All you need to know about using Airtable as a CRM

Explore Airtable’s ability to function as a CRM with its customizable features and user-friendly interface.

Airtable is not just your ordinary spreadsheet tool. With its versatile features and customizable structure, you can easily transform it into a CRM. In this article, we will explore everything you need to know about using Airtable as a CRM and whether it is the right choice for your business.

What’s a CRM?

A CRM system is software for managing their interactions with current and potential customers. It does this by organizing and storing information on leads and customers. It is a central store for customer data. It also helps with marketing, sales, and customer service.

CRMs can be cloud-based or on-premise. Vendors usually host their cloud-based CRMs on their own servers. These CRM’s are accessible from anywhere via the internet, which makes them popular for their scalability and convenience.

With an on-premise CRMs a company would host their CRM software on their servers. They offer more control over data and systems but need a big upfront investment and ongoing maintenance.

Today, however, cloud solutions are more flexible and accessible. That's why they are the top choice for many businesses.

What’s Airtable?

Airtable is a cloud-based collaboration platform. It combines the features of spreadsheets with the power of databases. It allows you to organize and analyze your data in a visually appealing and user-friendly interface. With Airtable, you can create custom workflows, automate tasks, and collaborate with your team in real-time.

One of the key features of Airtable is its flexibility. Users can customize their databases to fit their needs. They could be for project management, sales tracking, inventory, or any other use. The drag-and-drop interface makes it easy to create and change tables. You can also add attachments, link records, and more. You don't need any coding knowledge to use a CRM system and customize it to fit your needs.

Furthermore, Airtable offers a variety of filters to visualize your data. These include grid, calendar, gallery, and kanban views. This allows users to choose the format that best suits their data and workflow. The platform also connects with tools like Slack, Google Calendar, and Trello. This makes it easy to link Airtable with your workflow and boost productivity.

Here’s a table that goes over Airtable’s pricing:

Can you make a CRM in Airtable?

Airtable is flexible. It has a customizable structure. It can serve as a strong platform for making a tailored CRM system. You can create custom fields to store key customer details. These include contact information, purchase history, and communication logs. Airtable allows the creation of filters to manage and analyze your data efficiently.

Airtable also provides many CRM templates. They can be a great foundation for a custom CRM. These templates include tools for lead tracking. They also have features for customer support ticket management. This can help you adapt the system to meet your unique business needs.

Compared to specialized CRM systems, Airtable may not always be the best choice. These systems are perfect for customer relationship management as they offer more advanced CRM features. These include:

• Sales automation
• Detailed customer insights
• A wider suite of native integrations
• Tailored customer relationship management feature.

Additionally, full-power CRMs often provide more help and training tailored to CRM strategies. This can be crucial for organizations that want to use CRM in their business strategy.

Why use Airtable as a CRM?

These are the advantages to utilizing an Airtable CRM:

• Airtable's drag-and-drop interface can simplify the process of managing your CRM.
• Assign tasks, comments, and monitor project advancements. This ensures everyone is aligned and informed.
• The capability to integrate with widely-used tools such as Slack, Trello, and Google Calendar.

In addition, the accessibility of Airtable's mobile app means you can manage your CRM on the move. Whether you're away on business or meeting clients, you can access and update your customer data anytime. This functionality allows for efficient management of your contacts.

Why not use Airtable as a CRM?

Despite its many advantages, Airtable may not be the best CRM solution for every business. Here are a few factors to consider:

• You may find Airtable limiting if you have very complex CRM needs or need advanced reporting and analytics.
• While Airtable offers a free plan, advanced features and increased storage capacity come at a cost. Depending on the size of your team and data storage needs, the pricing may not be suitable for every budget.
• Some industries need special CRM features. These features are not easily customizable in Airtable. Doing so would require extensive changes or the use of third-party tools.

When looking for a CRM, it's essential to evaluate how well it integrates with your existing tools and workflows. Airtable is highly customizable. But, it may not integrate seamlessly with some essential software. This lack of integration could lead to inefficiencies and data silos. These would hinder your strategy's effectiveness.

Furthermore, scalability is a crucial aspect to consider when choosing a CRM platform. Airtable is good for startups. But, it's hard for larger businesses with lots of data and complex structures to scale on the platform.

As your business grows, you will encounter limits on user access controls, data speed, and system performance. This will require a move to a better CRM solution.

How to get started with a CRM template

Starting with Airtable for CRM can greatly streamline your sales. It can also improve team collaboration and boost efficiency. Airtable offers many ready-to-use templates. You can tailor an Airtable CRM template to fit any need. This guide will walk you through the process of setting up your CRM using the Airtable template designed for sales teams.

