The 8 Best CRMs for Designers and Creative Agencies (Free & Paid)

» What is CRM Software for Designers?

CRM software for designers is a robust software for managing client-related activities with your designs, and it can also be used to manage design bookings. A CRM system for designers helps in tracking, organizing, and analyzing prospects, making management decisions, managing services or products, and providing customer service.

CRM software for designers offers features that help you streamline this process and boost productivity and creative freedom when working on graphic design projects like creating logo concepts or making flyers. CRM is software that helps manage the details of your project and all the phases. This includes managing clients, projects, files, tasks, activities, and communication.

CRM for creatives & web designers keeps track of creative activities like images and texts with a robust database system. You can use this application if you are running your website where you create artwork under different categories. Another essential thing to note is that the CRM system for designers enables you to create an area for sharing your creations with partners or colleagues helping you out on a project. This can be a great way to collaborate with others, better plan your project, and make it a success.

» What Benefits of CRM Software for Designers?

Translating a beautiful idea into a tangible product is a tricky business. From creating the prototype to marketing, sales and conversion, there are many ways to turn that creation into something people want and need. But with so much to worry about in this complex process, it’s hard not to overlook the little things - like CRM software for graphic designers. Here are some benefits:

• • Sales and Production Management

Sales management is one of the most important aspects of bringing a new product to market. And if you have enough confidence in your design, you’ll want to see if there’s any interest in your creation. Designers often use surveys for this purpose. But survey software will ensure you get trustworthy feedback from your potential customers. The survey software will also help you track who’s interested in your product so that you can follow up with the right people.

A common problem for designers is how to keep their team - or even their entire company - informed and updated on the product’s progress. This is where design CRM software comes in. Design CRM software like Salesforce helps you manage the entire sales process from start to finish. From storing important information about your contacts to tracking their interests and needs, designing CRM software will help you increase productivity, reduce costs and ensure the timely delivery of your products.

• • Reports and Analytics

The ability to analyze data is crucial to managing virtually any business. And when it comes to sales, analyzing customer information can tell you a lot about where your business stands and what you need to do next. Design reporting software lets designers quickly collect customer information directly from their feedback forms and surveys.

• • Increased Customer Retention Rates

Design CRM software can be used in several ways to boost customer retention rates. One method is to track who’s coming and going from your product so that you know which customers are turning out to be loyal and which aren’t. Another tool is lead scoring - marketing automation software that lets you segment your database by gender, age, interests, and other factors to send more targeted marketing messages.

• • Creates more effective campaigns

With a CRM, you’ll be able to track your sales and marketing campaigns in real time. This will help you stay on top of things by making changes in a timely fashion. With the proper CRM software for graphic designers, you can make selling your product as easy as making a sale at a used-car lot. By accurately tracking your customer data and watching the activity of your database, sales and production management software will help you to make informed decisions about what’s necessary next.

• • Build stronger relationships

The end goal of using CRM software for graphic designers is to build stronger relationships with your customers and potential customers. By sharing data with your entire team, you’ll be able to make more informed decisions about future opportunities and meet the needs of more people.

• • Less time spent on data entry

With production management software, you’ll be able to track every aspect of your business in real time, saving you a lot of time lost on data entry.

• • Better accuracy for reporting purposes

By upgrading your design CRM software, you can ensure that all the information is accurate, including your track record with sales and manufacturing, which increases your credibility among potential clients.

» Features of CRM Software for Designers

If you're a designer, chances are you've considered using design CRM software — but which one should you choose? If a design firm has multiple designers operating in different locations, the answer might be different from if it had just one. Here are some features that your CRM for web designers must have:

• • Collaboration

When starting a design firm, the first question is, "How do we collaborate?" If it's just a couple of people, you might be able to use email or a shared drive system. This works fine, but it becomes an inefficient and confusing system if you end up with ten or more designers. CRM for web designers allows designers in different locations to collaborate on projects, PowerPoint presentations and spreads, detailed designs, etc., all from one central location, which any client can access.

• • Document management

Your clients will no doubt need to see your designs and present them in the final stages of the project. In this situation, all designers must be able to log into their folders and create, update, organize and comment on documents. CRM software for graphic designers comes with a host of features that allow you to store documents, such as CVs, slideshows, presentations, etc., in one central location where any designer can access them. This also allows designers to collaborate on projects as they are in progress — it's a fantastic way of ensuring all parties have access to all the information they need.

• • Project management

The next natural step for a designer is to plan, coordinate and manage the process from beginning to end. There are many aspects to managing a project, and CRM software for designers and design agencies helps you manage all of them — which can be difficult for one person to do quickly. For example, planning, budgeting, and day-to-day task scheduling can all be managed easily with CRM software, so you don't need to contact each designer.

