What are the best front-office software applications for SMBs?

'Front Office' generally implies that the software automates and enables customer-facing functions - i.e. Customer Service/Support, Sales, Marketing - and/or any other area that directly or indirectly 'touch' the customer.

Here are some of the applications that I have used and also recommended to other SMB's based on my personal experience. This is by no means a complete or comprehensive list, but are products I've had a good experience with, and which are certainly worth a look.

Products I use currently are marked with a *.

GetSatisfaction* (Customer Service)
Assistly (Customer Service)
Nimble* (Contact Management)
Constant Contact* (Marketing)
Mailchimp* (Marketing)
Vertical Response* (Marketing)
Salesforce.com* (Sales/CRM)
Landslide (Sales/CRM)
Freshbooks* (Accounting)
BatchBlue (Contact Management / CRM)
Hubspot (Web Content, Blogging)

I like Brian's answer, but would add a few twists...

SAP also had a core CRM offer that is focused on SMB. Probably on the larger side of SMB, but they seem like it quite a bit.

Zoho CRM recently gave me a briefing and I was quite surprised to see the pletorah of functions it performs, even beyond CRM. I would recommend taking a look if you are in the smaller side of the SMB market.

Check out the CRM Idol contest that Paul Greenberg and Friends (disclaimer: I am one of the friends) is holding. The list of vendors in that contest are all small in size, but they all pack some punch when it comes to CRM. You can just google CRM Idol (or use your favorite search engine) and you will find it.

Fine, here is the link (before "them" complain about me being lazy): http://www.zdnet.com/blog/crm/crm-idol-2011-update-2-were-crankin-now/3031.

Hope that gives you more, let me know if you need anything else.

Great thread.. but also tells us how complex the whole area of Front office has become and I dont think any SMB would like to use more than 2 or 3 solutions and therein lies the challenge.

Regards

Lots of great answers here. I'll add TheSmallBusinessWeb.com as a great list of small business companies providing a myriad of services - all that work together.

37Signals.com has also created a number of cloud-based services for the smallb business crowd - including project management and contact management.

Also look at the Google Apps store for some great choices. And Amazon.com's great cloud-based services are enabling new business models to be created.

A few others to check out are Zuora for billing/subscription management, Performable (recently acquired by HubSpot) for analytics, and Optimizely for a/b testing

Great answers so far, but let's not forget communications and other personal productivity tools. For example:

Skype -- ideal for saving money on long distance and doing conference calls. Also good for instant messaging

Google Voice -- the "universal inbox" for phone calls

Evernote -- a handy place to store all sorts of information and then synchronize across computers and mobile devices

I don't have a lot to add to the names already provided but I will make a larger point about innovation in the SMB market hitting a fevered pitch as social CRM (a very broad spectrum of products) redefines customer to company engagement in a way that is very approachable for small and medium business, in fact it is being defined by them!

This is what I find really fascinating. For a very long time enterprise software was focused exclusively on large enterprise companies and as a result SMBs had to piece together different solution to achieve CRM objectives. Now with Facebook and Twitter in particular the ability for an SMB to reach customers individually actually gives them a strong advantage when it comes to building a durable customer relationship.

My experience is limited to SMB CRM, or as Brian calls the, Contact Management solutions. CM, b.t.w, is not a dirty word :) I have used ACT!, BatchBook, Salesforce, and Zoho. In fact, I employ Zoho in one of my businesses. All are good solutions for small business. Small businesses, in particular. may have very different needs than enterprise companies. Being smaller, their needs tend to be less complex and they also have the ability to deploy their chosen solutions more rapidly if for no other reason than having fewer personnel and less departmentalization.

I happen to like Nimble. In all fairness, I am also a Solution Partner. Perhaps more importantly, I have been in B2B sales, management, and ownership positions since 1977 and started using contact management back in the mid 80's with a DOS based product called Telemagic. Hence, I tend to look at things from the practical standpoint. I want something that is fast and easy to use and that gives me better control over my contacts, calendar, and communications. This allows me to build better relationships with my clients as well as to discover new opportunities and, in turn, to nurture those. Social Media has very much changed this game and Nimble, once again for SMB, and the front-office areas, is doing some very very nice things to address these needs. More advanced features that are generally associated with SFA and other CRM functions will be available to those who want them and need them. For many, "simple" is not only good, it may be best. I believe that addressing the 3 C's is certainly heads above not doing anything simply because the solution is too complex to effectively deploy.

Thanks for letting me chirp in. Sorry to go for so long (smile).

Craig

As Brian mentions, there's many single-focus solutions for handling specific tasks, as well as integrated solutions that package more into one. The problem with single-focus apps however, is that small businesses usually need more out of their software and have to resort to additional applications. This is why some SMBs end up with 3+ different applications, which is both costly and inefficient (the lack of integration is discouraging and a real hassle).

That's why when choosing an application as a small business, you're better off finding a solution that takes into account everything your business does, beyond one concept. That way the integration is already there, and these separate aspects of business management can communicate directly, with smoother workflows and more collaborative efficiency. WORKetc is an example of an integrated app, as it puts CRM, project management, billing, timesheets, support, and email marketing into one web based app, encompassing virtually all small business management needs.

All great answers, especially from Brian, Esteban, Brent, and Michael Krisgsman. I would like to add one more (I was encouraged to do so by Focus themselves) - VIPorbit. By way of disclaimer, I am the Co-Founder & Inventor/Designer of ACT!, which most would say has been the standard-bearer for the SMB market. It's longevity on the market alone signifies its' relevance.

Let's not put a ceiling, or any boundary, on what constitutes "front office" to the very smallest of firms seeing that the tendency is to overlook the sub-SMB and very smallest of the SMB's themselves. VIPorbit, of which I am the CEO & Founder, is designed for the relationship-centric individual (presently) who is wanting robust productivity that is not connected to the cloud resident on their smartphone and tablet at a one-time price of about the cost of 2 Starbucks Frappacino's, period. Seeing that the smartphone either is, or is rapidly becoming, the computer, what is more essential to the mobile professional than mobile relationship management?

All of the products mentioned above are worthy of consideration. But, most don't reach the furthest shores of prospective users given the ubiquity of mobile devices in use today for business purposes. Not everyone can afford traditional software solutions, nor notebooks, cloud-based subscription services, nor even tablets yet, but yet still could find exceptional productivity through the use of their smartphone. This means the market can and is much larger than is usually considered.