Act! CRM - Detailed Review
Sales Tools
Act! CRM - Product Overview
Introduction to Act CRM
Act CRM is a comprehensive customer relationship management (CRM) solution that combines CRM capabilities with marketing automation to streamline business operations and enhance customer interactions. Here’s a brief overview of its primary function, target audience, and key features.
Primary Function
Act CRM is designed to help businesses manage all interactions with their existing and potential customers. It centralizes customer data, tracks activities, and provides tools for sales, marketing, and customer service management. The primary goal is to deliver personalized customer experiences, increase customer loyalty and retention, and drive business growth and profitability.
Target Audience
Act CRM is ideal for small and midsize businesses. It is particularly suited for entrepreneurs and businesses looking to streamline their customer management, automate marketing, and improve sales efficiency.
Key Features
Customer Data Management
Act CRM serves as a centralized hub for managing customer data, including interaction history, product preferences, birthdays, and contract information. This allows teams to engage in personalized and meaningful conversations with customers.
Sales Pipeline Management
The platform offers comprehensive opportunity management, pipeline reports, and analytics dashboards. It enables users to track sales opportunities at every stage, segment deals by region, sales stage, or product, and forecast future sales performance accurately.
Marketing Automation
Act CRM includes powerful marketing automation tools for creating targeted campaigns. It features customizable email templates, automated workflows, and landing pages to capture leads and drive engagement. Real-time metrics help in optimizing marketing strategies.
Personalization and Segmentation
The CRM allows businesses to segment their target audience based on purchase history, location, online activity, and more. This enables personalized communication and content delivery to different buyer personas, improving customer experience and loyalty.
Mobile and Offline Access
The platform offers mobile apps, allowing users to add, edit, and manage opportunities in the field. This ensures teams stay connected whether in the office or on the go.
Activity Management and Notifications
Act CRM helps users track daily tasks, schedule appointments, and maintain a complete communication history. It integrates with calendars and email platforms, ensuring no task goes unnoticed through notifications and alerts.
Analytics and Reporting
The CRM provides analytics and reporting tools to generate detailed reports on sales performance, customer engagement, and campaign effectiveness. These insights help businesses make data-driven decisions and fine-tune their strategies.
By combining these features, Act CRM helps businesses manage customer relationships effectively, streamline operations, and drive sales efficiency.
Act! CRM - User Interface and Experience
User Interface Overview
The user interface of Act CRM is a critical aspect of its overall user experience, and it has several key characteristics that are worth noting.Interface Design
The user interface of Act CRM is often described as somewhat outdated, resembling older software designs, such as those from Windows XP. The layout can appear cluttered, with a gray and antiquated appearance that may not appeal to users accustomed to more modern, minimalist designs.Navigation and Layout
The interface includes a left sidebar that lists all the CRM features, providing quick navigation. The top menu offers essential functions like “Edit,” “Lookup,” “Schedule,” and “Write,” which can be useful but also contributes to a crowded feel. The dashboard is populated with various widgets that display crucial information, such as daily tasks, open opportunities, and the sales pipeline. However, this information-dense layout can be overwhelming, especially for new users.Ease of Use
Act CRM has a notable learning curve. New users may require about 30-60 minutes to adapt to the interface, which can be overwhelming due to the sheer amount of features and functionalities. Despite this initial hurdle, the interface proves functional and comprehensive once users become familiar with it. The Calendar and Tasks features, for example, are relatively straightforward and user-friendly, making it easier to manage daily tasks and schedule appointments.Desktop vs. Cloud Version
Act CRM is available in both desktop and cloud-based versions, each with slightly different layouts and functionalities. The cloud version allows for remote accessibility and synchronization of data across devices, which is a significant advantage for businesses with remote workers. However, users may need to adjust to the different navigation options and icon placements between the desktop and cloud versions.Mobile Accessibility
The Act Companion mobile app, included with the subscription, allows users to access their CRM data from smartphones and tablets. This enhances the flexibility and usability of the platform, ensuring that users can manage their CRM data on various devices.User Experience
While the interface may feel dated and cluttered, Act CRM’s commitment to user onboarding and support is evident. Features like the ‘Welcome Links’ for uploading, importing, and learning about the CRM help new users get started. Once past the initial learning curve, the interface becomes more manageable, and the comprehensive features of the CRM can be fully utilized. However, the overall user experience may not be as engaging or enjoyable as more modern CRM systems.Conclusion
In summary, Act CRM’s user interface, while functional, can be challenging for new users due to its outdated design and cluttered layout. However, with time and adaptation, the platform proves to be a valuable tool for managing customer relationships, sales pipelines, and marketing automation. Act! CRM - Key Features and Functionality
Act CRM Overview
Act CRM, a comprehensive customer relationship management (CRM) and marketing automation solution, incorporates several key features and functionalities, especially with its integration of AI in recent updates.
