Top 3 CRM for Shopify businesses

The best CRM for Shopify

What is a Customer Relationship Management system (or CRM software)?

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems are powerful information management tools designed to help businesses better understand and manage their interactions with customers.

In essence, a CRM serves as a centralized hub that organizes customer data, tracks communications, and streamlines various customer support, marketing and sales processes.

By using a CRM, businesses can effectively nurture and enhance their relationships with customers, leading to improved satisfaction, increased retention, and ultimately, higher revenue.

With a user-friendly CRM, even those who are new to the concept can easily reap the benefits of an organized and efficient CRM system.

Why would I need a CRM tool for my Shopify store?

A CRM system can offer numerous benefits that can transform your Shopify store into a thriving and customer-centric marketplace.

By effectively managing customer relationships through a Shopify CRM, you can turn casual browsers into loyal customers or even life-long regulars of your brand.

For instance, most CRM for Shopify are designed to help you to track customer behavior, identify patterns, and tailor your marketing efforts to cater to their unique preferences.

This personalized approach not only enhances lead generation but also boosts customer retention – both crucial factors in driving sales growth.

Additionally, a CRM tool can streamline your workflow by automating repetitive tasks, such as sending follow-up emails through a marketing automation or updating customer records, allowing you to focus on more on business strategy and other tasks.

Ultimately, investing in a Shopify CRM tool can be what propels your ecommerce business to success.

The benefits of using a CRM for your ecommerce business

As a business owner, the information you obtain from CRM software can prove to be invaluable, as it may provide insights into the necessary steps for growing your ecommerce store.

Let's examine some of the major benefits:

Improve customer relationship management

As the name suggests, Customer Relationship Management is a powerful tool designed to enhance interactions with customers.

The most significant advantage of incorporating a CRM for Shopify, comes from its ability to foster genuine relationships with what could otherwise be an overwhelming number of faceless online customers.

Without a CRM, even when a loyal customer reaches out, you would not be able to recognize them or understand their history with your business.

However, a CRM system provides you with a comprehensive overview of each customer's interactions, preferences, and purchase history, allowing you to personalize your communication and cater to their specific needs.

This level of attention and care not only strengthens customer relationships but also drives brand loyalty, ultimately contributing to the long-term success of your business.

Ability to manage and track customer data efficiently

As we've established, one of the most frustrating aspects of running an online business is the inability to physically see or interact with your customers.

By installing a Shopify CRM, you can not only visualize who your existing customers are, but also manage and track customer data without manually inputting information into an Excel sheet or making educated guesses about who's buying what in your Shopify store – tasks that could consume a significant amount of time and resources.

A robust CRM system enables you to search, organize, and segment customers while providing access to accurate and real-time information that can be used to enhance your marketing and sales processes.

Understand customer behavior and boost sales

By implementing a Shopify CRM software, you gain valuable insights into your customers' behavior and preferences, enabling you to anticipate their needs and make data-driven decisions.

With this knowledge at your fingertips, you can craft targeted marketing campaigns or events that drive sales.

For instance, if you discover that your shoppers are significantly more active on specific days of the week, you can strategically allocate a larger portion of your marketing budget to capitalize on these peak periods.

Similarly, if you find that your customers are discovering your store through TikTok more than Instagram, you can focus more of your efforts on creating engaging content for TikTok.

This data-driven approach leads to highly effective marketing strategies, ultimately boosting sales and maximizing your return on investment.

Automated marketing and follow-ups

Another significant benefit of using CRM software is that the data collected within the CRM can be integrated with marketing tools that offer automated marketing or follow-ups, allowing you to reach out to specific customer segments.

You could target VIP customers by offering customized discount codes for your most loyal and regular patrons, or personalize greeting messages for new members who sign up for your online store.

Not only does this enhance relationships with existing customers, but it also substantially improves customer engagement and retention for your Shopify store.

What makes up a good Shopify CRM software?

There are many types of CRM software available and choosing the right one can be difficult. They all manage customer data, but each CRM is built with different characteristics and goals in mind.

For an ecommerce CRM software, there are a few characteristics that we think are absolutely essential.

1) Pricing and affordability

Ecommerce businesses use a number of different software to manage their online stores, and the cost of these software can really add up. Getting a Shopify CRM that provides the essentials and is affordable will be key to ensuring long-term scalability and growth.

2) Enhances customer engagement

The main objective of a CRM system is to help businesses become more attuned to their customers and elevate customer experience. An effective ecommerce CRM should provide businesses with crucial information they need, so they can take action based on this information.

3) Ability to manage, customize and segment customer data easily

It wouldn't make much sense if the CRM system that's supposed to help organize and manage information is difficult to use. A good CRM should be customizable and simple to use.

4) Creates a sales funnel and a sales pipeline

Strong ecommerce CRM solutions should include a lead collection method that will allow marketing or sales teams to track and manage potential leads.

5) Has a Shopify integration or is available on the Shopify app store

Installing the software onto your Shopify store should be simple. If the platform is available on the Shopify app store, integrating the CRM will be no-code and hassle free to install.

