for Sales and Marketing Collaboration

Pros
  • Combines sales and marketing tools
  • Natively-supported payment processors
  • Fully customizable and easy-to-use platform
Cons
  • Keap is expensive
  • Limited number of users per plan
Keap icon
Keap CRM
4.2
Editor’s Take

The way Keap combines sales and marketing tools in their app made me feel like they really want these teams to collaborate—and that’s a good thing. With automated lead nurturing based on lead behavior and natively-supported payment processors, Keap is a customer data management software that genuinely empowers teams to sell more.

Best For
Sales and marketing collaboration
Price
$59 – $199
Annual Discount
Save 20%

Keap CRM works hard to bridge the gap between marketing and sales teams. It comes with marketing automation tools and sales tools for appointment booking and ecommerce.

Keap has features for SMS and phone calls, lead scoring, and the ability to A/B test email messages for more effective email marketing. All these can be tested using the free trial.

Best Features

Pipeline management

you can create multiple custom pipelines and set up automated tasks and follow-ups for lead nurturing. Use sales pipeline analytics to monitor performance metrics such as average deal duration and time in stage and forecast deal revenue.

Keap business line

get a virtual local phone number that includes voicemail, auto-replies, and snooze settings. Send personalized 1:1 or group messages and make and receive calls from the desktop app. Your team can also use the business line.

Automation

set up automations in the sales pipeline, auto-assign tasks to team members and send text and email follow-ups. Capture customer information such as behavior and preferences to determine the likelihood to buy. With 2,000+ integrations, you can tailor your sales pipeline to your needs.

Invoicing

you can send personalized quotes to prospects and customers and get paid directly from the quote. Set up recurring payments with custom start and end dates and predefined payment frequencies. Supported payment processors include PayPal, Stripe, and WePay.

Onboarding

get help setting up and enjoy free migration from HubSpot and Mailchimp. Tap into Keap’s 20 years of experience by getting one-on-one coaching for a proven growth strategy.

Reports

visualize revenue growth and track marketing, sales, and payment activities across weeks and months. With Keap’s customer relationship management app, you can monitor conversions, email click-through rates, daily, weekly, and monthly sales, compare periodic reports and analyze trends.

4. Freshsales

Best Customer Relationship Management Software for Team Productivity

Pros
  • Automated sales sequences
  • Dynamic lead scoring
  • It can function as part of the Freshsales suite
Cons
  • No integrations on the free plan
  • The user interface needs improvement
Freshworks icon
Freshsales
4.1
Editor’s Take

Freshsales proved to be perfect for providing insight into customer preferences by adding social media data into the CRM. This data made it easy for me to design a sales pipeline with personalized touchpoints. Combining that with its telephone and AI capabilities, Freshsales delivers incredible value to sales teams focused on improving efficiency.

Best For
Busy sales professionals
Price
$0 – $69 per user per month
Annual Discount
Save 20%

Freshsales is one of the best CRM tools for closing deals fast and has a very easy-to-use interface.

Freshsales boosts contact management by enriching customer details with social media information, and with Freddy, you get intelligent lead scoring with a highlight of high-risk contacts.

Sign up for the free trial and test Freshsales for yourself.

Best Features

Workflow management

this customer data management tool enables you to create multiple pipelines with custom stages and manage them across teams, regions, and processes. Set up product catalogs with discounts and taxes, set and track sales goals, set probabilities, forecast revenue by sales stage, and handle lead management like a pro.

Security

define roles, create users and specify permissions for customer database access. Track all activities and get audit logs that contain a sequential order of configuration changes. You can also control data access by setting field-level and record-level permissions.

Mobile app

take voice notes to provide context to your records and sync data for offline access. Through the mobile app, you can track KPIs, schedule and join Zoom meetings, send SMSs through Twilio, Zipwhip, and ClickSend, and combine Google Maps and Uber to make cab bookings to your contact’s location.

Cloud telephony

get virtual phone numbers in 90+ countries for remote staff and efficiently handle calls, texts, and voicemails. Build context by recording calls, activity logs, and route calls to your support agents.

