How to use Google sheets as a CRM

Google Sheets is a robust and easy-to-use online spreadsheet tool that can also work as a customer relationship management (CRM) system. It can be used to store important lead and customer-related data, track your sales funnel, and automate your marketing campaigns. 

No matter the advertising platform, you’ll need a CRM system to store and manage leads data, assess your marketing processes, and improve your campaigns accordingly.

By creating a TikTok-CRM integration, for example, you can automate the data transfer between the two and make the most of your lead generation campaigns. 

Pros & cons of using Google Sheets as a CRM

When used as a CRM with TikTok, Google Sheets offers several distinct advantages, but also has certain limitations. Let’s explore both advantages and disadvantages of Google Sheets as a CRM, when combined with the top advertising platforms. 

Pros

Google Sheets as a CRM for TikTok is:

• Free of charge: Best for small businesses looking to keep their lead data organized.
• Easy and intuitive to use.
• Extremely effective for organizing and editing the incoming lead data.
• Best to move TikTok leads and customers’ data through the sales funnels.
• Easy to migrate: you can always move your data to a real CRM later.

Cons

• Google Sheets is inadequate as a CRM for handling massive databases.
• It’s more difficult to simultaneously integrate with different tools, e.i., complex marketing and sales management tools. 
• Adding and maintaining an up-to-date spreadsheet is time-consuming and prone to error. 

How to use Google Sheets as a CRM

A Google Sheets CRM helps systematically arrange your leads’ data and filter through it. For example, it lets you organize your contacts by name, jobs, and other criteria. 

Moreover, it allows creating arrangements based on other data, such as emails, social profiles, phone numbers, user journeys, and even past interactions with your brand. 

How to create a CRM in Google Sheets

Essentially, Google Sheets can be used as a CRM with the usual logic; users can add and edit rows and columns and easily import data from other platforms into their Google Spreadsheets.

By building different worksheets for marketing, sales, and customer service, you can use Google Sheets to plan and track tasks among team members. All in all, it takes only a few simple steps to make a CRM in Google Sheets. 

Start using Google Sheets as a CRM: A step-by-step guide

As we mentioned previously, Google Sheets comes with its own unique advantages and disadvantages when compared to a real CRM. Once you have evaluated the cons and pros of this app and realized it’s a fitting option for you, go ahead and get started.

1. Make a spreadsheet CRM template

First, you’ll need to create a Google Sheets CRM template, if you don’t have one already. You can also get free ones from trusted websites such as Salesflare. 

Once you have your template, go ahead and open it. At the top bar, find and open “File” Then, select “Make a copy” from the drop-down menu.

By doing so, you’ll access this Google Sheet template as a CRM in your Google Drive account.

2. Customizing your Google Sheets CRM template

To modify the CRM template to fit your business, you’ll need to:

Define your workflows

As a business, you must already have established both sales and marketing processes. If you haven’t defined your workflows clearly, now it’s a good time to write down the steps you take to make a conversion or close a deal. 

These points define the micro steps that help you achieve your business objectives. Once you know your workflows clearly, you can better adjust the Google Sheets CRM template.

Customize your sales or marketing stages

Type in your sales process’s step (or stage) under the “Stage name” column. Also, you’ll need to set a closing probability and/or conversion probability for each stage under the ‘Probability’ column.

There could be different pre-made stages, including:

• Lead
• Won
• Proposal made
• Contacted
• Qualified
• Unqualified
• Lost

Depending on how your sales funnel workflows, you may adjust these stages. Click on the three little lines to the left of the Stage tab to edit it. 

Add or modify the fields

There are many fields on your CRM template, such as;

• Company Name
• Contact Name
• Contact Email
• Stage
• Value
• Probability
• Expected Revenue
• Creation date
• Expected Close Date
• Team member
• Progress to Won
• Last interacted on
• Unqualified leads

Remember to adjust your CRM fields in a way that they correspond to your specific business. For instance, a car dealership doesn’t need a section for company names. You’ll also have to make sure to have sections for storing important micro-data points.

3. Input your existing pipeline information

Once you have customized your template, it’s time to get right down to business. 

