The CRM space is probably the largest software category in the world, just ahead of project management. That said, there's 2 types of CRM categories:
Okay, let me explain. Most software will eventually get to a point where they need to determine if they should tack on the "CRM" category to their product offering. And because a CRM at the end of the day is really just a database, most software will justify "adding it" to their toolset.
The CRM for small + medium teams (200 or less) that use Google Workspace.
If your team is using Google Workspace and you haven't yet considered Copper—take a minute right now to do just that.
Copper spends an absurd amount per-month in server costs alone, just to give you the deepest Google Workspace integration of any CRM out there.
As compared to all of the CRMs on the market, Copper has one of the most user-friendly experiences (which helps with team adoption), as well as a fully baked Chrome extension that allows you to use Copper (view tasks, past activity, and easily add new contacts to the CRM), without ever needing to even leave Gmail or Google Calendar.
There's a lot that it doesn't do out-of-the-gate, like automated email campaigns, but pair it with Outfunnel (which is what you're getting when upgrading to the business tier of Copper—a white-labeled version of Outfunnel) and you'll get most of what you'll need on that front.
If you're more technical, you can even use Zapier or Make to build custom integrations where Copper might otherwise fall short.
We've excessively used the API of all the major CRM's on the market and I'm here to tell you that their API is fantastic. Copper's API is one of the most powerful and user-friendly to build on, especially as compared to that of HubSpot which has some incredibly odd API design decisions.
While this might not sound like a big deal, if you ever plan on integrating your CRM (or hiring a company like ours to do it), I'm here to tell you that building the same integration in HubSpot takes 2–3x as long and is more of a pain to maintain. All factors that affect the integration cost at the end of the day, so API design matters and affects you even if you don't think it does. 🤖 Learn more about our top Copper Integrations here.
If you're using Google Workspace at your company and you want a modern CRM for your team, look no further than Copper. Not using Google Workspace? We recommend checking out Pipedrive or HubSpot instead. Just an individual and stumble upon Copper because you were considering either Airtable or Notion as your CRM? Use Folk instead.
There is currently no promo code for this app but we are close partners, so if you use the link above to visit the site and then let their team know that Efficient App sent you, you may just get a little something... extra 😉
There is currently no promo code for this app—we'll update it here if that changes in the future!
Once you pay for your first month of Copper (after the 14 day free trial) using our referral link, we'll send over the full Copper Crash Course course at no cost.
The marketing automation tool (and CRM) for mid + large teams (200–1,000) who require a robust and all-in-one tool like Salesforce.
If you are considering HubSpot because of price (after hearing things like 50–90% off the first year)—let me stop you right now, you're playing directly into their marketing shtick (you'll see the #1 concern with HubSpot is actually price).
HubSpot was not initially built as a CRM, it was a marketing email automation platform. A powerful (and expensive) one at that—but credit where credit is due. It's just, most companies often need to start with just a CRM to streamline their business operations.
It wasn't until HubSpot realized that acquiring customers for their $20–60k+/yr marketing automation suite was a difficult sell out of the gate, that they decided to built a "free CRM" as a lead magnet (and gateway) to their expensive core product.
So if you're a startup or a team of 20 or less (that will actually be using the CRM day-to-day), we highly recommend looking at a different CRM (we've done a deep-dive on that here). Because after the first year, you will be paying 2-4x more for HubSpot than the competing solutions (even at their proposed "Year 2+ discounts").
Now if your team is quite large and considering Salesforce, we actually do recommend Hubspot in most cases. HubSpot is more user-friendly than Salesforce, and you aren't going to be totally stuck in the expensive enterprise software stack that a tool like Salesforce often requires.
We will also add that we work with HubSpot often, and Copper + Pipedrive have far superior API's to HubSpot (in that we can build the same integration in 1/2 the time), so there is a second-order unseen cost associated to HubSpot.
And finally, there's quite a bit that needs to "go right" in order for emails to automatically log from your team's inbox into HubSpot.
Replies to emails will be logged automatically on the contact's timeline if you have connected your personal email and the following is true:
1. The original email was sent through the CRM or sent from your connected email client with the sales email extension or add-in installed and the Log checkbox selected.
2. The original email was not sent to an email address or domain listed in your Never Log list.
3. The email address is still connected when the reply is received.
4. The reply is sent to an individual's email connected by the user who originally started the thread.
5. The sender of the reply is an existing contact in HubSpot.
(Something that most take for granted when working with a CRM like Copper, where everything just logs automatically with no prerequisites—even if the contact doesn't yet exist in the CRM, it'll go back 1 year through your team's email history and retroactively add those emails)
There is currently no promo code for this app but we are close partners, so if you use the link above to visit the site and then let their team know that Efficient App sent you, you may just get a little something... extra 😉
There is currently no promo code for this app—we'll update it here if that changes in the future!
Curious how this app compares to others?