A strong customer base is the foundation of any successful business. Loyal customers generate direct sales and organic referrals—both of which turn into profit for your business—and make everyone’s jobs at your company easier and more fulfilling.
So how do we create loyal customers? By building relationships with them. And to do that, we need customer data.
As raw data, customer information isn’t worth much. But when you can manage it…Ah, that’s when the magic happens.🤩
For small businesses and large corporations—and everything in between—customer database management is the basis of customer relationship management.
And that’s why you need customer database software.
10 Best Customer Database Software in 2024 (Free & Paid)
- What is Customer Database Software?
- The 10 Best Customer Database Software Tools in 2024
- 1. ClickUp – Best CRM for client database management
- 2. Airtable – Best for spreadsheet databases
- 3. Zendesk – Best for sales teams
- 4. HubSpot CRM – Best for startups
- 5. Zoho CRM – Best full-service client database software
- 6. Pipedrive – Best standalone CRM
- 7. Salesforce – Best for enterprise sales teams
- 8. Monday.com – Best collaborative CRM
- 9. Freshworks – Best for small to medium sized businesses
- 10. Keap – Best for sales & marketing collaboration
- What to Look for in Customer Database Software?
Summarize this article for me pleaseWhat is Customer Database Software?
Customer database software gathers and stores all your customer information. This can include their name, contact information like their email address and phone number, their account details, and purchase history.
The data collected feeds into a customer relationship management system (CRM system), which allows you to automate customer communication, marketing, and engagement.
It also allows everyone across your business, from your sales team, project team, and customer support, to see exactly where each customer is in the sales pipeline in real-time.
Customer relationship management software makes business processes like contact management, lead generation, sales, email marketing, and customer support much more efficient and cost-effective. It also improves the customer experience and nurtures strong, long-term relationships with your customers, so they keep coming back for more.
Now let’s dive in!
Summarize this article for me pleaseThe 10 Best Customer Database Software Tools in 2024
Let’s face it, there’s no shortage of CRM software out there. The trick is to know which one will work best for your organization. Each customer data management platform has specific features and limitations and is suitable for different use cases.
Never fear though. We’re here to help you make a good choice for your business with our top 10 client database software solutions.
1. ClickUp – Best CRM for client database management
ClickUp is a productivity platform that helps you organize all your account details, sales processes, workflows, and customer interactions in one shared space. Ideal as a project management software and CRM platform for startups, small companies, and large organizations, even the free version allows unlimited users.
ClickUp best features
- Pipeline management: Save time by assigning and automating tasks for each stage of your sales funnel
- Task management: Prioritize tasks for your team and create dependencies between them
- Customizable dashboard: Build your own ClickUp project dashboard to your exact requirements so you can easily see your analytics at a glance
- Versatile CRM database: Create your own ClickUp CRM using ClickUp’s CRM templates
- Other CRM options: If you prefer not to set up a traditional sales CRM system, try a CRM alternative
- Helpful database templates: There’s a ClickUp template for all your other business processes too
- Multiple viewpoints: See your data in different layouts, for example, a List, Table, or Kanban Board
- Email management: Send and receive emails from within ClickUp tasks
- API capability: Integrate with tools like Outlook, Google apps, Dropbox, Slack, and Zoom
ClickUp limitations
- If you’re working from a mobile, you may not be able to see all ClickUp views … yet
- There are so many CRM tools available within ClickUp, it can take some time to get to know them all
ClickUp pricing
- Free Forever
- Unlimited: $7/month per user
- Business: $12/month per user
- Enterprise: Contact for pricing
ClickUp ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.7/5 (6,000+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.7/5 (3,000+ reviews)
2. Airtable – Best for spreadsheet databases
Airtable is like a combination of a spreadsheet and a customer service database on steroids, with some project management capabilities in the higher-paid versions. Amongst other things, it allows you to manage accounts through your sales pipeline, all the way to customer onboarding, and run marketing campaigns based on insights from your data.
Airtable best features
- Easy collaboration: Share data across other Airtables and teams
- Multiple viewpoints: see your data in different formats, for example, a form, grid, calendar, or gallery
- Project management: Use calendars and Gantt charts to plan and schedule client-facing tasks
- Helpful templates: Pick from a library of different use cases
- Custom reports: Create your own drag-and-drop project progress reports
- API capability: Integrate with social media and other tools, like Twitter, Facebook, Slack, and Google Workspace
- Automation capability: Build your own automation for projects
Airtable limitations
- Time and task tracking Gantt charts are only available on the Pro and Enterprise plans
- The mobile app offers a limited version with fewer features
- Because Airtable is quite complex, it can take some effort to find your way around
Airtable pricing
- Free plan
- Plus: $10/month per seat
- Pro: $20/month per seat
- Enterprise: Contact for pricing
Airtable ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.8/5 (2,000+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.7/5 (1,000+ reviews)
Bonus: Compare Airtable vs Monday.com
3. Zendesk – Best for sales teams
Zendesk Sell is a CRM solution, which is part of the wider Zendesk suite of tools. Its focus is on sales management through the pipeline with workflow automation and collaboration between teams.