Customer Relationship Management
Act CRM centralizes customer data, allowing you to store interaction histories, specific customer details such as product preferences, birthdays, and contract information. This centralized hub enables personalized communication and strengthens customer relationships.
Sales Force Automation
The platform offers powerful sales force automation, including contact and account management, sales process automation, and sales pipeline management. It allows teams to track opportunities at every stage, segment deals by region, sales stage, or product, and accurately forecast future sales performance. This helps in prioritizing high-value deals and advancing them efficiently.
AI-Driven Email Marketing and Content Creation
With the latest update to Act Premium v26, the software integrates with OpenAI to enhance email marketing and content creation. This integration enables users to quickly generate more compelling email marketing and landing page content, leveraging generative AI to inform these campaigns. This feature simplifies the process of creating engaging marketing materials, making it easier for small and midsize businesses to develop effective marketing strategies.
Marketing Automation
Act CRM includes robust marketing automation tools that allow businesses to create highly targeted campaigns. Features include customizable email templates, automated workflows, and landing pages that capture leads and drive engagement. Real-time metrics enable users to track performance instantly and optimize marketing strategies effectively.
Activity Management and Calendar Integration
The platform offers activity management tools that help users track daily tasks, schedule appointments, and maintain a complete communication history. It integrates seamlessly with calendars and email platforms like Microsoft Outlook and Google Workspace, ensuring that no task goes unnoticed. Notifications and alerts keep the team on track, ensuring deadlines and key opportunities are never missed.
Reporting and Dashboards
Act CRM provides a wide range of sales reports, KPIs, and dashboards that indicate whether sales processes are operating effectively. The platform offers detailed insights into the opportunity pipeline, showing potential sales expected in future time periods. These analytics and reporting tools empower businesses to make data-driven decisions and fine-tune strategies based on real-time metrics.
Integration with Other Applications
Act CRM offers pre-built integrations with popular platforms such as Microsoft Outlook, Office 365, Google Workspace, Zapier, and QuickBooks. These integrations eliminate the need for manual data entry and ensure that all team and customer communications are managed in one place. For example, the integration with QuickBooks allows for easy invoicing and tracking of payment statuses.
AI-Enhanced Productivity
While Act CRM does not fully integrate AI agents for autonomous tasks like some other CRMs, the recent integration with OpenAI in Act Premium v26 streamlines certain tasks such as email marketing content creation. This AI-driven feature helps in making marketing campaigns more compelling and efficient, which can indirectly enhance overall team productivity by automating content generation.
Conclusion
In summary, Act CRM’s key features, especially those enhanced by AI, focus on streamlining sales processes, improving marketing automation, and providing comprehensive reporting and integration capabilities. These features help businesses manage customer relationships more effectively, enhance sales efficiency, and make data-driven decisions.