Freddy AI

this AI solution analyzes data in your customer database software and provides predictions, recommendations, and insights into your deal and lead management activities. Leverage predictive lead scoring to know which contacts to prioritize and get deal insights for data-backed decisions. Freddy will also identify the intent to meet and set up meetings.

5. Zoho CRM

Best Customer Database Software for AI-powered Selling

Pros
  • Quick and easy onboarding
  • Advanced security features
  • Integration with Zoho suite
Cons
  • Limited file storage
  • Limited free plan
Zoho icon
Zoho CRM
4.0
Editor’s Take

From a powerful command center to a conversational AI bot, Zoho CRM has everything. The AI bot enabled me to track competitors, identify prospect sentiment and measure the efficiency of my entire sales process. I also liked the option of A/B testing customer journeys.

Best For
AI-powered Selling
Price
$0 – $45
Annual Discount
Save 34%

Zoho CRM has impressive features and is an excellent choice for those using other Zoho products.

Of its many features, an exciting one is its conversational AI bot called Zia. Zia can handle anything from analyzing email sentiment to generating reports you ask for via chat.

Run the free trial and see whether Zoho CRM meets your business needs.

Best Features

Deal management

get a clear view of your deals by viewing all the relevant details on the same screen. You can create multiple custom pipelines, send personalized quotes from within the CRM software and see your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses to pitch your solution better.

Command center

personalize the customer experience by efficiently tracking customer journeys. Get the data that helps you engage effectively across multiple channels and automate complex journeys based on user actions.

Omni-channel communication

Zoho CRM has 50+ phone integrations for every call-related task and analytics your team will need. You can also search for keywords, uncover insight into brand and product mentions, live-chat your website visitors, provide portals for customers, vendors, and partners, set up online presentations, etc.

Developer tools

use the available low-code and pro-code tools to sync customer information across apps, develop apps for different teams, and test changes through the sandbox before deploying the apps. You can also extend the UI by connecting pre-built or custom widgets.

Zia

this conversational AI bot can give you deal predictions, suggest the best time to contact leads, take notes and detect sales pipeline anomalies. You can chat with Zia to get customer information, generate reports from the CRM, use the bot to automate macros, keep tabs on the competition and even identify prospect sentiments.

6. Zendesk Sell

Best Customer Data Management Software for Enterprise Businesses

Zendesk Sell - Sell smarter, not harder

Zendesk Sell is an excellent customer data management software for any sales team collaborating with other departments. It has call and SMS tracking and provides you with data through its Reach feature.

If you’re in the customer service business, you can set up a customer service database and use it as part of the whole Zendesk suite.

Best Features

Email intelligence

integrate your inbox with this customer relationship management tool to monitor your email marketing performance and get notified when leads read or click on your emails. You can analyze key metrics to learn how to maximize conversions, create email templates and set up sequences for streamlined campaigns.

Native dialer

quickly call prospects and customers and generate call lists for automated dialing. Log and record all calls, store and access call notes and scripts, send text messages and monitor performance through call analytics.

Reach

get access to over 20 million businesses and 395 million prospect records to build accurate and current lead lists. You can create custom cadences for different lead sources or sales cycle stages and increase productivity with automated follow-ups.

Reports

you can analyze performance metrics and visualize your sales pipeline using more than 20 chart types. Customize reports to view the most critical information, break down sales trends by team or region, accurately forecast revenue growth, and export the data on the mobile app.

Integrations

you can expand the customer data management software by integrating it with apps from leading software providers or develop your own Zendesk app to cater to your unique needs. The system comes with APIs and SDKs, and code libraries to help you build custom solutions more quickly.

Pros

  • Extensive list of add-ons
  • Smart lists and filters
  • Strong analytics features

Cons

  • No free plan
  • Reaching customer support is not easy

Paid plans start at $19 with a 14-day free trial.

7. HubSpot CRM

Best Free Customer Relationship Management Tool

HubSpot CRM - Free CRM Software With Something for Everyone

HubSpot CRM is widely known for its free plan. HubSpot stands out for its simplicity, intelligent lead scoring, customizable reports, and marketing automation features.

If you’re just getting started with CRMs, HubSpot is one of the market’s best customer database software solutions. This client database system has superb contact management capabilities, and small businesses love it.

