Best Customer Retention Software
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PRODUCTS
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BUYER'S GUIDE
Buyer's Guide
By Shweta Joshi, Market Analyst and Technical Content Writer at SelectHub
A 5% increase in customer retention can boost profits by 25-95%. No wonder customer retention is considered the Holy Grail of businesses. Customer retention software, a type of CRM, can help businesses manage and systematically increase customer retention.
If your company needs better customer communication, or you’re scouting for a better way to analyze and serve different customer segments, then you’ve come to the right place. This buyer’s guide will go over what customer retention software is, how it could help your business and how to pick the best solution.
Executive Summary
- Customer retention software boosts communication with existing customers, improves team collaboration and supports scalability.
- Key features include contact management, lead management, workflow management and customer support.
- Ask potential vendors questions before committing to a purchase.
What Is Customer Retention Software?
Customer retention software is a set of tools that helps businesses manage and improve their relationships with existing customers.
It generally includes modules for managing customer data, tracking interactions, and analyzing customer behavior, as well as features for automating and streamlining customer-facing processes, such as sales, marketing, and support. It increases customer loyalty and retention by improving the overall customer experience.
Primary Benefits
Customer retention software offers a wide range of benefits that include:
Increase Efficiency
Customer retention software can save time and increase productivity by automating routine tasks and streamlining processes. This advantage can lead to improved customer service, increased sales and more lifetime value.
Boost Communication and Collaboration
With customer retention CRM software, businesses can easily share customer data and collaborate on customer-facing tasks, such as sales and support. This can lead to more efficient and effective communication with customers, as well as improved teamwork.
Support Scalability
As a business grows, it becomes increasingly difficult to manage customer relationships manually. Customer retention software can scale operations and manage large customer numbers without sacrificing the quality of the customer experience.
Key Features & Functionality
While customer retention software can have diverse modules, some common features include:
- AI Chatbots
- Chatbot Platforms
- Chatbot
- Cloud CRM
- Complaint Management
- Computer Inventory
- Contact Management
- CRM For Commercial Real Estate
- CRM For Consulting
- CRM Insurance
- CRM
- CRM Software for Project Management
- Customer Database
- Customer Engagement Platforms
- Customer Profile
- Customer Service
- Customer Success
- Ecommerce CRM
- Email Ticketing Systems
- Email Tracking
- Financial Services CRM
- Fundraising CRM
- Help Desk
- Help Desk Software For Schools
- Hotel CRM
- Influencer Marketing
- Issue Tracking
- Knowledge Base
- Lead Management
- Live Chat
- Marketing Analytics Software Tools
- Marketing Attribution
- Mortgage CRM
- Remote Desktop
- Restaurant CRM
- Retail CRM
- Sales Force Automation
- Service Request
- Ticketing
- Travel Agency
- Venue Management
Contact Management | Store, manage and organize customer contact information in a central location. |
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Lead Management | Track and manage leads throughout the sales process, from initial contact to conversion and post-sales services. |
Workflow Management | Streamline and automate customer-facing tasks and processes, such as customer onboarding, renewals and upselling. |
Sales Automation | Improve sales-related tasks, such as creating quotes and invoices, tracking sales progress and generating reports. |
Marketing Automation | Automate marketing tasks like email campaigns, social media marketing and lead generation. |
Customer Support and Services | Manage customer service and support requests with case management, a knowledge base and customer self-service portals. |
Collaboration | Share customer data across different departments and teams while collaborating on customer-facing tasks like sales and support. |
Personalization | Create personalized customer experiences and targeted marketing campaigns based on customer data and behavior. |
Reports | Get detailed data and analytics to track customer behavior and measure the effectiveness of customer retention strategies. |
Integrations | Integrate with other tools, such as accounting software, email marketing software and social media platforms. |
Software Comparison Strategy
It’s important to define your specific needs and requirements when comparing customer retention software. Evaluate the features and functionality of the software on your shortlist and consider scalability, pricing and integration capabilities.
Next, look for demos and free trials for options on your shortlist. This step will give you a hands-on understanding of how the software works and help identify potential issues or limitations.
