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Time Business News
a day ago
- Business
- Time Business News
Best CRM for Small Business: Best CRM Platforms for Small Business
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platforms have become essential tools for businesses of all sizes. For best crm for small business can make the difference between growth and stagnation. It streamlines communication, organizes customer data, automates follow-ups, and enhances customer experience. With countless CRM platforms available in the market, choosing the best one can be overwhelming. In this blog, we'll explore the best CRM platforms tailored for small businesses, focusing on usability, affordability, and essential features. Why Small Businesses Need a CRM Small businesses often manage customer relationships manually, using spreadsheets, email folders, or even handwritten notes. This might work for a short time, but as your business grows, you need a system that keeps everything in one place. A CRM centralizes customer data, tracks sales interactions, and improves collaboration between team members. It helps you build stronger relationships with your customers by giving you insights into their behavior, preferences, and past interactions. This allows small businesses to compete effectively, offer personalized service, and scale efficiently. Key Features to Look for in a CRM When selecting a CRM for a small business, there are several core features to consider. These include contact and lead management, email marketing integration, sales pipeline tracking, task automation, and reporting. Ease of use is also crucial—your team should be able to learn and use the system without extensive training. Affordability is another major factor for small businesses. Many CRMs offer free tiers or affordable pricing plans designed for startups and small teams, which is ideal when you're working with a limited budget. HubSpot CRM: Powerful and Free HubSpot CRM is often the first recommendation for small businesses—and for good reason. It offers a robust free plan that includes contact management, deal tracking, email templates, scheduling, and live chat. HubSpot also integrates seamlessly with Gmail, Outlook, and a wide range of third-party tools. What makes HubSpot stand out is its user-friendly interface and scalable ecosystem. As your business grows, you can add more advanced marketing, sales, and customer service tools without switching platforms. It's ideal for startups and small teams looking for a flexible, long-term CRM solution. Zoho CRM: Affordable and Customizable Zoho CRM is another excellent option that balances price with performance. Known for its affordability and wide feature set, Zoho offers workflow automation, sales forecasting, AI-powered insights, and multichannel communication. Its interface is intuitive, and the platform is easily customizable to fit various business needs. Zoho's pricing plans start low, making it accessible even for solo entrepreneurs. Plus, Zoho's suite of business apps (like Zoho Books, Zoho Projects, and Zoho Mail) can be integrated seamlessly, providing an all-in-one solution for small businesses. Salesforce Essentials: Enterprise Power for Small Teams Salesforce is a global CRM leader, but its enterprise offerings can be overwhelming for smaller businesses. That's where Salesforce Essentials comes in—it's a simplified version tailored specifically for small businesses. With Essentials, you get access to powerful CRM features like lead and opportunity management, email integration, mobile access, and automation tools. It's a bit pricier than some other options, but you benefit from the reliability, scalability, and security that Salesforce is known for. If your small business plans to scale quickly and needs a platform that can grow with you, Salesforce Essentials is worth considering. Pipedrive: Sales-Focused Simplicity Pipedrive is a CRM built specifically with salespeople in mind. Its visual sales pipelines are intuitive and easy to manage, allowing teams to focus on closing deals rather than navigating complex systems. Pipedrive includes features like activity reminders, email tracking, customizable pipelines, and detailed sales reporting. Its drag-and-drop interface is particularly user-friendly. While it doesn't offer as many marketing tools as some other CRMs, it excels at helping small sales teams stay organized and productive. It's an ideal CRM for businesses where the sales cycle is the top priority. Insightly: CRM and Project Management in One Insightly combines CRM and project management in a single platform, which is a big plus for service-based small businesses. It provides standard CRM features like contact and lead management, email templates, workflow automation, and integrations with Google and Microsoft apps. What sets Insightly apart is its ability to manage projects linked to customer records. This feature is especially useful for businesses offering services like consulting, event planning, or marketing. Insightly also offers customization options and reporting tools to help small teams optimize operations and customer relationships. Freshsales: AI-Driven Sales Automation Freshsales by Freshworks is an intuitive CRM that leverages AI to boost sales productivity. With features like lead scoring, email tracking, sales sequences, and a built-in phone system, Freshsales simplifies the sales process for small teams. The platform also offers visual pipelines, customizable dashboards, and smart analytics. The AI assistant, Freddy, can help identify the best leads and recommend actions to increase conversions. Freshsales has a generous free plan and affordable paid tiers, making it a strong choice for small businesses looking for a modern, tech-savvy CRM. Choosing the Best CRM for Your Business The best crm platforms for small business depends largely on your business goals, size, and specific needs. If you're just starting out, HubSpot CRM or Zoho CRM are great free or low-cost options. For sales-driven teams, Pipedrive or Freshsales offer excellent pipeline management tools. If your business requires project tracking along with CRM features, Insightly is a solid choice. Meanwhile, Salesforce Essentials provides robust capabilities for growing teams willing to invest in a long-term solution. Ultimately, take advantage of free trials, explore user interfaces, and consider integration needs before making a decision. TIME BUSINESS NEWS
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Can HubSpot Regain its Mojo After Alphabet's Buyout Snub?