Best Features

Conversation intelligence

use conversation AI to gain insight into your customer calls. Conversation intelligence identifies top objections and performance patterns to help team managers coach new reps and make decisions that impact deal outcomes.

Lead nurturing

engage leads through calls and chatbots that can book meetings and deliver targeted messages to different website pages and audience segments. Set up daily calling queues and access call transcripts for keyword searching.

Document management

create a shared sales content library and add documents to your emails from a drop-down menu. Get notified when a lead opens your document or shares it so that you can know which documents help you close more deals.

Sales automation

set up sequences to create tasks in the CRM and follow up with prospects by choosing from a list of email templates and tasks. You can add manual steps in the sequence to enable you to add specific details to emails for increased response rates.

Reports

create up to three custom dashboards and access 90+ pre-built reports that help you forecast revenue, monitor sales activities, understand sales performance and gauge the probability of hitting your monthly or quarterly sales goals.

Pros

  • The best free plan on the market
  • Free online courses are available
  • Excellent website marketing features

Cons

  • Paid plans are costly
  • The user interface needs improvement

The paid plans start from $45 per month.

8. Pipeline CRM

Best CRM for Pipeline Management

Pipeline CRM - Made by Salespeople, For Salespeople

Pipeline CRM helps sales reps to plan and manage deals with a focus on closing faster. A daily overview of the previous day’s performance provides direction on what to concentrate on.

With unlimited data storage, you can enhance data management by attaching documents and notes to every deal. You can also test the system using the free trial.

Best Features

Workflow management

you can set up and track multiple sales workflows for increased productivity. Monitor deals through the deal profile page and use Deal Intelligence to close deals faster.

Team management

this customer data management software enables you to set objectives and track daily sales activities. Decide which reps handle which leads and provide access to data based on predefined permissions.

Reports

view your pipeline’s history and analyze sales data to identify the success patterns you can replicate. Forecast revenue, identify top-performing reps, and use the central hub to see remote teams’ activities and shared data.

Automations

automate task management, update leads, and use shared updates to notify everyone when milestones are reached and deals closed. You can also set up recurring deals, and the customer data management tool will automatically create a new deal when the current one closes.

Integrations

enjoy a frictionless workflow by syncing data with popular apps. Unique integrations include ActiveDEMAND for marketing automation, Bitium for extra security, and Finder.io to boost lead generation by finding and verifying email addresses in seconds.

Pros

  • Superb support on all plans
  • Unlimited leads, deals, and companies
  • Unlimited custom reports

Cons

  • Standard onboarding costs $500
  • No free plan

Plans start at $25, with a 14-day free trial.

9. Salesforce

Best Customer Information Management Software for Large Teams

Salesforce - Drive efficient growth with intelligent sales force automation software

Salesforce comes with features for both sales and marketing automation and Maps for planning and managing the routes and schedules of remote teams.

There are many customization options to help you personalize your workspace. If you’re a big team or a startup that expects to scale soon, then Salesforce could be excellent. There’s also a free trial for testing purposes.

Best Features

Sales pipeline

get details about your team’s pipeline and use filters to identify the most promising deals. Important KPIs are already defined in the system, and you can quickly turn status updates into coaching sessions for your reps.

Reports

you can build custom reports by drag-and-dropping data fields, groupings, and charts. Use filters to focus on relevant data, edit chart components, and use in-built analytics to track lead volume and conversion rates. You can also view reports on the mobile app.

Opportunity management

use the activity timeline to view important data about every opportunity and set up revenue and quantity schedules that reflect payment and delivery terms. Use available data to auto-generate quotes in PDF and email them to customers directly from the app.

Einstein AI

get the most out of your client database by boosting data management through AI and allowing Einstein to analyze your data and score both leads and opportunities. Einstein also updates you on critical business development by analyzing external news so that you can increase your chances of closing deals.

Salesforce Maps

plan routes and prioritize schedules based on account and user data. Design territory plans efficiently and accurately track equipment location and operating attributes while auto-logging customer visits through geo-fencing.

Pros

  • Very customizable
  • Perfect for collaborating with remote teams
  • Detailed reports

Cons

  • There’s a bit of a learning curve
  • The user interface needs improvement

Plans start at $25 with a 30-day free trial.