Also, check customer reviews and feedback, and evaluate the level of technical support offered by the software vendor, including documentation, knowledge bases and customer service.
Finally, evaluate the flexibility of the software and check if it can be customized to match your specific processes and workflows.
Cost & Pricing Considerations
When considering the cost and pricing of customer retention software, there are a few important points to consider:
- Subscription-based pricing: Many software options provide subscription-based pricing models where you pay a monthly or annual fee to access the software. This method is more cost-effective for businesses that don’t want to make a large upfront investment.
- Number of users: Some providers charge based on the number of users that access the software.
- Additional costs: Consider any additional costs that may be associated with the software, such as implementation, training, ongoing maintenance and support costs. Some vendors may offer a full-service package, while others may charge separately for additional services.
The Most Popular Customer Retention Software
Now that you know what customer retention software can do, how do you decide which product is the best choice? Our analysts curated a list of the most popular customer retention software solutions on the market. Check out our picks below!
Zoho CRM
Zoho CRM has a customer retention module that helps businesses manage and improve customer relationships. It offers a range of features and functionalities that include lead management, marketing automation, analytics and reporting tools.
It also provides insight into customer behavior and purchasing patterns while identifying customer segments at high risk of churn and taking appropriate action to retain them.
Lead Source View in Zoho CRM.
Salesforce Sales Cloud
Salesforce Sales Cloud offers a customer retention module that has a range of features like lead management, sales forecasting and mobile access capabilities, allowing sales teams to access customer information and perform sales activities from anywhere.
It also automates sales processes, forecasts future sales and manages sales pipelines, and creates and executes targeted marketing campaigns.
Dashboard View in Salesforce Sales Cloud.
HubSpot Sales
HubSpot Sales offers robust customer retention capabilities. It centralizes customer information and interactions to allow for personalized follow-up and effective engagement.
With modules for email tracking and automation, reporting and analytics, sales pipeline management and customer feedback, it provides businesses with a comprehensive solution for retaining customers.
Contact Management in HubSpot Sales.
Questions To Ask
To get a better understanding of your company’s requirements, ask yourself these guiding questions:
- What are the specific challenges that we’re trying to solve?
- How will the software integrate with our existing systems and processes?
- How much are we willing to spend?
- Who will be responsible for implementing and managing the software?
- How will we measure the solution’s success?
Ask potential vendors these questions to learn more about them and the software:
- Can you provide references or case studies of similar businesses use your software?
- How will you ensure a smooth implementation and transition?
- How do you handle customer support and training?
- How do you handle software updates and maintenance?
- How do you address data security and compliance concerns?
Next Steps
Customer retention software is an important tool. It allows employees to understand customer segments, improve communication and cross-department collaboration, and increase customer retention to boost bottom-line revenue. Picking the right service might feel daunting, but we hope this buyer’s guide has helped narrow down your choices.
If you need further help, check out our comparison report for more information on the top customer retention software leaders. Good luck!
Product Comparisons
- Top Salesforce Alternatives
- Top HubSpot Alternatives
- Zoho CRM vs. HubSpot Sales
- HubSpot Sales vs. Salesforce Sales Cloud
- Salesforce vs. Act! vs. Zoho
Additional Resources
Products found for Customer Retention Software
Pipedrive
Pipedrive supports sales professionals in managing every phase of the sales process, from lead generation to customer contact. Forecasting enables sales reps to close more deals, and visual pipelines clarify what stage a lead is in and what action is required. Users can simplify and streamline tasks with automation and AI capabilities. It offers integrations and an open API, so companies can plug in third-party apps to further extend its capabilities.
Salesforce Sales Cloud
Suitable for companies of any size, Salesforce Sales Cloud delivers sales and customer service capabilities for both the B2B and B2C domains. It helps businesses work more efficiently, easily surface key metrics and share business data via integration. Capabilities include real-time tracking, visual workflows, forecasting, marketing tools and reports.Equipped with a mobile app for iOS and Android devices and deployed in the cloud, it enables unrestricted access so users can work from anywhere.
