The 10 Best Alternative Customer Database Software in 2021
You've just received the go-ahead from decision-makers to invest in software to manage your customer database. You can finally migrate from an outdated way of storing and managing data to an optimized solution that will help you streamline your marketing campaigns and sales process.
Choosing the right customer database software can be a challenge. All SMBs have a unique list of requirements when it comes to CRM features they are looking for. With so many CRM platforms available, how do you know which is the best all-in-one software to choose?
You're likely familiar with customer database software like HubSpot CRM and Zoho CRM, but in this article, we've got 10 fantastic customer database software options that you may never have heard of.
Moving on to a new CRM? You might have to clean your data first. For a free data quality checkup, and to see if we can help prepare your data, get in touch with us today.
What is customer database software?
Customer database software, also known as customer relationship management software, serves as a platform for contact management, where businesses can organize and track their customer relationships.
They manage vast quantities of customer information, automate business processes, and help marketers and salespeople manage their workflows.
Customer relationship management involves more than lead scoring and contacting sales leads. CRM tools enable businesses to nurture leads based on their profile and previous customer interactions. Your whole team will have access to relevant customer data to create a collaborative approach to both lead generation and marketing campaigns.
The best CRM software will completely change your user experience, providing a high level of functionality and a more accessible way to manage data than traditional Excel sheets.
According to Market Research Future, the CRM market is predicted to grow exponentially at an annual growth rate of 6%. The most significant area of growth will be utilizing AI features, with Microsoft and Salesforce already working on their own AI integrations for their CRMs.
Features to look for in a customer database management software
When you're choosing a CRM platform, here are the most important CRM features to look out for:
1. Workflow automation
One of the most significant benefits of using a CRM is their automation features. Automating menial tasks and actions will free up your team and boost productivity. Look for CRMs that allow you to automate actions based on customizable triggers. For example, if a sales lead fills out the contact form on your website, it will automatically send them an email response. Or, if someone doesn't respond to a message within a set period, it will automatically send them a follow-up.
2. Third-party integration
You want to choose a CRM that can integrate with the other software platforms that you already use. It will make business processes much easier if you don't need to frequently switch between apps and migrate information from one to the other.
Some common third-party integrations that are helpful include:
Email integration (Gmail, Outlook)
Integration with your POS system and accounting software (QuickBooks, Xero, Wave)
Backup integration with cloud-based storage systems (Dropbox, Microsoft OneDrive, Box.com)
3. CRM analytics and reporting
CRM platforms can analyze your customer data and offer insights that you can use to strengthen your marketing campaigns. You can make better decisions regarding how you communicate with customers, what products and services convert, and what marketing strategies are the most effective.
CRM analytics and reports can also help with forecasting, allowing you to make educated predictions around customer behaviors. An important thing to note is that you need to start with clean data for any CRM analytics to be effective. CRM data cleansing is crucial to ensuring that you're making the most out of any platform you use.
On top of these three essential features, you should also keep an eye for:
- 1Customer service features to boost customer satisfaction
- 2Customer segmentation in your CRM
- 3Social media monitoring
- 4Access to real-time data
- 5Customization features (compatible with plugins, extensions, and the ability to customize contact fields)
- 6Employee tracking
Now that you know what to look for when choosing a CRM, here are 10 of the best alternative customer database software in 2021.
Nethunt - customer information database software
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Nethunt is a customer relationship management software that is built specifically to integrate with Google applications and Gmail. You can manage all your customer interactions directly from your Gmail inbox.
G-suite is exceptionally user-friendly, and Nethunt turns your entire G-suite into a CRM. You can use Nethunt to handle customer support, set up marketing campaigns, and sales pipelines without needing multiple platforms. Nethunt is one of the Uvaro Tech Sales Training School's top recommended CRMs.
Nethunt has some great features, including:
One-click lead capturing
Pipeline management
Duplicate management
G-suite integration
Shared conversations
Email templates
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Fully integrated with G-suite | Mobile app isn't as strong as the desktop app |
Great value for money | Not as aesthetically pleasing as some others |
Responsive customer support | - |
Pricing: $48 per user/per month on the Enterprise plan.
Netsuite - software for maintaining customer database
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Netsuite is the perfect CRM for wholesale distributors or those with a multi-channel retail company. It also comes recommended by the Uvaro Tech School. These types of companies can use Netsuite for enterprise resource planning, with its strong focus on finance and eCommerce.