Shares of HubSpot Inc. HUBS have declined more than 20% in the past six months, following Alphabet Inc.'s GOOGL decision to shelve its buyout plans. From Alphabet's perspective, acquiring HubSpot would not only have bolstered its presence in the burgeoning customer relationship management (CRM) software market but also provided a significant boost to its cloud computing business, intensifying competition with industry giants like Microsoft and Amazon. Additionally, the acquisition could have enhanced competition in the marketing and sales software sector, countering the dominance of players like Salesforce and Microsoft. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research For HubSpot, an acquisition by Alphabet could have offered access to greater resources and technological capabilities, enabling it to further innovate and expand its market reach. However, with the news of the deal falling flat, HUBS' shares have taken quite a beating. Nevertheless, HubSpot's flexible business model and solid cash flow could prove to be a game-changer in the long run. Earnings estimates for the current and next fiscal year have increased 9% and 5.1%, respectively, since May 2024. Let us delve a little deeper into the stock's inherent growth potential. HubSpot is increasingly focusing on collecting and enriching customers with extensive, unified data pulled from website visits, marketing e-mails, sales calls and more. The acquisition of Clearbit, a B2B data provider for marketing intelligence, has further accelerated its vision. The integration of Clearbit premier information pool with HubSpot AI will facilitate the development of more powerful, advanced and accurate AI inbound marketing and sales applications enable businesses to easily reach, acquire and retain customers through traditional marketing tools like cold calls, print advertisements and e-mail. The company's strategic priority is to deliver a world-class front-office platform by investing in anchor hubs and innovating new emerging hubs. The growing adoption of inbound applications has helped develop the marketing agency partner network. Management's focus on integrating generative AI to drive innovation and add more value to customers is likely to reap long-term benefits. The company has significant scope in cross-selling its products to the existing customer base. The One HubSpot initiative is a key growth driver. In addition, HubSpot's App Marketplace offers a customer-centric solution by making it simple for companies to find and seamlessly connect the integrations to grow their businesses. As companies prioritize a digital-first approach, it is likely to create more opportunities for developers to build new integrations that support every stage of the customer journey. HubSpot primarily targets mid-market businesses, comprising companies with 10 to 2,000 employees. This market is mostly underpenetrated, which presents a significant growth opportunity for the company. Moreover, HubSpot is expanding its geographic footprint rapidly and currently has international offices in 12 different locations worldwide with a customer base in more than 120 countries. This augurs well for the long-term growth of the has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 18.4% and delivered an earnings surprise of 10.7%, on average, in the trailing four quarters. HubSpot currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks Inc. IDCC carries a Zacks Rank # 2 at present. It has a long-term growth expectation of 15%. InterDigital is a pioneer in advanced mobile technologies, enabling wireless communications and capabilities. The company designs and develops a whole range of advanced technology solutions for use in digital cellular as well as wireless 3G, 4G, and IEEE 802-related products and networks. InterDigital delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 160.2%, on Inc. UI carries a Zacks Rank #2 at present. The company offers a comprehensive portfolio of networking products and solutions for service providers and enterprises. Ubiquiti's excellent global business model, which is flexible and adaptable to evolving changes in markets, helps it to beat challenges and maximize growth. The company's effective management of its strong global network of more than 100 distributors and master resellers improved its visibility for future demand and inventory management techniques. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report InterDigital, Inc. (IDCC) : Free Stock Analysis Report Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) : Free Stock Analysis Report HubSpot, Inc. (HUBS) : Free Stock Analysis Report Ubiquiti Inc. (UI) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research
Business Insider
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Insider
See the 12-slide pitch deck AI marketing-tech startup Octave used to raise a $5.5 million seed round from Bonfire and a LinkedIn alumni fund
