Confused whether you should opt for Act! CRM software for your business? You’ve landed at the right place. Here, we have reviewed the customer relationship management software by Act! in detail on multiple critical parameters, including its usability, features, functions, pricing, advantages, disadvantages, and much more. Yes, this software is one of the leading CRM systems out there in the world. It takes the complexities out of managing clients and building lasting client relationships. It simplifies sales funnel and marketing operations, helping businesses achieve their goals. But is it the right fit for your business? This review will help you make an informed decision.
What is Act! CRM?
Act! CRM is a software solution empowering businesses to streamline their otherwise disparate customer relationship operations, whether it is recording information about a new customer or catering to an old consumer based on their history, Act! CRM makes the entire process of managing clients easier and smoother, day in and day out.
The CRM tool is designed to keep the needs of small and mid-sized organizations in mind. It includes functions that help SMBs create a pleasant customer experience while being able to market better and sell more. The software comes with built-in pipeline management for your sales team. From opportunity tracking & management to product, territory, and sales assessments to actionable insights, the system offers it all.
To make things even better, Act! CRM also includes marketing automation capabilities. You can customize your marketing campaigns and access data in real-time, anytime you need. While reviewing, we liked how the automated workflow ensured adequate levels of customer engagement, creating a win-win for anyone looking to up their customer services game.
The best part? With this CRM software, you can track the activities of all your customers from a single place, saving a ton of your time, resources, and cost.
Which Businesses Use Act! CRM?
While Act! CRM solution has a wide user base across the globe; it benefits the most to the following type of users:
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- Small businesses
- Mid-sized businesses
- Freelancers
- Public administrators
- Non-profit organizations
What’s important to note is that companies that use Act! CRM software belongs to diverse industries having a distinct set of requirements.
What Languages Does Act! CRM Support?
Act! CRM system finds its users all over the world, from individual professionals to SMBs. And thus, the software provides multi-language support to cater to its customers in the most effective way.
The languages supported by this CRM solution include:
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- English (USA)
- English (UK)
- French (France)
- French (Canada)
- German
- Dutch
The multi-lingual support ensures every user is able to make the most out of the system, no matter where they are based.
Does Act! CRM Support Mobile Devices?
Professionals in the digital age are no longer bound to an office desk. The advent of technology has brought tremendous flexibility to accessibility.
To complement this rapidly changing work culture, Act! CRM system also supports mobility of work through its own Act! Companion mobile application. This mobile app allows you to work remotely from any part of the world without compromising on quality, productivity, or data accuracy.
The Act! Companion mobile app works on both iOS and Android systems, whether you’re using a mobile device or a tablet. The app is compatible with iOS version 11.0 & up and Android’s Lollipop version & up.
The best part? If you’re an active subscriber to Act! CRM system, you can use the Act! Mobile app for free.
Does Act! CRM Offers an API?
Yes, Act! CRM has its own web APIs to make it easier to build Act! Integrations. The APIs are simple to use. They come with proper documentation and guidance to help you navigate in a smooth manner. The REST APIs, based on JSON, provide open standard support, including OData. That makes it possible for you to connect with other platforms, generate code, and even try APIs in the documentation itself.
What Other Leading Apps Do Act! CRM Integrate With?
Act! CRM software offers seamless integrations with some of the most popular and effective business tools, including Microsoft 365, Dropbox Business, Slack, Meta for Business, Microsoft Outlook, Google Workspace, Shopify, Zapier, LinkedIn for Business, iCloud, Zendesk, Xero, and many more.
The system also offers hassle-free integrations with top social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
For complete information on all the integrations offered by Act! CRM, visit https://www.act.com/products/connections.
Is Act! CRM Right For Your Business?
Act! CRM seems to be a good option for managing your contacts, customers, and opportunities. Since the software also comes with marketing automation capabilities, it allows enterprises, solopreneurs, and entrepreneurs to effectively boost their marketing efforts. That, in turn, leads to more sales and helps acquire lifelong customers.