• • Presentation management

While planning your next project, it's worth noting what your prospects will be looking at first: designs or presentations. All designers will be accustomed to creating high-end presentations using PowerPoint, but they usually function independently rather than collaboratively. Clients are increasingly requesting that the designer make the presentation so they can get a feel for how their finished product will look. As you can see, this requires the designer to know how to create slideshows and other presentations. CRM software for designers and design agencies allows you to create detailed slideshows for your presentations — all you need to do is add images and graphics from your design portfolio and then share them with your client.

• • Branding

When pitching for a new business, you must tell the client how your business will be branded. This can be done using your portfolio and explaining your company name — but a better option would be to show your clients how their new logo will look and function on their website. You could design this presentation yourself, but it's proven that clients prefer it if you don't. It's much better if you create a beautiful logo that uses elements of their existing brand name in the design — then use it in your pitch. The first few meetings with them are crucial because they will form an opinion about you as an individual and about your business before you even get started.

• • Tracking payments

You might be the most talented designer in the world, but you won't be able to eat if clients don't pay you. This means having an efficient and intuitive system for tracking payments is essential. CRM software for designers will help you manage your client database, which is fundamental to getting the work and staying in contact with existing clients. It'll also help you follow up on outstanding payments and track their progress so that you can adequately account for them when they pay.

• • Invoicing

If your client has paid you, it's time to invoice them for the work carried out. This needs to be done efficiently so that you can concentrate on the job. CRM software for designers will already contain a client database, a payment tracking system, and other essential pieces of information. So you'll only need to add a few extra details, such as job name and invoice value. This will save you a substantial amount of time.

• • Third-party integration

There are dozens of third-party web services that can work together with your CRM software.

For example, you could use a booking service from your client's website to help them manage their bookings — or integrate their stream of new clients with other systems like email marketing campaigns and WordPress blogs. These methods enable you to build websites and manage contacts in one place, which removes the requirement for multiple applications and databases.

• • Dependency management

The last point of importance stresses the importance of dependency management: if one system goes down, everything else stops, too — so it's vital to set yourself up so that your systems aren't dependent on any other software applications.

• • Lead Generation

Lastly, suppose you're in the very early stages of starting your business. In that case, it's worth noting that you can combine CRM software for designers with lead generation tools to create a contact database for every client that has ever used your services. This is a great way to grow your business into something much more significant. It allows you to instantly connect with many potential clients without spending countless hours creating new websites and marketing collateral.

» How much does CRM software for Designers Cost?

There are some hidden costs associated with CRM software for designers, and it's not hard to overlook them. For starters, even if you are a solo designer, CRM software will still set you back at least $20-$300 per month. This might seem like no big deal if your business is doing well. Still, because many designers are freelancers without employees or other overhead expenses, this can quickly add up and start cutting into the little profit margin they have.

CRM software is going to require a significant amount of training and getting used to it before you can start using it effectively. That's why the best CRM for graphic designers providers all offer free trial periods so you can make sure the system is customized to your needs. The trial usually lasts for a month or two, but this at least gives you some time to set things up, enter your clients and projects, and start seeing results. Most of the vendors provide extensive training on how to use their products.

If you're starting and have to use the basic package, don't expect to see a lot of ROI for at least a few months. That's why it's so important to get the most out of what you pay, so check out some of the suggestions below on maximizing your investment. The best CRM for graphic designers is only as good as how well it works with your other marketing strategies. Many designers often try to set up their online store and email list without first setting up their CRM system, which can lead to months of wasted time and money if you start misusing it or don't know better.

» How to Choose the Best CRM Software for Designers?

When it comes to picking CRM software, designers have a lot of options. Which one is the best? Well, no one can answer that question for you, but there are some things you can do to decide.

• • Determine the business you want to run

Do you want to run your own business, do freelance work, or do both? If you know this ahead of time, it will help with deciding which software to choose.

• • Check your budget

How much are you willing to spend on CRM software? It's going to depend on what kind of company it is and how much capital they have.

• • Consider time management needs

If time management is a significant concern for the design company, then Salesforce might be an option. In cases where there is a lot of staff turnover or high project turnover, Basecamp is worth looking into because it can accommodate short-term projects and offers increased visibility over sales leads.

• • Check if there’s a free trial available

There are a lot of CRM apps that have free trials, so you can try them out before you make your decision. This can be very helpful in deciding which one to go with.

• • Get employee feedback

If you have staff, then they're the ones who deal with customers more directly, so get their input on their needs and how the CRM software will impact them.

» Conclusion

If you’re not using CRM software, it can be hard to keep track of everything happening with your customers. Your business will lose many potential deals if you don’t have this tool in place. No matter how well you remember your last meetings, you won’t be able to keep track of all the information and details. Therefore, make sure to have the best CRM software for your design agency.