Start by inputting your current pipeline data, ensuring all the important information is placed correctly. You can import this data manually or through email. Here’s how:

Manual pipeline data import

This is a good option if you have a limited amount of contacts. While manually moving several data points into your CRM spreadsheet can be challenging, it can be done gradually, and by spending a few minutes a day on this task. 

Pipeline data import via email

If you have kept your prospects’ information updated in your email contacts, the good practice will pay off while importing this data to your CRM template.

In case you are a Gmail user, here’s how to export, back up, or restore your contacts.

The process is pretty much the same if you are using other email providers such as Yahoo or Microsoft. 

The general idea is that you’ll need to extract a CSV file and open it in Google Sheets to copy the information into your customized CRM spreadsheet.

4. Centralizing your Google Sheets template’s use

You can share your new Google Sheet CRM with your team, including your sales, marketing, and customer service team members. This allows everyone within your circle to access and edit the information in real-time.

You can also share it with “external users” by defining access options which include; view-only access, commenting rights, or full editing abilities.

To ensure the maximum security of your data, there are different options to choose from. Select “Share” at the top right corner and then click on the setting ⚙︎ icon:

• Prevent editors from changing access and adding new people
• Disable options to download, print, and copy for commenters and viewers

Tips for productive use of Google Sheets as a CRM

Here are some tips for using your Google Sheets CRM effectively.

Centralize your CRM use

It allows tracking your connections and deals. For instance, when everyone who is in touch with your contacts, prospects, and sales progress (directly or indirectly) updates the CRM. This leads to better scaling of your sales success and incoming income.

Run a regular Google sheets CRM template sorting

Keeping the CRM spreadsheet up-to-date helps prevent losing deals because interaction details don’t get logged. This way, maintaining a clean, complete, and updated spreadsheet at all times becomes effortless.

Customize your CRM spreadsheet template as your business grows

As you expand your business, you should customize your CRM spreadsheet template according to your new objectives. This includes adding or removing columns, converging quotas, etc.

Integrate your entire data stack using LeadsBridge

When it comes to data management, automation is the key. Creating an automated data bridge lets you run your entire data import and export on autopilot.

LeadsBridge allows you to connect over hundreds of different apps in order to create strategic automations, and improve your workflows and lead nurturing. Check out some of our top Google sheets integrations:

Thinking of getting started with automation? Check out our guide to marketing automation for small businesses.

Connect Google Sheets with TikTok via LeadsBridge

An official Google partner like LeadsBridge lets you connect just about every CRM or marketing app on the market that can integrate with the Google platform.

This is a no-code method to facilitate data entry, send data sheets to Google Docs and other marketing and sales apps, and take full advantage of your contacts’ data. You can also connect your Google spreadsheet CRM with other advertising platforms such as TikTok. 

Here’s how to build an easy TikTok-Google Sheets CRM integration through LeadsBridge.

If you use several other third-party apps, we recommend using specialized CRM software for your small business. A CRM integration then connects your lead data with other apps for full leverage. 

Benefits of integrating Google Sheets CRM with TikTok Lead Generation

• ​No more CSV files and manual data processing. Integrating your Google sheets as a CRM with TikTok’s Lead Generation allows you to automatically sync your lead data in real-time in your CRM. This will cut off the manual work, save time, and keep your databases error-free. 
• The ability to run timely nurturing campaigns. Getting real-time lead updates in your CRM enables you to run follow-up campaigns at the right time. Keeping up with the speed-to-lead is the key to higher conversions. 
• ​One time setup. Once you have integrated your Google Sheet CRM with TikTok, you’ll continue to receive leads automatically. In short, integrating your CRM with TikTok Lead Generation is a one-time practice, and once completed, it works as an automated workflow. 

Final thoughts

Once you know how to use Google Sheets as a CRM, all you have to do is keep it updated. But apart from its many advantages, a Google Sheet CRM is always a temporary solution.

As your brand grows, your TikTok advertising grows consequently. And that’s when your marketing and sales teams need to switch from a CRM spreadsheet to a full-featured CRM system.

This also enables you to use our CRM integrations to build an interconnected data stack, create high-performing nurturing campaigns, and get higher ROIs. 

Discover all the possible integrations you can create with Google Sheets through LeadsBridge.