CRM consulting: the right system for your business
HubSpot, Pipedrive, Brevo or a custom solution: I recommend what fits you, not what pays a commission. And set it up.
The difference: whoever actually became a customer flows back as a signal into your Google Ads campaigns.
New customers get all the attention. Yet a lot of money sits elsewhere
New customers cost you ad budget, every single time. Existing customers have already bought, know you and need no expensive click, just a reason to come back. If your customer data gathers dust in Excel and nobody follows up after the purchase, the next order goes to the competitor who does exactly that.
A CRM with a few well-built automations changes that. And here is the nice part: once set up, it costs almost nothing to run.
Email expert Jimmy Kim calculates that 20 to 30 percent of revenue should come from communication with existing customers. Even half of that is revenue without additional ad budget.
Follow-up email, reminder, birthday greeting: automations like these run from day one, without any daily manual work.
Which CRM fits a small business?
Short answer: there is no best CRM, only the right one for your workflows and your budget.
| System | A good fit … | Note |
|---|---|---|
| HubSpot | when you want to start with a free plan and add marketing features later | grows with you, gets expensive fast as you scale up |
| Pipedrive | when your focus is clearly on sales: deals, pipeline, follow-ups | lean, quick to learn |
| Brevo | when you want email marketing and contact management in one tool | EU provider, strong at automations |
| ActiveCampaign | when you need sophisticated email sequences and automations | powerful, takes time to learn |
| Custom solution | when standard tools do too much and fit too little | built lean, tailored exactly to your workflows |
I have worked with all five. Which one I recommend depends on your workflows, not on a partner program: I receive no commission from any vendor.
When no standard tool fits: the lean custom solution
Sometimes a big CRM is overkill: you pay for a hundred features and use five. For cases like that, I build lean custom CRM solutions, tailored exactly to your workflows, from lead intake to follow-up reminders. You pay once for development instead of every month for unused features.
Your CRM and your marketing belong together
The most valuable data for your marketing is created inside the CRM. Which lead became a customer? Which inquiry was a waste of time? This information can flow back into your campaigns, so Google Ads learns to bring more of the good inquiries instead of more of the cheap ones. Add end-to-end conversion tracking from the first click to the closed deal and one report instead of three data silos.
This is where my work differs from pure CRM setup providers: I come from performance marketing and set up your CRM so your advertising data benefits from it.
How a CRM implementation works
Clarify your needs
We go through your workflows: How do inquiries come in, who does what, where do things get lost today?
Choose a system
You get a recommendation with reasoning and honest costs, licenses included. No commission-driven advice.
Set up & migrate data
Setup, import from Excel, Outlook or your old system, connection to website forms and marketing.
Train & hand over
You and your team work with it independently. On request, I then set up the first automations for existing customers.
And data protection?
Customer data is the most sensitive thing you store. When choosing a tool, we therefore also look at server location and the data processing agreement, and for email sequences at clean opt-ins (double opt-in). Thought through from an Austrian perspective, implemented for clients in Austria and Germany.
What does a CRM implementation cost?
Two items: the running costs of the tool (from free to three figures per month, paid directly to the provider) and my work for selection, setup, data migration and training, billed by effort with an hourly rate starting at 120 euros. Custom solutions are paid once for development instead of monthly for licenses.
After the free intro call, I calculate transparently what that means for your case, license costs included. You get a quote with a fixed scope instead of an open-ended hourly estimate.
Barbara Horak
With my comprehensive digital marketing knowledge from years of experience, I have been developing company-specific marketing strategies for over ten years, helping businesses reach their highest potential.
My focus is on combining proven performance marketing with modern AI and automation solutions. You win more customers and save time and resources along the way.
What clients say
Real reviews from happy clients on LinkedIn and Fiverr.
Martyna Gressel
Experienced Marketing Leader
"Barbara is, without doubt, the most experienced and knowledgeable online marketing manager I've met in 12 years of my marketing career. I already know her for 10 years. She motivated me to start my blog and always supported creative thinking. Her technical understanding combined with marketing expertise and hands-on mentality makes Barbara the best choice of online marketing advisor for any company."
Martin Staudinger
Inhaber Schülerhilfe Hartberg, Leopoldstadt und Oberwart
"I have been working with Barbara since 2020, and I can confidently say that she is an absolute Performance Marketing expert. Her dedication, strategic mindset, and in-depth understanding of the field have consistently translated into outstanding results for our projects. What sets Barbara apart is not just her professional prowess, but also her personality."
Thomas Kohler
CEO & Founder pplwise
"I see Barbara as a strong marketing professional with extensive performance marketing experience and knowledge in PPC, SEM, and Analytics. She consults us in professionalizing our performance marketing and educate junior talent. With her support, we established a multi-channel approach to increase new customer growth and customer lifetime value."
Michael Haller
Head of iDWELL Finance
"Super kompetent, hoch professionell und sehr nett in der Zusammenarbeit. Kann ich nur empfehlen!!!"
Frequently asked questions
Which CRM is best for a small business?
There is no universal answer. Sales-driven with pipeline thinking: probably Pipedrive. Email marketing at the center: Brevo or ActiveCampaign. Start free and grow: HubSpot. Very specific workflows: a lean custom solution. The answer is in your workflows, not in a tool comparison.
How much does a CRM implementation cost?
Two items: the running costs of the tool (from free to three figures per month) and my work for setup including data migration, billed by effort with an hourly rate starting at 120 euros. After the free intro call, I calculate transparently what that means for your case, license costs included.
HubSpot or Pipedrive?
HubSpot if marketing and sales should grow together and you want to start with the free plan. Pipedrive if you mainly want to move deals cleanly through a pipeline and keep things lean. I have set up both in practice.
Can my data be migrated from Excel or Outlook?
Yes, that is the standard case. Contacts, companies and history are cleaned up and imported, duplicates merged. Afterwards you maintain one place instead of three lists.
Is this GDPR compliant?
A CRM is only as compliant as its setup: server location, a data processing agreement and clean opt-ins for emails belong in from the start. I factor this into both selection and setup.
Is it worth it with only a few customers?
Especially then. With 50 customers you still know everyone, but right now the setup effort is small, and every automation (follow-up email, reminder, birthday greeting) runs from day one. Catching up later costs more.
Find out which CRM fits your business
In a free intro call (15 minutes) we go through your workflows. You get a first assessment of which system fits, even if you set it up yourself afterwards.
Book an intro call (15 min)