As an advertising agency with 20-50 team members, managing client relationships, tracking campaigns, and coordinating with multiple teams can quickly become complex without the right tools.

👉🏼 Try folk now to manage client relationships and campaigns across your 20–50 person agency

A Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system can help your mid-sized agency stay organized by centralizing client communication, tracking project progress, and automating follow-ups—all in one place.

With the right CRM, you can streamline your workflows, improve client satisfaction, and ensure that no detail is overlooked across your growing team.

In this blog post, we'll explore the best CRM options for advertising agencies like yours with 20-50 employees, focusing on tools that will help you manage client relationships efficiently while scaling your operations and driving campaigns to success.

Why you need a CRM

In the fast-paced nature of advertising, there's always a lot to do and little time to do it, especially when coordinating across 20-50 team members. Making a CRM essential for staying on top of all your client relationships while ensuring seamless collaboration across your growing agency. It streamlines operations, enhances client relationships, and boosts overall efficiency for mid-sized teams.

Challenges without a CRM

Managing an advertising agency of 20-50 people without the right CRM in your tech stack can lead to significant operational bottlenecks.

• Disorganization: Without a centralized system, tracking client interactions and project statuses across multiple team members becomes chaotic and information gets lost in silos.
• Missed opportunities: Leads can fall through the cracks when multiple account managers aren't aligned, resulting in lost potential business and revenue.
• Inefficient Processes: Manual data entry and fragmented tools slow down operations significantly when coordinating across larger teams.
• Lack of insight: Inadequate data analytics across team performance hinder strategic decision-making for growing agencies.
• Inconsistent communication: Miscommunications with clients and between 20-50 team members can damage relationships and project outcomes.

Benefits of a CRM

Fortunately, with the right CRM in place, mid-sized agencies of 20-50 people can address these challenges and expect substantial benefits that scale with their team size.

• Centralized information: All client data and interactions are stored in one place, making it easily accessible to your entire 20-50 person team.
• Enhanced efficiency: Automating routine tasks saves significant time across multiple team members and reduces errors.
• Improved customer relationships: Personalized communication and coordinated follow-ups strengthen client loyalty across account managers.
• Better decision-making: Data-driven insights enable more strategic planning and execution for growing agencies.
• Increased sales: Streamlined processes and better lead management boost conversion rates significantly for mid-sized teams.
• Consistent communication: Unified communication channels ensure everyone across your 20-50 person team is on the same page, enhancing collaboration.
  

How to boost your advertising agency's efficiency with a CRM

There are a few ways mid-sized agencies can use a CRM effectively across their 20-50 person teams. Below we've mapped out how you can use one to manage your client relationships and sales cycle efficiently at scale.

1. Map your process

You can use a CRM to map out and track the stages of your internal process across multiple team members. Start by mapping out your workflow for teams of 20-50 people. Identify key stages such as lead generation, client onboarding, campaign execution, and performance tracking. This helps in customizing the CRM to reflect your specific process while ensuring accountability across your growing team, making every step trackable by all relevant team members.

2. Lead qualification

A CRM can also be useful for keeping everyone across your 20-50 person agency on the same page regarding lead qualification. Use its features to score leads based on criteria like engagement level, budget, and project scope. This helps prioritize high-potential clients and allocate resources efficiently across multiple account managers. Features like automated lead scoring and segmentation can significantly enhance your qualification process at scale.

3. Outreach and follow-up

You can also use a CRM to automate your follow-up process across your entire team. Do so by using its automation capabilities to set up automated email sequences and LinkedIn campaigns to nurture leads and keep clients engaged. Personalized follow-up reminders and templates can ensure timely communication across all team members, increasing the likelihood of converting leads into clients while maintaining consistency.

4. Nurture existing client relationships

Finally, a CRM can help your 20-50 person team identify opportunities for upselling and cross-selling to existing clients systematically. Track client interactions and campaign performance to suggest complementary services or upgrades. Automated follow-up sequences and personalized recommendations can help maintain strong relationships and drive additional revenue across all account managers.