Top 3 CRM for Shopify businesses

To help you pick the right CRM, we've put together a list of 3 top Shopify CRM that are specifically designed to help Shopify store owners improve customer engagement, build stronger customer relationships and improve sales and marketing processes for their online ecommerce store.

1. Channel Talk

2. Metrilo

3. Hubspot

Let's dive right in and take a closer look at some Shopify CRM integrations to consider:

1. Channel Talk

Feature highlights

• Marketing automation

• Customizable customer segments

• Customer data management

• Lead collection tools

• Reporting and analytics

• CRM-based SMS and email marketing tools

• Lighter than most commercial CRMs

• Powerful data management and customizations

• Ideal for e-commerce businesses looking to scale

• Great for customer service teams

• Includes a customer live chat, team chat, chatbot, and marketing feature

• An upcoming virtual call and AI call transcription feature

• Mobile apps for iOS and Android

• Integrations with Email, Zapier, Instagram, and more

• Integrates with Shopify

Pricing and Value

If you're looking for a Shopify CRM that's going to provide you with a full picture of the relationship your business has with your customer, Channel Talk is probably your best bet.

While the platform is still fairly new to the market, Channel Talk comes with wide range of features that are specifically optimized for ecommerce businesses of all sizes.

If you're somewhat familiar with CRM pricing, you'll know that acquiring a CRM can be very costly. However, Channel Talk's CRM system offers a range of powerful features and unlimited user seats at prices between $30 to $200+.

The plan sizes come with high user thresholds allowing businesses to gain more customer data before having to upgrade their plans again, making it one of the most affordable CRMs available.

The platform also comes with customer service and team collaboration tools such as free live chat, team chat, along with customizable chatbots and automations, making it an ultimate all-in-one customer experience platform to help you manage customer data efficiently and grow your business.

2. Metrilo

Feature highlights

• Marketing analytics

• Customer data tracking and segmentation

• Product performance analysis reports

• CRM-based email marketing automation

• Personalized email marketing campaigns

• Detailed customer behavior analysis

• Abandoned cart recovery tools

• Retention analysis and customer lifecycle insights

• Integrations with popular ecommerce platforms (Shopify, WooCommerce, etc.)

• Actionable tips for improving store performance

• Customizable dashboard for easy data visualization

Pricing and Value

Another strong Shopify CRM to consider for your online store is Metrilo.

The platform comes with a higher base price at $199 a month on the cheapest plan, if you include the CRM database and Retention Analysis tools, but would still be considered on the cheaper end of CRMs.

There are also enterprise packages for large businesses that need more advanced features, and like Channel Talk, it also offers unlimited user seats to help with scaling businesses.

For a Shopify CRM targeted towards small and medium sized businesses, the platform comes with an impressive set of analytics tools, email marketing, and lead management tools, to help businesses understand the status of their business and what customers are doing.

It's a great option for those who want to look at actionable customer insights without having the pay the price tag of an enterprise CRM system.

It also offers a 14-day free trial so you can get a feel for the platform before committing to it.

3. Hubspot

Feature highlights

• E-commerce-specific CRM

• Customer data tracking and segmentation

• Personalized email marketing campaigns

• Real-time revenue and performance analytics

• Detailed customer behavior analysis

• Abandoned cart recovery tools

• Sales tools & sales pipeline management

• Retention analysis and customer lifecycle insights

• Integrations with popular e-commerce platforms (Shopify, WooCommerce, etc.)

• Actionable tips for improving store performance

• Customizable dashboard for easy data visualization

Pricing and Value

Unlike the other two CRMs that we've introduced in this blog, Hubspot CRM would be more likely considered a sales CRM, in that it's more suited for large businesses with sales teams that actively reach out to potential customers.

Generally, companies use it to manage potential leads, or to help with managing the entire sales pipeline.

That being said, the platform also comes with a wide array of features that can help small to medium sized ecommerce businesses on Shopify, also manage their customer data like a pro.

At $50 a month on the starter plan, Hubspot CRM offers 2 user seats, some basic features for sales, marketing and customer service, at the quality you'd expect from an enterprise-level CRM system.

It's important to bare in mind however, that as your customer base grows, the platform will require you to reach deep into your pockets.

But if you can afford it, Hubspot CRM is a great option to help improve your sales processes.

Conclusion

So is it worth getting a customer relationship management system for your Shopify store?

Each of the CRMs featured in this article holds the potential to add significant value to businesses aiming to expand. However, selecting the right Shopify CRM hinges on the specific goals your business is striving towards, as each platform has its unique strengths and drawbacks.

If your priority is a comprehensive customer experience solution, Channel Talk stands out as an excellent choice. On the other hand, if powerful analytics tools are what you're looking for, Metrilo would be a great option. For Shopify businesses keen on improving outbound sales efforts, Hubspot CRM would be the top contender.

All these platforms are readily available on Shopify's app store, allowing you to test and gauge which one aligns best with your business requirements. But it's important to remember that the best CRM is the one that fits seamlessly into your business model and aids in achieving your growth objectives. Happy testing!