What CRM software do you use for your photography business?

[picturesbyme]

Hi,
As the subject says it I was curious what CRM software do you use for your photography business?
I looked at many and found a variety of opinions/reviews on them..
Suspecting that some of those reviews aren't based on actual use, I was hoping that this forum will have more usable info.
I'd like to find one that includes email integration, and if possible inexpensive.
Thanks in advance!
All the best, A.

 

[zim]

CRM and Inexpensive, not two words you tend to see in the same sentence ;D

I maintain/use MS CRM, wouldn’t recommend that from a cost point, very good otherwise.

The first thing I’d do is check if your accounts package has a CRM module that may be the cheapest and most sound option.

Not used it myself but I’ve been told that Google Space is a bag of spanners but then again it may have been getting used in an environment too complex for it.

 

[jsbraby]

I've used a few different CRMs. Salesforce is nice, but expensive. I've got nothing nice to say about ACT!

Currently, I'd suggest taking a good look at HighRise (http://highrisehq.com/). Relatively inexpensive, web based, and I've not seen it go down during business hours (unlike Salesforce). Email integration is done by CC and BCC. Generally a nice package.

 

[picturesbyme]

True, some has extreme pricing...

Looked at Zoho which has good rates but also limitations. On the other hand it might be enough to start with...
https://www.zoho.com/crm/comparison.html

MS Dynamics CRM 4.0 looks interesting too....

Anyone used CRM apps from the Google store?
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/search/CRM?hl=en-US&utm_source=chrome-ntp-launcher

 

[RGomezPhotos]

CapsuleCRM.com

Very decent and somewhat customizable. Free too for a certain number of contacts.

 

[picturesbyme]

CapsuleCRM.com

Very decent and somewhat customizable. Free too for a certain number of contacts.

Thanks Ricardo, I'll try that. I'm checking mailchimp at the moment so it might be the right combination.

On a separate note, I checked your website. Impressive. Especially like your BW and vintage work.

 

[PeterJ]

Not really a CRM but if your requirements and fairly simple Microsoft Outlook can categorise clients, track events and birthdays, keep a journal etc. You can use the contacts in various ways for Word mail merges as well. Most smartphones also integrate well with it so you can view your notes about each contact when on the road.

 

[Halfrack]

This is actually a great issue to bring up. Keeping track of who and such can always lead to more business - and remind you later on. Check out 37Signals - their Highrise CRM may be the what you're looking for.

 

[KKCFamilyman]

I have used, act, gold mine, sales force, dynamics online. As a Microsoft dynamics reseller it honestly is too much for your needs I am sure and cost prohibitive. I would suggest sales force They have contact manager with mobile access for $5 month or a little more in depth Group edition if you want to integrate incoming web leads or have better reporting. Either way do the 14 day trial and put a few test clients in there and see how you like it. When it's time talk to a sales rep and negotiate. I used to pay $199 yr for it and thats reasonable. Feel free to pm me if you need anymore help

 

[picturesbyme]

Thank you KKCF. I'll check out Sales Force too.

I think the best would be to keep all the data locally...
I just don't really like to upload 1000s of people's info.

A friend of mine is keep saying that MS Dynamics CRM is the way.
What are the experiences on that one?

Anyone knows good CRM review sites that can be trusted?

 

[KKCFamilyman]

Thank you KKCF. I'll check out Sales Force too.

I think the best would be to keep all the data locally...
I just don't really like to upload 1000s of people's info.

A friend of mine is keep saying that MS Dynamics CRM is the way.
What are the experiences on that one?

Anyone knows good CRM review sites that can be trusted?

Dynamics CRM is great if you had a local server to host it. For your needs you would be looking to the cloud version. Like salesforce if you can get your contacts in a .csv (Excel) file then you can import most of the data. Another option is if you have office professional and up with Access. There are light crm database templates you could start with to see where your needs are and that would be local. Also you could import that data to most larger crm's listed previous. Either way for the cost and features I would try Salesforce. It integrates well with outlook.

 

[SmallBizCRM]

Hi A,

The choice of CRM's can be a bit overwhelming. Without knowing too much about your requirements, the one's I'd suggest you consider are: (as already mentioned) Capsule; OnePageCRM and Relenta. These are all cloud based. If you want to run your CRM locally, have a look at Maximizer.

You can read a good review of Capsule here: www.smallbizcrm.com/capsule-crm-review-2.html

Hope that helps.
Perry

 

[picturesbyme]

Thank you for the help guys!

Yes, I have office pro and all my contacts from my prev. encounters are in .csv.

I read that capsule review but the 2nd part about the downfalls are a little discouraging:
"Security: This is by far the biggest downfall of Capsule and will likely be the reason some businesses decide against adoption of this software...."

Basically I'd like to start up my photog business. (In the past I sold photos on stock, and locally in galleries, I shot portraits but all that was more for fun and a hobby than work.) This year I incorporated. Got the new cards, rack cards, brochures. Now I have to redo my website and remove a lot of photos that I left there for sentimental or other reasons, what's not going to fly anymore, then need to feed the CRM with all the info/contacts and start working .

I'd like to do it right from the start vs. starting with something that later I have to redo... This is why I was asking for real world experiences here since the source of the online reviews could be a bit blurry..

 

[KKCFamilyman]

I would start with the sales force group edition for $18 mo it's pretty good and integrates with outlook plus you can tie incoming requests from your website so they load all the data automatically with your sales force keeping you shooting not typing.

 

[Engagedots CRM]

I would like to say that, CRM software provide the best solution for any business sector irrespective of its size, type and range of the business. The same way CRM can be used in photography too, they can keep record of all the client details with the contact details, they can set reminder for delivery of photos/videos on particular date, etc. Thus by these ways CRM software can be used.

 

[chrisgarbacz]

Hi A,
How did you go? Did you find a software you like yet?
After trying Tave, StudioCloud and ShootQ I wasn't happy with any of them. They were all too complicated, too messy, too many features that I would never use, or simply too ugly.
So I've decided to develop a new CRM specifically for photographers called ‘Studio Ninja’. It's a super simple yet powerful cloud based software that will do everything you need without all the fluff. Best of all it will be the best looking and most user friendly software on the market!
We will be launching to a new batch of subscribers on our waiting list in Nov/Dec, so if you're interested check out – http://www.studioninjacrm.com
Cheers, Chris

 

[Aquarius]

i'm a new photgrapher and i recently just began to expand my business by working more events such as weddings and parties and i was wondering if any of you fellow photographers know of any software where i can keep all my client information, calendar and even be able to do invoicing all-in-one? so far i've found PayPanther and salesforce, do you guys know of these or have other suggestions?

 

[nikhiljoseph]

I started using Apptivo for my projects during my collage days when i become a profession to manage all my appointments and task started using the same. It's good for workflow.

 

[Phil Indeblanc]

Well to bring this to light....

Did the Ninja software ever make a deskop version.
I too don't like cloud based data mining software, and certainly not of other peoples info.

I remember GoldMine being pretty nice. But its been a long time since.

 

[Fedorrrr]

Hello everyone!
You can use any of CRM systems? it really doesn't even meter, personally I use Bitrix 24 - it is nice.
Here is a list of the best CRM systems: https://www.cleveroad.com/blog/crm-software-for-real-estate--learn-top-5-hints-to-choose-the-best-one