Pros and Cons of Using Salesforce Software

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With the tightening competition of businesses across industries, the need for excellent customer service also grows. Because of this, customer relationship management (CRM) software was born and is now growing more popular. Among the most trusted CRMs today is Salesforce, the software that provides on-demand solutions for customer relationship management.

This application development platform provides customizable business applications to suit the unique needs of businesses. This is made possible because the design of CRM depends on the needs of the business which can be adjusted for each case. This results in easier search of new leads and speedy automation of internal sales processes. Salesforce also provides access to information that can help people make smarter decisions.

Salesforce was also named for the 13th year in a row as the leader in sales automation, based on the latest report from Gartner. Not only that, but it was also named as the leader in customer service for the 11th year. These prove that Salesforce is at the top of the CRM market that addresses marketing, customer service, and sales issues.

Salesforce Uses

Salesforce has been the top choice of many businesses for their CRM needs. Here are its different uses that teams take advantage of.

  1. Integration with social networking platforms. Salesforce recognizes the role of social media platforms in terms of customer reach. In fact, research finds that a 15% increase in churn happens when businesses fail to respond through social media. These platforms can be easily integrated into Salesforce to identify customer insights. The software extracts data from these insights and analyzes them so that reports can be seamlessly generated.
  2. For customer data and personalization. Businesses gather a lot of customer information throughout the course of their operations. Salesforce is a great tool for keeping these data and using them for future programs. For example, when sending emails, the emails can be personalized to suit their unique needs and make them feel special.
  3. Tracking customer interaction. Salesforce helps businesses avoid losing customers by tracking customer interaction. This is done by checking the date fields and sorting the customers by their last date of contact. This can also be automated wherein users can be updated weekly or monthly.
  4. Identifying and re-engaging inactive subscribers. According to MailChimp, inactive subscribers are 26% more likely to make a purchase, compared to non-subscribers. With this information, Salesforce can be used to re-engage with this type of subscribers. However, since a Salesforce Enterprise account can only send 500 mass emails at a time, third-party integrations will enhance this process.

The Cons or Disadvantages of Salesforce

  1. Too complex for small businesses. It can be said that Salesforce is most suitable for large-scale businesses which have sales and marketing teams. Meanwhile, smaller businesses may not need such complex software.
  2. Pricey. The price is not too friendly, especially for small businesses. Salesforce’s full version is available for $125 per month, with all the CRM tools that small businesses need. Though the software is truly helpful, this amount doesn’t seem affordable for all small businesses. Additionally, this rate is on a per-user basis which means that a team of 4 needs to pay $500 monthly.
  3. Not really unlimited. Previously, we mentioned that Salesforce’s mass email sending has a limit of 500 emails. It also has the unlimited version which is not really unlimited because it caps the emails at 1000. However, this is already way better than its entry-level plan which limits email sending at 250.
  4. Not very easy to use. Though Salesforce is an intuitive tool, many users report a high learning curve. Though it doesn’t need any installation, it is not something that can be used or set up immediately. In fact, it may be helpful to have a Salesforce ‚Äòmaster’ in an organization that uses it. Additionally, there are no keyboard shortcuts for lookups which require users to click buttons for everything.
  5. Poor customer support. For a huge software developer, Salesforce is expected to provide strong customer support. Unfortunately, this is not what many users say. According to some users, customer representatives change quite often which means many of them have just gotten out of training.

The Pros or Advantages of Salesforce

  1. Cloud-based. One of the best things about Salesforce is that it is cloud-based which means it can be taken anywhere. This is especially useful for businesses that have various offices in different cities. It is also suitable for companies that do not have a physical office and whose employees work remotely.
  2. Great compatibility. Because Salesforce is universal, it is compatible with all browsers in use today. It doesn’t matter what browser different users use because these all support Salesforce.
  3. Easy management. Salesforce lets managers track the activities of their staff. They can look at the tasks completed, emails sent, and calls made to create a picture of the team’s progress. It can also be used for sharing information with employees.
  4. It’s the top CRM software in the market. Nothing is perfect but given that Salesforce consistently receives awards for years in a row, it has been proven efficient and effective for CRM. This also proves that its services and features are consistent.
  5. The complete CRM software. Salesforce provides services through every stage of the customer life cycle. While it focuses on closing deals, it also tracks sales activities so everything can be seen. Its flexibility and fully customizable nature enable it to integrate with what businesses exactly need.

Integration capabilities. Because the developers understand the unique needs and demands of every business, Salesforce was designed to have integration capabilities. It can be integrated into systems like ERP, ITSM, and DMS, as well as into accounting systems and e-commerce platforms. It also has default integration tools and standard APIs for more aligned workflows and mutual data exchange.

Conclusion

Salesforce remains to be the top CRM software of choice of many businesses and there are so many good reasons for that. However, for businesses that have budget constraints, it may not be the best option for now. Other than that, Salesforce is an intuitive tool for collaboration and customer relationships management.

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