12 Best CRM Marketing Software Tools for 2024

Customer satisfaction is what keeps your business alive. Research shows that more than half of customers will take their business elsewhere after just one negative experience with you. Not to mention, it can require a lot of finesse to bounce back from a bad review. Your reputation is on the line.

Nothing brings about more eye rolls than cliches like “the customer’s always right,” “service with a smile,” and “put customers at the heart of your business.” Yes, they’ve been over-used for decades — in every industry from food service to retail to client work — but at the same time, there’s some truth to them.

If you want to survive in a competitive business landscape, your business has no choice but to build and maintain strong customer relationships.

Beyond providing an excellent product or service, you also have to make every moment in the customer journey engaging. From the earliest stages to post-sale support, your customers should feel valued. Prospects and customers should move through the sales pipeline seamlessly, otherwise they might choose to abandon at the first sign of friction.

One major challenge for many businesses is tracking the customer data that allows you to create a quality experience. Enter: a customer relationship management (CRM) platform, the backbone of customer interaction. These systems help you organize the most important customer information.

91% of companies with 11+ employees use a marketing CRM. Before going on a hiring frenzy to scale your operations, first consider implementing a CRM. A CRM for marketers transforms the way you manage leads, customer relationships, and marketing campaigns.

Considering how CRM impacts business success, it’s no wonder why the 2023 market size was valued at $65.59 billion (and is projected to rise in coming years). This massive figure reflects an increasing reliance on CRM marketing software. More and more businesses are recognizing the value of data in personalized customer engagement as well as the importance of keeping that data easily accessible.

Every CRM marketing tool offers its own perks and it’s important to keep your business’ needs in mind before choosing the right one. Keep reading to learn more about the best marketing CRM for 2024, and how using this software can fuel your growth marketing strategy.

 

What is Marketing CRM?

Marketing CRM software allows your team to manage all your contacts (which include past, current, and prospective customers) in one convenient place. It’s essentially a hub for all your customer data and communication history.  A platform reduces the potential of key information getting lost in the daily shuffle.

Centralizing all your customer data does more than improve efficiency. It also ensures that everyone has eyes on the same up-to-date information. A CRM system for marketing is a powerful tool for tracking customer interactions as well as visualizing where leads are situated in the sales pipeline.

What sort of information can be stored in a marketing CRM database? Just about anything you can imagine, including:

• Identity data: Name, address, phone number, company name, etc.
• Descriptive data: Educational level, job title, location, lead or deal stage, etc.
• Qualitative data: Activity, survey responses, behaviors, etc.
• Quantitative data: Number of calls, number of unopened emails, items in a shopping cart, revenue from deals, etc.

All CRMs should be easily customizable so that you can zone in on the data that matters most to your business. This equips your team with the information you need to create personalized customer experiences.

What can this data help you achieve? Your marketing team can build data-driven marketing campaigns. Your sales team can improve lead management, moving qualified leads through the sales funnel. Your customer service team can provide better support by referring to past interactions.

As CRM for marketers evolves, we can expect even more sophisticated tools integrating AI, machine learning, and predictive analytics. Some of the tools listed below already incorporate these technologies. These tools can automate certain processes, help you craft more effective messages, and grant you insight into optimization opportunities.

The Impact of CRM on Marketing Campaign Effectiveness

A CRM system for marketing gives you easy access to your customer data and insights. This information empowers your team to build data-backed campaigns across digital marketing platforms. Beyond that, a marketing CRM gives you the ability to create more personalized campaigns.

Personalization can make all the difference in campaign effectiveness. According to a 2022 survey, 95% of senior marketers considered their personalized strategies to be successful. Brand interactions should be relevant to your customers. A “one size fits all” marketing approach has never really worked.

Customer relationship marketing software boosts marketing efforts through:

• Audience segmentation: A CRM tool for marketing lets you divide a range of customers into specific groups based on characteristics. Marketing and sales teams can use these segments to better understand the customer needs.
• Precise targeting: Backed by real customer data, marketers can craft messaging on B2C or B2B marketing channels to resonate with certain audiences.
• Increased return on investment (ROI): One study found that CRMs return $8.71 per every dollar spent. With better lead tracking abilities, sales teams can focus their energy on leads that are most likely to convert.
• Centralization: CRM marketing software organizes everything in one place. When integrated with email newsletter software and other apps, CRMs show marketers how people are engaging (or not engaging) with their campaigns.

