As an agency, there comes a point where a customer relationship management (CRM) tool becomes an essential part of your company.
With a CRM you can manage all customers in one place, keep communication across all channels transparent and track business from new to completed. As your agency scales, it becomes impossible to do all of this in an Excel spreadsheet.
Choosing the best CRM for your agency isn’t always quick and easy, but it is a lot easier when you know what you’re looking for. For most agencies, these are the most important things to look out for in a CRM:
- Collaborative functions
- Great user experience and design
- Integrations with other agency tools such as time tracking apps and billing software
When these boxes are checked, a CRM differs from just great for small businesses to great for agencies.
Whether your agency specializes in digital marketing, design, SEO, or something completely different, here are nine of the best CRMs for you.
Best CRMs for digital agencies
1. HubSpot CRM
Choose for: A free CRM that is super quick to set up.
The core CRM is free to use
The main selling point of HubSpot CRM is that it is free. You also have access to additional functionality through HubSpot’s sales, marketing, and service hubs – however, these hubs are chargeable. So if you need to incorporate them, plan your budget accordingly.
HubSpot is one of the best CRMs for logging emails and phone calls, viewing a complete history of a lead’s journey to the customer, and increasing sales leads with associated inbound marketing. In addition, it also has a fantastic integration market.
Thousands of larger agencies use HubSpot because they help their clients do it. Agency partners can select packages starting at $ 400 / month prior to onboarding costs.
2nd capsule
Choose for: One of the easiest CRMs out there.
Starting at $ 18 / user / month
Capsule is a reliable choice when you need strong integration with accounting tools like Xero, FreeAgent, and QuickBooks. It’s also one of the best CRMs for agencies and is loved for its ability to build relationships with customers, keep track of new and pending deals, and manage projects from idea to billing.
3. Pipedrive
Choose for: A sales-oriented CRM that promises more sales with less legwork.
Starting at $ 15 / user / month billed annually
Pipedrive says its users have seen an average increase in completion rates of 28% after their first year. It’s really easy to set up custom pipelines and stages, automate workflows, and track revenue and team performance with customizable dashboards.
It only takes a minute to sync Pipedrive with your Google or Microsoft contact lists and calendars, and there are over 150 other integrations in its apps marketplace.
4. Copper
Choose for: A beautifully designed CRM that fits seamlessly into the GSuite.
Starts at $ 19 / user / month billed annually for up to three users
If your agency is already big on Gmail, Drive, and Calendar, Copper is your next best friend. From prospecting to closing deals and retaining your best customers, Copper is one of the most transparent CRMs for keeping everyone on the same page.
Copper has a fantastic UX and seamlessly captures and connects all project files, tasks and calendar invitations so nothing falls through the cracks.
5. Empathetic
Choose for: A CRM that combines marketing, sales and project management functions on a single platform.
Free for two users to access core CRM or $ 29 for Insightly Plus per user / month, billed annually, excluding marketing
You can get started with Insightly’s core CRM for free as a team of just two users with 2,500 emails, 10GB of file storage, and an included limit of 100,000 records.
As a next step, Insightly Plus ($ 29 / user / month) offers project management with task templates as an added benefit for agency teams. Insightly sets itself apart from the competition with a stronger focus on automation, data, and productivity than many other CRMs.
6th podium
Choose for: Integrated project management for a workflow from sales to project feedback.
Free task management, apps, and workspaces for up to five users, then $ 9 / user / month for the Basic plan
Podio is another CRM for agencies to combine account and project management, like Insightly. It has several features specifically designed for agencies and is perfect for agencies to collaborate on projects, manage accounts, and centralize communications in one place.
Podio works seamlessly with your favorite apps, including Google Drive, Excel, and major accounting tools like Freshbooks.
7. Hold
Choose for: A CRM with built-in invoices, quotes, payments, appointments and unlimited emails.
From $ 49 / month for 500 contacts and one user, plus $ 29 for each additional user
Keap, formerly Infusionsoft, is one of the best all-rounder CRMs for digital agencies. In addition to its brilliant core CRM functionality, Keap offers invoicing, quotes, payments, appointments and automated workflows.
It can save you an additional billing and payment tool that can be more expensive than some other CRMs.
8. Hatchbuck
Choose for: A CRM-plus-more tool that combines sales, marketing and automation.
Customizable costs for agencies or from USD 199 / month annually for five users on the team plan
With the Agency Partners program, you can be sure that Hatchbuck has companies like yours in view. With this CRM it is easy to create campaigns, increase customer loyalty and duplicate processes across customer accounts to speed up work. Chat with one of his agency experts to find the right package for your company.
9. Freshworks CRM
Choose for: A highly rated CRM that works great on its own and in combination with other Freshworks products.
Starting at $ 29 user / month, billed annually
The Freshworks family of products is known for being affordable and extremely easy to use, and Freshworks CRM is no exception.
The CRM tool includes built-in phone and bidirectional email synchronization, AI-based lead scoring, intelligent workflow automation, and customizable visual reports and dashboards.
