The world has seen rapid growth in the CRM software industry in the last decade. No matter how difficult it is to imagine, there are CRM applications also for the construction industry. These tools are packed with powerful features to make the work easy for construction companies. This article will focus on some best construction CRMs and how you can choose a good one for your organization.
What Is a CRM Tool?
CRM is the acronym for Customer Relationship Management. A CRM tool lets you cater to all the needs of your clients and potential customers in one place. Moreover, this application improves team efficiency and business profitability. Speaking of construction CRM, it is a tool to nurture relationships between construction companies and their customers. Since the present scenario has become highly competitive for construction companies, roping in new customers is difficult. Nevertheless, these applications allow you to win new contracts and complete them on time while staying profitable.
How Does a Construction CRM Tool Work?
The functionality of construction CRM software depends on its features. The most common attribute of all such tools is it centralizes all available data on the customers. As you can see the details of their requirement and customer journey, personalizing the sales experience for prospective clients becomes effortless. As all the necessary data is available in one place, all teams can work efficiently by understanding the needs of their clients. From marketing to analytics, a construction CRM offers data to all of them. It also provides necessary support to the companies so they can retail clients by streamlining all the areas of client engagement. Additionally, construction CRM is the digital infrastructure for document storage, customer interaction, and project optimization. Besides optimizing the workflow, these applications offer analytics data and insights into customer behavior to make well-informed decisions.
Must-Have Features of a Construction CRM Software
Not every construction CRM is capable of meeting your company’s needs. Therefore, choosing the right one is key to success. Here are some features every company must prioritize while picking an application.
Pipeline Management
If your construction CRM offers visibility to the sales funnel and pipeline, you can easily track leads in the sales cycle. The visual overview is also crucial to find the most potential construction projects where you can focus. It also helps to optimize the sales activities by enabling troubleshooting.
Activity Management
If you own a construction company, the CRM you choose should be able to track the sales activities of each deal. Managing tasks like email replies and phone call attendance should be possible from the CRM, so you can increase your chance of signing new clients.
Contact Management
The prime objective of a CRM solution is to manage the contacts. So, the software you choose should have an easy-to-navigate database to show you all data, including contact details, company information, and activities. Tools that fetch data from other social platforms will be an added advantage.
Usability
This is another key point you need to keep in mind. The tool should be easy to use, so you can train your team to use it in no time. Also, selecting an application with smooth navigation and formatting will help manage the sales pipeline.
Data Analytics
Data is the most important element for any business. In the construction business, data adds more value as it can empower business development through informed decision-making. You will not need additional data analytics software if your CRM already has it.
Communication Capabilities
A construction project mainly involves on-site work, while a team will always be in the office. Hence, the communication between all members of this hybrid team should be smooth and instant. Instead of depending on a different communication tool, integrating this feature into the CRM will make everyone’s life easier.
Forecasting
A good CRM should be able to analyze the available data to forecast what you can expect from a deal and the efforts it will take. This feature will help the sales and business management team. Now is the time to check the list of best construction CRM tools.
Procore
Procore is one of the best construction CRM software with a range of features, especially for construction companies. On it, companies can manage multiple projects at a time. Moreover, you can access this cloud-based platform from anywhere on the go. This CRM is not only flexible and easy to use; it offers you features such as granting permission to different teams and external stakeholders to access data. No matter the size of your company, you can opt for this tool without any worries. With real-time data generated on this application, you can make challenging decisions and be prepared for the risks. It also offers insights into your project finance for cost management.
Salesmate
Salesmate is another construction CRM tool packed with useful features. It not only helps you win more new projects but also allows you to secure a long-term relationship with your existing clients. This CRM centrally stores the contacts, including partners, customers, stakeholders, vendors, suppliers, and subcontractors. With its 360-degree view of the customer, you can ensure better customer satisfaction. It also lets you track all the on-site activities of your team. Thanks to its integration feature that supports other business tools, this application is an excellent choice for construction companies that use various business apps. Its highlighted features include a meeting scheduler, sale forecasting, and customer journey automation.
Buildertrend
When it comes to construction management software, Buildertrend is one of the top names. By connecting all the teams involved, this CRM improves project efficiency and contributes to increasing your business profits. You can use it for pre-sales processes, financial estimation, project management, and customer management. This tool alone can perform financial tasks such as budgeting, creating purchase orders, generating invoices, bidding for projects, and making online payments. Furthermore, you can integrate Buildertrend with QuickBooks, Dropbox, Facebook, Outlook, iCal, Google Calendar, Pinterest, MS Excel, Cadsoft, Xero, Twitter, etc.
JobNimbus
General contractors and people involved in side trades like door and window installation can use JobNimbus. This specialized CRM has features to cater to different aspects of a contracting business, such as lead management, proposal submission, and invoicing. Besides, you can use this tool to calculate labor and material expenses, collaborate with clients, and organize project tasks and subtasks. Its photo archive can store the images in the CRM that you can use in proposals or other stages. This cloud-based platform makes payment collection quicker while managing the sales leads effectively. JobNimbus also performs professional estimates for bidding and insurance.
JOBPROGRESS
JOBPROGRESS is a CRM you can use at every stage of your construction: from managing sales and finances to tracking customer projects. Using this tool, companies can send proposals and estimates while receiving e-signatures and customer payments. Its robust mobile app is ideal for contractors who want to access this tool from their tablets or smartphones. You can integrate it with Google maps to find the site and track workers at your project location. JOB PROGRESS is also helpful in estimating project costs for insurance underwriting. This one business application is enough for all tasks involved in your project — landscaping, roofing, flooring, HVAC, plumbing, and many more.
Followup CRM
Your construction team does not have to be tech-savvy to use a CRM. You can always go for Followup CRM as this tool was developed keeping non-tech people in mind. People of any age group can run this tool with complete efficiency. Contrary to the generic CRMs that need you to enter data manually into various sections, this tool eliminates all the repetitive and time-consuming tasks. By staying focused on success and letting you measure vital activities, the platform contributes to the productivity of your entire team. Followup CRM automatically captures leads from your Outlook email and shows the sales process with colorful visualization. Besides automating the follow-ups, it supports integration with Outlook, Gmail, Zapier, Stack, CompanyCam, and other applications.
AccuLynx
Are you into the roofing business and looking for a comprehensive CRM for your organization? If yes, go for AccuLynx. This roofing CRM allows you to manage every aspect of your roofing business and take it to the next level by streamlining the process. The tool lets you track the sales process at every step — from initial lead to contract signing. Whether it is project management, labor, material ordering, or mortgage tracking, AccuLynx helps you always stay on schedule. Its features like sales performance reporting, a commission module, expense tracking, and QuickBooks integration also come in handy.
Conclusion
A robust and feature-rich construction CRM solution helps companies manage their projects even under challenging circumstances. It is also helpful for construction companies to maintain a strong relationship with vendors and clients while still making profits. Hence, always assess your requirements and pinpoint your needs so you can choose the most suitable construction CRM for your organization. This guide will help you find the right CRM software for your business growth. You may also want to know about building information modeling software as a construction company.