CRM marketing software can be a powerful tool for any business. All the data is there, you just have to know how to leverage it. One marketing study revealed that most marketers refer to customer service history, email activity, and known interests to create personalized campaigns.

What to Look for When Choosing Marketing CRM

If you’re overwhelmed by the number of CRM on the market today, you’re not alone. With such an extensive list of CRM options, how can you determine which option is best for your business? The answer’s not so cut and dry. That said, there are key features to look out for to make sure you’re investing in a CRM for marketing that meets your needs.

Customization Options

A CRM should let you customize fields, workflows, and dashboards with ease. Of course, every business has different key performance indicators (KPIs). Take SaaS and eCommerce for instance. Cart abandonment rate will be extremely important for eCommerce, but irrelevant to SaaS.

Customization ensures that the platform adapts to your needs, as opposed to the other way around. Keep an eye out for how much customization a system allows, whether it’s an entire report or an individual field in a customer profile.

User-Friendly Interface

It should be easy to navigate a CRM for marketing. An intuitive design means less of a learning curve for your team. Even if your team has used CRM before, every system comes with its own set of features and quirks (though they shouldn’t be overly complicated).

It’s important that everyone finds the tool useful. A user-friendly interface increases adoption rates among different teams and ensures that your team can take advantage of the CRM’s features. Minimal need for training means fewer delays.

Integration Capabilities

The CRM should integrate with other tools and platforms that your business already uses. Common CRM integrations include:

• Email marketing software
• Phone & SMS
• Social media channels
• AI marketing tools
• Marketing automation
• Collaboration
• eCommerce
• Accounting

This helps ensure that data flows smoothly across different systems so you don’t have to jump around and risk missing something. Integrations also reduce the need for manual data entry. This can be a major plus since one of the biggest reported obstacles to using CRM is manual data entry.

To paint a picture, imagine that when you receive a new lead, you receive a ping on your internal communications platform. The ping includes high-level details about the lead (e.g., where they originated, a timestamp of when they reached out, their name, organization, interest, etc.). 

Automation Features

It’s important for a marketing CRM to have marketing and sales automation capabilities. The system should automatically handle routine tasks like email follow-ups, lead scoring, and data entry. Otherwise, is it really making your job easier?

In many cases, you can set certain triggers based on user behavior that set off a sequence of tasks. For example, if a user revisits your site after a previous session a few days earlier, the CRM can send them an email acknowledging their return and offering a discount code.

A CRM with marketing automation saves time, decreases errors, and frees up your team to focus on more strategic activities. It can also help ensure that leads don’t fall through the cracks.

Analytics and Reporting Tools

Every platform should have the ability to generate custom reports. Choose a CRM for marketers that offers insight into customer behavior, campaign performance, and sales tracking metrics. This information will help you make data-driven decisions that boost conversions.

Many tools have drag-and-drop dashboards that can be filtered, exported, and shared. You may also be able to automatically distribute them on a regular basis. These reports can be especially valuable for stakeholders.

List of the Top 12 CRM Marketing Software

HubSpot

Founded in 2006 as a marketing software, HubSpot helps millions of businesses grow their inbound marketing and create a frictionless customer experience. The platform is built on an AI-powered Smart CRM and supports organizations in uniting their teams. HubSpot makes it easy for businesses of all sizes to centralize their marketing, sales, customer service, content management, and operations.

