Best CRM for Office 365

Excel and Outlook is a great way of storing data about your relationships. Until it’s time to keep that information up to date. This takes a lot of manual effort, which often leads to it being the last priority on your to-do list.  

Instead of tolerating the clunky experience you get from Office 365, there are Customer Relationship Management software out there that can help you integrate this into their platform. 

In this blog, we look into how Office 365 users can make the most of a CRM and what features they should look out for. We’ll also do a comparison of the best CRMs out there that are compatible with Microsoft. 

Why do Office 365 users need a CRM?

A good CRM platform can help streamline all that data you keep across the Office 365 suite. From contact information stored in excel, to that sales pipeline spreadsheet. 

A CRM can automate repetitive tasks that are often time-consuming, such as when it’s time to update contact details, monitor last interaction dates and the various notes you keep on each contact. This means you’ll be able to save time and prioritise other tasks.

Top 6 features Office 365 users should look for in a CRM

Below are some features you should look out for as you consider a CRM. 

Outlook integration: Some CRMs only support Gmail integration. Make sure that the CRM you’re considering supports third-party applications such as an Outlook integration, so that you can sync and keep your contacts in one place. 

Multiple import formats: If you’re looking to export the contacts you’ve kept on a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, make sure that the CRM you’re considering allows you to import .CSV files seamlessly. A good CRM can also import .tsv, .xls, .xlsx, .xml, .txt spreadsheets.

Contact sync: A good CRM can help you automatically retrieve contacts from Gmail and Outlook, so that you do not have to spend time manually doing this. Look for a CRM that can help you import contacts from iPhone or Android, Outlook, Gmail, Google Contacts and Google and Outlook Calendar so that you can streamline this.

Email marketing: Instead of going back and forth from one platform to another, a good CRM should have email marketing capabilities so that you can access those contact lists and set up email campaigns seamlessly. 

Pipeline management: Some CRMs offer pipeline management support specifically for sales which can be rather limiting. Look for a CRM that can help you with pipeline management across multiple projects so that you do not have to invest in multiple platforms for each one. 

User experience: A good CRM should be intuitive to use and not require training that comes with a steep learning curve. Avoid a CRM that offers a clunky experience.

A comparison of the best CRMs compatible with Office 365

folk

folk is an award-winning CRM platform, loved for its Notion-like user experience. It comes with a  wealth of features and integrations to help you streamline everything into one platform. Including AI support, email marketing that supports Gmail and Outlook, custom fields and pipeline management.

Key Features

• Outlook and Gmail integration, easily connect your Microsoft accounts to your folk workspace. folk automatically pins the information extracted from Outlook to the right contact profile so that you don’t need to do so manually. This includes your Outlook Contacts, email-related information and calendar events so that you can keep track of your interactions and events.
• Contact management, folk supports contact sync from multiple sources. This includes email tools such as Gmail and Outlook, as well as social media platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter and more. Multiple import formats, supports multiple import formats, including .csv, .tsv, .xls, .xlsx, .xml, .txt spreadsheets. If you want to import notes and interactions through the csv import, you can easily create a dedicated text custom field in that spreadsheet to keep everything together as you import these. 

Pros 

• Chrome extension: folkX allows you to import individual profiles you come across as you surf the web without leaving the page. folkX can also import search lists directly into your folk CRM, so you don’t have to do so manually. If you happen to be missing any contact information, you can use folk’s contact enrichment feature to fill in the blank in moments. 
• Email marketing: send bulk email campaigns directly from the platform. This means you’ll have access to the contact lists you’ve spent time organising, without having to export them just to send out an email. You’ll be able to make use of an AI feature called ‘Magic Field’ that helps you send personalized messages to multiple recipients, and get access to analytics to keep an eye on how well your campaign is doing.
• Pipeline management: create pipelines across multiple functions to nurture business relationships across different areas. folk supports sales, recruiting, fundraising, partnerships and investing. Including areas such as venture capital, marketing and more. Organize your pipeline by listicle form, or use a Kanban board to drag and drop them across your internal process cycle for sales,  recruitment and more. You can also easily add users so that your team can collaborate seamlessly. Your team will be able to build on notes collaboratively about the same person to build one source of truth, and set each other reminders when it is time to follow up with them.
• Intuitive user experience: Expect to be able to use folk from day one without having to face a steep learning curve. Its Notion-like design creates a seamless experience that is intuitive and easy to use. You’ll be able to automate tasks that are otherwise manual and time-consuming and make use of features such as its AI support function called ‘Magic Field’ without a complicated setup process. 
• Price plans: folk is affordable and packs a powerful punch. It’s free version is limited to 200 contacts but is free forever. Annual subscription plans start from $18 per user per month, including unlimited contacts, bulk emailing, and AI features. Advanced options, like migration services and priority support, are available for $29 per user per month. Monthly payments and custom enterprise solutions are also available.

