Best CRM for Google Workspace

These days, businesses that use Google Workspace (which you might also know as G Suite) tend to look for CRM solutions that integrate seamlessly with their everyday tools to enhance productivity and streamline workflows. It goes without saying that the best CRM systems for Google Workspace are those that synchronize effortlessly with Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Drive, and other apps, allowing teams to manage customer relationships directly within the familiar Google environment. These CRMs help optimize communication, automate tasks, and provide valuable insights—all without leaving the Google ecosystem.
In this blog post, we'll explore the top CRM options for Google Workspace users, focusing on those that offer deep integration, ease of use, and powerful features to streamline your efforts.

Why you need a CRM

With multiple platforms to manage, a CRM is essential for streamlining your workflow and bringing everything into one source of truth. Here's why.

Challenges without a CRM

It's difficult to understand the benefits of a CRM, without looking at what happens without one. Here are a few ways busy teams miss out without implementing a suitable CRM that aligns with their unique workflow.

• Disorganization: Without a centralized system, information is scattered across emails, spreadsheets, and documents.
• Missed opportunities: Important follow-ups and sales opportunities can easily fall through the cracks.
• Inefficient processes: Manual data entry and task management consume valuable time.
• Lack of insight: Difficulty in tracking customer interactions and performance metrics.
• Inconsistent communication: Misalignment in team communication can lead to errors and misunderstandings.

Benefits of a CRM

Once you're able to look past the challenges, there are a few benefits you can look forward to that all lead to an overall improvement in your business efficiency.

• Centralized information: All customer data and interactions are stored in one place, making it easy to access and manage.
• Enhanced efficiency: Automates routine tasks, freeing up time for more strategic activities.
• Improved customer relationships: Provides a 360-degree view of customers, enabling personalized communication and service.
• Better decision-making: Offers detailed analytics and reporting to inform business strategies.
• Increased sales: Streamlines the sales process, leading to higher conversion rates.
• Consistent communication: Ensures all team members are on the same page, reducing errors and improving collaboration.

Key features you need in a CRM for Google Workspace

Naturally, with a ton of CRMs to comb through for your short list, you might feel a little overwhelmed as to what to look for in a CRM, below are a few key features that you should expect from a good CRM.

• Automated processes: Streamlines tasks by automating repetitive workflows.
• Contact enrichment: Automatically finds Leads, Customers email addresses and contact information, enhancing efficiency.
• Structured pipeline: Tracks Leads, Customers through defined stages, ensuring process clarity and effectiveness.
• Email sequences: Increases communication efficiency with follow-up templates and automated sequences.
• Social media integration Seamlessly imports Leads, Customers from LinkedIn and tracks conversations within the CRM.
• Google workspace integration: Across Gmail, Calendar, contacts, and more so you can access real-time information.
• Analytics: Provides essential data analysis and predictive insights for better planning.

How to evaluate and choose a CRM platform

With all those considerations checked off, below are some things you should think about once you're ready to evaluate your shortlist.

1. Define your requirements

When selecting the best CRM for Google Workspace, it's crucial to identify the key features that your business needs. Consider functionalities like seamless integration with Google Calendar, Gmail, and Google Drive. Look for features that support your sales, marketing, and customer service processes, such as contact management, email tracking, and automation capabilities. Understanding your specific requirements will help narrow down the options and ensure the CRM you choose aligns with your business objectives.

2. Budget considerations

Balancing cost and return on investment (ROI) is essential when choosing a CRM for Google Workspace. Evaluate the pricing plans of different CRM platforms and consider both upfront costs and long-term value. Opt for a solution that fits within your budget while offering comprehensive features that boost productivity and enhance customer relationships. Remember, the cheapest option isn’t always the best; focus on the overall value and potential ROI.

3. Selection Process

Researching and choosing the right CRM vendor involves several steps. Start by reading reviews and testimonials from other Google Workspace users. Look for vendors with a proven track record of reliable integration with Google Workspace. Request demos and trials to see how each CRM performs in real-world scenarios. Pay attention to customer support and training options, as these can significantly impact your user experience and adoption rates.

4. Evaluating effectively

To effectively evaluate and compare different CRM platforms for Google Workspace, take advantage of free trials and demo versions. Test the integration capabilities, user interface, and overall functionality. Involve key team members in the evaluation process to gather diverse perspectives. Create a comparison chart to weigh the pros and cons of each option. Ultimately, choose a CRM that not only meets your current needs but also scales with your business growth.

5. Get a demo

Before committing to a CRM, it's crucial to see how it works in action. A demo can help you understand its features, usability, and how well it integrates with Google Workspace. This hands-on experience can be invaluable in making an informed decision. For instance, you can get a demo of folk to see if it fits your needs.