How to evaluate and choose a CRM

With numerous CRMs on the market to choose from, it can be difficult for mid-sized agencies of 20-50 people to understand which one offers the best value and scalability for their specific needs. To help you out with your decision making process, we've put together these basics that you can evaluate according to your team size and requirements.

1. Define your requirements

For advertising agencies with 20-50 employees, identifying the key features needed in a CRM is crucial for team coordination and scalability. Look for functionalities such as client and campaign management, project tracking, team collaboration tools, and seamless integration with marketing tools. Ensure the CRM can handle multiple users simultaneously, offers robust reporting and analytics to track team and campaign performance effectively, and provides the flexibility to grow with your expanding agency.

Key features of a CRM for advertising agencies

• Automated processes: Streamlines tasks by automating repetitive workflows across your 20-50 person team. This ensures that your staff can focus on creative and strategic efforts rather than getting bogged down by administrative tasks.
• Contact enrichment: Automatically finds leads and customer email addresses and contact information, enhancing efficiency for multiple team members. This feature is crucial for maintaining up-to-date records across your growing agency.
• Structured pipeline: Tracks leads and customers through defined stages with visibility for all relevant team members, ensuring process clarity and effectiveness across your mid-sized agency. A visual pipeline helps your 20-50 person team understand where each client stands.
• Mail merge and email sequences: Increases communication efficiency with follow-up templates and automated sequences that can be managed by multiple account managers. This ensures consistency across your team's outreach efforts.
• LinkedIn connection: Seamlessly imports leads and customers from LinkedIn and tracks conversations within the CRM. LinkedIn is essential for agencies, and this feature makes it easier to leverage networking across your team.
• Analytics: Provides essential data analysis and predictive insights for better planning across team performance. Detailed reports help agencies with 20-50 people make informed decisions and track individual and team metrics.

2. Budget considerations

Balancing cost and return on investment is essential when selecting a CRM for your 20-50 person advertising agency. While it's tempting to opt for the most affordable solution, consider the long-term benefits and efficiencies a more comprehensive system may offer your growing team. Evaluate the pricing models, including per-user subscription fees, scalability costs, and any additional expenses for premium features or support that will impact your mid-sized budget.

3. Selection process

Choosing the right CRM vendor for agencies of 20-50 people involves thorough research. Start by shortlisting vendors that specialize in CRM solutions for mid-sized advertising agencies and can accommodate your team size. Check reviews on G2, request demos that showcase multi-user capabilities, and evaluate their customer support responsiveness. It's also beneficial to seek recommendations from similar-sized agencies and read case studies to understand how the CRM has benefited businesses with comparable team structures.

4. Get a demo

Once you have a shortlist, try these CRM platforms to see how they align with your 20-50 person agency's workflow and collaboration needs. Pay attention to the user interface, ease of use for multiple team members, and customization options that scale with your team. Compare the features, per-user pricing, and support services side-by-side. Involve key team members from different departments in the evaluation process to ensure the chosen CRM meets everyone's needs and can be seamlessly integrated into your existing processes. Get started by booking a demo of folk to see how it can support your mid-sized advertising agency's specific needs.

3 tips for implementing a CRM

At this stage, it's time to get excited about introducing your new CRM to your 20-50 person team and integrating it into your tech stack. To help you make the most of your implementation stage for a mid-sized agency, we suggest the following.

1. Import your data in your new CRM

Transitioning to a new CRM can be seamless for your 20-50 person team if you start by importing your existing data systematically. Export your data as CSV files from your current CRM and ensure all team members' historical client interactions are preserved. This way, you won't have to manually add contact information across multiple users, which can be extremely time consuming for mid-sized agencies.

2. Create your first pipeline

Setting up your first pipeline is essential for tracking client projects and campaigns across your 20-50 person team. Customize the pipeline stages to reflect the specific processes of your mid-sized advertising agency, such as "Lead Qualification," "Proposal Sent," "Creative Development," "Campaign Launch," and "Client Feedback." This tailored approach ensures that your entire team can effectively manage and monitor each stage of your projects with clear visibility and accountability.