Cons

• Reporting is not available yet in folk, but it is coming soon.

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Nimble

Remember Microsoft’s Outlook Customer Manager platform? Nimble was their go-to recommendation when they retired their CRM in 2019.

Key features

• Microsoft 365 integration, works in Outlook, Microsoft Teams, mobile and web. Create new and update existing contacts directly from your Outlook inbox.
• Contact management, syncs between your Nimble account and Microsoft 365. 
• Nimble Prospector browser extension, to import contacts and enrich contact data seamlessly.

Pros

• Microsoft and Google integration: Connects with your Outlook inbox and Gmail.
• Email tracking and templates: Features email tracking and customizable email templates, integrating directly with Office 365 email.
• Sales and opportunity tracking: Has tools for tracking sales opportunities, lead management, and pipeline reporting.
• Mobile accessibility: Offers a mobile app for accessing CRM data and performing tasks on the go.

Cons

• Clunky user experience: While Nimble is an impressive CRM, its user experience feels clunky and cluttered. The aggregation of data from multiple sources can sometimes lead to information overload as it is not intuitive to use.
• Import formats; You can only import contacts via a .CSV file. 
• 2-way sync: Nimble does not support 2-way sync with Google contacts. It can only do so with Microsoft 365 account. However, deleting a contact from Nimble or Outlook requires a few clunky steps. 

Zoho 

Zoho’s Core offering is their standalone Zoho CRM app. There are two bundle plans including CRM Plus and CRM Flex, both designed to help customer experience management across the customer life cycle at different levels. 

Key features

• Office 365 integration, synchronize your contacts, tasks, calendar events and conversations from your Microsoft account into Zoho. 
• Analytics and reporting, offers insights into sales trends, customer behaviour and performance metrics. 
• Customizable workflows, manually customize your workflows to specific operational needs or automate this process. 

Pros

• Lead and contact management: Can help organize detailed information and interaction histories.
• Analytics and reporting: Features advanced analytics and reporting tools, offering insights into sales trends, customer behavior, and performance metrics.
• Scalability: Zoho CRM is scalable, making it suitable for businesses of all sizes, from small startups to large enterprises.
• Automation: Automates various processes and tasks such as email marketing and sales forecasting.

Cons

• Limited advanced features in basic plans: Some of the more advanced features may require upgrading to higher-tier plans, which could increase costs.
• Complexity with customization: While customization is a strength, it can also lead to complexity, especially for agencies without dedicated IT support.
• Prices and plans: Subscription plans are rather confusing. They’re split into products and plans, or bundles and can add up pretty quickly depending on the functions you’re after. 

Nutshell 

Nutshell is a sales-focused CRM that has a Microsoft 365 integration. 

Key features

• Web form collection, if you use web forms a lot, you can use Nutshell to instantly add the data it collects to your CRM to create new contacts and leads. Its fully customizable so you can decide what data you want it to collect.
• Sales automation, you can define how leads are auto-assigned to your sales reps and provide your team with reminders at each stage of the sale, and reduce your non-selling activities. 
• Lead attribution, Nutshell Analytics helps to channel and source data and automatically adds new leads so you can track its source. There is also an attribution reporting capability but that is only available from the Pro subscription.

Pros

• Reporting and forecasting: You can easily view and track sales performance across your team monthly, or look into product, rep and lead source.
• Microsoft 365 integration: Create contacts and tasks, view scheduled activities, write notes and track communication timelines with Nutshell’s Office 365 integration. It also allows you to sync your Office 365 email and calendar.  

Cons

• Sales-focus: Unless you want a CRM specifically for your sales team, Nutshell is limited to that particular business function.
• Price plans: A lot of features are gated by Nutshell’s Pro price plan which starts from $42 per user per month. 

Conclusion

folk, Nimble, Zoho and Nutshell all prove that each has clear advantages for Office 365 users. Some are more targeted towards particular business functions than others. With its capabilities across multiple business functions, folk stands out as a top choice. You can use it to nurture relationships across your sales, marketing, recruiting, partnerships and investment efforts. Either as a solo user or collaboratively with your team to build one source of truth. Try folk today, free.