 

⭐Reviews G2: 4.4 out of 5 stars Capterra: 4.5 out of 5 stars	💸Pricing: $15/user/month for Starter level (1,000 contacts). $800/user/month for Professional level (2,000 marketing contacts). $3,600/user/month for Enterprise level (including 10,000 marketing contacts).
⚙️Key Features: Pipeline management: View and customize your sales pipeline. Email tracking and AI writer: Get notified when a contact opens your email and generates emails using AI. Marketing automation: Automate content pushes and email campaigns. Implement live chat software: Attract leads, provide real-time customer support, and send automatic responses. Reporting & data analytics: User-friendly visuals with data on marketing campaign performance, sales activity, and overall efficiency.	📉Free Plan Available: Yes, for up to 5 users.
💻Integrations: Integrates with a wide range of third-party apps, including Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Gmail, Outlook, Zapier, Salesforce, and more.	✅Best for: Scalable small to medium-sized B2B and B2C businesses
🔗Website: https://www.hubspot.com/products/crm

 

Zoho

Rated among the best CRM today, Zoho CRM helps businesses engage with customers. The platform highlights its no-code functions and AI assistant Zia that can help with everything from writing content, updating records, and identifying sales anomalies. It also offers industry-specific solutions to tailor features.

 

⭐Reviews G2: 4.1 out of 5 stars Capterra: 4.3 out of 5 stars	💸Pricing: $14/user/month for Starter level. $23/user/month for Professional level. $40/user/month for Enterprise level. $52/user/month for Ultimate level.
⚙️Key Features: Multi-channel communication: Connect your email, phone, social media, forms, and live chat to track all customer interactions. Collaboration tools: Direct message colleagues and organize teams within the platform. AI-powered tools: Zia, Zoho’s AI tool, offers predictive analysis and is available for top-tier plans. Analytics and reporting: Use pre-built and custom reports with an in-depth drill-down feature. Mobile app: Manage your contacts from the mobile app and scan business cards to quickly add new contacts.	📉Free Plan Available: Yes, for up to 3 users.
💻Integrations: Paid plans integrate with a range of third-party apps, including project management software, Mailchimp, Google Analytics QuickBooks, Google Ads, and more	✅Best for: Businesses of all sizes. Particularly useful for new small businesses.
🔗Website: https://www.zoho.com/crm/

 

Mailchimp

Known as a strong email marketing software, Mailchimp also offers CRM solutions that help businesses visualize contact data and set up automated messages. Mailchimp’s behavioral targeting and personalization tools empower businesses to tailor experiences to each customer. Their integrations directory lets businesses explore the marketing, sales, and other tools that can be connected with the software.

 

⭐Reviews G2: 4.3 out of 5 stars Capterra: 4.5 out of 5 stars	💸Pricing: $13/user/month for 500 contacts at Essentials level. $20/user/month for 500 contacts at Standard level. $350/user/month for 10,000 contacts at Premium level.
⚙️Key Features: Generative AI: Use AI to design emails and create content. Customizable email templates: Edit email templates and send bulk emails with little effort. Customer journey builder: Create automated workflows based on user behavior. A/B testing: Test different designs and messages to determine what works best. Behavioral targeting: Automatically deploy campaigns based on customer behavior.	📉Free Plan Available: Yes, 500 contact limit.
💻Integrations: Integrates with a wide range of third-party apps, including Zapier, Salesforce, eCommerce platforms, QuickBooks, social media, and more.	✅Best for: Businesses that put email marketing at the core of their strategies.
🔗Website: https://mailchimp.com/features/crm/

 

Monday.com

Monday CRM is a comprehensive solution that helps businesses create their ideal workflow with custom building blocks. The platform caters to businesses of all sizes and types. Monday’s AI assistant can create tasks, compose emails, summarize content, and build formulas for pipelines.

 

⭐Reviews G2: 4.6 out of 5 stars Capterra: 4.7 out of 5 stars	💸Pricing: $12/user/month for Basic level. $17/user/month for Standard level. $28/user/month for Pro level.
⚙️Key Features: Contact management: Track customers and manage their contact information and communication history. Lead management: Track leads, assign them to the right person, and monitor your pipeline. Deal management: Keep your deals organized, set deadlines, and optimize your sales process. Customizable reporting and analytics: Create highly customizable reports and analyze data. Development tools: Streamline sprints, manage your backlog, and collaborate with your team.	📉Free Plan Available: No, unless you’re a qualifying student or nonprofit
💻Integrations: Integrates with a range of third-party apps, including Gmail, Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, DocuSign, Hubspot, eCommerce platforms, Slack, social media, and more.	✅Best for: Teams of all sizes. Very beginner-friendly interface.
🔗Website: https://monday.com/crm

 

Agile CRM

Agile CRM bundles the needs of small to mid-size businesses all on one unified dashboard. The software is designed to help businesses automate their marketing, sales, and customer service activities. It’s one of the few CRM platforms that offers a free plan for up to 10 users with a limit of 1,000 contacts.