3 tips for implementing a CRM

To make the process of implementing a CRM easier, make sure you check off the following.

1. Import your data in your new CRM

Transitioning to a new CRM requires migrating your existing data. Export your data as a CSV file from your current CRM. This will ensure a smooth transition and maintain data integrity.

2. Create your first pipeline

Set up your first pipeline with statuses that align with your business processes within Google Workspace. This could include stages like "Lead Captured," "Contacted," "Negotiation," and "Closed." Customizing your pipeline to reflect your workflow will streamline your operations and improve efficiency.

3. Onboard your team

Ensuring your team is comfortable using the new CRM is essential for success. Provide comprehensive training sessions and resources to help them understand the features and benefits. Encourage them to explore the CRM's integration with Google Workspace, such as syncing emails, calendars, and documents, to maximize productivity.

The 5 best CRMs for Google Workspace

1. folk

folk is a modern CRM platform for managing contacts, workflows, and relationships, offering customizable pipelines, AI-driven tools, and integrations to enhance deal management and prospecting. It integrates fully with Google Workspace and Outlook.

Key features

• Contact enrichment: Automatically enriches contact details by finding emails and LinkedIn URLs, enabling efficient outreach without manual data entry or additional costs for email services.
• LinkedIn integration: Seamlessly import contacts from LinkedIn, track conversations within folk, and use templates for quicker, streamlined communication.
• Email integration: Full email sync, templates, and tracking features, enabling users to manage all communications directly from the CRM.
• AI-powered features: AI tools assist in managing contacts and relationships, automating routine tasks, and suggesting actions to improve productivity.
• Google Workspace support: Sync your contacts, calendar and more with folk and bring everything into one place for real-time information and updates.

Pros

• Ease of use: folk is praised for its intuitive interface, making it accessible even to non-technical users with quick onboarding and a minimal learning curve.
• All-in-one: folk streamlines your workflow by allowing you to import contacts from LinkedIn, automatically find their emails, reach out through customizable email sequences, and track interactions in a pipeline, eliminating the need for multiple tools and saving time and money.
• LinkedIn integration: Seamlessly import contacts from LinkedIn, track conversations within folk, and use templates for quicker, streamlined communication.
• Customizability: Custom fields, pipelines, and workflows.

Cons

• Reporting: Currently lacks reporting features, but there are plans for future implementation.
  

Price and plans

You can try folk for free with a 14-day free trial. After that, a monthly or annual subscription plan is as follows.

• Standard: $20 per user, per month
• Premium: $40 per user, per month
• Custom: Starts from $60 per user, per month

2. Hubspot

Hubspot CRM is a user-friendly, scalable platform offering integrated tools for managing sales, marketing, customer service, and operations efficiently.

Key features

• Marketing Hub: Includes email marketing, ad tracking, landing pages, and lead generation tools, seamlessly integrating with Google Workspace for optimized campaigns.
• Sales Hub: Provides deal tracking, pipeline management, sales automation, and reporting, all syncing effortlessly with Google Workspace to streamline your sales processes.
• Service Hub: Offers customer service tools like ticketing, live chat, and knowledge bases, ensuring that customer interactions recorded in Google Workspace are managed efficiently.
• Operations Hub: Syncs and automates business processes across different systems, including Google Workspace, to enhance operational efficiency.
• Lead scoring: Prioritize leads with predictive scoring, improving sales efficiency by leveraging contacts and data stored in Google Workspace.

Pros

• User-friendly interface: Known for its intuitive and easy-to-use interface, making it accessible for users of all skill levels within Google Workspace.
• Comprehensive free plan: Offers a robust free version that includes essential CRM features, perfect for startups using Google Workspace.
• Seamless integration with marketing tools: Integrates smoothly with marketing, sales, and service hubs, creating a unified platform within Google Workspace.
• Automation capabilities: Provides powerful automation tools for tasks like email marketing, lead nurturing, and sales workflows, all integrated with Google Workspace.
• Customizable dashboard and reports: Allows users to create customized dashboards and reports to track metrics and gain insights into business performance, leveraging data from Google Workspace.

Cons

• High cost at higher tiers: Pricing can become expensive as you move to higher tiers, which may be prohibitive for small businesses scaling within Google Workspace.
• Limited customization in free plan: The free plan and lower tiers have limited customization options, which can restrict flexibility for growing businesses using Google Workspace.
• Email marketing limits: Email marketing functionality in the free plan is restricted by limits on the number of emails you can send, which can be a drawback for businesses with larger lists in Google Workspace.
• Additional costs for add-ons: Many useful features, like advanced CRM capabilities and integrations, come as paid add-ons, increasing the overall cost for Google Workspace users.
• Dependence on HubSpot ecosystem: The platform works best when fully integrated with HubSpot's other tools, which can limit flexibility if you use other software alongside Google Workspace.
  