Zendesk Sell best features
- Robust mobile app: Manage your pipeline while you’re out and about
- Collaboration: Give all your teams the same view of customer data to create a seamless customer journey
- Automation: The sales process is automated with triggers for each stage of the funnel, for example, to send email follow-ups to prospects
- Advanced reporting: Drill down into your reports and analytics to gain insights for accurate forecasting
- Seamless integration: Integrate with the rest of Zendesk, as well as apps like Trello, Jira, and Google Play reviews
Zendesk Sell limitations
- Zendesk Sell was acquired, rather than built by Zendesk, and the integration with Zendesk Support is not yet as stable and comprehensive as it could be
- Some users have reported that the support team couldn’t help with their issues
Zendesk Sell pricing
- Free 14-day trial
- Team: $19/month per user
- Growth: $49/month per user
- Professional: $99/month per user
- Enterprise: Starts at $150/month per user
Zendesk Sell ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.2/5 (400+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.3/5 (100+ reviews)
4. HubSpot CRM – Best for startups
HubSpot CRM is part of the bigger HubSpot Sales Hub platform. It’s primarily aimed at startup companies and has limited features, but it’s free. It also focuses on managing your pipeline and provides sales tools to help you do so.
HubSpot CRM best features
- Centralized client data: All your teams see the same customer information
- Pipeline management: Plan your sales process and see lead scores
- Client outreach and tracking: Log calls and email contacts directly from the customer database software
- Content management: Create landing pages and easily send and track sales content
- Integration: Integrate with apps like Slack, Jira, and Microsoft Dynamic
HubSpot CRM limitations
- The free option only allows five email templates and five documents per user per month, along with 15 minutes of call time and 200 notifications
- To access analytics and sales playbooks, you need a paid plan
HubSpot CRM pricing
- Free 14-day trial
- HubSpot Sales CRM: Free with limited features
- Starter CRM Suite: Starts at $18/month
- Professional CRM Suite: Starts at $450/month
- Enterprise CRM Suite: Starts at $1,200/month
HubSpot CRM ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.4/5 (10,000+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.5/5 (3,000+ reviews)
5. Zoho CRM – Best full-service client database software
The Zoho CRM is well-established and offers full-service solutions to both small and large businesses.
Zoho CRM best features
- Helpful dashboards: Set long-term key performance indicators and monitor sales team performance to encourage ongoing customer relationships
- Workflow customization: Build automated workflows to suit your business
- Lead and contact management: Automate follow-up emails and respond from tools like Outlook, Gmail, and Yahoo within the customer database software
- AI assistance: Zia, their AI assistant, helps you find the data you’re looking for
- Integrations: Allows both native and API integrations
Zoho CRM limitations
- The free version only allows you 100,000 records in your database
- Some users have struggled to get tech support when they’ve encountered issues
Zoho CRM pricing
- Free 15-day trial
- Standard: $14/month per user
- Professional: $23/month per user
- Enterprise: $40/month per user
- Ultimate: $52/month per user
Zoho CRM ratings and reviews
- G2: 4/5 (2,000+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.3/5 (6,000+ reviews)
Check out these Zoho alternatives!
6. Pipedrive – Best standalone CRM
Pipedrive is a standalone CRM tool. It integrates with other apps but is primarily designed to support sales teams to connect with clients and close deals.
Pipedrive best features
- Goal setting: Set goals for individuals and teams
- Visual dashboard: Easily keep an eye on your team’s progress using reports and a visual representation of your pipeline
- Lead segmentation: Sort leads so you can personalize communication
- Task management: See your tasks in a list or a calendar view and set reminders for them
- Email integration: Use ready-made email templates or create your own and send direct from the customer database software
Pipedrive limitations
- Support response time can sometimes be slow
- Some users find the tech outdated and not completely stable
Pipedrive pricing
- Free 14-day trial
- Essential: $14.90/month per user
- Advanced: $24.90/month per user
- Professional: $49.90/month per user
- Enterprise: $99/month per user
Pipedrive ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.2/5 (1,000+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.5/5 (2,000+ reviews)
Check out these Pipedrive alternatives!
7. Salesforce – Best for enterprise sales teams
Salesforce’s customer database software is called Salesforce Sales Cloud. It’s designed to help manage and monitor every stage of your sales pipeline and is ideal for enterprise environments.
Check out these Salesforce alternatives!