Netsuite allows businesses to unify their entire sales process from marketing and merchandising to when a customer makes a purchase. It can even manage their orders. You can keep track of inventory, your supply chain, and financials all from one interface.
Some of Netsuite's most notable features include:
Ecommerce store hosting
Accounting features
Order management
Professional services automation
Operation management in multiple currencies, languages, and countries
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Fully customizable | Requires thorough training to take advantage of all the features |
Has an API which allows Netsuite to integrate with third-party tools | - |
Multiple currencies and locations for global businesses | - |
Pricing: Pricing varies based on needs. Get an estimate here.
Mailshake - web based customer database software
Uvaro Tech School recommends MailShake CRM as an exceptional modern tool that can dramatically accelerate your outreach. MailShake is predominantly a cold email CRM tool that helps businesses of all sizes with lead generation, link building, content promotion, and more. It's beneficial to both sales teams and marketing teams as it automates your cold email marketing campaigns, saving your staff time.
According to Woodpecker, their cold email campaigns see an average open rate of 53%. That's extremely effective. Leveraging the MailShake CRM platform, you can optimize your customer outreach and even automate follow-ups.
The features you will find in MailShake include:
Extensive template library
Automatic follow-up emails
Real-time campaign analysis
G-Suite integration
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Zapier and G-Suite integrations | Can become slightly expensive if you have a bigger team |
Very user-friendly | You are limited on how many emails you can send per day |
Little to no training required for use | - |
Pricing: $99 per user/per month on the Sales Engagement plan.
Insightly - business customer database software
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Insightly is a CRM software for businesses of all sizes, which is extremely user-friendly and powerful. It enables you to manage all your contacts, including leads, vendors, and partners. Additionally, it has a project management feature that helps you and your team stay on top of all your tasks and see real-time updates on progress.
Insightly has a free version, which supports two users, up to their Enterprise version for large-scale companies with advanced CRM needs. Shayne Sherman, a tech expert, and CEO of Techloris, recommends Insightly as a functional and versatile CRM platform.
Some of Insightly's special features include:
Free smartphone app (iOS and Android)
Contact tagging
Voice notes
Project categories
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
They have a free version | Limits the number of emails you can send at one time |
Project management features | - |
Point and click lead creation | - |
Pricing: Up to 2 users for free. $99 per user per month on the Enterprise plan.
Thanx - customer order database software
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Thanx is a CRM and digital engagement platform, helping restaurants and retailers personalize their customer interactions and deliver a better customer experience and increase their revenue. The platform features web and mobile loyalty features, allowing retailers to customize their loyalty and reward programs for their customers.
Thanx is also a user-friendly digital ordering interface, making it easy for customers to order their food or retail items.
Some of the unique features offered by Thanx include:
Branded digital ordering
Ability to personally respond to guests
Rich customer profiles
Loyalty/rewards program built-in
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Over 50 data points to collect | Only for businesses that support online ordering |
User-friendly mobile app (iOS + Android) | - |
POS integration | - |
Pricing: $399 per month, per location on their Loyalty-Premium plan.
Salesflare - customer sales database software
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Salesflare is an advanced CRM software for SMBs that want to increase their B2B sales without using up extra time and resources. It offers automated data enrichment by filling up your CRM database with all your customer contacts so you can stay on top of all your interactions and updating them as necessary. There is a difference between data enrichment vs. data cleansing, and you will need to use external software to clean your data.
Salesflare integrates with Zapier, giving users the capabilities to link it with over 1300 other apps like Google Contacts, Slack, and Mailchimp, pulling all your contacts into the Salesflare platform. It also tracks how customers engage with you, enabling you to use that information to personalize your sales and marketing efforts.
Salesflare has many great features like:
Automated contact updating
Automatically logs emails and phone calls
Calendar reminder system
Built-in email tracking
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Add custom fields to individual accounts | Can run slightly slow when making changes in the app |
Integrates with thousands of other applications | Very feature-rich, so takes some time to learn everything |
Automates contact importing | - |
Pricing: $30 per user, per month.
Really Simple Systems - customer management database software
This CRM software is a powerful solution for growing businesses. It helps them maintain valuable connections with their customers and keeps them updated about all previous interactions. That way, teams can track business processes easier, and sales and marketing can align their efforts in converting visitors into customers.