 

⭐Reviews G2: 4.0 out of 5 stars Capterra: 4.1 out of 5 stars	💸Pricing: Starting at $8.99/user/month for Starter level. Starting at $29.99/user/month for Regular level. Starting at $47.99/user/month for Enterprise level.
⚙️Key Features: Drag and drop builder: Launch email campaigns, design forms, and landing pages. Website and contact analytics: Track visitors and display personalized messages based on their behavior. Marketing automation: Engage customers automatically based on your set rules and behaviors. Social monitoring: Track engagement across social media platforms. Custom reports: Customize data visualizations and share reports.	📉Free Plan Available: Yes, for 10 users.
💻Integrations: Integrates with a wide range of third-party applications, including social media platforms, support software, email software, Twilio, VoIP, SMS, billing, eCommerce, and more.	✅Best for: Great for smaller businesses on a budget.
🔗Website: https://www.agilecrm.com/

Salesforce

Salesforce has been around since 1999, and its comprehensive suite of tools has scaled significantly since then. Salesforce CRM is a cloud-based customer relationship management platform that helps businesses manage their sales. Businesses of all sizes can benefit from advanced AI technology, customer interaction tracking, workflow automation, and in-depth data analysis.

 

⭐Reviews G2: 4.4 out of 5 stars Capterra: 4.4 out of 5 stars	💸Pricing: $25/user/month for Starter level. $80/user/month for Professional level. $165/user/month for Enterprise level. $330/user/month for the Unlimited level.
⚙️Key Features: High customization: Customize your sales pipeline, reports, and dashboards. 1,000+ integrations: Centralize important data with over 1,000 third-party integrations. AI-powered tools: Use AI to automate repetitive tasks and optimize workflows. Comprehensive feature set: Forecast management, pipeline management, marketing campaign management, and advanced permissions. Scalable and secure cloud platform: Offers scalability, flexibility, and high security to protect your data.	📉Free Plan Available: No
💻Integrations: Integrates with more than 1,000 third-party apps, including Slack, DocuSign, QuickBooks, Tableau, social media platforms, email software, eCommerce, and more.	✅Best for: Large or scaling businesses with high customization needs.
🔗Website: https://www.salesforce.com/crm/

 

Zendesk Sell

Zendesk Sell optimizes productivity, processes, and pipeline visibility for both sales and marketing teams. They emphasize how quickly businesses are able to start using the CRM, collaborate with their teams, and see a return on investment. Zendesk Sell enhances the way businesses communicate with their employees through AI and contextual insight.

 

⭐Reviews G2: 4.2 out of 5 stars Capterra: 4.3 out of 5 stars	💸Pricing: Starting at $19/user/month for Team level. $55/user/month for Growth level. $115/user/month for Professional level.
⚙️Key Features: Intuitive interface: Makes it easy to get started quickly even if you’re a first-time CRM user.  Solid customization: Create your own fields for customer data to meet your needs. Pipeline management: Create email and task sequences, generate lists, and auto-dial leads. Automation and workflows: Automate sales processes like bulk emailing and task creation to prevent delays in your pipeline. Custom reporting and data analytics: Create and share custom dashboards to visualize customer behavior, sales activity, and campaign performance.	📉Free Plan Available: No
💻Integrations: Integrates with a wide range of apps in your existing tech stack, including Mailchimp, HubSpot, Google Drive, social media platforms, and more.	✅Best for: Businesses with more basic needs that might be just starting out with a CRM.
🔗Website: https://www.zendesk.com/sell/

 

SugarCRM

SugarCRM is an AI-driven cloud platform that makes manual data entry a thing of the past. It offers industry-specific tools that help businesses automate their processes, reduce friction for both employees and customers, and predict the likelihood of leads converting. It boasts having the lowest TCO (total cost of ownership) when compared to other leading software.

