Software tools are designed to make your life easier and to ensure that your business runs as smoothly as possible. Customer relationship management (CRM) software is a prime example of that.
What you are getting with a good payment processing crm package is a solution that encompasses all of your requirements and gives you easy access to all the data insights you need.
Naturally enough, that comes at a price. It’s not hard to make a case for saying that CRM software is well worth the investment, when you consider what it gives you. However, you might be tempted to see if there are any alternatives that could be viable, or are they simply too much hassle because they don’t do everything you need?
Let’s take a look at some alternatives to CRM software and what they offer.
Kanban offers a sale-orientated alternative
If you are looking at an alternative CRM solution that is focused on sales targets and data, a Kanban board is well worth a look.
In a nutshell, it is designed to be a no-code visualization tool for managing workflow. A key difference to What Kanban offers compared to a spreadsheet is that it focuses on delivering the most important data rather than making you trawl through large amounts of data.
Documents serve a simple purpose
Sales documentation tends to be repeatable. Whether it’s a guide to your products, a contract, or a proposal, there’s a good chance you will be using the same format more than once.
In that respect, if you use something like ClickUp Docs it becomes a simple process to build a series of templates that can be used repeatedly.
Manage your contacts in email
Another straightforward alternative would be to embrace what products like Google Workspace or Microsoft Outlook have to offer. Both of these software packages give you access to a plethora of integrated tools.
That means you can customize your inbox. However, it;s a far more limited option compared to CRM software.
A simple database for your sales contacts
Another ClickUp feature is a free downloadable tracking template called Lists. This allows you to centralize information and create multiple databases. Again this is a binary solution without all the bells and whistles of paid CRM software.
Spreadsheets are always worth considering
Easy to create and interact with, spreadsheets are always worth considering. Data entry is straightforward and the various sorting options can be very useful and easy to use.
However, spreadsheets have clear limitations in comparison to CRM software.
Digital whiteboards help collaboration
If you like the idea of being able to engage and collaborate in a user-friendly way, digital whiteboards are worth considering.
It is a good way to enjoy smooth communication across your sales team, but it does have its limitations.
See your contacts in a different way with maps
Arguably, customer maps represent one of the most innovative alternatives to CRM software.
This gives you the ability to plot contacts by address and location, which can be very useful in a sales-orientated environment.
Directories serve a purpose
Last but not least, the use of directories in project management software offers a next-level alternative to spreadsheets, without offering as much as CRM software.
As a simple way to store contact data and track sales progress, directories serve a purpose.
As you can see, there are ways to organize your data without using specific CRM software. However, it’s abundantly clear that these alternatives can’t match all the features of paid CRM software, so they may not be worth the hassle.