Act! CRM - Performance and Accuracy
Performance
Act CRM is generally effective for managing sales efforts, particularly for small to medium-sized businesses. Here are some of its performance highlights:Sales Pipeline Management
Act CRM offers dynamic sales pipeline management tools, allowing users to track and manage leads and deals efficiently. This feature is highly customizable and helps in closing deals faster.Contact Management
The software excels in managing detailed contact information and interactions, which is crucial for maintaining strong customer relationships.Marketing Automation
Act CRM integrates marketing automation capabilities, streamlining campaigns and lead management. This helps in automating key processes, freeing up time for sales reps to focus on other tasks.Limitations and Areas for Improvement
Despite its strengths, Act CRM faces several challenges:User Interface
Many users find the interface outdated compared to newer CRM systems like HubSpot or Salesforce. This can make it less user-friendly and more cumbersome to use.Mobile Functionality
Act CRM has limited capabilities on smartphones and tablets, making it difficult for users to manage their CRMs on the go. This is a significant drawback in an era where mobile accessibility is crucial.Customer Support
Users often complain about long wait times and unhelpful customer support agents. This lack of responsive and knowledgeable support can be frustrating and hinder the user experience.Scalability
While Act CRM is suitable for small to medium-sized businesses, it may not fully meet the needs of larger enterprises due to scalability limitations.Learning Curve
New users may face an initial learning curve due to the extensive features and functionalities of the software. This can take away from time that could be spent on sales activities.Integration and Cloud Focus
Act CRM has been slow to embrace the cloud and lacks meaningful integrations with other tools such as email marketing, project management, or analytics. This can limit its versatility and remote accessibility.Accuracy and Reliability
In terms of accuracy and reliability:Data Management
Act CRM is reliable in recording customer interactions and managing detailed contact information. It ensures that crucial information is available at all times, which is essential for maintaining accurate sales records and providing excellent customer service.Reporting and Analytics
The software offers powerful sales reporting and analytics features, allowing users to monitor key sales metrics and make informed decisions based on accurate sales projections. However, issues such as performance lags and bugs from product updates can impact the overall reliability of the system. Regular maintenance tasks, such as clearing old activities and using the “repair and index” function, are necessary to keep the software running smoothly. In summary, while Act CRM is a solid choice for managing sales efforts, especially for smaller businesses, it faces significant challenges related to its user interface, mobile functionality, customer support, scalability, and integration capabilities. Addressing these areas could significantly improve its performance and user satisfaction. Act! CRM - Pricing and Plans
Act CRM Pricing Plans
Act CRM offers a variety of pricing plans, each with distinct features and benefits, to cater to different business needs. Here’s a breakdown of the available plans:
Act CRM Starter Plan
- Cost: $12 per user per month (billed annually), $18 per user per month (billed monthly).
- Features: This plan is quite basic but includes unlimited contacts for email campaigns, reporting functionality, activity management features, and live chat support. However, it lacks website visitor tracking, auto-responses in email campaigns, revenue forecast reports, and phone support.
Act CRM Standard Plan
- Cost: $25 per user per month (billed annually), $35 per user per month (billed monthly).
- Features: This mid-tier plan is the most popular and offers full CRM functionality along with some marketing features. It includes advanced marketing drip campaigns, robust reporting and analytical tools, and website visitor tracking if you opt for the marketing add-on (an additional $199 per month). However, it does not include custom fields and custom dashboards.
Act CRM Expert Plan
- Cost: $50 per user per month (billed annually), $65 per user per month (billed monthly).
- Features: This plan adds a visual sales pipeline, custom fields for contact management, custom dashboards for reporting, A/B testing for email campaigns, and progressive profiling. While it offers the most features, it still has limited lead features and social media integration is restricted to Facebook and LinkedIn.
Act CRM Premium Plan (On-Premises)
- Cost: $37.50 per user per month (billed annually).
- Features: This on-premises plan requires maintenance and upkeep by your IT department. It offers virtually everything in the Expert plan but lacks custom dashboards for reporting and analytics. This plan is suitable if you prefer an on-premises solution and have the technical capabilities to manage it.
Additional Options and Add-ons
- Marketing Automation: Additional plans such as AMA Select, AMA Complete, and AMA Advanced are available for email sends, costing $70, $199, and $399 per account per month, respectively.
- Add-ons: You can get additional cloud storage for $5 per month or enhanced support and custom tables for $10 per user per month.
Free Trial
- Act CRM does not offer a free plan, but it does provide a 14-day free trial for the cloud version and a 30-day free trial for the self-hosted version. This allows you to test the platform before committing to a purchase.