10. NoCRM.io

Best Customer Data Management Software for Lead Management

NoCRM.io - Give your sales team the tool they deserve to close deals... much faster

noCRM.io is a simple CRM tool that emphasizes processes that help close deals. Behind the simplicity is functionality for creating custom fields and sales activities while using widgets for personalization.

You’ll also have an easier time with cold calling by using cold calling scripts and improving your email marketing performance through optimized templates.

Best Features

Lead management

conduct lead generation activities on LinkedIn and collect customer information using web forms or by scanning business cards. You can also import contact lists from Excel or CSV files and create sales funnels that improve customer experience and close more deals.

Cold calling script generator

generate cold calling scripts to help you easily qualify leads. You can create a list of questions to ask or choose a script from the available templates. After collecting the answers, you’ll transfer the data to the CRM in one click.

Team management

you can manage your sales teams by planning and tracking sales activities such as calls and meetings and syncing reminders with your calendar.

Reports

you can monitor deal progress through 360° views of your sales pipeline, check the integrity of your client database, and track key sales metrics to identify areas that need improvement. Analyze performance statistics and optimize email templates for improved email marketing results.

Integrations

connect with 4,000+ apps to automate your workflow and expand noCRM.io the way you want. You can integrate with project management software for task management functionality and connect with specialized apps such as RingCentral, ActiveDEMAND, and Livestorm.

Pros

  • Simple and easy to use
  • Free training through the sales academy
  • Helpful training on how to build integrations

Cons

  • Costly onboarding for small businesses
  • No automation features

Plans start at $10 with a 15-day free trial.

11. AllClients

Best Customer Data Management Software for Client Engagement

AllClients - A simple to use CRM made for you

AllClients is a client database system that helps sales teams excel in reaching out to prospects and closing deals. It lets you collect customer information, automate email marketing campaigns and monitor email links for clicks.

Start the day with an email of upcoming appointments and planned activities and use group actions to accomplish big tasks in a short time.

Best Features

Contact management

get all your clients’ details on one screen and create custom fields to sort and segment the contacts as you want. You can use group actions to edit contacts in batch, send a letter to a mailing list and even assign a to-do.

Marketing automation

capture leads using customizable landing pages, set up workflows that include auto-responders, and create email drip campaigns to warm up your leads. With Intelligent Links, you’ll be able to monitor link clicks for insight into your email marketing performance.

Text marketing

the text-to-join feature provides a quick way of adding new prospects to your client database mailing list. You can send and receive text replies from your contacts’ pages and include the texts in your automated workflows.

Agenda assistant

you’ll receive an email every morning with details about your appointments and planned activities. If one of your clients has a birthday, you can automatically send them a birthday email or create a reminder and personalize the birthday wish accordingly.

Pros

  • Agenda assistant
  • Client newsletters
  • Phone, email, and chat support

Cons

  • Limited number of users
  • No free plan

Plans start at $29 with a 14-day free trial.

12. Bitrix24

Best Customer Database Software for Online Businesses

Bitrix24 - Sell more. Sell better. Sell faster

Bitrix24 CRM comes with SMS marketing, robocalling, and retargeting for Google Adwords and Facebook.

You can engage with prospects and customers through different channels and use canned replies to speed up communication. You can also define goals for your sales teams and use them to pay out commissions.

Best Features

Deal tracking

separate potential deals from hot ones and collaborate with team members through chat, HD video, and shared calendars. Automate task management and create workflows with custom sales stages and data fields to help you close deals faster.

CRM marketing

you can run five marketing campaign types directly from the CRM, including bulk SMS, robocalling, and retargeting for Facebook and Google Adwords. Create email sequences, segment your lists and engage prospects through drip campaigns.

Multichannel contact center

engage your contacts through email, phone, live chat, and social networks. Gather customer experience feedback and generate reports to show activity by channel, average response time, and customer satisfaction.

Goals-based commissions

set sales targets for individual reps or the whole team and monitor progress within the client database system. Use the commissions calculator app to determine commissions based on closed deals or paid invoices. You can then compare commissions between sales periods, generate commission reports, and view agent ratings through the mobile app.

