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Struggling to identify the differences between Bigin CRM and Zoho CRM?
Zoho is an all-in-one business suite that’s designed to revolutionize your business operations.
Need a CRM or project management software? Want to engage in social media or email marketing management? After an accounting platform? Zoho has you covered!
But we’re here to talk about CRM (customer relationship management).
If you’re a small business owner ready to take your business to the next level, it’s time to move away from messy spreadsheets right now and invest in a CRM powered by Zoho!
Read more: 7 Best CRM Software For Small Business.
Bigin CRM vs Zoho CRM 2024
Zoho offers two incredible CRM products – Bigin CRM and Zoho CRM.
You’re probably wondering…..what is the difference between Bigin CRM and Zoho CRM? Don’t they do the same thing?
Well, in this article, I’ll explore exactly what sets them apart and which is the right fit for your business and brand.
Which should you use – Bigin vs Zoho CRM?
What Are They? Bigin CRM vs Zoho CRM
You may have heard of Zoho CRM – a popular customer relationship management (CRM) tool that helps you boost sales, streamline processes, and improve customer relationships.
Zoho CRM is loved by many for its automation tools, multi-channel communication, awesome free plan, and impressive scalability for growing teams.
But what if you don’t need the fancy features or flexibility Zoho CRM provides?
Well, Zoho has thought of that, too!
Recently, Zoho CRM released Bigin CRM, a lightweight, simple, and agile customer-centric solution designed with small or micro-businesses in mind.
Bigin by Zoho CRM was built to bridge the gap between feature-rich CRM tools like Zoho CRM and basic, manual spreadsheets.
Read more: Bigin CRM By Zoho Review.
What Are The Differences Between Bigin CRM vs Zoho CRM?
At first glance, both tools sound pretty similar. But once you break it down, Zoho CRM and Zoho Bigin are quite different products!
Zoho CRM is much like other comprehensive, feature-rich CRM solutions, catering to a wide range of business requirements.
With abundant features, extensive support, advanced reporting, and a broader scope for conducting business, it is no wonder Zoho CRM is a popular choice for many.
As I mentioned, Zoho Bigin specifically targets small and micro-businesses after essential pipeline and customer management tools, workflows, and integrations.
Affordability is the standout advantage of Zoho Bigin, whereas Zoho CRM’s jam-packed features are where it shines.
Another key difference is their overall approach.
While Zoho CRM emphasizes driving leads and boosting sales, Bigin recognizes how customer-facing small businesses operate.
Bigin CRM gives you the onboarding, training, delivery, and support tools you need to thrive!
On the other hand, Zoho CRM’s reporting functionality and advanced deal-tracking capabilities are geared more toward sales-driven strategies.
Read more: Zoho CRM Review.
Ease Of Use:
Generally speaking, I believe Zoho Bigin CRM’s interface is more user-friendly than Zoho CRM’s, which is ideal for small businesses wanting to get up and running quickly!
Why? Its sleek and simple homepage is nice and clear, providing a quick overview of your pipeline, contacts, tasks, and calendar.
Plus, there aren’t as many features to familiarize yourself with.
Bigin’s easy-to-use structure consists of:
- Modules: Your sales pipelines, contacts, companies, products, and activities.
- Records: Information within your modules (deals, tasks, calls, individual products you sell, contact information).
- Fields: Specific data within your records.
Zoho CRM has a similar structure and a relatively shallow learning curve, but the crowded homepage can make finding the right information more challenging.
Bigin’s navigation menu is straightforward to understand, while Zoho CRM’s stronger features shown on the sidebar navigation can be overwhelming for some.
And while Bigin has ready-made, customizable reports, Zoho CRM’s more robust reporting features can be more challenging to use, catering to more complex business needs.
Winner = Bigin CRM.
Read more: How To Use Zoho CRM.
Pricing:
Bigin CRM:
- Free: $0 – Includes 1 pipeline, 3 instant workflows, and 500 records.
- Express: $9 USD (per user per month).
- Premier: $15 USD (per user per month).
Zoho CRM:
- Free plan: 3 users, access to most Zoho CRM features (with limitations)
- Standard: $20 USD (per month per user)
- Professional: $35 USD per month per user.
- Enterprise: $50 USD per month per user.
- Ultimate: $65 USD per month per user.
Winner = Bigin CRM.
Bigin CRM vs Zoho CRM Key Features
Customization:
Although Zoho CRM is more customizable than Zoho Bigin, there’s little difference between the two.
Zoho Bigin limits the number of custom fields and doesn’t allow any custom objects, but you can fully customize your dashboard, sales pipeline, contact fields, and custom task types.
Zoho CRM has a slight edge in customization, with custom page layouts and a little more flexibility in custom fields, which works well for users with more complex workflows.
Winner = Zoho CRM.
Read more: How To Use Zoho Social.
Sales Pipeline:
As a basic CRM tool, Bigin CRM’s drag-and-drop team pipeline and sub-pipeline feature is pretty impressive.
You can create multiple customizable pipelines from scratch (or from a template) and then connect those pipelines together for seamless collaboration.
In my opinion, the level of customization offered within Bigin CRM is remarkable, usually only found in higher-tiered CRM plans!
Sub-pipelines allow you to break down your pipelines into different stages, enabling focused management of projects.
For example, your sales pipeline could be for all your web design clients, and the sub-pipeline could be for all SEO-related projects relating to your web design clients.
In Zoho CRM, creating a new deal is straightforward – all you need to do is:
- Input relevant details.
- Associate it with the contact.
- Select the appropriate stage.