Zoho CRM
Zoho CRM enables an organization’s sales force to work more effectively and close more deals. It incorporates lead management, marketing automation, contact management, multichannel forecasting, territory management, and a host of other capabilities.Built with conversational AI, it supports users by predicting lead and deal success, offering a voice assistant, and suggesting activities to automate based on behavior analysis. Users can leverage workflow automation to streamline manual tasks and stay on top of performance with real-time reporting and analytics.
Infusionsoft
Infusionsoft by Keap is a comprehensive software platform designed to help small businesses save time and grow revenue. Rated as a top sales product for SMBs in 2019, this vendor brings automation and organization to sales and marketing activities. The available toolkit allows small businesses to gain extensive control over their efforts to help form personal, lasting connections with their customers. This product is suitable for individual business owners or small teams looking to scale and handle an increasing task load. The implementation includes a required kickstart package (available in three different price tiers) that helps users get set up with the program and positions them for success.
Streak CRM
Streak CRM is built into Gmail, allowing users to manage common sales tasks directly from their inbox. It facilitates pipeline management so users can track leads, follow up, collaborate and close deals. Three different pricing tiers make it useful for both individuals who need basic functions and companies that require more advanced capabilities. In addition to managing a pipeline, users can also leverage it to manage projects, foster business relationships, run fundraisers, provide customer support and execute other projects that require tracking details.
Insightly
Insightly is a cloud-based platform with tools that support every phase of the customer lifecycle. The solution’s capabilities allow organizations to accomplish sales activities, nurture customer relationships and manage projects to deliver on customer orders. The software is best suited for small businesses, although several larger companies have had success with the product as well.
HubSpot CRM
HubSpot CRM provides a full suite of capabilities that aid smart teamwork and allow companies to track, organize and close sales seamlessly. It’s entirely free of charge and provides automated contact management, customized tracking and reporting.App marketplace integrations let users expand performance capability based on their needs to achieve optimum business growth. Additionally, users can increase traffic, generate revenue, connect and manage leads all from one panel. The option to connect with the marketing, sales, service and CMS hubs allows companies to receive even greater functionality.
Dynamics 365 CRM
Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM (formerly known as Microsoft Dynamics CRM) offers a suite of customer-focused capabilities to facilitate marketing, sales and customer service activities. Organizations can implement the products separately for specific business cases or together for a unified ecosystem. Field service and project service automation can be included if desired. It includes social media features, an onboarding dashboard and APIs that support modifying campaign elements. Visual editors enable creating and deploying mobile and web apps without the need for code. It’s available both in the cloud and on-premise. Features like Power BI and PowerApps are included only in the cloud version.
Freshsales
Freshsales is a cloud solution suitable for small and medium businesses across different industry verticals. Being one of the sales management and customer engagement offerings from Freshworks, it provides comprehensive features for managing leads and deals. Capabilities include a chronological timeline view of customer journey, AI-based lead scoring, built-in one-click phone, and native mobile apps for Android and iOS devices.
Spiro
Spiro employs native AI capabilities to help companies proactively manage leads and customers. It can be leveraged for common tasks like lead management and activity tracking, as well as more advanced functions such as sales enablement and analytics.It helps evaluate sales data and assists sales teams by sending reminders to update contacts, change pipeline status, correct inconsistencies and more.
Agile CRM
Agile CRM is an all-in-one cloud platform that enables companies to handle all activities and tasks across the customer lifecycle. With integrated modules for marketing, sales and service, it provides capabilities such as contact management, a deal pipeline, lead scoring, project management, email marketing and campaigns, service automation, and live chat.Targeted primarily at small businesses, it allows users to maintain visibility into contacts, boost results with sales enablement, engage web users and deliver comprehensive support. Free and premium versions are available.
Bloomerang
Bloomerang is a complete system allowing nonprofit organizations to manage donor relationships, events and fundraising. Its emphasis on donor engagement and retention supports company growth.Capabilities include email marketing, online giving, grant tracking, donor surveys, data segmentation, dashboards, reporting and prospect research. Deployment via Amazon Cloud Services provides security and scalability. It’s available to both U.S. and Canadian organizations.
Bitrix24
Bitrix24 facilitates the execution of the customer journey. It supplies organizations with tools for marketing, sales and customer service activities such as lead generation, marketing automation, campaign management and call center support.It comes with a free edition for companies with less advanced needs or a smaller budget. Deployment is available in the cloud and on-premise. It’s suitable for smaller businesses as well as enterprises with up to 50,000 employees.