Telemarketing

set up a call center within the customer data management app and get local phone numbers for your reps to use when calling. Use the automatic dialer to make and receive calls, record them, create transcripts, and distribute workload using intelligent routing.

Pros

  • Call center functionality
  • Internal social network
  • The free plan has project management features

Cons

  • Getting used to the many features can take time
  • No chat support for the free plan

A free version is available with paid plans starting at $39.

13. Copper

Best Client Database App for Businesses Using Google Workspace

Copper - Win clients for life with Copper CRM

Copper is made for businesses using Google Workspace, and it scrapes Gmail and Calendar for customer information then auto-feeds the data into the CRM.

Copper has the functionality of a project management software and empowers teams for task management using Kanban boards.

With the mobile app, you can track your sales pipeline and close deals while on the go.

Best Features

Deal management

assign time-based tasks and set reminders that help you stay on top of every deal. Monitor how long deals stay in one stage and get recommended next steps based on upcoming tasks, meetings, and overdue email responses.

Task management

as one of the best customer database software solutions for Google Workspace, you can collaborate using customizable Kanban-style boards to manage project tasks and connect every step back to the client database. You can attach files from Drive, see tasks from within Gmail, and tag team members in your communication.

Reports

choose from ready-made templates or create custom reports that dig deeper into your data. Automatically send scheduled reports to stakeholders, whether they are Copper users or not.

Mobile app

use your phone or tablet to check deal status, automatically log calls and SMSs, filter and view sales activities, and use your voice to add notes to the customer data management app. You can create new sales pipelines through the app, communicate the next steps, and schedule meetings.

Automation

you can design workflows using rules that direct Copper on what tasks to execute and set up automated emails to answer FAQs and nurture leads. To enrich your contact data and help you provide a better customer experience, Copper can automatically scrape your leads’ social profiles for personal interests.

Pros

  • Easy to use
  • Fully integrates with Gmail
  • Can be used as a project management software

Cons

  • The basic plan doesn’t include email marketing features
  • No feature for preventing contact duplication

Plans start at $25 with a 14-day free trial.

14. Streak CRM

Best Client Database Software for the Google Ecosystem

Streak CRM - Manage Projects from Gmail

Streak is another customer database software solution targeting businesses that use Google Workspace. It has won the Google Technology Partner of the Year award for its integration with the Google suite of apps.

It allows you to optimize your sales process to match your business requirements and view upcoming tasks in your pipelines.

Best Features

Deal management

auto-fill your client database with data from Gmail and get insights that help you close more deals. Get all the information you need about an opportunity in your Gmail sidebar with updates whenever data in the customer database management tool changes.

Email tracking

get notified when your emails are read and view all tracking info in your Inbox and Sent folders. Boost your email marketing performance by using filters to identify which recipients need follow-up emails and schedule them to be sent at the right time.

Email snippets

instead of always writing the same emails, use canned responses that you can insert using shortcuts. You can share these snippets across your team and use them to create email templates en-masse.

Funnel management

easily design and edit your sales pipelines using columns that accept any data type and sales stages that can be rearranged. You can also create custom views by sorting and filtering your pipeline information.

Team collaboration

share entire email conversations between teams working on the same opportunities to understand the communication context better. You can also restrict data access to specific users based on defined roles.

Pros

  • Shortcuts for canned responses
  • Email scheduling
  • Free plan

Cons

  • Limited mobile app
  • Lacks automation

Streak CRM’s paid plans start from $15 with a 14-day free trial.

15. Insightly

Visually-beautiful Customer Data Management Software for Project Management

Insightly - The CRM your teams will love

Insightly is a beautiful-looking customer data platform that includes project management. The aim is to provide cross-departmental teams with a CRM platform for efficient collaboration.

Rather than just collecting and managing customer data, Insightly uses your data to automate tasks and manage complex sales pipelines.

Best Features

Workflow automation

automate manual and repetitive tasks and processes for increased productivity. You can automatically create or update records, create tasks after deals are closed, and even run commands to sync CRM data with external systems.

Task management

convert won deals into projects and execute the tasks that help you exceed customer expectations. Set milestones, manage processes, align your teams and create custom dashboards to view your pipelines from different angles.