Step 1: Access the template

First, navigate to the Airtable template gallery and find the Sales CRM template. You can access it directly using this link: Airtable Sales CRM Template. This template helps sales teams manage their leads, contacts, and accounts. It also helps them manage their sales opportunities. They can do this in a more organized and efficient way.

Step 2: Customize your database

Once you have accessed the template, the next step is to customize it to suit your specific business needs. Airtable bases are highly customizable, which allows you to:

• You can add fields to store extra info about your leads, like their source, industry, or priority level. To add a field, click on the "+" button at the right end of an existing row of fields and choose the type of field you want to add.
• Airtable allows you to create and modify views to see your data in different formats. For a sales CRM, you might want views for "All Leads," "Qualified Leads," and "Conversion Rates." You can change existing views or make new ones. Just click on the "Grid View" dropdown at the top left of your base. Then, select "Create a new view."

Step 3: Import your data

If you’re moving from another CRM or have customer data in spreadsheets, Airtable makes it easy to import it into your new base.

• Ensure your data is clean and well-organized in a CSV file. Check that the column headers in your CSV file match the field names in your Airtable base.
• Click on the dropdown arrow next to the table name, select "Import data," and follow the instructions to upload your CSV file.

Step 4: Set up automations

Automations in Airtable can save time by performing routine tasks automatically. For a sales CRM, common automations include sending follow-up emails. They also include updating lead statuses. And, they include notifying team members about new entries. To set up an automation:

• Click on "Automations" in the upper right corner of your Airtable base.
• Click on "Create a new automation," give it a name, and set the trigger (e.g., "When a record is updated"). Then, add actions such as sending an email or updating a record based on your trigger.

Step 5: Collaborate with your team

Share your CRM base with team members to enhance collaboration:

• Click on the "Share" button in the upper right corner and enter your team members' email addresses. You can set permissions according to what you want each team member to be able to do (e.g., read-only, editing).
• Use the commenting and mentioning features in Airtable. Use them to talk about specific records. This ensures that all communications are centralized and related to the data.

Step 6: Analyze and optimize

Finally, take full advantage of Airtable’s rich features for reporting and analytics to make informed decisions:

• Use the "Blocks" feature in Airtable to add charts, graphs, or pivot tables and create reports. This helps you visualize sales trends, track team performance, and analyze customer interactions.
• Use reports to see what's working and where to adjust. Use this data to refine your sales processes and CRM practices continuously.

By following these steps, you’ll be able to set up a complete, custom CRM system using Airtable. It will meet your business needs and boost your team's productivity and sales.

How to make Airtable CRM more powerful

​​Airtable's power lies in its customization options and extensibility. Here are a few tips to make your Airtable CRM even more powerful:

• Airtable's integrations connect the tools in your tech stack. It integrates email marketing software, project management tools, and customer support systems.
• Airtable's formula and automation capabilities help you automate calculations, generate reports, and trigger actions based on specific events or conditions.
• Ensure data integrity by implementing data validation rules in your Airtable CRM. This will help eliminate errors and ensure accurate reporting.
• Involve stakeholders in the setup and maintenance of your Airtable CRM. Their input and insights can help optimize the CRM for the entire organization.

Go beyond CRM basics with NetHunt CRM

Airtable is a powerful and robust tool, no doubt. But, when talking CRM, it’s outmatched by… an actual system designed to be a CRM. NetHunt CRM is one such system. It is packed with built-in sales automation capabilities. It also has native integrations, email campaign management, and more!

If you still feel like Airtable is irreplaceable to your business, don’t worry. You don’t have to replace it. You can use an Airtable CRM side-by-side with NetHunt CRM, as they’re both integrated with Zapier.

For example, you can transfer your Deal sums to Airtable's robust reporting and analytics suite. This is useful to calculate sales forecasts or salesperson commissions. Additionally, you can connect the two systems to have a backup of data if the need ever arises.

What are the Airtable CRM alternatives?

FAQs

Bottom line

Airtable provides an excellent platform for creating your own CRM. You can use it to manage your customer relationships. It has many customization options, a user-friendly interface, collaboration features, and integration possibilities. This makes it a versatile tool. Airtable is worth considering for your CRM needs. It's flexible and powerful. This is true whether you're a small business or a large enterprise.

However, if you want a solution tailored to improve CRM, it has deep integration. It also has better automation and great sales tracking. In that case, NetHunt CRM might be the perfect fit. NetHunt CRM is made to align with your sales and marketing workflows. It integrates seamlessly with Gmail and provides detailed customer insights. It also offers strong support tailored to your business needs. Ready to elevate your CRM experience? Try NetHunt CRM today. See how it can transform your customer relationships.

Learn more about NetHunt CRM and start your free trial now!

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Originally published June 12, 2024, updated June 12, 2024