Top Producer
Top Producer offers a set of cloud-based solutions tailored for the real estate industry, enabling brokers and agents to be more effective with their marketing and sales efforts. A tiered pricing model provides flexibility based on an agency’s needs.It’s mainly used by small businesses but can support larger companies as well. Capabilities include a client database, contact profiles, website builder, lead generation, automated email marketing, reports, lead management and integrations.
Less Annoying CRM
Less Annoying CRM is designed to help small businesses make it simple and efficient to handle activities surrounding leads and customers. It gives companies an easy-to-use, cloud-based platform for storing contacts, tracking leads and managing tasks to help close more deals.
Sugar Sell
Sugar Sell, formerly SugarCRM, is a sales automation solution suitable for small, medium and large businesses. It offers contact, call and email management, dashboards, reporting, integrations, customer journey management, sales forecasting, and business process management (BPM) capabilities.It consolidates customer data into a central location for sales professionals to gain visibility into the conversations, actions and emails related to each contact or account. Cloud deployment is available, and on-premise deployment comes with the Sugar Enterprise edition.
kvCORE
Designed for the real estate industry, kvCORE is a cloud-based, all-in-one platform equipped with smart relationship management, a lead engine, web and IDX, transactions, listings, a marketing autopilot feature and business analytics. It allows users to generate leads from different sources and shortlist them. The K+Team offering provides lead acquisition and relationship management features that help drive business.
LionDesk
LionDesk delivers cloud-based marketing and sales tools tailored to professionals in the real estate industry. Suitable for individuals, teams and brokerages, it provides a single place to manage client relationships.It helps import leads from other sources, organize information, manage processes, connect with clients, boost closed deals and track tasks. Capabilities include contact management, property management, video emails and texts, pipeline management, automation, and marketing campaigns.
Nutshell CRM
Nutshell is a cloud-based platform that helps organize operations and reporting processes. It provides customization options that can cater to specific industry needs. The user-friendly interface allows users to make changes and adapt quickly irrespective of technical skill. Features include contact management, email campaigns, a mobile app, pipelines and unlimited storage.
Nimble CRM
Nimble is a one-stop solution for managing and organizing contacts, setting reminders, building and maintaining relationships, finding opportunities, and meeting goals. It provides complete information on the customer's history and their deal status. Users can set up a structured to-do list for teams.It allows users to engage and interact with prospects and customers on a personalized level, enabling them to stay connected across the entire customer journey.
DonorPerfect
DonorPerfect is a comprehensive fundraising solution that helps non-profits nurture donor relationships. It helps manage donations, receipts, contacts, emails and fundraising initiatives from a single system. Capabilities include integrated online donation forms, automatic monthly giving, standard and custom reports, auction management, Constant Contact email and a network of integrated partner products. It helps save time and offers pricing packages to meet any budget.
ZoomInfo
ZoomInfo provides a detailed contact directory for simplified marketing outreach. It supports lead generation, sales management and revenue tracking, and helps improve productivity by systematizing work. Users can leverage analytics and prioritize marketing efforts, sales prospects and align teams for effective outcomes. The ability to locate and align required contacts from desired domains reduces anonymity rates. Data-driven, it helps businesses make insightful strategies, connect with the right audience, boost business growth and provide custom solutions.
ClientLook
ClientLook is a cloud-based solution that helps users by combining contact management, deal tracking and client collaboration with a property module to organize real estate operations. Other key features include pipeline tracking, email marketing and listing management. It also helps back-office assistants with data entry, online lead capture and listing administration, along with an option to leverage a free team of virtual assistants to save time and operational costs. It was acquired by Lightbox in January 2020.
Siebel
Siebel CRM supports marketing, sales, service and other key areas of customer interaction via a suite of more than 35 products. It helps businesses of all sizes enhance customer experiences and automate processes. Implement as many or as few of the individual modules as desired for a highly flexible environment.