Voice

this telephony solution enables you to engage prospects and existing customers for a stronger relationship. You can record voicemail messages, create call lists for your reps, set goals and call velocity metrics, and activate the listen-in functionality for coaching purposes.

Relationship linking

understand your customers and their relationships by linking their interactions to records in your contact database. You will gain visibility into relationships and get the knowledge you need to build deeper connections.

Custom apps

the Insightly platform enables you to create whatever custom apps your business needs. Your team can deploy the apps on the web or mobile devices.

Pros

  • Visually-attractive interface
  • Can function as a project management software
  • The relationship linking feature provides insight into contact connections
  • Free trial available

Cons

  • Support is paid for starting at $1,500 per year
  • Integrating Insightly with some third-party apps can be complex

Insightly offers a free plan with paid plans starting from $29.

Key Features of CRM Database Software

There are standard features that every CRM database software will come with. The most important CRM features you should consider when looking at customer database solutions are:

1. Lead and Pipeline Management

Generating leads and managing customer journeys is central to any customer database management system. Every customer database system should enable you to at least collect customer data through web forms.

New lead details should automatically update in the CRM software, and prospects assigned to the staff best suited to close the deal. The system should enable you to create a sales funnel, perform task management and track the customer journey while nurturing leads through email marketing.

2. Customer Data Management

The best customer data management software should allow manual data entry, importing lead data from other tools, and scraping social media accounts for additional customer data.

The customer data software should have the correct fields to ensure the data is well organized, with options for defining custom data fields to simplify managing customer information.

3. Centralized Communication

Communication with prospects and customers should happen within the customer data management software. The best CRM systems will have in-built functionality for calls, real-time chat, and bulk email.

The system should log all communication so that team members can have the latest information and track changes in customer relationships.

4. Integrations and Automations

One of the most crucial CRM features for big and small businesses is integration. Integrations connect your customer database management system with other business tools to sync data or add extra functionality.

Apart from integration, sales force automation is needed to improve efficiency by eliminating manual and repetitive tasks.

5. Reports and Analytics

Reports are essential for monitoring the sales process and should be easily downloadable and shareable. When generating reports, you should be able to filter for valuable data and view it from different angles through various visualizations.

Analytics provide insight into deals, team performance, and even business profitability.

6. Customization

The level of customization provided by any customer database management system will determine how much personalization you can have. Personalization increases adoption rates and helps make the system work the way you work.

How to Choose the Best Customer Database Software

Choosing the right customer database software comes down to finding the one that fits your business needs. Here are some guidelines on how to choose the best customer database solution:

1. Create a checklist of your needs

Your needs will determine which customer database tool you should buy. And unless you’re working alone, you should involve your team in this exercise because their suggestions and preferences will help boost adoption and productivity.

When creating this checklist, find out what tools your team uses for different tasks so that you can know which integrations you will need.

Also, ask yourself what features you’re likely to need soon. You will save a lot of research time if you can find a customer database solution that works for you now and in the future.

2. Set your budget

You need to set a budget to guide your buying decision. Average costs start at $10 per person per month for small businesses with basic needs.

Since the final cost of all customer database solutions depend on the features you need, it’s wise to work with a range of, say, $10-$30 per user per month.

With a budget in place, you’ll be able to quickly check the price range of every customer database management tool and immediately decide whether to check it out further or not.

Here are a few articles about CRM software pricing that can help:

3. Research different client database software tools

Once you shortlist the tools that fit your budget, it's time to go through their features lists. Use your checklist to check which CRM has a plan that provides everything you need.

Beyond the features, read online reviews of the customer database software you’re considering. Visit sites such as G2, Trustpilot, and Capterra to learn about other users' experiences with the tools.

Negative reviews are critical because they tell you about other people’s struggles to use the software.

4. Use the free trial to test your top CRM choices

Get your team to test all the apps you have narrowed down your search to.

Some questions to ask include: Is the user interface easy to master? Is there a free trial you can use to test the system? Is the online knowledge base comprehensive enough? Can you reach customer support through chat, email, or phone? What’s their response time?

Another critical feature to test is customization. A good client database system should allow you to easily create custom fields and edit sales processes. You should be able to customize dashboards and other reports and automate tasks using custom rules and triggers.

Remember that the free trial has a time limit. So make the most of that time frame and learn as much as possible to help you make the right choice.

