CRM for writers: Salesforce, Highrise, Outlook reviews

Why use CRM?

Freelance writers need to do the same kind of marketing that big companies do:

• Keeping track of prospective clients
• Monitoring current projects and deadlines
• Developing new relationships
• Making sure nothing slips through the cracks

(See my article 27 proven freelance marketing tips for more advice on small business marketing.)

Overview

Big companies use customer relationship management (CRM) software for this purpose. I’ve always tried to be a ‘big little company’ and so I’ve been researching low-cost or free CRM products for my own use. I tried out three different systems:

• Salesforce CRM Personal Edition
• Microsoft Outlook 2007 with Business Contact Manager*
• 37 Signals’ Highrise

*Full disclosure: Microsoft is a client, although obviously I’m trying to be objective and unbiased here.

My results

Each of these systems is perfect for someone. They each have strengths and weaknesses. Being a geek, I would instinctively choose Salesforce but the free edition doesn’t do everything I need and the version that does is very expensive. Highrise is a bit too simplistic for me but would be ideal for a non-techie. I have ended up using Outlook 2007 with BCM on an provisional basis. But I have to admit that this choice is somewhat faute de mieux. For me, it’s the least bad compromise between features, flexibility and price.

However, more than any other application, CRM is only as good as the data you put into it and the way it integrates into the rest of your working life. Learning how to use the software is vital. Thinking hard about your sales process is essential. Speaking for myself, I hope the results will be a more disciplined workflow and more attention on the sales and marketing part of my business.

Salesforce CRM Personal Edition

Pros

• Free. Support is available for £20 per issue
• Can scale up to multi-user, paid-for versions. Free version is single-user only.
• SaaS – Available online via web browser
• Integrates with Outlook etc.
• Lots of customisation options.
• iPhone and other mobile device integration available. This would be cool but I couldn’t get it to work with my free account – it looks like it’s an at-cost addition.

Cons

• Defaulted to Euros even though it asked if I was in the UK. The option to change currency is not available in the free personal edition. In practice this doesn’t matter much because you just ignore the currency sign. However, it feels a bit scrappy in a system that is otherwise very flexible.
• Free version lacks some functionality of the paid versions, such as campaigns, leads and Google Adwords integration. But it is free.
• The upgrade to the next version is £60 per user per year. To get a version that runs campaigns is £540 per user per year. They have a very complex pricing and features matrix which makes it very difficult to work out if the version you might buy has the features you need.
• Quite a lot of screens and things to learn. Plus it’s a new interface to learn.

Verdict: powerful, flexible, free but upgradeable. Steep learning curve.

37 Signal’s’ Highrise

Pros

• Single user system (with a few restrictions) is free.
• SaaS – Available online via web browser
• Very easy to use and straightforward. Good for non-techies.
• Would be very familiar to anyone who uses Basecamp for project management / intranet (as I do).
• Good for tracking contacts and tasks.
• Good at sharing information between multiple users.
• You can cc emails to your Highrise account so that they get tracked

Cons

• No support for sales funnel type reports or campaigns. It’s more of a share contact manager with tasks and tracking than a full CRM system.
• The tours and videos on the site are somewhat disingenuous because everybody has pictures and logos and completed contact information. In practice, you have to upload all that. It’s not easy (AFAIK) to import data from other sources, as you can with Salesforce or Outlook.
• iPhone support means accessing it via your browser. No dedicated iPhone application. No synchronisation with Outlook or other desktop apps.
• No upgrade path to something more sophisticated.

Verdict: simple and friendly way to share contact information online. However, if you already use something like Outlook for contact management and you work alone, Highrise doesn’t add much in the way of CRM functionality.

Microsoft Outlook 2007 with Business Contact Manager

Pros

• Familiar Microsoft Outlook interface.
• Includes support for campaigns and sophisticated reports.
• Customisable – every list can be edited, for example, to match your own processes.
• PDA application for Windows Mobile smartphones (but not iPhone).
• You can upgrade seamlessly to Microsoft Dynamics CRM if your business needs grow.
• Import Outlook contacts by drag-and-drop. Easy.
• A big improvement on the last version. I sent a long email to the responsible executive at Microsoft about the old one and while I don’t claim to have influenced the design personally, they seem to have addressed all my complaints.
• All data stored locally so you don’t need an internet connection to do CRM work.

Cons

• You have to buy it. For example, it comes bundled in Small Business versions of Office 2007.
• It bloats. It’s easy to install but takes a long time and it installs a desktop version of SQL Server 2005 and some other stuff.
• I’m still working on synchronising with my laptop. I guess it’s possible but it’s not intuitive. No iPhone version. No surprise.
• It has some of the complexity of Salesforce.com but it’s softened a bit by the familiarity of the Microsoft interface.

Verdict: moderate to steep learning curve but a familiar Microsoft interface. Does everything you need but with a bit of clunkiness. Not free.

Related posts:

1. LinkedIn is broken. Where’s the trust?
2. Free Articulate Seminars: learn, share, drink tea
3. Better briefs for writers
4. Kindle and Stanza: great ways for writers to read more
5. Writers are from Mars, Clients are from Venus

Tagged as: 37 Signals, CRM, Highrise, Marketing, Microsoft, Outlook, Sales, Salesforce