3. Onboard your team

Successful CRM implementation for agencies of 20-50 people hinges on comprehensive team adoption across all departments. Conduct thorough training sessions for different user groups to familiarize your entire team with the new system. Highlight key features and demonstrate how the CRM can streamline their daily tasks, improve collaboration between team members, and enhance client relationship management. Continuous support and feedback loops will ensure your 20-50 person team feels confident and empowered to utilize the CRM to its full potential.

The 5 best CRMs for advertising agencies

1. folk

folk is the ideal modern CRM platform for mid-sized advertising agencies of 20-50 people, offering customizable pipelines, AI-driven tools, and seamless integrations to enhance deal management and prospecting across growing teams. folk CRM can support your agency across different functions including sales, marketing, recruitment, and client management, making it perfect for teams that need scalable collaboration.

Key features

• Contact enrichment: Automatically enriches contact details by finding emails and LinkedIn URLs, enabling efficient outreach across your 20-50 person team without manual data entry or additional costs for email services.
• Contact management: Sync all your contacts effortlessly from multiple inboxes and social media platforms into folk, perfect for agencies managing numerous client touchpoints across team members.
• Social media integration: Seamlessly import contacts from LinkedIn, Sales Navigator, Instagram, X and more to track contacts and leverage your network within folk, with templates for quicker, streamlined communication across your growing team.
• Mail merge and email sequences: Full email sync compatible with Outlook and Gmail, with access to templates and tracking features, enabling multiple users to manage communications directly from the CRM with consistency.
• AI-powered features: AI tools assist in managing contacts and relationships, automating routine tasks, and suggesting actions to improve productivity across your 20-50 person agency.
• Integrations: folk connects via its open API and new native integrations (e.g., Kaspr, Allo, Salesforge, PandaDoc), and also integrates with Zapier and Make—enabling connections to 6,000+ tools.

Pros

• Perfect for mid-sized teams: folk CRM is specifically designed with agencies of 20-50 people in mind, offering intuitive collaboration features and scalable pricing that grows with your team size.
• All-in-one efficiency: folk streamlines your workflow by allowing you to import contacts from LinkedIn, automatically find their emails, reach out through customizable email sequences, and track interactions in a pipeline, eliminating the need for multiple tools and saving significant costs for growing agencies.
• Seamless team collaboration: LinkedIn integration, conversation tracking, and templates enable quicker, streamlined communication across all 20-50 team members with complete visibility.
• Optimal customizability: Custom fields, pipelines, and workflows that can be tailored to your specific agency processes and scaled as your team grows.
• Extensive integrations: folk integrates seamlessly with over 6,000 apps, allowing mid-sized agencies to centralize their entire tech stack and reduce operational complexity across multiple departments.

Cons

• Advanced reporting and analytics are available today: including pipeline and deal stage analytics, revenue forecasting with weighted probabilities, performance breakdown by owner, channel, industry, region, or any custom field, and revenue insights.
  
  

Price and plans

You can try folk for free with a 14-day trial perfect for testing with your 20-50 person team. After that, the transparent monthly or annual subscription plan offers excellent value for mid-sized agencies.

• Standard: $20 per user, per month - ideal for growing agencies.
• Premium: $40 per user, per month - perfect for 20-50 person teams with advanced needs.
• Custom: Starts from $60 per user, per month - tailored solutions for larger mid-sized agencies.

2. HubSpot

HubSpot CRM is a comprehensive platform offering integrated tools for managing sales, marketing, customer service, and operations, though it can become complex and expensive for mid-sized agencies of 20-50 people.