 

⭐Reviews G2: 3.9 out of 5 stars Capterra: 3.8 out of 5 stars	💸Pricing: $19/user/month for Essentials level. $59/user/month for Standard level. $85/user/month for Advanced level. $135/user/month for Premier level.
⚙️Key Features: Unified platform: SugarCRM combines sales automation, marketing automation, and customer service into one cohesive platform. AI-driven capabilities: Generative AI helps you create personalized emails, call scripts, and more. Revenue intelligence: View sales analytics for key insights into your activity and optimization opportunities. Reporting and analytics: Use a variety of custom report types, including matrix and summation reports, with the ability to group, summarize, and visualize data in charts.	📉Free Plan Available: No
💻Integrations: Offers add-ons and integrates with a range of third-party applications, including social media platforms, Zendesk, QuickBooks, PandaDoc, and more.	✅Best for: Mid-sized to large businesses, especially eCommerce.
🔗Website: https://www.sugarcrm.com/

 

Insightly

Insightly CRM is a cost-effective yet powerful platform that helps businesses manage their sales pipelines, track leads, and automate workflows. Using its comprehensive tools to uncover opportunities and manage projects, Insightly enables businesses to streamline processes and improve productivity. Organizations can access real-time insights and customizable features to close deals faster and collaborate better.

 

⭐Reviews G2: 4.2 out of 5 stars Capterra: 4.0 out of 5 stars	💸Pricing: $29/user/month for Plus level. $49/user/month for Professional level. $99/user/month for Enterprise level.
⚙️Key Features: Pipeline/lead management: Track, manage, route, and qualify leads as they move through the pipeline. Customer journey builder: Create and implement journeys that attract visitors and convert them into prospects. Contact management: View all contact data, communication history, and customer activities in one place. Email building and automation: Build and bulk send emails using customizable templates. Customizable reports: View real-time data, auto-distribute reports, and create custom dashboards. Batch update records: Filter, select, and update records in bulk.	📉Free Plan Available: Yes, for 2 users.
💻Integrations: Integrates with a range of third-party applications, including Microsoft 365 (including Power BI), Google Workspace, PandaDoc, QuickBooks, Xero, social media platforms, and more.	✅Best for: Best for small and scaling businesses. Great for customer service and project management.
🔗Website: https://www.insightly.com/

 

ActiveCampaign

ActiveCampaign is a marketing automation and CRM platform that claims to save users 20 hours per month. By automating email campaigns and lead nurturing, ActiveCampaign helps users focus on high-impact tasks. The platform allows businesses to engage customers across multiple channels.

 

⭐Reviews G2: 4.5 out of 5 stars Capterra: 4.6 out of 5 stars	💸Pricing: $15/user/month for Starter level. $49/user/month for the Plus level. $79/user/month for Pro level. $145/user/month for Enterprise level.
⚙️Key Features: Marketing automation: Set up personalized email sequences using triggers and conditions. Intuitive email editor: Customize email templates or create using HTML. Advanced data analytics: Integrate with Google Analytics to view campaign performance, user behavior, conversions, and overall website activity. Integrated AI: Use AI-powered automation for hyper-targeted campaigns. Multi-channel marketing: Connect campaigns and run A/B tests across social, email, SMS, and more.	📉Free Plan Available: No
💻Integrations: Integrates with a range of third-party applications, including eCommerce, social media, Google Analytics, Unbounce, Zapier, WordPress, Salesforce, and more.	✅Best for: Businesses with a few thousand or more contacts and/or high monthly email sends
🔗Website: https://www.activecampaign.com/

 

Nutshell

Nutshell CRM is an intuitive platform that simplifies sales and marketing processes for growing businesses. Nutshell centralizes customer data, automates workflows, and improves pipeline management. Nutshell enables teams to focus on closing deals faster and claims to be more cost-effective in the long run when compared to Enterprise level CRM.

