Should I Build It Should I Build It
22 May 2025
CRM Sales

A less expensive more basic CRM than SalesForce and HubSpot

Confidence
Engagement
Net use signal
Net buy signal

Idea type: Competitive Terrain

While there's clear interest in your idea, the market is saturated with similar offerings. To succeed, your product needs to stand out by offering something unique that competitors aren't providing. The challenge here isn’t whether there’s demand, but how you can capture attention and keep it.

Should You Build It?

Not before thinking deeply about differentiation.

Your are here

You're entering a 'Competitive Terrain' market with your idea for a simpler, less expensive CRM. This means there are already quite a few similar products available, as shown by the 17 matching products we found. The good news is the average engagement is high, meaning people are actively discussing and looking for CRM solutions. However, breaking through the noise will be tough. You're not just building a CRM; you're competing for attention in a crowded space. Your primary challenge isn’t whether there’s demand, but how you can capture attention and keep it with a truly differentiated value proposition. Keep in mind that while we don't have specific "use" or "buy" data, high engagement suggests users are keen to explore alternatives to existing CRMs like Salesforce and HubSpot, particularly if they offer better value or simplicity.

Recommendations

  1. Begin with deep market research to pinpoint exactly where current CRMs fall short for specific user segments. Don't just aim to be cheaper; identify unmet needs or underserved niches where you can provide superior value. For example, the criticism summaries of similar products highlight the need for email integration, advanced analytics, and mobile accessibility. Can you excel in one of these areas initially?
  2. Focus your feature set on the 20% of features that deliver 80% of the value for your target niche. Avoid feature bloat. Prioritize features like lead management, sales reporting, and integration with popular tools like Gmail. Learn from the feedback given to similar products: simplicity and ease of use are highly valued, especially compared to complex CRMs like Salesforce and HubSpot.
  3. Consider targeting a specific niche within the broader CRM market. Are you building specifically for solo real estate agents, B2B startups, or small businesses with fewer than 10 employees? Tailoring your CRM to a narrow audience allows you to better meet their needs and differentiate from generic CRMs. This approach will improve your efficiency in customer aquisition since you can focus all of your marketing and sales efforts towards a specific audience.
  4. Develop a compelling brand and marketing strategy that highlights your unique selling proposition (USP). What makes your CRM different and better? Is it the simplicity, the price, or the focus on a specific niche? Craft a clear, concise message that resonates with your target audience and emphasizes the benefits they'll receive. Consider studying Relate CRM's success with B2B startups as a model.
  5. Implement a robust feedback mechanism to continually gather insights from your early users. Use this feedback to iterate quickly and improve your product. A loyal base of early adopters can become vocal advocates for your CRM, helping you to gain traction in a competitive market. Klipy's experience shows the importance of filtering out noise, so focus on actionable feedback.
  6. Don't underestimate the power of a well-designed user interface (UI) and a smooth onboarding experience. First impressions matter. Make sure your CRM is easy to use and intuitive, even for beginners. The comments about Folk 2.0 highlight the importance of design and user-friendliness.
  7. Given the competition, prioritize integrations with other commonly used tools. This can significantly enhance the value of your CRM and make it more appealing to potential users. Email integration and integrations with popular business applications are particularly important.
  8. Explore offering a freemium model or a free trial to attract new users. This allows them to experience the value of your CRM firsthand before committing to a paid subscription. Be transparent about pricing and ensure it's competitive within your target market. Freshsales CRM's success with a free plan for up to 3 users is worth noting.

Questions

  1. Considering the existing criticisms of CRMs lacking key features like email integration and advanced analytics, what specific, innovative features can you incorporate to truly differentiate your CRM and cater to the unmet needs of your target niche?
  2. Given the high engagement in the CRM space but the absence of strong 'buy' signals in the provided metrics, how will you effectively convert user interest into paying customers, and what pricing strategies will you employ to overcome price sensitivity while maintaining profitability?
  3. With numerous CRMs already available, what unique marketing channels or strategies will you leverage to cut through the noise and attract the attention of your target audience, particularly considering the importance of a clear and compelling brand message?