Key features

• Marketing Hub: Includes email marketing, ad tracking, landing pages, and lead generation tools, though can be overwhelming for smaller mid-sized agencies managing campaigns.
• Sales Hub: Provides deal tracking, pipeline management, sales automation, and reporting, but pricing scales significantly with team size for 20-50 person agencies.
• Service Hub: Offers customer service tools like ticketing, live chat, and knowledge bases, though setup complexity increases with team coordination needs.
• Operations Hub: Syncs and automates business processes across different systems, though integration complexity can challenge mid-sized teams.
• Lead scoring: Prioritize leads with predictive scoring, though advanced features require higher-tier subscriptions that can be costly for growing agencies.

Pros

• Comprehensive platform: Integrates marketing, sales, and service hubs, though this can be excessive for focused advertising agencies of 20-50 people.
• Established ecosystem: Extensive learning resources and community, though the learning curve can slow down implementation for mid-sized teams.
• Marketing automation: Powerful automation tools, though complexity increases significantly with team coordination needs.
• Dashboard customization: Customizable reports and dashboards, though advanced features require technical expertise or higher-tier plans.
• Brand recognition: Well-established platform with extensive resources, though this comes with complexity that may not suit all mid-sized agencies.

Cons

• Prohibitive costs for mid-sized teams: Pricing escalates quickly for 20-50 person agencies, making it less cost-effective than alternatives like folk CRM.
• Overwhelming complexity: Feature-heavy platform can slow down adoption and require extensive training for mid-sized teams.
• Limited free plan functionality: Basic free plan severely restricts capabilities needed by growing advertising agencies.
• Expensive email limitations: Email marketing restrictions in lower tiers can hinder agencies managing multiple client campaigns.
• Add-on costs accumulate: Essential features often require paid add-ons, significantly increasing total cost of ownership for 20-50 person teams.
  
  

Price and plans

HubSpot's CRM suite pricing on an annual subscription basis can become expensive for mid-sized agencies.

• Starter: $15 per user, per month - but with limited functionality.
• Professional: $450 per user, per month - extremely expensive for 20-50 person teams.
• Enterprise: $1,500 per user, per month - prohibitively costly for most mid-sized agencies.

3. Salesforce

Salesforce is an enterprise-focused CRM platform that can be overly complex and expensive for advertising agencies with 20-50 people, often requiring significant customization and technical expertise.

Key features

• Enterprise ecosystem: Comprehensive platform designed for large corporations, often excessive for mid-sized advertising agencies of 20-50 people.
• Complex customization: Highly customizable but requires technical expertise and often external consultants, adding costs for smaller teams.
• Salesforce Einstein AI: AI-driven analytics, though advanced features require premium plans that can be cost-prohibitive for growing agencies.
• Extensive integrations: AppExchange marketplace with thousands of apps, though integration complexity can overwhelm mid-sized teams.
• Advanced analytics: Enterprise-level reporting tools, though setup and maintenance require dedicated technical resources.

Pros

• Enterprise-grade capabilities: Comprehensive features for large-scale operations, though often unnecessary for 20-50 person agencies.
• Extensive customization: Highly flexible platform, though complexity requires dedicated technical staff or external consultants.
• Market leader reputation: Established platform with extensive resources, though this comes with enterprise-level complexity and costs.
• Scalability: Can handle massive organizations, though this scalability comes with complexity that mid-sized agencies don't need.
• Advanced analytics: Sophisticated reporting capabilities, though setup requires technical expertise beyond most mid-sized teams.

Cons

• Excessive costs for mid-sized agencies: Enterprise pricing model is prohibitively expensive for teams of 20-50 people compared to solutions like folk CRM.
• Overwhelming complexity: Steep learning curve and complex setup process can significantly delay implementation for mid-sized teams.
• Requires technical expertise: Often necessitates hiring Salesforce consultants or dedicated administrators, adding substantial costs.
• Overkill for advertising agencies: Enterprise features are excessive for the specific needs of 20-50 person advertising agencies.
• Complex integration setup: While extensive, integrations often require technical expertise that mid-sized teams may lack.

Price and plans

Salesforce's pricing on an annual subscription basis is often excessive for mid-sized advertising agencies.