Price and plans

Price and plans on HubSpot's CRM suite for an annual subscription are as follows.

• Starter: $15 per user, per month.
• Professional: $450 per user, per month.
• Enterprise: $1,500 per user, per month.

3. Streak

Streak is a customer relationship management (CRM) tool that integrates directly with Gmail, allowing users to manage their sales pipeline and customer interactions from within their email inbox. Designed to simplify CRM tasks, Streak offers features such as email tracking, mail merge, task management, and pipeline visualization, all seamlessly embedded in Gmail’s interface.

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Key features

• Google Workspace integration: The best CRMs for Google Workspace offer seamless integration with Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Drive, ensuring that all your communications and files are easily accessible within the CRM.
• Ease of use: Suitable forbeginner to intermediate familiarity with CRMs, user-friendly interfaces and simple setup processes are essential.
• Customization: The ability to customize fields, pipelines, and workflows to align with your specific business processes is a significant advantage.
• Automation features: Automating repetitive tasks such as email follow-ups and data entry can save time and increase efficiency.
• Reporting and analytics: Robust reporting and analytics tools help track performance and make data-driven decisions.

Pros

• Enhanced productivity: Built in directly with Google Workspace streamline workflows by centralizing emails, calendar events, and documents within the CRM, reducing the need to switch between multiple apps.
• Improved collaboration: Real-time collaboration features allow team members to work together on leads and customer records, enhancing team efficiency and communication.
• Data synchronization: Automatic synchronization of contacts and calendar events ensures that your CRM is always up-to-date with the latest information from Google Workspace.
• Scalability: Offers scalable solutions that can grow with your business, providing advanced features as your needs evolve.
• Mobile access: Mobile-friendly CRM apps ensure that you can manage your leads and customers on-the-go, maintaining productivity from anywhere.

Cons

• Cost for advanced features: While entry-level plans are affordable, advanced features and higher-tier plans can become costly, impacting budget-conscious startups.
• Customization complexity: Extensive customization options can be overwhelming and time-consuming to set up without the right expertise.
• Data migration challenges: Migrating data from an existing system to a new CRM can be complex and may require additional resources to ensure a smooth transition.

Price and plans

An annual subscription plan is as follows.

• Pro: Starts from $49 per user, per month.
• Pro +: Starts from $69 per user, per month.
• Enterprise: Starts from $129 per user, per month.

4. Pipedrive

Pipedrive is a web-based CRM for small businesses, offering lead management, automation, email integration, and customizable pipelines to optimize sales.

Key features

• Lead and deal management: Centralized tools to manage customer data, interactions, and sales pipelines, helping teams act quickly on opportunities.
• Email integration: Full email sync, templates, and tracking features, enabling users to manage all communications directly from the CRM.
• Sales automation: Workflow automation to handle repetitive tasks, such as lead routing, follow-ups, and email sequences, allowing sales teams to focus on closing deals.
• Reporting and analytics: Real-time data analytics and custom reporting tools to track sales performance, forecast revenue, and gain actionable insights.
• Customization and security: Options to customize pipelines, fields, and user permissions, with robust security measures to protect data.

Pros

• User-friendly interface: Known for its intuitive and visually appealing interface, making it easy for users to navigate and manage their sales pipelines.
• Sales pipeline focus: Specifically designed for managing sales pipelines, offering a visual approach that helps sales teams track deals and activities effectively.
• Customization: Allows for a high degree of customization, enabling users to tailor the platform to their specific sales processes with custom fields and workflows.
• Automation features: Includes automation tools that help streamline repetitive tasks, such as sending follow-up emails and moving deals through the pipeline, saving time and boosting productivity.
• Third-party integrations: Integrates with a wide range of third-party applications, such as Google Workspace, Slack, and Zapier, enhancing its functionality and flexibility.

Cons

• Limited advanced features: Lacks some of the more advanced CRM features, such as extensive marketing automation and AI capabilities, which are available in other platforms.
• Basic reporting in lower tiers: The reporting and analytics features in the basic plans are somewhat limited, requiring upgrades to access more in-depth insights.
• No built-in email marketing: Does not include built-in email marketing features, requiring users to integrate with third-party email tools for such functionality.
• Price increases with add-ons: The cost can increase quickly when additional features or integrations are added, making it less cost-effective for businesses with growing needs.
• Limited project management features: Primarily focused on sales, and lacks robust project management features, requiring the use of additional tools for project tracking.
  

Price and plans

An annual subscription plan for Pipedrive is as follows.