While this CRM software for small businesses simplifies many of your everyday CRM tasks, we found its user interface quite complicated. It lacks what we can term a modern design - a UI that is a combination of simple and elegant. It is a bit old-school. You may have to put in your time, effort, and patience to learn to move around the system efficiently. For users who have never used such software before, navigating the tool can be even more challenging.
Its activity management feature makes being on top of every project a breeze. That way, prioritizing, as well as re-routing duties, becomes hassle-free for each member of your team.
The system has built-in email marketing functions. But the requirement of an external mailing client to leverage this feature turns it into a limitation instead of an advantage. The dialog boxes that appear numerous times while using the system could be better designed with easy access to action buttons in the right spots. Importing contacts was also a bit of a struggle until we chose its custom field.
If you are a small or mid-sized business with limited requirements out of your CRM system, you can give this system a try.
How Easy is It to Use?
As we pointed out in the section above, Act! CRM does not exactly fit into the mold of an ideal easy-to-use software solution. It has a dated UI design and functionality. As a result, its learning curve is steeper. Users who know how to move around business tools may find it a bit easier to adapt to this CRM. First-time users, on the other hand, may require proper training and guidance.
Overall, the software exudes a classic vibe, especially if you are using its desktop application. A design revamp here and there, keeping in mind today’s modern user, would only elevate the overall user experience of its global customer base.
What Are The Prices of Act! CRM?
Act! CRM software, with its all-inclusive CRM and marketing automation features, is available to sales teams, as well as individuals, in two primary plans:
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- Act! Premium Desktop
- Act! Premium Cloud
Both these plans come with an annual billing cycle, charged monthly per user.
While the software doesn’t offer a free plan, it offers a free trial of its Cloud option for 14 days. And you don’t need to share your credit card details or download the system to start your free trial.
1. Act! Premium Desktop
The Act! Premium Desktop plan is an on-premise CRM solution. It costs $37.50 per month per user with annual billing.
The plan comes with CRM functions as well as Marketing Automation features. The key features of this plan include self-managed security, online & offline access, compatibility with desktop add-ons, and total control of system updates.
2. Act! Premium Cloud
Act! Premium Cloud plan offers a cloud-based CRM solution for your business. It costs $30 per month per user with a yearly billing cycle.
Like the on-premise plan, the cloud plan also offers both CRM and Marketing Automation capabilities. The primary features of this plan include secure hosting, instant access from the browser, optional desktop sync, and automated backups and updates. You can opt for a free 14-day trial of the cloud plan before making a final purchase.
› Act! Premium Cloud with Desktop Sync
A sub-plan of the Act! Premium Cloud, the Act! Premium Cloud with Desktop Sync costs $40 per user per month. It offers the same features and functions as the Premium Cloud variant.
The pricing verdict:
The pricing structure offered by Act! Looks feasible for an established business. The plans, however, seem expensive compared to other big players in the market. It also lacks the flexibility of more plan options, customizations, and add-ons, which come at higher costs. Another drawback is the absence of a free plan for individuals or start-ups.
What Top Features Does Act! CRM Offer?
Act! CRM packs in a powerful bunch of features to help enhance your customer relationship management. What are these features? Let’s have a look in brief:
› Contact Management: From creating new contacts to managing and retrieving existing ones through rapid search, the system provides a hassle-free centralized contact database for efficient management. Moreover, you can access the data offline and through your mobile devices.
› Sales Pipeline Management: Act! CRM offers opportunity tracking, pipeline management, sales process management, and actionable insights to empower your team to manage the sales pipeline more effectively.
› Sales Opportunity Tracking: The system makes it possible to track every sales opportunity with all its minor details a breeze no matter where you are.
› Marketing Automation: Whether you need to create personalized campaigns or automate your workflow, you can do it all with ease through the marketing automation capability of Act! CRM system.
› Workflow Automation: From setting triggers to respond to customers to automating routine tasks, the tool helps you save time with its workflow automation technology.