Marketing tech startup Octave has raised $5.5 million to grow its AI-powered go-to-market platform. The San Francisco-based startup helps companies build ideal customer profiles and decide their marketing campaign strategy. The startup says it was born out of frustration with existing inbound marketing and sales tools like HubSpot and Salesforce. "I spent 15 years on all these sales teams and the tools, they just suck energy from you, they don't help you," said Octave's cofounder and CEO, Zach Vidibor. "Our mantra was really about being a battery-included experience." Vidibor, who has worked on sales teams at LinkedIn, DocuSign, and Dropbox, met his cofounder, Julian Tempelsman, at an internet safety startup that was acquired by Twitter in 2018. "Think of GPT and Claude and Gemini and DeepSeek," Vidibor said about how the platform harnesses AI. "Those are the engine, and we've built a car around it that drives on a very specific track." The round was led by Bonfire Ventures, with participation from Unusual Ventures, Bee Partners, inVest Ventures — a fund focused on LinkedIn alumni — and angel investors. The seed round is Octave's second cash injection, following a $2.9 million pre-seed round in 2022, which was led by Craft Ventures and Tidepool Labs. The company launched publicly in February 2024 and works on a subscription-based freemium model. It offers customers a forever-free tier, and paid plans start at $150 a month and scale depending on usage, Vidibor said. With the cash infusion, the startup said it would ramp up hiring in its go-to-market team, including engineers, product designers, and a head of growth. The CEO said AI and the string of coding tools now available to engineers are playing a role in these hiring decisions. Octave is "really trying to focus on people that have domain experience and building in areas that are close to our problem space," he said. "Maybe you are not the rockstar, change the world engineer, but you can balance that out now, a little bit, with some of these tools." Check out the pitch deck Octave used to secure the fresh funding.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Nucleus Research Releases 2025 Marketing Automation Technology Value Matrix
Leaders in the Analytics market include ActiveCampaign, Creatio, HubSpot, Oracle, Salesforce, and Zoho. MIAMI, May 29, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- In 2025, the marketing automation market has evolved, with AI developments emerging as the most influential drivers. Generative AI, capable of producing high-quality, personalized content at scale, has altered approaches to content strategies. Marketers are now utilizing generative AI to dynamically adjust messaging based on real-time consumer behaviors to enhance personalization at a previously unmanageable scale. Agentic AI has begun to redefine workflows within marketing automation platforms. From a vendor perspective, integrating agentic AI has warranted substantial investment in developing sophisticated algorithms that optimize campaign management, recommend channel strategies, and even adapt campaigns mid-stream without manual intervention. This shift enables Marketing technology vendors to differentiate by providing solutions that deliver greater operational autonomy, speed, and agility. "Agentic AI in marketing automation is shifting the landscape by executing campaign decisions in real time, reducing manual work, reallocating resources, and enabling marketers to focus more on strategy than setup," said Senior Analyst Cameron Marsh. "The result is a measurable increase in marketing efficiency and ROI, as vendors deliver solutions that drive faster time-to-value and greater operational impact." Integration also remains a prominent theme in marketing automation this year. Organizations increasingly prioritize solutions that interface with existing business systems, including CRM, ERP, customer data platforms, and analytics tools. Vendors have responded by deepening integration capabilities, emphasizing flexible APIs, pre-built connectors, and native integrations to enhance cross-platform data flow and marketing agility. Leaders in this year's Marketing Automation Technology Value Matrix deliver advanced functionality without sacrificing usability at scale. These include ActiveCampaign, Creatio, HubSpot, Oracle, Salesforce, and Zoho. The Experts in this year's Value Matrix are recognized for deep functionality and industry-specific capabilities that address complex use cases. These include Acoustic, Adobe, LeadGen&CRM, and SAP. Accelerators deliver value through greater ease of use and rapid implementation. This year's Accelerators are Act-On, Keap, Mailchimp, and SugarCRM. Core Providers deliver essential marketing analytics capabilities with faster and more cost-effective adoption. This year's Core Providers are Brevo, DemandBase, Drip, and Klaviyo. To download the full 2025 Marketing Automation Technology Value Matrix, click here. About Nucleus Research Nucleus Research is the recognized global leader in ROI technology research. Using a case-based approach, we provide research streams and advisory services that allow vendors and end users to quantify and maximize the return from their technology investments. For more information, visit or follow our latest updates on LinkedIn. View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Nucleus Research Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Irish Times
