When it comes to customer relationship management (CRM) systems, it can be difficult to determine which one is right for your business. For newer and/or smaller startups and small businesses, a CRM that’s simple and flexible can be key. That’s where platforms like Pipeliner come in.
For a startup, Pipeliner can also be beneficial because of its overall features and ease of use. It’s also beneficial because it offers a customizable experience, enabling companies to manage it the way that works for their activities. In this Pipeliner CRM review, we’ll walk through the software’s features, its benefits and disadvantages, how users find it, and how it compares to the competition.
Pros and Cons of Pipeliner CRM
Pipeliner CRM is a comprehensive system that’s built to provide a comprehensive, feature-rich experience. This all-web-based system has a sales-friendly interface that’s easy to navigate from one feature to the next and offers a report engine that’s built into the system that provides reports for just about any area of the CRM. This can provide great graphics and visuals for companies to use.
Like all products, there are some drawbacks to using it. Pipeliner CRM is not known for its robust security solutions, though the company claims it offers some of the best available. It offers a significant number of reports, but some competitors offer a more robust lineup of reports that make it easier to manage overall as a sales-focused company.
Pros of Pipeliner CRM Software
- Offline work capabilities
- Strong visual and graphic options
- Good social media incorporation
Cons of Pipeliner CRM Software
- Basic-tier pricing is not as low as some competitors
- It does not have good security
- Likewise, it doesn’t have a lot of report customization
Pipeliner CRM Pricing and Features
Startups often demand affordability in their software programs, and Pipeliner CRM can compete with some competitors in this area. The company offers four plans to select from, each adding to the next. You can be billed annually (at a discount) or monthly.
Starter ($65+/User/Month)
Notable Features:
- Basic sales management
- Setup sales process
- Revenue forecasting
- Tracking of opportunities and leads
- Goals and sales metrics
Business ($85+/User/Month)
Notable Features:
- Customizable data migration
- Multiple types of currency
- Merging of accounts and contacts
- User training
- Document management
Enterprise ($115+/User/Month)
Notable Features:
- On-site training
- Forecast reports
- Advanced customization
- SharePoint Integration
- Priority for tech support
Unlimited ($150+/User/Month)
Notable Features:
- Highly customizable
- Lead management
- Quota management
- Customer support portal
- Create producer leaderboards
Pipeliner CRM Reviews
One of the best ways to research a new CRM platform is to see what its current and former users have experienced.
Here are some verified reviews from TrustRadius by people who used Pipeliner CRM:
“This is one of the best software for people who are in the sales industry. It integrates with your many internal apps & has one of the best in class features with your day-to-day use tools. It can easily be integrated with MS Outlook & also it captures leads from Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.”
“When I started my startup I needed a CRM focused on sales and had a good view of information flows. After much searching, Pipeliner CRM showed the best sales and marketing software with interactive visualization tools which can monitor all potential customers within the sales funnel in an organized and dynamic way. All the entire sales and marketing professionals I recommend Pipeliner CRM.”
“Pipeliner is really suited for a sales environment. It is not well suited for customer or product maintenance and support organizations.”
One of the key benefits users note is that it is very visual, allowing for an easy-to-use interface that improves productivity and overall usability. Users also note the benefit of being able to reach out to customer service for support as well as working with a sales team to help set up and establish the use of the program.
Those who had poor experiences with Pipeliner CRM reported that it did not offer the marketing tools and support they desired and often did not provide the product-specific focus they needed for ongoing product and customer service management.
In all, Pipeliner CRM is an excellent choice for sales-focused companies with numerous sales professionals. The CRM’s ability to be used anywhere makes it ideal for companies that are not always localized. It can work well for startups, especially for those that are launching quickly, but it is also a desirable solution for companies already operating using a variety of other software programs and applications. By contrast, it is not ideal for those who are looking for a customer support solution or product maintenance CRM.
How Does Pipeliner CRM Compare?
There are plenty of competitors out there that offer CRM software for startups. One of the more popular is Salesforce. We find that Pipeliner compares to Salesforce in the following ways:
Pricing
Salesforce is a very robust system with numerous specific resources. When it comes to pricing, Salesforce’s base product is just $25 per month, but that provides for just the Essentials. The Professional pricing solution for the sales CRM is $75, which is a bit more affordable than the Pipeliner CRM. Its Unlimited package, though, is much more expensive at $300. This plan is more robust and offers some exceptional features that Pipeliner CRM does not.
