If you’re a small business, you need a lightweight customer relationship management (CRM) tool that will help you manage your customers and prospects without adding unnecessary complexity to your business operations.

This article will help you understand the key features you need to look for when choosing a lightweight CRM.

1. Contact management

Managing your contacts is one of the most important things you can do for your business. A lightweight CRM should make it easy to organize and manage your contacts.

Look for a CRM that allows you to create custom contact fields so you can capture the information that is most important to your business. You should also be able to easily segment your contacts into different lists so you can target your marketing efforts.

Other contact management features to look for include the ability to import and export contacts, add notes and tags to contacts, and track your interactions with them.

2. Task management

One of the main purposes of a CRM is to help you stay organized. Task management is a tool that can help you do just that.

With task management, you can create and assign tasks to your team members. You can also set due dates and reminders for tasks, and you can organize tasks by priority. For teams managing affiliate marketing efforts, integrating tools like the best Wix affiliate apps can streamline workflows and keep everything organized in one place.

This is a great way to make sure that everyone on your team is on the same page and that nothing falls through the cracks.

3. Pipeline management

Your sales pipeline is the core of your business. It’s where the magic happens — where leads turn into customers.

That’s why it’s so important to have a clear, organized view of your pipeline at all times. A good CRM will help you do that by allowing you to create custom pipeline stages, set deal probabilities, and function as a software for lead management to track where your deals are in the sales process.

This will help you identify any bottlenecks in your pipeline, see which deals are most likely to close, and prioritize your time and resources.

4. Email management

Email is still the most popular communication channel for businesses, but it can also be one of the most time-consuming. A good lightweight CRM can help you manage your email communications and make the process more efficient.

Look for a CRM that allows you to send and receive emails from within the app. This will allow you to keep all of your communications in one place, making it easier to stay organized. It will also save you the time and hassle of having to switch back and forth between your email and CRM apps.

You should also look for a CRM that offers email templates and the ability to schedule emails. This will help you save even more time and make your email communications more effective.

5. Document management

Document management is another feature that can help your sales team save time and stay organized. With document management capabilities, you can easily upload and share files with your team and your contacts.

You can also track which documents have been shared and viewed by your contacts. This can help you understand what content is resonating with your audience and what may need to be updated or improved.

6. Workflow automation

Workflow automation is a feature that allows you to create a series of tasks that are automatically triggered when a certain action takes place in the CRM. This can be used to help your sales team stay organized and on top of their leads.

For example, you could set up a workflow automation to send an email to a lead as soon as they are added to the CRM. Or, you could set up a workflow automation to create a to-do list for your sales team when a lead reaches a certain stage in the sales funnel.

This feature can help your sales team save time and stay organized, and it’s a great way to ensure that no leads fall through the cracks.

7. Reporting

Analyzing your sales data is key to understanding the health of your sales pipeline, forecasting future sales, and identifying areas of improvement on your sales team.

That’s why it’s important to choose a CRM that offers a variety of reporting features.

With a lightweight CRM, you should be able to generate reports on the number of deals in your pipeline, the value of those deals, the average time it takes to close a deal, and more.

You should also be able to filter your reports by sales rep, deal stage, deal value, and other criteria so you can get a more granular view of your sales data.

8. Mobile access

Mobile CRM apps allow salespeople to manage their deals and contacts on the go. This is especially important for field sales reps who spend most of their time out of the office.

When evaluating a CRM, be sure to check if it has a mobile app and if the app has the same features as the desktop version. The last thing you want is to be limited by your CRM when you’re out in the field.

9. Integration with marketing tools

A great lightweight CRM doesn’t just manage your internal workflows—it should also connect with the tools that help you grow. One underrated but powerful integration is with referral marketing platforms like ReferralCandy.

Which lightweight CRM is best for your business?

The CRM you choose should be based on the specific needs of your business. But if you’re not sure where to start, the following recommendations can help you narrow down your options.

Best lightweight CRM for small businesses: HubSpot CRM

HubSpot CRM is a great option for small businesses because it’s free and easy to use. It also integrates with a wide range of other tools, so you can easily customize it to meet your needs as your business grows.

Best lightweight CRM for sales teams: Pipedrive

Pipedrive is a sales-focused CRM that’s great for teams who need to track their sales pipeline. It’s easy to use, and it has a lot of features that are specifically designed to help sales teams be more productive.

Best lightweight CRM for startups: Freshsales

Freshsales is a great option for startups because it’s affordable, easy to use, and has a lot of features that are specifically designed to help you grow your business. It also integrates with a wide range of other tools, so you can easily customize it to meet your needs as your business grows.

Best lightweight CRM for customer service teams: Zendesk Sell

Zendesk Sell is a great option for customer service teams because it’s easy to use and has a lot of features that are specifically designed to help you provide great customer service. It also integrates with a wide range of other tools, so you can easily customize it to meet your needs as your business grows.

Conclusion

Pipedrive is a sales-focused CRM that lets you manage leads and deals in a customizable pipeline view. It helps you prioritize leads and track communications, and it offers a variety of integrations to connect with other apps you use.