Why small businesses should consider a CRM (and why Airtable might be the best choice)

For small and medium-sized businesses, keeping track of your data, whether that's your products and website content, customers, projects, marketing activity, or sales pipelines can quickly become a handful. That’s where a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system comes in — helping you and your team keep on top of everything.

Why use a CRM?

A CRM isn’t just for big players; it’s a powerful tool for small businesses looking to:

• Consolidate customer data – Keep all your leads, contacts, and interactions in one place.
• Automate workflows – Reduce all that repetitive manual busy work, like follow ups and reporting.
• Enhance collaboration – Make sure you and your team can easily access the info they need.

Which CRM should you choose?

There are a dizzying number of CRM solutions available, each with strengths in different areas. These kinds of online subscription-based software solutions are called SAAS (Software as a Service), which we often refer to as the 'sea of SAAS'. Here are just a few of the ones we've used:

• HubSpot – Great for marketing-focused businesses with built-in automation.
• Monday.com – Primarily a project management tool with CRM features.
• Asana – Best for task and workflow management, not a dedicated CRM.
• Podio – A customizable CRM but can be complex for beginners.
• ActiveCampaign – Best for businesses that need deep email marketing and automation features.
• ClickUp – A flexible work management tool that can be adapted into a CRM.
• Salesforce – A highly powerful and enterprise-grade CRM, but often overkill for small businesses.

Why we recommend Airtable for most small businesses

At Minnow, we work with businesses of various sizes and requirements. While many CRMs offer great out-of-the-box functionality, we believe Airtable provides the best overall mix of flexibility, cost-effectiveness, and ease of integration.

• Flexibility – Unlike more rigid CRMs, Airtable can be completely customised to fit any business workflow.
• Third-party integrations – Connect with automation tools like Zapier, Make, and APIs.
• Cost-effective – More affordable than premium CRMs like Salesforce or HubSpot.
• Scalable – Can start managing one area of your business and incorporate more over time.

Oddly enough, Airtable isn’t a traditional CRM out of the box. In fact, it's fair to say it's not really anything out of the box. We've heard some folk say they don't like that about Airtable but honestly it's the very reason we love it so much. With the right setup, Airtable can match — or even exceed — the capabilities of HubSpot, Monday, and many others. The result of having the power to mould it to fit your exact requirements means you don't end up with a CRM that has loads of features you either don't use or flat out don't need.

Interested in exploring Airtable further?

As Airtable specialists, Minnow helps businesses evaluate, design and tailor a CRM solution that fit their exact needs. Whether you're managing sales, marketing, or projects, we can help you build an Airtable system that works exactly the way you want it to.

If you'd like to know more about Airtable or your CRM options in general click here to get in touch.