› Task Management: Act! CRM software simplifies task management through powerful task prioritization, monitoring, and timely instant alerts.
› Calendar & Email Integration: You can easily integrate your calendars and emails using Act! CRM. That allows you to stay in sync all the time and never miss any crucial meetings or witness delays in communication.
› Notification & Alerts: The CRM tool provides instant notifications so that you are always on top of what’s happening on your key projects, tasks as well as opportunities.
› Mobile App: Act! CRM offers a dedicated Act! The companion app lets you have uninterrupted access on the go. The app is compatible with both Android and iOS platforms.
Does Act! CRM Provide Reliable Customer Support?
When it comes to customer support, Act! CRM software has got a mixed bag of reviews. A lot of its long-time customers are happy with their services and praise the resolution and training they receive from the customer support team.
At the same time, there are many clients across the globe who have rated this tool one or two stars for its customer support services. After going through genuine customer reviews across multiple software review sites, we found the primary complaint being that of a lack of prompt, thoroughly guided support in query resolution.
Ways Act! CRM Provides Customer Support
Act! CRM offers customer support through multiple channels, which include the following:
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- Email/Help Desk
- FAQs/Forums
- Knowledge Base
- Phone Support
- Chat Support
What Industries Are Using Act! CRM?
Considered one of the best CRM software solutions, Act! CRM has consistently emerged as a popular choice across industries globally. These industries include:
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- Insurance industry
- Real estate industry
- Retail industry
- Advertising & Marketing industry
What Are The Pros & Cons of Act! CRM?
Like any other software solution, Act! CRM system also has its own share of advantages and disadvantages. Here’s what we could identify as pros and cons for this CRM tool after a thorough review:
Pros
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- Sales pipeline function that is fully customizable
- Ease of tracking opportunities and each aspect of the sales process
- Hassle-free email and calendar integration
- Comprehensive customer management capabilities
- Seamless monitoring and retrieval of customer interactions for smoother communication
Cons
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- Complex, old-school user interface
- Not very user-friendly - difficult for first-time users to move around the tool
- Requirement of external email clients for email integration
- The lack of a flexible pricing structure and necessary add-ons can force you to stretch your budget
What Are The Best Alternatives of Act! CRM?
Act! CRM has managed to be a favorite CRM software tool among small to medium-sized businesses across industries worldwide over the years consistently. But if you are keen to explore an alternate option to Act! CRM, here are some leading, reliable options for you to try:
The Technical Review of Act! CRM
The most critical part of any software is its technical specifications, especially deployment methods, and training. Let’s take a look at what Act! CRM has to offer when it comes to these technical details.
Deployment
The CRM system offers flexible deployment methods, including on-premise and cloud-enabled. You can choose the one that’s most convenient for your individual business needs.
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- Cloud, SaaS, Web-Based
- Desktop - Windows
- On-Premise - Windows
- On-Premise - Linux
- Mobile - Android
- Mobile - iPhone
- Mobile - iPad
Training
In order to simplify navigating the system for all its users, Act! CRM software offers training in more than one way, which includes the following:
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- In Person
- Live Online
- Webinars
- Documentation
- Videos
Final Verdict: Is Vtiger CRM For You?
The once-upon-a-time Act! Contact Manager has successfully evolved into an all-inclusive CRM software over the years. It makes for a great CRM system for small and mid-sized businesses due to its powerful customer relationship features, blended with optional marketing automation capabilities. Its opportunity tracking, pipeline management, and task prioritization are its biggest strengths.
If you are a large-scale organization, though, you may want to consider other options before finalizing Act! CRM for your business. The features, add-ons, customization, and pricing are some of the parameters you must compare the systems on while taking the final call.
Like every other software, Act! CRM, too, has its share of limitations and scope for improvements. Some of those cons include its UI, navigation, and reporting functions.
At the end of the day, choosing the right CRM majorly depends upon your distinct business requirements, budget, expectations out of the system, and the need for flexibility and scalability. Any tool that ticks all these boxes may be the right one for you.