Regarding value, Salesforce CRM for sales is highly competitive with Pipeliner CRM overall. Since the costs are rather close to each other for the most popular packages, either option can be considered affordable. However, to get the most advanced features, users will need to upgrade to the Enterprise or Unlimited levels from Salesforce, which significantly increases costs ($150 and $300, respectively).
Features
The features of both products are competitive. Contact management is the core focus, and both systems offer good basic functionality, including appointment management, activity management, prospecting support, and segmentation. Salesforce does a better job when it comes to email marketing, as this is an area that Pipeline CRM is limited.
In lead management, both products are rather equal, though Pipeliner CRM does not offer the lead nurturing or campaign management tools that Salesforce does. For sales overall, both products offer a solid lineup of features, but Salesforce offers better reports in content and training management features. Both companies do a good job of offering sales forecasting tools, including correlation analysis, exception reporting, and competitor analysis, though Salesforce does more of this automatically than Pipeliner CRM.
Ease of Use
Pipeliner CRM is an overall robust and easy-to-use system. One of the nice features of it is that it’s very visual, which makes it easier to learn and implement for inexperienced teams. Salesforce has the benefit of being a more well-recognized company with products that are more readily used by other organizations. Most user reviews note that Pipeliner CRM is more user-friendly overall.
Integrations
Both CRMs allow for ample integrations, which is critical for most companies. Salesforce states it offers 1,181 integration options. That includes most of the popular options like Mailchimp, GoToMeeting, Google Drive, and Trello. Pipeliner CRM bills itself as a robust system with ample integration options but, to date, only has 60 compatible integrations. If those that the ones you need, though, that’s good enough.
Customization
Pipeliner CRM offers a wide range of customizations helping it to step away from the one-size-fits-all applications. It offers customizations in areas of tasks and activities for sales reps, as well as various templates and fields that can be updated to create customized reports. These are fully customizable to meet any need. Salesforce CRM is also very effective in this area, calling itself the most customized solution available. This includes customer tracking and field management, custom templates, and personalization tools.
Reporting and Analytics
For many companies, a CRM that can provide reports and analytics is going to be incredibly valuable. Customer analytics solutions from Salesforce are highly competitive and easy to build with drag-and-drop features, filters, and customization options. A number of ingratiation options exist as well. On-demand reporting, marketing reports, customer habit reports, segmentation, and numerous other options exist. It is truly robust.
Pipeliner CRM offers a wide range of reports, including data analytics options in descriptive, predictive, prescriptive, and diagnostic areas. Users can create custom reports that have in-line graphics, bars, pie charts, and much more. The visual dashboards help to communicate the information well, too. It is also easy to build and embed these reports easily into various tools.
Customer Support
Both Salesforce and Pipeliner offer ample support features and training options. This includes email, a help desk, FAQs, a forum, chat, and phone support. Neither company offers 24/7 support with a live representative. For training, each offers in-person options, live online training, videos, and webinars. This is one area in which both companies compete well.
Final Thoughts on Pipeliner CRM
Pipeliner CRM provides a simple solution for CRM needs that works very well for sales-oriented businesses that need a simple and transformative way of managing their customer relationships. It is a very visual system that creates impressive graphics. While it is not as robust as some of the other options, it continues to expand and grow.
Overall, it is a solid option for startups and businesses that want a comprehensive system for sales-focused efforts. It is also a competitively priced option, especially at the higher tiers.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Pipeliner CRM?
Pipeliner CRM is a sales-focused CRM system that provides a platform for sales teams to work with prospects, other teams, and customers.
How much does Pipeliner CRM cost?
Pipeliner CRM starts at $65/user/month for the basic Starter package. The prices increase per package all the way up to $115/month/user. These prices are based on paying for a full year of service and actually increase if you pay month to month.
What CRM is better than Pipeliner?
A CRM alternative that is better than Pipeliner CRM is Salesforce. Salesforce offers a completely cloud-based solution software program that offers a number of options.