Your are here

You're entering a 'Competitive Terrain' market with your idea for a simpler, less expensive CRM. This means there are already quite a few similar products available, as shown by the 17 matching products we found. The good news is the average engagement is high, meaning people are actively discussing and looking for CRM solutions. However, breaking through the noise will be tough. You're not just building a CRM; you're competing for attention in a crowded space. Your primary challenge isn’t whether there’s demand, but how you can capture attention and keep it with a truly differentiated value proposition. Keep in mind that while we don't have specific "use" or "buy" data, high engagement suggests users are keen to explore alternatives to existing CRMs like Salesforce and HubSpot, particularly if they offer better value or simplicity.

Recommendations

  1. Begin with deep market research to pinpoint exactly where current CRMs fall short for specific user segments. Don't just aim to be cheaper; identify unmet needs or underserved niches where you can provide superior value. For example, the criticism summaries of similar products highlight the need for email integration, advanced analytics, and mobile accessibility. Can you excel in one of these areas initially?
  2. Focus your feature set on the 20% of features that deliver 80% of the value for your target niche. Avoid feature bloat. Prioritize features like lead management, sales reporting, and integration with popular tools like Gmail. Learn from the feedback given to similar products: simplicity and ease of use are highly valued, especially compared to complex CRMs like Salesforce and HubSpot.
  3. Consider targeting a specific niche within the broader CRM market. Are you building specifically for solo real estate agents, B2B startups, or small businesses with fewer than 10 employees? Tailoring your CRM to a narrow audience allows you to better meet their needs and differentiate from generic CRMs. This approach will improve your efficiency in customer aquisition since you can focus all of your marketing and sales efforts towards a specific audience.
  4. Develop a compelling brand and marketing strategy that highlights your unique selling proposition (USP). What makes your CRM different and better? Is it the simplicity, the price, or the focus on a specific niche? Craft a clear, concise message that resonates with your target audience and emphasizes the benefits they'll receive. Consider studying Relate CRM's success with B2B startups as a model.
  5. Implement a robust feedback mechanism to continually gather insights from your early users. Use this feedback to iterate quickly and improve your product. A loyal base of early adopters can become vocal advocates for your CRM, helping you to gain traction in a competitive market. Klipy's experience shows the importance of filtering out noise, so focus on actionable feedback.
  6. Don't underestimate the power of a well-designed user interface (UI) and a smooth onboarding experience. First impressions matter. Make sure your CRM is easy to use and intuitive, even for beginners. The comments about Folk 2.0 highlight the importance of design and user-friendliness.
  7. Given the competition, prioritize integrations with other commonly used tools. This can significantly enhance the value of your CRM and make it more appealing to potential users. Email integration and integrations with popular business applications are particularly important.
  8. Explore offering a freemium model or a free trial to attract new users. This allows them to experience the value of your CRM firsthand before committing to a paid subscription. Be transparent about pricing and ensure it's competitive within your target market. Freshsales CRM's success with a free plan for up to 3 users is worth noting.

Questions

  1. Considering the existing criticisms of CRMs lacking key features like email integration and advanced analytics, what specific, innovative features can you incorporate to truly differentiate your CRM and cater to the unmet needs of your target niche?
  2. Given the high engagement in the CRM space but the absence of strong 'buy' signals in the provided metrics, how will you effectively convert user interest into paying customers, and what pricing strategies will you employ to overcome price sensitivity while maintaining profitability?
  3. With numerous CRMs already available, what unique marketing channels or strategies will you leverage to cut through the noise and attract the attention of your target audience, particularly considering the importance of a clear and compelling brand message?

  • Confidence: High
    • Number of similar products: 17
  • Engagement: High
    • Average number of comments: 15
  • Net use signal: 21.2%
    • Positive use signal: 21.2%
    • Negative use signal: 0.0%
  • Net buy signal: 5.3%
    • Positive buy signal: 5.6%
    • Negative buy signal: 0.3%

This chart summarizes all the similar products we found for your idea in a single plot.

The x-axis represents the overall feedback each product received. This is calculated from the net use and buy signals that were expressed in the comments. The maximum is +1, which means all comments (across all similar products) were positive, expressed a willingness to use & buy said product. The minimum is -1 and it means the exact opposite.

The y-axis captures the strength of the signal, i.e. how many people commented and how does this rank against other products in this category. The maximum is +1, which means these products were the most liked, upvoted and talked about launches recently. The minimum is 0, meaning zero engagement or feedback was received.

The sizes of the product dots are determined by the relevance to your idea, where 10 is the maximum.

Your idea is the big blueish dot, which should lie somewhere in the polygon defined by these products. It can be off-center because we use custom weighting to summarize these metrics.

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