Insightly is a popular CRM and project management software designed for small and mid-sized businesses. It offers a variety of tools that combine both customer relationship management (CRM) and project management in one platform. Insightly is known for its ability to help teams manage contacts, sales pipelines, and projects while offering robust automation features to improve team efficiency.
Here’s a detailed review of Insightly CRM, including its pros, cons, pricing, and suitability for businesses.
Pros of Insightly CRM:
- Comprehensive CRM and Project Management Integration:
- Insightly sets itself apart from other CRMs by offering a combination of CRM and project management features. It enables businesses to manage both customer relationships and project workflows in one system, making it ideal for businesses that need to track projects alongside sales pipelines.
- You can easily switch between customer relationship data and project timelines, tasks, and milestones, which is especially useful for companies that offer project-based services or need to track the post-sale process.
- Customizable Dashboards and Reports:
- Insightly allows users to customize dashboards and create reports tailored to specific business needs. You can track sales performance, project progress, and other key metrics with ease.
- The reporting tool includes real-time data, and users can filter and export reports in various formats, such as PDF or Excel, to gain insights into business performance.
- Sales Pipeline Management:
- Insightly provides a sales pipeline management feature that helps businesses track and manage leads, opportunities, and deals throughout the sales process. You can create custom stages, set up follow-up tasks, and assign team members to each deal.
- This feature is designed to help users visualize and manage their sales workflows, ensuring no opportunity slips through the cracks.
- Automation Features:
- Insightly includes various automation tools to help reduce manual work. For instance, you can automate tasks like email follow-ups, data entry, and task assignment. The workflow automation feature helps streamline repetitive processes, saving time for sales teams and project managers.
- It also offers email templates and the ability to set up automated email responses, which can enhance productivity and ensure consistency in communication.
- Customizable Features:
- Insightly allows for significant customization. Users can create custom fields to store unique customer or project data, set up custom task lists, and adjust workflow processes to fit their business model.
- This flexibility allows businesses to adapt the platform to their specific needs and use cases.
- Integration with Popular Tools:
- Insightly integrates with popular third-party tools and platforms, including Gmail, Outlook, Google Calendar, QuickBooks, Mailchimp, Slack, Zapier, and more. These integrations help businesses connect their CRM with other software they are already using, streamlining workflows and data sharing.
- Additionally, Insightly offers an API for users who want to integrate the CRM with other applications or build custom workflows.
- Mobile App:
- Insightly offers a mobile app for iOS and Android, which is perfect for sales and project teams that need to access CRM data and manage tasks on the go. The mobile app mirrors much of the functionality available on the desktop, allowing users to manage leads, opportunities, and projects from their mobile devices.
- Customer Support and Resources:
- Insightly offers excellent customer support via phone, email, and live chat. They also have a comprehensive knowledge base, including tutorials, FAQs, and step-by-step guides to help users make the most of the platform.
- Online training resources are available for users to get up to speed quickly with the CRM and project management tools.
Cons of Insightly CRM:
- Limited Customization in the Lower-Tier Plans:
- While Insightly offers a good degree of customization, certain features like advanced reporting or custom workflows are only available in higher-tier plans. The Basic Plan may not offer enough flexibility or features for businesses that need in-depth customization and reporting capabilities.
- Users on the lower-tier plans might find the platform somewhat limiting if they require more advanced tools or extensive flexibility in workflow automation.
- Steep Learning Curve for New Users:
- Although Insightly has an intuitive interface, some users have reported that it has a steep learning curve when it comes to setting up more advanced features, such as custom workflows or automated actions.
- New users might need to spend time learning how to fully utilize the platform’s advanced capabilities or require assistance from customer support.
- Limited Email Marketing Features:
- While Insightly offers basic email integration and email tracking, it lacks some of the more advanced email marketing features seen in dedicated marketing tools like Mailchimp or HubSpot. Businesses looking for deep segmentation, automated email campaigns, or more complex email marketing workflows may find Insightly’s features insufficient.
- Pricing Can Be Expensive for Small Businesses:
- Insightly’s pricing is relatively affordable at the entry-level, but the cost increases as you scale and need more advanced features. Team members may quickly find the cost to be prohibitive, especially for growing small businesses or startups.
- Users may need to upgrade to more expensive plans to unlock important features like advanced reporting, project management tools, and more users.
- Limited Customer Service Channels:
- While live chat, email support, and phone support are available, some users have noted that customer support response times can be slow at times. For small businesses or companies with time-sensitive issues, this may be an inconvenience.
Who Should Use Insightly CRM?
- Small to Mid-Sized Businesses (SMBs):
- Insightly is an excellent CRM for small and mid-sized businesses that need a simple, affordable solution to manage customer relationships and projects in one platform. Its ease of use, combined with robust sales and project management features, make it an attractive option for SMBs.
- Service-Based Businesses or Agencies:
- Businesses that work on project-based work, such as consulting firms, marketing agencies, and design agencies, will benefit from Insightly’s project management tools. The ability to track both customers and projects in one system makes it easier to manage workflows from initial contact to project completion.
- Sales Teams That Need Pipeline Management:
- Sales teams that need an intuitive, visual pipeline to track leads, opportunities, and deals will appreciate the CRM functionality in Insightly. It helps salespeople stay organized, set follow-up tasks, and monitor deal progression with ease.
- Companies Looking for an All-in-One CRM:
- Insightly’s integration of both CRM and project management tools makes it a good choice for businesses looking for an all-in-one solution. It saves time and effort by allowing businesses to keep track of everything—contacts, leads, sales, and projects—in one place.
Who Should Avoid Insightly CRM?
- Enterprises with Complex Needs:
- Large enterprises with more complex needs and workflows might find Insightly’s features too simplistic. It may lack the depth and flexibility required by large sales teams or organizations with extensive customization and reporting needs. They might be better off with more advanced CRMs like Salesforce or HubSpot.
- Businesses Needing Advanced Marketing Automation:
- If you are looking for advanced marketing automation, segmentation, and email marketing features, Insightly might not be sufficient on its own. While it integrates with third-party tools, it does not offer the depth of marketing features that tools like HubSpot or ActiveCampaign provide.
Pricing:
Insightly offers several pricing plans:
- Free Plan: Free for up to 2 users, with basic CRM features like contact management and task management.
- Plus Plan: Starts at $29/user/month, which includes project management, reporting, and basic integrations.
- Professional Plan: Starts at $49/user/month, offering advanced features like workflow automation, custom reports, and increased storage.
- Enterprise Plan: Starts at $99/user/month, offering full customization, advanced API access, and priority support.
Conclusion:
Insightly CRM is a strong and affordable option for small and mid-sized businesses that need an all-in-one CRM and project management solution. Its ability to track sales leads and manage projects from start to finish is a key selling point, particularly for service-based businesses or teams that rely on both CRM and project management tools.
While its customization and automation features are robust, its pricing may be too high for some smaller teams, and the CRM lacks some of the more advanced marketing features seen in other platforms. Nevertheless, for businesses looking for an easy-to-use and flexible CRM system that integrates with project management, Insightly offers great value and scalability.