Vtiger
Vtiger is a cloud-based suite of marketing, sales and help desk offerings, which can be deployed separately or as an integrated, all-in-one ecosystem. It enables companies to eliminate silos and improve connections with customers.Though designed to serve small and mid-sized businesses, it’s capable of handling the needs of Fortune 500 organizations. It’s accessible on Android and iOS devices, enabling work from anywhere.
GreenRope
GreenRope, a cloud-based CRM software, consolidates and optimizes email marketing, social media, sales, event and project management simultaneously. It bridges the gap between sales and marketing to make data and processes easily accessible and transparent. Its all-in-one operations modules simplify business processes to deliver optimized omnichannel customer experiences.
Capsule CRM
Capsule CRM is a cloud-based solution for small to medium businesses. It helps foster customer relationships with features like email marketing, website personalization, social media service, automated reminders and more. Organizations can enter basic contact information, pipelines, goals and budgets and start building an in-depth, personalized pipeline with full access to customer details.
Copper CRM
Designed to integrate with Gmail and other Google Apps, Copper (formerly ProsperWorks) is a comprehensive and easy-to-use platform. It helps small and medium-sized businesses automate core operations; manage leads, sources and opportunities; streamline sales processes; uncover actionable insights; and nurture customer relationships. It enables users to check email threads and past interactions. It also acts as an alternative for goal setting and forecast management, as it converts sales bottlenecks into visible opportunities.
Follow Up Boss
Follow Up Boss is a cloud-based software suite that helps users automate real estate lead conversion and sales follow up. Its inclusions let users close more deals and grow their business in an organized manner. It aggregates leads from various sources and automates workflows and communication using rule-based engines and pre-formatted templates to support the entire customer lifecycle.
GoldMine
Suitable for businesses of all sizes, GoldMine Premium CRM offers a central platform to manage customer and prospect relationships efficiently. It ensures improved productivity and streamlined operations, and helps save money. Users can leverage it for contact management and customer support. They can also manage marketing programs and sales pipelines. A database is available at several tiered levels for organizations with different requirements. Capabilities include sales automation, a help desk and call center and CTI applications, along with enhanced features like easy-to-use interface, marketing automation, web self-service, channel management, knowledge management and analytics.
Act! CRM
Act! is a contact and client management tool built by Swiftpage that helps manage a central repository of information related to prospects, leads, opportunities and clients. It stores contact details, account history, interactions, notes and activities.Available both on-premise and with cloud hosting, it offers sales and marketing automation to support business growth through sales, engagement and retention.
Realvolve
Designed to help real estate agents and teams, Realvolve’s cloud-based platform helps automate workflows and handle communications efficiently. It helps manage information such as property listings, clients, documents, escrow correspondence, events and tasks. Users can leverage it to customize marketing campaigns for clients on anniversaries and birthdays based on personal and professional details. It also allows sending emails and SMSs about new deals.
Pipeliner
Pipeliner is a cloud-based solution that helps organizations track leads, opportunities and deals. It uses a graphical overview of a company's pipeline to give sales and marketing professionals an up-to-date view of all activities. Teams can also perform account management tasks and view sales performance.It includes modules for account management, contact management, lead management, opportunity management and activity management.
Redtail CRM
Redtail CRM is a web-based system that enables financial professionals to manage prospects and clients. It helps track client data, automate time-consuming tasks, organize records and more. Capabilities include contact management, email, reports, seminar management and integrations.
Neon CRM
Neon CRM is a cloud-based solution built by Neon One that helps nonprofit organizations streamline day to day processes for more efficiency and manage fundraising events, memberships and volunteers through automation. Users can leverage it to build nonprofit websites while facilitating real-time credit card processing and recurring payments. These inclusions help enhance online donations while reducing manual work.
PipelineDeals
Designed to serve small and midsize businesses, PipelineDeals is equipped with sales-focused features, enabling sales teams to automate redundant tasks and nurture relationships with customers. With an intuitive user interface, it helps set up scalable processes, resulting in improved productivity and increased profitability. Deal management and sales acceleration tools expedite the sales cycle, and help set and track targets. A sales dashboard offers a 360-degree view of performance status, while lead management capabilities help streamline lead generation and nurturing. Customizations ensure enhanced experience and expanded functionality.
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