Act! CRM - Integration and Compatibility
Integration with Email Clients
Act CRM offers advanced integration features with popular email clients. For instance, it integrates well with Microsoft Outlook and Office 365, allowing for automatic synchronization of contacts, calendars, and activities. This integration enables users to capture emails with a single click, automatically record Outlook emails in Act!, and synchronize their calendar to ensure they never miss an appointment.
Compatibility with Mac and Mobile Devices
Act CRM is compatible with Mac devices, as it can be run via Google Chrome on a Mac. Additionally, the Act Companion mobile app is compatible with Apple’s mobile devices, including iPhones and iPads, providing mobility and access to CRM features on the go.
Third-Party Application Integrations
Act CRM supports integration with hundreds of third-party applications, such as Google Contacts, Zendesk, and FreshBooks. This flexibility allows users to manage various aspects of their business from a single platform, enhancing productivity and reducing the need for manual data entry.
Browser Compatibility
Act CRM is supported on multiple browsers, including Google Chrome for both Windows and Mac, and Microsoft Edge version 79 and above. This ensures that users can access the CRM system from their preferred browser without any compatibility issues.
Calendar and Activity Management
The integration extends to calendar and activity management, allowing users to view, create, and edit activities in both Outlook and Act CRM. This synchronization works in the background, so Act does not need to be active for the integration features to function.
Data Synchronization
Act CRM ensures data integrity by automatically syncing contacts between Outlook and the CRM system, eliminating the need for manual data entry and reducing the risk of duplicate or missing contacts. Users can configure sync rules according to their needs, ensuring that all communication history with customers is kept in one centralized place.
Conclusion
In summary, Act CRM is highly versatile and integrates well with various tools and platforms, making it a comprehensive solution for managing customer relationships, email communications, and business activities across different devices and environments.
Act! CRM - Customer Support and Resources
Comprehensive Customer Support Options
When using Act CRM, you have several comprehensive customer support options and additional resources at your disposal to ensure you get the most out of the software.
Technical Support Plans
Act offers flexible technical support plans that include various channels for assistance. You can access support through phone, chat, or an online ticketing system. These plans also provide an enhanced digital self-service experience, making it easier to find solutions to common issues on your own.
Support Hours
Technical support is available Monday through Friday from 8:30 AM to 8:00 PM ET, and on Saturdays from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM ET for users with Premier and Ultimate plans. This ensures you have help when you need it, even on weekends.
Multichannel Support
Act provides support across multiple channels, including voice, email, chat, and SMS. This flexibility allows you to choose the method that best suits your needs and preferences.
AI-Powered Support
While the specific AI-powered support mentioned is more related to ACT’s broader technical support services, Act CRM does benefit from advanced support mechanisms. However, the AI-powered CoPilot technology and other AI-driven tools are more prominently featured in ACT’s general technical support services rather than specifically within Act CRM.
Training Resources
Act CRM offers a wealth of training resources to help you maximize your use of the software. There are over 550 free instructional videos available on YouTube, created by Act Certified Consultant Tony Holowitz. These videos cover a wide range of topics, from basic usage to advanced features, and are based on real questions from users.
Official Training Libraries
In addition to Holowitz’s videos, Act CRM has its own comprehensive training libraries for Act Premium, Act Premium Cloud, and Act Marketing Automation. These libraries provide detailed guides and tutorials to help you customize and use the software effectively.
Customization and Integration Guides
You can learn how to customize your Act CRM database to meet your specific business needs, including creating custom fields, amending layouts, and integrating the software with other applications like Microsoft Outlook or Gmail. This ensures that you can tailor the software to fit your business requirements.
Community and Additional Support
Act also encourages community support, with resources and guides developed in response to user questions and needs. This community-driven approach helps ensure that you have access to practical solutions and collective knowledge from other users and experts.
Conclusion
By leveraging these support options and resources, you can ensure that you are using Act CRM efficiently and effectively to meet your business needs.