 

⭐Reviews G2: 4.3 out of 5 stars Capterra: 4.3 out of 5 stars	💸Pricing: $16/user/month for Foundation level. $42/user/month for Pro level. $52/user/month for Power AI. $67 user/month for Enterprise level.
⚙️Key Features: Comprehensive contact view: View customer interactions and contact details in one place (plus a mobile app). Pipeline tracking: Visualize, manage, and forecast sales processes. Built-in email capabilities: Send emails using customizable templates and view performance data. Sales/marketing automation: Create automated drip campaigns and manage tasks. User-friendly interface: Intuitive and beginner-friendly design, including a drag-and-drop email editor and customizable contact management.	📉Free Plan Available: No
💻Integrations: Integrates with a range of third-party applications, including EventBrite, Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, eCommerce platforms, social media, JustCall, PandaDoc, QuickBooks, Webflow, and more.	✅Best for: Small to mid-sized marketing/sales teams that emphasize email marketing.
🔗Website: https://www.nutshell.com

 

Pipedrive

Established in 2010, Pipedrive is an award-winning easy-to-use CRM designed to help teams close deals faster. It allows businesses to track their sales pipeline, optimize lead management, and automate the entire sales process with AI-powered tools. Pipedrive helps teams stay organized and focus on selling with customizable pipelines and real-time insights.

 

⭐Reviews G2: 4.3 out of 5 stars Capterra: 4.5 out of 5 stars	💸Pricing: $14/user/month for Essential level. $34/user/month for the Advanced level. $49/user/month for Professional level. $64/user/month for Power level. $99/user/month for Enterprise level. More add-ons available.
⚙️Key Features: Customizable chatbot: Put a custom chatbot on your site to capture new leads. Leads are automatically placed in the sales funnel. AI-powered Sales Assistant: This smart tool studies your past data and suggests how to respond to deals. Automation builder: Create automated workflows for routine tasks like email sequences, calls, and meetings. Pipeline management: View and manage leads, calendar events, and customers in one dashboard. Revenue forecasts: Use past sales data to predict the value of future deals.	📉Free Plan Available: No
💻Integrations: Integrates with more than 400 third-party applications and counting, including Zapier, Zoom, Calendly, social media platforms, Leadfeeder, and more.	✅Best for: Small businesses with small sales teams looking for an affordable option.
🔗Website: https://www.pipedrive.com/

 

How We Selected the Best Marketing CRMs: Our Selection Method

We considered the following factors when narrowing down the best marketing CRM platforms:

• Variety of features (e.g., CRM with marketing automation, AI, analytics, etc.)
• User reviews and ratings
• Pricing and diversity of plans
• Third-party integrations
• Scalability and growth potential

To start, we researched the most widely used CRM for marketing. We considered CRM solutions that could benefit a variety of business sizes, budgets, and industries. From there, we turned to Capterra and G2 user reviews for real-life users’ opinions.

We evaluated each CRM on customization, user-friendliness, automation, AI-driven features, analytics and reporting, and integration capabilities. Because integrations are particularly important, we checked for the ability to integrate with email marketing software, social media platforms, eCommerce systems, and more.

We compared pricing to gauge flexibility and value for businesses with different budgets. We also took into account if the CRM for marketing offered a free plan, trials, and tiered pricing. Keep in mind that pricing can vary depending on the length of your contract. You may see lower monthly costs when you sign up for two years instead of one.

Lastly, we focused on CRM for marketers that can grow with a business. In other words, can the digital marketing CRM scale as your business gains customers and builds new workflows? We also considered how frequently these platforms update their features to keep pace with new technology and business trends.

The Bottom Line

Selecting the right marketing CRM is essential for building stronger customer relationships, streamlining business operations, and growing your revenue. If you’ve read this far, you’re probably in the market for a new CRM. With your needs and pain points in mind, consider one of the top-rated digital marketing CRM listed above.

Overall, CRM marketing software should empower your team to focus on strategic tasks, not repetitive ones. Spend less time tracking every individual lead and spend more time turning prospects into returning customers.

How does that look in action? Your marketing team can build data-driven campaigns, track engagement across platforms, and get hyper-specific with audiences and messaging. Your sales team can evaluate the quality of leads and monitor the sales pipeline with ease. Your customer service team can refer to the customer interaction history to provide better support.

Investing in a CRM for marketing that aligns with your business strategy can be transformative. No matter if your business is brand new or well-established, there is a CRM out there for you. It’s up to you to find it!