4 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Workcations: How to enjoy a holiday environment without using up your annual leave
Swapping remote work in your box room for sunnier climes sounds tempting. With a workcation, you get to enjoy the perks of a holiday environment without using up annual leave. Pick the right destination and it can be far cheaper to work elsewhere while getting paid from Ireland. 'Work from anywhere' policies have become more prevalent post-pandemic. The option to work somewhere other than the office or your home, including another country, from between two weeks to 30 or 90 days a year or more is offered by many well-known employers in Ireland. Some permit it in 'holiday' months, such as August and December. Google , HubSpot and MasterCard are among employers here offering such a perk. READ MORE Googlers enjoy up to four 'work-from-anywhere' weeks a year during which they can temporarily work from a location other than their main office. HubSpot's 'temporary mobility' policy facilitates employees looking to do a 90-day stint in any country where they are authorised to work. MasterCard in Ireland's 'work from elsewhere' policy has enabled one senior product manager to work from their 'dream city' of Rome for four weeks, according to the company's recruitment materials. 'In my last month of a house lease, I thought I could take a small break from Dublin and experience Italian culture and cuisine, so I decided to rent an apartment in Rome for a month. 'The change of scenery, authentic pasta and magnificent architecture helped me to recharge and refresh as well as find that work-life balance, which helped me stay calm, focused, and happy,' the senior product manager reports. [ Majority of workers see hybrid working as essential to wellbeing, survey shows Opens in new window ] Single workers can be particularly mobile, but embracing a workcation can work for families too. For parents managing eight weeks of primary school summer holidays, extending a family holiday with a workcation may enable them to spend a whole summer in another country. Choose the right destination A workcation is likely to be about experiencing another place or culture rather than saving money – although doing it in a lower-cost economy can make it feel like your pay cheque has doubled. France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece and Croatia all rank cheaper than Ireland for food and drink, according to Eurostat figures for 2023. Irish woman Louise Egan has returned to Portugal to work remotely for two- and three-month stints at a time over the past three years. She can enjoy a coffee and a pastel de nata for less than €2 in the cafe around the corner from her apartment share in Lisbon. 'For young people, it's kind of hard to enjoy yourself in Ireland; everything is just so expensive,' says Egan. On a typical workcation, you are not going to be gone from Ireland for a long enough period to stop being an Irish tax resident so your taxes will look the same — Louise Egan She and her mother own a company in Ireland, but Egan can do her work from abroad for months at a time. She's worked remotely from Lisbon since February this year. Portugal's better weather makes for cheaper living, she says. 'When you socialise in Ireland, you tend to go for drinks, but here there are so many outdoor things happening – open air concerts, cinema. I tend to live a much more active, outdoor and cheaper lifestyle.' Living with her boyfriend, the couple's monthly grocery bill is just €200. A meal for two in a traditional Portuguese restaurant is €14 a head. English is widely spoken, wifi is ubiquitous and reliable, and she's remained on her normal phone plan at home without any extra cost. Irish people are surprised by Portugal's value-for-money proposition, Portugal's ambassador to Ireland HE Bernardo Lucena said at a recent Moving to Portugal show in Dublin, which was backed by the Portuguese chamber of commerce in the UK. 'We have been seeing increasing numbers of digital nomads settling in Portugal, making the most of our friendly atmosphere, digital services and excellent broadband,' says Lucena. [ Could Ireland's new mortgage offerings save you a lot of money? Opens in new window ] Life in Lisbon is 36 per cent cheaper than Dublin, Porto is 44 per cent cheaper and Faro is 46 per cent cheaper, according to the cost of living calculator Expatistan. Rent in Lisbon can be expensive but is not as expensive as Dublin, says Egan. A two-bed apartment can cost about €1,500 a month in the city. A room in a shared apartment in some parts of Lisbon can cost around €450 a month. Other parts of Portugal will be cheaper. Egan knows plenty of Irish workcationers and digital nomads through the Lisbon Celtiberos GAA club. 'Every time I come back, I meet more people doing the same thing. Portugal is pushing it and there are lots of events for digital nomads,' says Egan. 