Zoho automatically converts this data into a visual sales funnel that can be easily modified as deals evolve (through the same drag-and-drop system used by Bigin).
From there, you can easily monitor each deal and track your sales.
Although Zoho’s funnel may not be as visually attractive as other competitors like Monday.com, it still offers flexibility in modifying stages.
Due to its incredible and versatile sub-pipeline feature, this round has to go to Bigin!
Winner = Bigin CRM.
Read more: How To Use Zoho Projects.
Contact Management:
Zoho Bigin simplifies contact management by offering an easy way to import, organize, and update your contacts.
It provides basic fields for contact information and tags for categorization, making it perfect for small businesses with modest contact management needs.
In contrast, Zoho CRM takes contact management to a whole new level. On higher-paid plans, you’ll get advanced features like lead scoring, territory management, and account hierarchies.
With lead scoring, simply prioritize your leads based on their behavior and engagement, enabling your sales team to focus their efforts on the most promising prospects!
Territory management ensures the efficient assignment of leads and accounts to specific sales reps or teams, maximizing productivity and effectiveness.
You can supercharge your contact management efforts with Zoho CRM’s advanced contact features!
Winner = Zoho CRM.
Read more: How To Use Zoho Desk.
Automation:
Zoho Bigin offers basic, streamlined automation features that are accessible and manageable.
By setting up these automatic triggers, you can initiate workflows that perform actions like:
- Email alerts.
- Field updates.
- Record tagging or untagging.
- Task creation.
Plus, you can even set up automatic triggers to interconnect pipelines together!
I believe that Bigin CRM’s automation features are sufficient enough to optimize your small or micro business workflows.
Zoho CRM, however, is a leader in automation, offering a broad range of capabilities to streamline your business operations.
With powerful automation features like workflow automation, email marketing automation, and process automation, Zoho CRM caters to the diverse needs of businesses.
The workflow automation is similar to Bigin’s, but the email marketing automation within Zoho CRM is where the real difference lies.
Email marketing automation lets you create personalized email campaigns for effective lead nurturing, ideal for teams focused on marketing and increased audience reach.
Zoho CRM’s automation capabilities have earned its reputation as one of the best CRM solutions on the market.
Winner = Zoho CRM.
Read more: How To Use Monday.com Automations.
Integrations:
The Bigin CRM free plan integrates with some Zoho products and the popular third-party application Zapier.
And if you upgrade to a paid plan, you can integrate directly with other external platforms like Google Workspace, MailChimp, WhatsApp, and Microsoft.
Additionally, Bigin Zoho has its very own internal and external integration feature called ‘Toppings’ that can easily be added to your account to enhance functionality.
One of my personal favorites is the ‘Email-In’ topping, which automatically converts your emails into records within your pipeline.
To use Email-In:
- Simply install the add-on within your Bigin account.
- Create a new email alias specific to your business.
- Choose the pipeline you want the record to be added to.
Then, every time you receive an email to that email alias address, a deal will be automatically created and added to the relevant sales pipeline!
Another impressive add-on ‘File Cabinet’, which simplifies sending and receiving files to and from your contacts or team members.
With File Cabinet, your team and customers can share, view, and add files to a particular record through an external, secure link you’ve created.
Enabling the File Cabinet add-on to the relevant record allows you to easily copy and share the link via email with the relevant customer or team member.
On the other hand, Zoho CRM also offers seamless integration with the whole suite of Zoho products to enhance your CRM experience, plus over 100 powerful third-party apps!
This ensures that every aspect of your CRM experience is enhanced and optimized.
However, Bigin’s internal topping add-ons steal the win for this one in my eyes.
Winner = Bigin CRM.
Read more: How To Use Zoho Campaigns.
Bigin CRM vs Zoho CRM Support
How do both tools stack up when it comes to support?
Bigin CRM’s free plan comes with handy email support plus full access to their free online knowledge base.
And how about paid plans? Well, they receive a 30-day onboarding service, bi-weekly webinars, and various support channels!
Zoho CRM also provides beginner tutorials, a comprehensive help center filled with articles, eBooks, webinars, and a self-service portal where you can add support tickets.
Free plan members can receive more support, but you’ll have to pay for a Zoho CRM support plan for additional phone, live chat, and onboarding help.
All paid plan memberships come with email, phone, and chat support, and if you require more personalized support, simply add the premium support plan to your membership.
Winner = Draw
Bigin CRM vs Zoho CRM – Who Are They Best For?
I believe Bigin CRM is the perfect lightweight and agile option for small teams and micro-businesses that want to dip their toes into the world of CRM.
If you’re focused on customers and want an affordable tool with contact management, email capabilities, automation workflows, and form functionality, look no further than Bigin CRM.
A huge bonus is the customizable team and sub-pipeline capabilities you can leverage to run your business effectively!
On the other hand, Zoho CRM is ideal for any business size that doesn’t already have a functional web stack (but is looking to scale and grow).
I’ve seen many SME accounting firms, law firms, small service-based businesses, and more use Zoho CRM for all their CRM needs.
However, it’s an awesome tool for most businesses; it just comes down to your personal preferences.
Stew’s Final Thoughts
And that is it for this Bigin CRM vs Zoho CRM comparison guide!I often talk about how much I love Zoho products and everything they have to offer for small businesses.
And their CRM capabilities are no exception!
Whether you’re looking for a lightweight, agile CRM solution or a fully functional CRM platform, you can streamline your operations with both Bigin CRM and Zoho CRM.
It really just comes down to your business, goals, and budget.
Thanks for reading!