• Starter suite: Starts from $25 per user, per month - but with very limited functionality.
• Pro suite: Starts from $100 per user, per month - expensive for 20-50 person teams.
• Enterprise: Starts from $165 per user, per month - prohibitively costly for most mid-sized agencies.

4. Capsule CRM

Capsule CRM is a simpler customer relationship management platform that may lack the advanced features and scalability needed for growing advertising agencies with 20-50 people.

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Key features

• Single sales pipeline: Basic pipeline management, though limited for agencies managing multiple complex client campaigns simultaneously.
• 30,000 contact limit: Contact storage capacity, though may become restrictive as mid-sized agencies scale their client base.
• Basic activity reporting: Simple tracking of interactions, though lacks the advanced analytics needed for comprehensive team performance monitoring.
• Limited workflow automation: Basic automation features, though insufficient for the complex processes of 20-50 person advertising agencies.
• Standard integrations: Connects with common tools like G Suite and Office 365, though integration options are more limited than comprehensive solutions.

Pros

• Simple interface: Easy to use design, though may be too basic for the collaborative needs of 20-50 person agencies.
• Affordable entry point: Lower initial costs, though limited features may require upgrades or supplementary tools for growing teams.
• Quick setup: Fast implementation process, though simplicity comes at the cost of advanced functionality needed by mid-sized agencies.
• Basic customization: Some customization options available, though limited compared to more comprehensive solutions like folk CRM.
• Standard integrations: Connects with popular business tools, though integration ecosystem is more restrictive than alternatives.

Cons

• Limited scalability: May not grow effectively with agencies expanding from 20-50 people, requiring platform migration later.
• Basic feature set: Lacks advanced automation and analytics capabilities essential for competitive advertising agencies.
• Insufficient collaboration tools: Limited team collaboration features for coordinating across multiple departments in mid-sized agencies.
• Restricted email marketing: Basic email capabilities insufficient for comprehensive campaign management across larger client bases.
• Limited customer support: Primarily email-based support may be inadequate for agencies requiring immediate assistance during critical projects.

Price and plans

Capsule's annual subscription pricing, while initially affordable, can become expensive as teams grow and need advanced features.

• Starter plan: Starts from $21 per user, per month - basic functionality.
• Growth plan: Starts from $38 per user, per month - limited advanced features.
• Advanced plan: Starts from $60 per user, per month - approaching folk CRM's price with fewer features.
• Ultimate plan: Starts from $75 per user, per month - more expensive than folk CRM with less comprehensive functionality.
  

5. Pipedrive

Pipedrive is a sales-focused CRM that, while user-friendly, may lack the comprehensive marketing and client management features needed by advertising agencies with 20-50 people.

Key features

• Sales pipeline focus: Strong deal management capabilities, though primarily designed for sales teams rather than comprehensive agency operations.
• Basic automation: Workflow automation for routine tasks, though limited compared to the comprehensive automation needed by 20-50 person agencies.
• Email integration: Email sync and templates, though lacks the advanced email marketing capabilities agencies require for client campaigns.
• Standard reporting: Basic analytics and reporting, though insufficient for tracking complex campaign performance across multiple team members.
• Limited customization: Some customization options available, though less flexible than solutions designed for agency workflows.

Pros

• Sales-focused design: Strong pipeline visualization, though may not address the broader needs of advertising agencies managing client relationships.
• User-friendly interface: Intuitive design for sales teams, though lacking the collaborative features needed for 20-50 person agency coordination.
• Affordable entry level: Competitive initial pricing, though costs escalate quickly with necessary add-ons for agency functionality.
• Quick setup: Fast implementation for basic sales processes, though may require additional tools for comprehensive agency operations.
• Mobile accessibility: Good mobile experience for sales activities, though limited for complex project management across teams.

Cons

• Limited marketing capabilities: Lacks comprehensive marketing automation and campaign management features essential for advertising agencies.
• Basic reporting in lower tiers: Advanced analytics require higher-priced plans, making total cost of ownership higher for growing teams.
• No integrated email marketing: Requires third-party integrations for email marketing, adding complexity and costs for agency operations.
• Restricted collaboration features: Limited team collaboration tools for coordinating across multiple departments in 20-50 person agencies.
• Escalating costs: Pricing increases significantly with add-ons and advanced features, often exceeding folk CRM's comprehensive offering.
  