Act! CRM - Pros and Cons
Advantages of Act CRM
Act CRM offers several key advantages that make it a strong choice for small to midsize businesses, particularly in sales and marketing automation.Centralized Customer Data
Act CRM provides a centralized hub for managing customer data, including interaction history, product preferences, birthdays, and contract information. This comprehensive overview helps teams engage in personalized and meaningful conversations with customers, fostering long-term relationships.Sales Pipeline Management
The platform is highly effective in sales pipeline management, offering a visual interface to track opportunities at every stage. Users can segment deals by region, sales stage, or product, and access actionable insights to prioritize high-value deals and forecast sales performance accurately.Marketing Automation
Act CRM includes powerful marketing automation tools, allowing businesses to create highly targeted campaigns. Features include customizable email templates, automated workflows, landing pages, and real-time metrics to track performance and optimize marketing strategies.Mobile and Offline Access
The platform ensures teams can stay connected whether in the office or on the go, thanks to its mobile app and offline access capabilities. This keeps customer information up-to-date and accessible at all times.Activity Management
Act CRM helps users stay organized with its activity management tools, allowing them to track daily tasks, schedule appointments, and maintain a complete communication history. It integrates seamlessly with calendars and email platforms, ensuring no task goes unnoticed.Analytics and Reporting
The platform provides detailed analytics and reporting tools, enabling businesses to generate reports on sales performance, customer engagement, and campaign effectiveness. These insights help in making data-driven decisions and fine-tuning strategies based on real-time metrics.Easy Setup and User-Friendly Interface
Act CRM has a straightforward onboarding process and a modern, intuitive dashboard that is fully customizable. This makes it easy for new users to adapt and use the platform effectively.Flexible Pricing
Act CRM offers clear, transparent pricing with multiple plans, allowing businesses to scale their operations with complete control over costs and ROI. The plans include various features such as email marketing, nurture campaigns, and lead scoring.Disadvantages of Act CRM
While Act CRM has many advantages, there are also some limitations to consider.Limited Email Integrations
Act CRM has limited integrations with email platforms, which can be a drawback for businesses that rely heavily on multiple email services.Integration and Collaboration Limitations
The platform may lack the extensive integration and collaboration features that some other CRMs offer. For example, it may not integrate with as many apps as alternatives like Bitrix24, which can be a concern for businesses needing broader integration capabilities.Basic Sales and Marketing Automation Tools
While Act CRM’s sales and marketing automation tools are effective, they are generally considered basic compared to some other CRM solutions. This might make it less suitable for businesses requiring more advanced automation features.Alternative Considerations
For businesses concerned about the limitations in integrations and collaboration features, alternatives like Bitrix24, monday CRM, or HubSpot CRM might be worth considering due to their more extensive integration capabilities and advanced features. In summary, Act CRM is a versatile and user-friendly platform ideal for small to midsize businesses, offering strong features in customer relationship management, sales pipeline management, and marketing automation. However, it may have some limitations in terms of email integrations and broader integration capabilities. Act! CRM - Comparison with Competitors
Act CRM Unique Features
- Act CRM integrates advanced AI within its marketing automation tools, allowing users to create compelling marketing content, such as emails, landing pages, and webinar invites, using an AI Writing Assistant. This assistant also helps with spell checking, grammar correction, translation, and using active voice.
- It features a closed-loop connection between sales and marketing activities, enabling prioritized sales actions based on customer engagement with emails, lead forms, or surveys. Act scores leads and automatically creates and assigns follow-up actions.
- Act offers both on-premise and cloud deployment options, which is unique among top-tier CRM products. It also includes free e-marketing services and a robust Web API, making it versatile for various business needs.
Competitors and Alternatives
Salesforce Sales Cloud
- Salesforce is a major competitor with its Einstein AI Copilot, which guides sellers at every stage of the sales process. It auto-generates personalized sales emails, provides feedback on customer interactions, forecasts conversion rates, and suggests actions to move deals forward. Salesforce also offers predictive forecasting and sales activity suggestions.
- Unlike Act!, Salesforce is more focused on a cloud-based CRM with a wide range of AI-powered tools, but it does not offer on-premise deployment options.
Allego
- Allego supports buyer enablement with AI content creation, organization, and automation tools. It features generative AI search, content delivery recommendations, and seller training tools. Allego also provides analytics on content usage and buyer engagement.
- Allego is more specialized in content organization and buyer education, whereas Act has a broader focus on both marketing automation and CRM integration.
