In our previous article we took a look at the Salesforce program. Today we’ll continue looking at the features, benefits, and pricing of Salesforce as a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) or Project Management solution.
Works Well with Basic Design
Salesforce works incredibly well for those wanting a place to list all of their products, provide contracts, provide answers to FAQs, view the company blog, and offer a box for contacting the company. Although Salesforce doesn’t work well with complex algorithms, anything that can be accomplished with basic design is doable.
Converting Leads to Sales
Applications are not always the best way to attract new customers, but they are an excellent way to make converting your leads to sales easier by having a place customers can go to get quick answers to their questions. It can also be used to retain existing clients by having a support section, and has the upside of strengthening the image of your brand.
In-House Application Benefits
Many applications are also developed for in-house use, such as coordination between sales and distribution, for a warehouse setting, or for in-house calculators and tools. These features can be especially helpful for CRM and for running a business in general.
Variety of Available Plans
A slight downside of using Salesforce is that it is one of the more expensive CRM suites. However, if you only need a few specific features then there are plans available that are slightly more affordable.
Affordable Plans
The most affordable plan is the Group Plan, which only runs $25/month per user. It includes access to content customization, reports, “chatter monitor”, and of course contact tracking and notes. It also “finds” leads and provides them from local databases and social media networks. It has the ability to keep more detailed track of your leads, and to assign them to specific agents. This plan also has the useful email templates mentioned in the previous article.
Professional Plan
The next is the Professional Plan. This version has more of the marketing features, but also has more advanced task assignment. It includes mass email capabilities, tracking of ad campaigns, and the ability to make dashboards specific to just your company. The Professional Plan also has Salesforce’s quotes and service listing feature. It runs $65/month per user.
Enterprise Plan
The Enterprise Plan is $125/mo per user, and has all the previously mentioned features and more. It has the ability to automatically assign new leads, and to send new tasks once other tasks have been completed (“workflow”). It can be integrated into your website, and has mobile application development features. This is the most affordable plan offering automation.
Top Plans
The next plan is a pricier investment at $300/mo per user. This plan offers a huge amount of data storage, more support from Salesforce corporate, and more customization. The cost of Salesforce can really start adding up if you have a lot of users, especially if not all the users are making full use of the features. Comparatively, most CRM and Project Management software offers top plans for around $30/month, and cheaper plans for the more basic programs.
While Salesforce can be costly, depending on your plan, it is an important option for many businesses. If you’d like to review the benefits offered through Salesforce, visit our previous article. Remember, technology should enhance your life, not complicate it. If you would like more information about CRM programs, contact tekRESCUE, located in San Marcos, TX.
