Why should you evaluate Salesforce alternatives?

In today’s competitive landscape, choosing the right CRM vendor to suit your business needs is crucial. While Salesforce CRM software is a well-known vendor, its exhaustive features may not be the right fit for all. Their complexity and steep learning curve can be overwhelming to many, particularly to small and medium-sized enterprises. Additionally, Salesforce’s high costs, limited customization options for SMBs and extensive training requirements are key reasons to consider Salesforce alternatives. 

Let’s look into a simple analogy here. You don’t need a high-performance sports car with complex controls and features for your daily commute. You generally choose a reliable, easy-to-drive car that gets you from point A to point B comfortably and efficiently. All you need is a vehicle that meets your needs and is easy to use. Similarly, choosing a user-friendly and efficient  Customer Relationship Management helps you to increase sales productivity and stay ahead of the competition. This article highlights top reasons to consider salesforce competitors & alternatives, focusing on ease of onboarding, customization, more affordable pricing, and superior customer support.

Top reasons to consider Salesforce alternatives

How easily can you navigate Salesforce screens and dashboards?

In today’s fast-paced business environment, simplicity and flexibility are the two important parameters you need to consider when choosing a CRM. Everyone hates complexity. Back in 2000, Salesforce was the only cloud software. Since then business needs and technology have changed and evolved rapidly. Salesforce’s traditional architecture still relies on outdated frameworks and has not been able to keep pace with these changes. It cannot be easily customized to suit the needs of small businesses. Due to this, users find it difficult and challenging to navigate within Salesforce. It can also be overwhelming to the sales teams because of the platform’s vast range of features. They might spend more time exploring and understanding how to navigate and use the system effectively.

There are a lot of Salesforce alternatives that make navigation seamless. This is critically important for enhanced efficiency, improved customer experience and higher productivity. Efficient and easy navigation in CRM tools especially in contact management and customer data handling, reduces the learning curve for new users, minimizes errors, and ensures teams are more efficient and productive in managing customer relationships.

Does Salesforce CRM pricing offer a straightforward and predictable structure?

Salesforce comes with different tiers for different features and capabilities. These tiers include Starter suite, Pro Suite, Enterprise, Einstein 1 sales each providing different functionalities. This can be overwhelming for mid-sized businesses wanting to scale up. You might incur some non-budgeted expenses just to add a few features.

Choosing a CRM that offers comprehensive pricing and no hidden costs will be highly beneficial. Having straightforward pricing helps businesses to budget effectively and avoid unexpected costs. Simplicity with a comprehensive pricing structure helps you to scale up as your company grows. This is something Salesforce does not offer.

Can you easily reach a Salesforce customer support representative?

Salesforce offers different types of customer service for different subscription levels. Not all users can reach a representative directly. For general queries, Salesforce offers support via email or live chat only. Salesforce support team offers possible solutions to fix issues, but does not guarantee a fix.

Since there is no direct access to customer support with Salesforce, the resolution time is higher compared to Salesforce alternatives that provide direct access to their customer support team. Direct access to the customer support team of your CRM vendor ensures quick resolution of issues, which is vital for maintaining business continuity. Since CRM involves day-to-day operations, choosing a CRM vendor that gives easy direct access to the support team via call or whatsapp can be a significant advantage.

Have you calculated the TCO involved in implementing Salesforce?

There is a common statement about salesforce that says – “For every 1$ spent on licensing per year, a 0.75-1$ will be spent on implementation”. It’s quite difficult to determine Salesforce’s TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) of the CRM platform pricing. The TCO for a salesforce implementation includes the CRM licensing costs, cost of adding new features,implementation costs using specialized consultants, data migration costs, cost of customization, cost of training, cost of additional records, and 24/7 support. All these factors contribute to the overall TCO, making it difficult for small businesses to thoroughly evaluate and plan their CRM investment.

Choosing a CRM alternative that gives you a comprehensive pricing can be a good cost effective option. It will also help you budget your CRM investment effectively.

Can you implement Salesforce without an implementation partner and are you aware of the CRM implementation cost?

Salesforce doesn’t take up implementation projects themselves. They rely on their partners to engage with clients to get their software implemented, and provide training to users. Without a Salesforce partner, it will be impossible for you to implement and customize the CRM to suit your business needs. These partners come with huge CRM implementation costs, CRM training costs, costs for change requests, etc. Unfortunately, clients are left at their mercy for them to go-live.

When you use a salesforce alternative, you can have an in-house onboarding specialist who can help you onboard faster and realize a quick return on the CRM investment. Moreover, these alternatives often come with lower CRM software costs and CRM implementation costs, making them a more budget-friendly option for businesses looking to optimize their expenses without compromising on functionality.

Do you know why Salesforce implementation partners charge so high?

You may not be aware that partners have to make significant investments to become a Salesforce partner in the form of annual partnership fees, training, certifications, etc. To recoup these costs, partners have no choice but to pass on the costs to clients. Since this is mandated, partners tend to often focus on recovering their costs.

It is therefore advisable for you to choose a salesforce alternative vendor that does not mandate aspects that lead to cost escalations. Cost is one of the top reasons to consider salesforce alternatives for SMBs.

How quickly can you implement a Salesforce CRM and go live?

Many market reports say that implementing a Salesforce CRM is a time-consuming process. Since you need Salesforce-certified partners, the time taken may even increase if you have not chosen the right Salesforce partner. Not only does it come with high risk and associated costs, but the risk of Salesforce CRM implementation to fail is much higher. This report from Salesforce gives some insights into interesting statistics on CRM failures.

Implementing a CRM system and going live quickly is crucial for any business. Sooner the CRM is operational, sooner the company can have an ROI. Choosing a salesforce alternative that offers you a swift adoption provides you with a competitive advantage. It will enable you to leverage the CRM effectively to stay ahead of the competition.

Conclusion

Implementing a large brand like Salesforce might seem very compelling. However, this decision might lead to a huge financial burden due to the hidden costs and cost overruns. It will be wise to consider some of the Salesforce alternatives for your specific business purpose. The best choice is the one that aligns with your business goals, incorporates robust automation tools, and fosters innovation.

A Salesforce alternative CRM like HappSales offers significant benefits when you consider its short implementation cycle time along with its transparent pricing structure with no hidden costs, delivered at lowest TCO. At the same time, its all-in-one integrated suite, coupled with a voice-enabled app powered by AI, and advanced automation features like workflow automation, offers a powerful framework to help you achieve your business outcomes.

Author Bio
Author Name: Deepa Arul

Deepa leads Marketing Operations at HappSales. She comes with over a decade of vast experience in sales and marketing operations. 

She is obsessed with customer success, and loves writing blogs on sales & marketing topics. During her free time, you can find her mastering the French language. She actively contributes to the society by recording audiobooks to the visually challenged and teaching English to the underprivileged children, in addition to her favorite pastimes of reading and traveling.