Price and plans

Pipedrive's annual subscription pricing can become expensive as mid-sized agencies need advanced features.

• Essential plan: Starts from $24 per user, per month - very basic functionality.
• Advanced plan: Starts from $44 per user, per month - still lacking comprehensive agency features.
• Power plan: Starts from $79 per user, per month - expensive for limited agency-specific capabilities.
• Enterprise plan: Starts from $129 per user, per month - significantly more expensive than folk CRM with less comprehensive functionality.

Conclusion

Choosing the best CRM for your 20-50 person advertising agency can significantly enhance your workflow, client relationships, and overall team efficiency. Among the CRMs reviewed—folk, HubSpot, Salesforce, Capsule CRM, and Pipedrive—folk CRM stands out as the clear winner for mid-sized advertising agencies. With its intuitive design specifically tailored for teams of 20-50 people, comprehensive feature set including LinkedIn integration and contact enrichment, and transparent pricing that scales effectively with your team, folk CRM offers the perfect balance of functionality and affordability. Unlike enterprise-focused solutions that are overly complex and expensive, or basic CRMs that lack essential features, folk CRM provides exactly what growing advertising agencies need: seamless collaboration, efficient client management, and powerful automation without unnecessary complexity. Start by evaluating your team's specific needs, and then take advantage of folk's free trial to experience how it can transform your mid-sized agency's operations. try folk for free here.

👉🏼 Try folk now to never miss a follow-up and coordinate your 20–50 person team's pipelines

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Frequently Asked Questions

What do advertising agencies use as a CRM?

Mid-sized advertising agencies with 20-50 people typically use CRM tools like folk CRM, HubSpot, Salesforce, Capsule CRM, and Pipedrive to manage client relationships, though folk CRM is specifically designed for teams of this size, offering the best balance of features and scalability.

Do I need a CRM?

Yes, especially for agencies with 20-50 people managing complex client relationships and multiple projects. A CRM like folk CRM is essential for organizing client interactions, streamlining workflows across team members, and providing valuable insights that help mid-sized agencies maintain competitive advantage.

How much does a CRM cost?

CRM costs for mid-sized agencies typically range from $20 to $150+ per user per month, depending on features and scale. folk CRM offers exceptional value at $20-40 per user monthly, providing comprehensive functionality specifically designed for 20-50 person teams without the excessive costs of enterprise solutions.

Does folk's CRM respond to advertising agencies needs?

Absolutely, folk CRM is ideally suited for advertising agencies with 20-50 people. It offers an intuitive interface, seamless LinkedIn integration, customizable pipelines, AI-driven tools, and transparent pricing that scales perfectly with mid-sized teams, making it the optimal all-in-one solution for managing contacts, workflows, and client relationships efficiently across growing agencies.

FAQ

What is the best CRM for agencies?

It depends on size and needs. For 20–50 person advertising agencies, folk combines collaborative pipelines, LinkedIn import, contact enrichment, and email sequences at $20–$40/user/month. Always trial options to check fit and usability.

How should an agency choose a CRM?

Define goals, required features (pipelines, email, analytics), and integrations. Set a budget, shortlist 2–3 tools, run demos with key users, test with real data, and compare total cost, support, and ease of adoption before deciding.

What CRM features do advertising agencies need?

Shared pipelines, contact enrichment, email sequences, LinkedIn capture, activity tracking, role permissions, analytics, and integrations (email, calendars, docs, billing). Choose tools that scale to 20–50 users and support collaboration.

How much does a CRM cost for a 20–50 person agency?

Expect $20–$150+ per user/month. Mid-market options like folk are $20–$40/user/month, while enterprise suites can exceed $100 with add‑ons. Factor onboarding, integrations, and potential add‑on fees into total cost.