With more than 12 years of experience working with small businesses, they managed to create software that is easy to use and adjust to every niche of business. Their clients especially like to mention how grateful they are for their customer support and simplicity in use.
Some of their best features include:
Built-in email marketing
Sales pipeline management
Customer support tracking and live chat
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Super easy to set up and use | No control over the screen layout |
Customizable reporting functions | - |
Straightforward creation, distribution, and management of EDM marketing campaigns | - |
Pricing: $46 per user, per month on their Enterprise plan. See all their plans here.
EngageBay - customer database software for small business
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EngageBay is an all-in-one sales and marketing tool built specifically for small and medium businesses to help them engage and grow their audience.
Basically, it's a Hubspot alternative for small and medium businesses, including all the crucial sales and marketing features you need to run a successful business: in other words, it allows you to run and market your business just like a big company would without having to pay a fortune or need the training to learn how to leverage it. In fact, it even has a free forever plan.
It has tons of useful sales and marketing features, including:
Marketing automation features, including must-haves like online forms and landing pages, marketing automation, and email sequences, as well as detailed web analytics
Sales and CRM features, including a customer relationship management (CRM) database where you can organize and manage all of your customers, leads, and contacts, as well as other handy tools like appointment scheduling, deal management, and sales automation
Live Chat and Helpdesk features, including a live chat tool, of course, as well as ticket management, service automation, and email reports
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Budget-friendly | No social media posting capabilities yet |
Extendable with API and other customizations | - |
More features and functionality than most CRMs | - |
Pricing: $47.99 per user, per month, but they also have a free forever plan for up to 1000 contacts and 1000 emails a month. See all their pricing here.
RingBlaze - customer service database software
RingBlaze is a VoIP business phone system made to fit small to medium-sized businesses. Sales and customer support teams can benefit greatly from the tools it provides.
Teams have a comprehensive dashboard at their disposal to monitor the whole customer support process on a single screen. All activities are visible to any team member. It doesn't matter if they are scattered across the world: the dashboard enables interactive conversations and ties everyone together. Each call gets the assigned owner, can be recorded, and customer support agents can even leave useful notes in the call comments.
Some of their most notable features include:
Click-to-call website widget, which allows customers to make instant calls and speak to a human in real-time, without leaving the website.
Free international calls, no matter where customers are calling from.
Call collaboration from a shared, global database.
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Make inbound/outbound calls from your browser | No email capabilities |
Embed a call widget directly on your website | - |
Call logging and recording | - |
Pricing: $15 per user, per month.
CRMDialer - customer support database software
CRMDialer is designed to streamline and enhance all areas of SMB operations, from lead management to marketing to billing and payments, communication, scheduling, customer support, and beyond. By bringing all the tools an SMB needs into a single piece of software, CRMDialer saves time and simplifies workflows while significantly improving the sales process and quality of service delivered to customers.
The integrated power dialer not only provides a complete office phone solution ideal for telephone sales environments, but it also ensures all calls are automatically captured within the CRM alongside emails, text messages, meeting notes, and more. The result is more complete lead information and deeper customer intelligence – the keys to a faster, more targeted sales process and higher close-rates.
Some of the best features of CRMDialer include:
Built-in IVR power dialer
eSignature contracts/sales documents
Automated billing and integrated credit card/ACH processing
System-wide reporting
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Advanced lead management | Only phone-based |
White-label customer portal and automatic ticketing | - |
Complete comms integration (Gmail, Outlook, SMS) | - |
Pricing: $899 per month (unlimited users) on the Enterprise plan. View their different pricing options here.
Choosing a #customer database software can be challenging. You’ve heard of HubSpot and Zoho, but you want to assess all your options to find the best fit. Check out this post where @tye_io reviews the ten best alternative customer #database software:
What is the best customer database software?
Each customer database software that we've featured in today's roundup has different features that could benefit your business. The main things you want to think about before deciding on your perfect CRM include:
1. Integration needs
2. Analytics and reporting
3. The customization features you need
4. Budget
With all those factors in mind, you can make an educated decision on the best customer database software that will suit your needs.
Moving on to a new CRM? You might have to clean your data. For a free data quality checkup, and to see if we can help prepare your data, get in touch with us today.
Markus Beck - November 24, 2020
CEO with a passion for data relationships. Markus is half Finnish, half Austrian & fully committed to helping businesses keep bad data from ruining great relationships. Process Engineer by training, with digital marketing & project management skills from previous jobs.