Best CRM For Software Companies: Choose Insightly for SaaS businesses

Best Practices

by   INSIGHTLY TEAM February 21, 2023

Customer Relationship Management software (CRM) is a critical component of any successful business, and this is especially true in the SaaS industry. SaaS, or Software as a Service, is a rapidly growing sector that provides customers with access to cloud-based software applications through a subscription-based model. Due to the unique characteristics of SaaS, the importance of CRM is even more pronounced.  Let’s explore CRM software for SaaS, CRM for software companies in general, CRM software examples and CRM database examples. 

CRM Software for SaaS

First and foremost, CRM allows SaaS companies to better understand their customers. This is because CRM systems provide a centralized CRM database that collects data from various customer interactions, such as email correspondence, social media interactions, and phone calls. With this data, SaaS companies can gain insights into their customers’ needs, preferences, and behaviors, allowing them to tailor their offerings to meet those needs. Whether your SaaS company needs a Startup CRM or perhaps is ready for a small business CRM, 

Features of CRM for software companies

Modern CRMs are feature-rich, affordable, scalable and easy to use. As your software business grows, you want your CRM to grow with you. Early on, you may be looking at the features of a small business CRM, or even a start-up CRM, but as your business expands, you’ll be using more platforms, so integrations will become more important. The idea SaaS business CRM will account for all of these scenarios. Here are some specific CRM features that SaaS businesses can benefit from:

Dashboards and reports – You’ll want to communicate well with employees and shareholders, so tracking key metrics at a glance is vital. Your SaaS CRM should create graphical data visualizations to depict insights and monitor progress towards your goals. Dashboards and reports allow you to share data across teams in easily digestible formats so your teams are all on the same page.

Lead routing – When a hot lead comes into your SaaS business, it could be worth thousands or even millions of dollars in lifetime value. Don’t let them sit and wait for manual distribution. Lead routing gets leads into the right hands quickly for follow-up. 

Workflow automation – Free your team from repetitive tasks when you automate them in your CRM. Let your revenue team focus on bringing in new deals rather than pushing data around systems. For example, you can create a Slack alert for hot leads that come in so your response time is as short as possible. 

Email features – Don’t make your reps go back and forth between their email client and CRM. A modern CRM ensures that they can work in one app, but information flows to both so that nothing gets lost and everything is recorded in your CRM for future reference.

CRM Platforms

Ideally, your best CRM and your customer service application will be on the same platform, along with your marketing automation software. This means that your Go-to-Market teams (sales, marketing, customer service) are all sharing a database and therefore can get a 360-degree view of the customer. This is the case for a CRM platform vs. a stand-alone CRM. When you are building your CRM software list, look for a CRM platform. 

One of the most significant benefits of the best SaaS CRM is the ability to track customer engagement over time. This is especially important for SaaS companies that typically rely on recurring revenue from subscriptions. By monitoring engagement metrics such as logins, feature usage, and support inquiries, SaaS companies can identify customers who may be at risk of churning and take proactive measures to retain them. Keeping an eye on usage metrics first during onboarding and then subsequently via quarterly business reviews is a great way to head churn off before it starts. You can then offer special promotions or additional training to customers who have not been using their software to its fullest potential.

In addition to monitoring customer engagement, CRM systems can also help SaaS companies identify opportunities for upselling and cross-selling. By analyzing data on customers’ usage patterns and purchasing history, SaaS companies can identify products or features that may be of interest to them. This can increase revenue per customer and help SaaS companies achieve their growth goals.

Another significant benefit of SaaS CRM is the ability to personalize customer interactions. With a centralized database that collects data from various touch points, SaaS companies can gain a deep understanding of each customer’s needs and preferences. This information can then be used to tailor communications and marketing efforts to each customer, making them feel seen, heard and understood. Personalization can lead to increased customer loyalty and satisfaction, which is essential for the long-term success and recurring revenue model  of any SaaS company.

SaaS CRM can also help companies improve their customer support. By providing a centralized database of customer interactions, CRM systems allow support teams to quickly access customer data and history. This can help them provide more efficient and effective support, as they can better understand the customer’s needs and previous interactions with the company. In addition, SaaS companies can use CRM data to identify patterns in support inquiries and take proactive measures to prevent common issues from occurring in the future.

Top 10 CRM Software

Implementing a successful SaaS CRM system can be challenging. SaaS companies have unique challenges compared to traditional software companies due to their subscription-based model. Therefore, it’s important to look for the best CRM, even a top 10 CRM software option, looking at CRM software lists to ensure you make the right choice.

Some important characteristics of a top 10 CRM software for SaaS are:

Integrations: The most significant challenge is managing customer data and maintaining accurate records of their subscription history. This requires a robust CRM system that can integrate with the company’s billing system and other internal software.

Security: Another challenge is ensuring that customer data is secure. SaaS companies collect a large amount of sensitive customer information, such as payment details and usage patterns. It is critical to implement robust security measures to protect this data from cyberattacks and data breaches. This includes encrypting customer data, implementing access controls, and monitoring for any suspicious activity.

Excellent, world-class support: In addition to these technical challenges, SaaS companies also need to focus on the human element of CRM. This means having a team of dedicated customer support representatives who are trained in using the CRM system and have a deep understanding of the company’s products and services. It also means having a customer-centric culture that prioritizes the customer’s needs and values their feedback.

CRM software options for software companies

You’ve narrowed down your choices for a top 10 CRM software. Now, what is the CRM software company behind your choice? What is their reputation? Can you trust this company to house your data, keep it safe, give you the features you need to grow, and continue to provide you with good service?

Some popular CRMs are Insightly CRM, Zoho CRM, HubSpot CRM, and Salesforce CRM. All of these have good offerings and can be a fit, depending on your business needs and budget. Insightly is the modern CRM teams love because it’s feature rich, scalable, affordable, and teams love to use it. If you think “what is salesforce used for?” or any CRM for that matter, they all have the same use case – to house customer data and improve sales processes. 

Look at review sites to see how other SaaS businesses rate their CRM software to ensure you pick the right platform and the right company to do business with.

Choose Insightly CRM for your software/SaaS business

Insightly CRM is the ideal solution for SaaS businesses. It’s a powerful, feature-rich CRM. Plus, it aligns your teams by allowing sales, marketing, and customer service to work in the same platform. 

Get started with a free trial of Insightly CRM today, or a personalized demo to see how Insightly can help your company achieve its business goals.