Salesforce Sales Cloud best features
- Data management: Manage your leads and contacts across your company
- Extensive customization: Set up everything from your home screen to automated workflows to suit your business
- Detailed reporting: Access insights from sales reports and your dashboard
- Wide integrations: Email integration plus integration with many different back-office apps
Salesforce Sales Cloud limitations
- With so many features, it can take time to understand and set up the system so it works for you
- Some users have complained that customer support is not up to scratch
Salesforce Sales Cloud pricing
- Free 30-day trial
- Essentials: $25/month per user
- Professional: $75/month per user
- Enterprise: $150/month per user
- Unlimited: $300/month per user
Salesforce Sales Cloud ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.3/5 (16,000+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.4/5 (17,000+ reviews)
Prefer Apple products? Check out these Mac database tools!
8. Monday.com – Best collaborative CRM
Known for its transparent and collaborative approach, Monday.com’s Sales CRM helps small and medium businesses manage their sales pipeline. The functionality is quite simple and is ideal if you’re not looking for a comprehensive marketing platform.
Monday Sales CRM best features
- Pipeline management: Use customized forms to capture leads on your website and landing pages, then move them through your pipeline
- Marketing features: Plan, execute, and track marketing tasks
- Collaboration: Easily communicate and collaborate between teams
- Ease of use: The design is intuitive, even for first-time users
Monday Sales CRM limitations
- You can’t export information from the CRM
- Store inventory integration isn’t always clear
Monday Sales CRM pricing:
- Free 14-day trial
- Basic: $10/month per user
- Standard: $14/month per user
- Pro: $24/month per user
- Enterprise: Contact for pricing
Monday Sales CRM ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.7/5 (500+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.7/5 (300+ reviews)
Check out these CRM tools for service businesses!
9. Freshworks – Best for small to medium sized businesses
The Freshworks CRM is called Freshsales. It’s a clean, right-out-the-box system that’s designed to help small and medium businesses manage their pipelines.
Freshsales best features
- Cross-team collaboration: Sales, marketing, and customer support all have access to the same information
- Contact scoring: Identify high-intent leads for follow-up
- Behavioral segmentation: Automatically populate your contacts with their social media information
- Engagement tracking: Engage with customers from within deals and track customer conversations for future reference
- AI assistance: Freddy, the AI assistant, analyzes sales data and highlights at-risk contacts
Freshsales limitations
- Freshsales is not very customizable, so you’re limited in what you can do
- Support can be slow to respond and can’t always help with fixing issues
Freshsales pricing
- Free 21-day trial
- Growth: Free for up to three users, then $15/month per user
- Pro: $39/month per user
- Enterprise: $69/month per user
Freshsales ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.6/5 (1,000+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.5/5 (500+ reviews)
10. Keap – Best for sales & marketing collaboration
Keap helps sales and marketing departments work together to improve efficiency and close more deals. At entry level, it’s designed for new businesses and solopreneurs, and its enterprise-level offering—formerly known as Infusionsoft—is now Keap Max Classic.
Keap best features
- Lead generation: Embed custom forms to collect leads on your home page and landing pages
- Customizable workflows: Use an easy drag-and-drop system to create your workflows and visual pipelines
- Automation: Automate your marketing, including emails, to reduce repetitive tasks
- Customer engagement: Send SMSes and emails from templates, make phone calls, and schedule appointments from within client contact records
- Reporting: Set up monthly, weekly, and even daily reports to track your progress
Keap limitations
- Some functionality, like invoices and reports, can’t be customized to your needs
- It can take some time for new users to learn to navigate it
Keap pricing
- Free 14-day trial
- Classic: $149 per month for up to two users
- Max: $199 per month for up to three users
- Max Classic: Contact for pricing
Keap ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.2/5 (1,000+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.1/5 (1,000+ reviews)
Bonus: Check out our list of the top alternatives to Keap
Summarize this article for me pleaseWhat to Look for in Customer Database Software?
When you’re in the market for customer database software for your business, there are a few things to consider.
- Ease of use: The user interface should be user-friendly, easily allow you to identify prospects for follow-up, and automate outreach
- One customer view: Everyone in your business should be able to see the same view of customer data to provide seamless customer service
- Workflow automation: Task management across sales and marketing should be simple, agile, and as automated as possible, with the ability to prioritize and create dependencies
- Marketing automation: The marketing tools should allow you to set up a marketing campaign and then run it seamlessly without much further intervention from you
- Insightful reporting: You should have access to reports and dashboards that track metrics, provide helpful analytics, and allow you to forecast sales
Summarize this article for me pleaseChoose the Best Customer Database System for Your Team
Managing your contacts and your sales pipeline helps to drive more sales, but it’s important to find the right management software. You’re looking for a system that’s user-friendly and customizable and allows you to automate your sales and marketing. It also needs to give you detailed reports and analytics that help you make the best decisions for your business.
We hope our list of the best paid and free customer database software has helped you make your decision—or at least given you some points to ponder.
With ClickUp, you get all the CRM features you’re looking for and so much more. Save time, increase productivity, and drive sales with your perfect ClickUp CRM. Get started with ClickUp for free today. Then watch those sales fly in.
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