Showpad
- Showpad offers a collaborative environment for storing, organizing, and accessing content and sales tools. It includes AI search, AI-generated analytics, and AI-assisted coaching. Showpad helps in efficient training and powerful content organization.
- Showpad is stronger in content management and sales team training, but it lacks the comprehensive marketing automation features found in Act!.
HubSpot Sales Hub
- HubSpot Sales Hub provides AI-powered sales engagement tools, including follow-up messages, sales analytics, deal management, and forecasting. It integrates with over a thousand other platforms for a holistic view of buyers.
- HubSpot is known for its extensive integrations and user-friendly interface, but it may not offer the same level of AI-driven content creation as Act!.
Clari and Gong.io
- Clari and Gong.io focus more on revenue intelligence and conversation analysis. Clari uses AI to analyze conversations and deal activities, providing revenue forecasts and automated workflows. Gong.io combines customer interaction data with AI analysis to generate automated takeaways and suggest action items.
- These tools are more specialized in revenue forecasting and conversation intelligence, whereas Act provides a more balanced approach to both sales and marketing automation.
Conclusion
Act CRM stands out with its integrated marketing automation and CRM capabilities, enhanced by AI tools for content creation and lead scoring. While competitors like Salesforce, Allego, Showpad, HubSpot, Clari, and Gong.io offer strong AI-driven features, each has its own strengths and focus areas. Act is particularly appealing for businesses needing a balanced approach to both sales and marketing automation, along with the flexibility of on-premise and cloud deployment options.
Act! CRM - Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some frequently asked questions about Act CRM, along with detailed responses to each:
How much does Act CRM cost?
Act CRM offers several pricing plans. The Starter plan costs $12 per user per month when billed annually, or $18 per user per month when billed monthly. The Standard plan is $25 per user per month (annually) or $35 per user per month (monthly). The Expert plan is $50 per user per month (annually) or $65 per user per month (monthly). There is also a Self-hosted Premium plan at $37.50 per user per month, billed annually.Does Act CRM have a free plan?
No, Act CRM does not offer a free plan. However, it does provide a 14-day free trial of the Expert tier, which includes all the features of the Expert plan. This trial allows you to test the platform before committing to a subscription.How do I get started with Act CRM?
To get started, you can use the Quick Start Guide provided by Act!. During the trial, you can select “Get Started with Act!” and follow the prompts to import your contacts via a CSV file or use demo data. The dashboard is modern and intuitive, making it easy to set up and begin using the platform.Can I increase the number of users in the trial?
Yes, you can add more users during the trial period. To do this, go to the Organization section, click on Manage Users, and then click Add Users.What features are included in the Act CRM trial?
The 14-day free trial is based on the Expert tier, which includes all the features outlined in the Expert plan. This includes advanced marketing drip campaigns, website visitor tracking, custom fields for contact management, custom dashboards, and more.How secure is my data in Act CRM?
Act CRM takes security and privacy seriously. They conduct regular SOC2 audits and have strict security and privacy policies in place. You can find more detailed information on their security and privacy web pages.Can I generate and export reports in Act CRM?
Yes, Act CRM allows you to generate and export reports. The platform has customizable dashboards that provide an overview of your company, along with search and filter capabilities that can be exported as reports.How do I import my list of contacts into Act CRM?
To import your contacts, go to the trial banner at the top of your screen, select “Get Started with Act,” and then choose “Import a CSV.” You can upload your contact list from a CSV file or use demo data if you prefer.What kind of support does Act CRM offer?
Act CRM provides various support options. You can access support resources by selecting the Question Mark icon in the top right corner of the platform or by submitting a support ticket using their web form. Live chat and phone support are also available, depending on the plan you choose.Can I add additional users after starting a subscription?
Yes, after starting a subscription, admins can add additional users within Act CRM. To do this, go to the Organization section, click on Manage Users, and then click Add Users.What are some key features of Act CRM?
Act CRM includes several key features such as a template editor and workflow designer, landing pages and forms, prioritized task lists, and sales pipeline management. These features help in managing sales activities, creating marketing content, and capturing new leads effectively.