# Competitors / Alternatives (SME CRM)

This is not an exhaustive market scan. It is a practical reference for what SME teams often adopt instead of building or adopting a very small MVP.

## Spreadsheet + shared inbox (baseline alternative)

- **Why it wins:** zero cost, no setup, flexible.
- **Why it fails:** duplicates, weak search, no workflow enforcement, no shared task accountability, poor pipeline visibility.
- **MVP implication:** the MVP must beat spreadsheets on *searchability, consistency, and follow-up visibility* without adding complexity.

## HubSpot CRM (Starter tier patterns)

- **Strengths:** strong contact/company records, pipeline UI, tasks, notes/activity tracking, ecosystem.
- **Tradeoff:** breadth encourages “too much too soon” for very small teams; configuration can be a project.
- **MVP implication:** keep workflows opinionated and minimal; avoid configuration sprawl.

## Pipedrive

- **Strengths:** simple pipeline-first UX; easy stage movement; good for sales-led teams.
- **Tradeoff:** can be opportunity-centric at the expense of richer service-style follow-up; “activities” can become a parallel system.
- **MVP implication:** opportunities must be fast to create and update; tasks should be first-class and visible.

## Zoho CRM

- **Strengths:** broad feature set, customization, affordability.
- **Tradeoff:** complexity and custom fields/modules can overwhelm small teams; UX varies by module.
- **MVP implication:** avoid “platform” ambitions; ship a coherent, narrow core.

## Freshsales (Freshworks)

- **Strengths:** good SME packaging with contact management, pipelines, tasks; often paired with service products.
- **Tradeoff:** can pull teams into a suite; configuration + permissions can be heavier than expected.
- **MVP implication:** clarify the separation between sales pipeline and service follow-up while using shared records.

## Salesforce (Essentials/Starter patterns)

- **Strengths:** powerful object model, reporting, permissions, ecosystem.
- **Tradeoff:** overpowered for many SMEs; admin overhead and cost are high relative to MVP needs.
- **MVP implication:** keep the data model simple and predictable; avoid admin-heavy permission models.

## Copper (Google Workspace-adjacent CRM pattern)

- **Strengths:** fits teams living in Google Workspace; lighter CRM footprint.
- **Tradeoff:** still requires discipline; limited without integrations.
- **MVP implication:** the MVP should feel “lightweight” and not require constant maintenance.

## Summary: what this MVP must do well (and only that)

- Fast, low-friction data entry for contacts/companies/opportunities.
- Clear pipeline stage movement with minimal clicks.
- Tasks and notes tightly linked to the same records the team works from.
- A dashboard that surfaces overdue/next tasks and key pipeline counts.