'It depends on people's work policies, but most people come from between one or two months – but I think one month is too short. Visit to research your location before coming and stay for three months.' When it comes to healthcare, Irish citizens have the same access to Portuguese health facilities as Portuguese citizens, so you can expect equivalent care, says Christina Hippisley of the Portuguese chamber of commerce. Paying for dental treatment privately is lower there too. A workcation is a lifestyle choice, not a tax play. Photograph: Getty Images/iStockphoto Tax A workcation is a lifestyle choice not a tax play, says Stephanie Wickham, founder of 'On a typical workcation, you are not going to be gone from Ireland for a long enough period to stop being an Irish tax resident so your taxes will look the same,' says Wickham. Workers remain resident in Ireland for tax purposes if in Ireland for 183 days or more in a tax year, or 280 days or more in total over the current tax year plus the previous one. These residency rules apply to both PAYE workers and the self-employed. 'Even if you went for the whole summer, you would still have spent 183 calendar days in Ireland this year,' says Wickham. 'If you went for seven calendar months this year, you would still be an Irish tax resident because of the two-year rule, or the 'look back' rule. 'That rule really keeps Irish people in the tax net if they are only spending five or six months out of the country on an ongoing basis.' [ Why most families can't afford to take paternity leave Opens in new window ] In any event, if your employer is paying you through an Irish payroll, they have to withhold Irish taxes at source, unless you are going for an extended period and you break residency. The self-employed will be dealing with their own taxes, but unless they break residency, their income stays in the Irish tax net, says Wickham. In broad terms, many jurisdictions will allow workcation stays without there being a local tax obligation, but if you are spending an extended period anywhere, it is best to consult a local tax adviser, says Wickham. If you are an Irish tax resident, you are allowed to claim credits as normal, says Wickham. The self employed can claim expenses as usual that are wholly and exclusively related to their work. 'But if you have decided to fly to Portugal to do your job there for example, and you are not necessarily required to do it there, then it's highly likely Revenue would be of the view that your flight to Portugal was not a business expense,' says Wickham. Employers are generally careful to cap the number of days an employee can work from another country, she says. 'Otherwise an employee can sometimes drag the employer into the tax net in another country. If they have employees going off and doing this, their policy will ensure there are no surprises down the track.' If your job is mostly remote, you really should tell your employer if you are doing it from overseas. Aside from tax, there may be legal implications for your employer too. You may be breaching data protection laws or contracts with customers by processing their personal data in another country. Your employer may need to ensure they have extra measures in place to protect data being processed in that other country. Failure to tell your employer you are working from another country could even result in disciplinary action. Trend? Over half of workers in Ireland have some flexibility in their work, opening up possibilities to travel, according to a survey published by Dutch neobank, Bunq, last summer. Bunq, which refers to itself as a bank 'built by digital nomads for digital nomads', added to its workforce here last year, saying many of the positions would allow employees to work from anywhere in the world. Its survey of employed and self-employed workers found that 61 per cent of the 788-person sample had already taken advantage of remote work by working from a location other than their home, while 52 per cent had already experienced a workcation. [ 'How we saved €100k in four years' Opens in new window ] About 85 per cent of respondents expressed a desire to take workcations, whether in Ireland or abroad. Employer policies and cost were listed as the main barriers to doing so. Visiting outside peak tourist season can reduce your accommodation costs, and take pressure off local resources. An influx of visitors to popular areas has contributed to rising costs of living for locals, increased competition for housing and created potential strain on resources. Yet many governments are promoting their countries as a destination for workcationers and digital nomads. Some economically depressed and underpopulated regions like Extremadura and parts of Andalucia in Spain and Romania are welcoming them with open arms. Greece offers a digital nomad visa for up to one year. In general, workcationers should be mindful of where they go and how they behave. 'I have a lot of Portuguese friends and sometimes I do feel really bad because the Portuguese minimum wage is so low, it's about €800 a month,' says Egan. 'Now that I've been here longer I've become more aware of that issue, but I don't think it should stop people coming as long as you are not disrespectful.'