• Essential plan: Starts from $14 per user, per month.
• Advanced plan: Starts from $29 per user, per month.
• Power plan: Starts from $64 per user, per month.
• Enterprise plan: Starts from $99 per user, per month.

5. Salesforce

Salesforce is a robust CRM platform for large enterprises, offering tools for sales, marketing, service, and analytics, with extensive scalability.

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Key features

• Comprehensive ecosystem: A unified platform offering CRM, marketing automation, customer service, and custom app development, suitable for the varied needs of large enterprises.
• Customization and scalability: Salesforce is highly customizable and scalable, allowing large organizations to tailor the platform to complex workflows and manage significant growth.
• Artificial Intelligence (AI) integration: Salesforce Einstein offers AI-driven analytics and automation, providing insights that help large businesses optimize their strategies.
• Extensive integration capabilities: With Salesforce's AppExchange, large companies can integrate the platform with a wide range of third-party applications, ensuring seamless operation across different business systems.
• Enterprise-grade security and compliance: Salesforce provides robust security measures and compliance features, critical for large organizations handling sensitive customer data.

Pros

• Comprehensive feature set: Salesforce offers an extensive range of features covering sales, service, marketing, and more, making it a powerful tool for managing all aspects of customer relationships.
• Highly customizable: Salesforce is highly customizable, allowing businesses to tailor the platform to their specific needs with custom fields, objects, and workflows.
• Extensive integration capabilities: Salesforce integrates seamlessly with Google Workspace, ensuring smooth data synchronization and enhancing productivity.
• Scalability: Salesforce is highly scalable, making it suitable for businesses of all sizes, from small startups to large enterprises, with the ability to grow with your business.
• Advanced analytics and reporting: Salesforce provides powerful analytics and reporting tools, allowing businesses to gain deep insights into their data and make informed decisions.

Cons

• High cost: Salesforce can be expensive, especially for small to medium-sized businesses, with high licensing fees and additional costs for add-ons and customization.
• Steep learning curve: Due to its extensive feature set and complexity, Salesforce often requires significant time and training for users to become proficient.
• Complex setup and customization: Initial setup and customization can be challenging and often require expert help or certified consultants, which adds to the overall cost.
• Overwhelming for small teams: Salesforce’s robust features may be overkill for smaller teams or businesses, leading to underutilization of the platform’s capabilities.
• Integration complexity: While Salesforce offers extensive integration capabilities, integrating it with third-party applications can be complex and require technical expertise.
  

Price and plans

• Starter Suite: $25/user/month provides basic CRM features for small businesses
• Pro Suite: $100/user/month includes advanced tools for growing businesses
• Enterprise Plan: $165/user/month offers extensive customization and automation for large companies
• Unlimited Plan: $330/user/month provides comprehensive features for large enterprises
• Einstein 1 Sales: $500/user/month provides AI-driven insights and advanced features for large enterprises

Conclusion

Choosing the best CRM for Google Workspace in 2024 is crucial for founders looking to streamline their business processes and enhance productivity. Each CRM platform discussed—folk, HubSpot, Streak, Pipedrive, and Salesforce—offers unique features and benefits tailored to different business needs and sizes. While folk stands out for its seamless LinkedIn integration and AI-powered features, HubSpot excels with its comprehensive free plan and marketing tools. Streak is ideal for those seeking deep integration with Google Workspace, while Pipedrive offers a user-friendly interface focused on sales pipeline management. Salesforce, though more complex and costly, provides extensive customization and scalability for large enterprises.

Ultimately, the best CRM for your business will depend on your specific requirements, budget, and growth plans. We recommend taking advantage of free trials and demos to explore each platform's capabilities. For a hands-on experience, you can try folk for free.

Frequently Asked Questions

What do Google Workspace users use as a CRM for their business?

Google Workspace users often choose CRMs like folk, Hubspot, Streak, and Pipedrive. These platforms integrate seamlessly with Google Workspace, offering features that help manage contacts, automate tasks, and streamline workflows.

Do I need a CRM?

Yes, and which one you need typically depends on the complexity of your process. A CRM can help you manage customer relationships, automate repetitive tasks, and gain insights into your business performance, making it an essential tool for growing businesses.

How much does a CRM cost?

CRM pricing varies widely, typically ranging from $12 to $500 per user per month. The cost depends on the features and scalability of the platform, with basic plans starting at lower prices and advanced, enterprise-level solutions costing more.

Does folk’s CRM respond to Google Workspace needs?

Yes, folk’s CRM is designed to meet Google Workspace needs by offering seamless integration with Gmail, Google Calendar, and other Workspace tools. It features contact enrichment, customizable pipelines, and AI-powered tools, making it a robust solution for managing contacts and workflows within Google Workspace.