Best Customer Database Tools FAQ

What Is Client Database Software?

A client database software is a software solution used for storing customer data. This customer data consists mainly of personal information and business details such as which marketing campaign the customer responded to and transaction details.

Also called customer service database or customer data management software systems, these tools can be accessed through a desktop or mobile app. Solopreneurs and small businesses often choose the basic plans, while enterprises choose the plans that offer advanced functionality.

Using customer database software makes it possible to track and nurture customer relationships to convert leads into loyal repeat customers.

What Are the Benefits of Using Customer Database Software?

Using a client database system will help your business to:

Efficiently collect customer information and track their journey through your sales cycle
Automatically assign leads and tasks to team members and monitor team performance
Understand your customers better by analyzing essential data scraped from their social media profiles
Save time, minimize mistakes and improve efficiency by automating repetitive tasks
Categorize your customers into different groups for targeted marketing
Analyze the effectiveness of sales and marketing activities

What Is a Client Database?

A client database is an organized record of contact details of leads or customers. Apart from contact information, this database can also contain customer behavior data that has been collected from the internet or gathered through customer interactions.

It will also have a database management system that allows you to pull reports which you can view on the desktop or your mobile app.

How to Create a Client Database

Creating a client database requires collecting customer information and recording it in a manner that can be easily searched and analyzed.

To create a client database, you can type in the details manually, import them into the CRM through CSV files or sync the data from other contact management software.

How to Maintain a Customer Database

Maintaining a client database is all about keeping your customer records accurate and up-to-date.

Here are some best practices you can follow for smooth data management:

Capture the correct data and validate email addresses and phone numbers
Keep in touch with your contacts and request an update in case preferences and relevant details change
Clean existing data by removing duplicates and standardizing data formatting
Monitor email bounce rates and call non-responsive leads to determine whether they’re still valid leads

How Much Does a Good Customer Database Software Cost?

The cost of any customer database software depends on the size of your team and what features you need. Since the pricing is usually per user per month, calculating the cost is easy.

The most basic CRM software will cost you around $10 per user per month. Before choosing any of these, look at the features available to ensure they support your needs.

If you need additional features like more integrations and sophisticated automation rules, you’ll need to be ready to spend upwards of $20 per user per month.

For the enterprise user, prices can be anywhere from $70 and above.

Note that most CRM services offer discounted prices if you pay annually. You can also register for a free trial to see whether they meet your needs.

Is There a Free Customer Database App?

Yes, there are free customer database software apps. However, these are usually limited in functionality.

HubSpot’s free CRM is the best free customer database software of all the available options. It offers an extensive list of features that can empower a sales rep to sell, plus additional options for marketing and reporting.

If your customer data management needs are basic, you can also check out the free plan of Bitrix24 CRM.

Choosing the Right Customer Database Software

Every customer relationship management software is unique, and choosing one over the other comes down to your needs and budget.

From this list of the best 15 CRM tools, start by considering our top 5:

Best Overall

Monday CRM

Monday CRM is a customer data management software that uses project management features to help sales teams manage their sales pipeline and workflows.
Best Deal-focused CRM

Pipedrive

Pipedrive’s client database software focuses on closing deals and helps both big and small businesses concentrate on driving leads down the sales funnel.
Best for Collaboration

Keap CRM

Keap CRM is a client database management tool that brings marketing and sales teams together to collaborate for increased sales.
Best for Productivity

Freshsales

Freshsales is a CRM database software that emphasizes sales effectiveness through a robust telephony system and AI that recommends which leads to prioritize.
Best AI-powered CRM

Zoho CRM

Zoho CRM utilizes marketing automation and conversational AI for everything from sales pipeline analysis to report generation.

For more on contact management software, read the below articles:

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Martin Luenendonk

Editor at FounderJar

Martin loves entrepreneurship and has helped dozens of entrepreneurs by validating the business idea, finding scalable customer acquisition channels, and building a data-driven organization. During his time working in investment banking, tech startups, and industry-leading companies he gained extensive knowledge in using different software tools to optimize business processes.

This insights and his love for researching SaaS products enables him to provide in-depth, fact-based software reviews to enable software buyers make better decisions.