Most companies reach a point when it’s time to implement a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system. When this time comes, you want your business to grow in the right direction. That means you want to have a strong, yet user-friendly CRM system. It can be difficult to decide. CRM is the fastest-growing type of business software because it’s a major asset to any company.
As Dynamics 365 is closing the gap between Salesforce in the CRM Community, narrowing your search becomes more difficult. The major differences in these two platforms are the cost, deployment and integration options. Now the decision to make is, which software is best for you?
Features
Both Salesforce and Dynamics 365 give customers the option for the specific functionality they need within sales, marketing or customer service. Currently, Microsoft Dynamics 365 is the Leader to Salesforce. With major improvements coming, Dynamics 365 offers Business Intelligence through strong analytics, real-time dashboards, level data visualization, and flexible reporting.
Salesforce
Salesforce recently updated their analytics engine and are now able to provide better reporting, charts and dashboards. It is made up of numerous individual modules, or Clouds where businesses can pick and choose which module to implement based on what they want to achieve. They cover the basics of CRM use which includes sales, data management and marketing. The three main components of Salesforce CRM are Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, and Marketing Cloud.
Sales Cloud features include:
- Contact Management
- Opportunity Management
- Lead Management
- Salesforce Mobile
- Reports and Dashboards
- Email Integration
- Sales Forecasting
- Workflow and Approvals
- File Sync and Share
- Data Management
Service Cloud features include:
- Lightning Service Console
- Case Management
- Knowledge Base
- Service Process and Automation
- Omni-Channel Routing
- Service Analytics
- Telephony Integration
Marketing Cloud features include:
- Social Media Marketing
- Digital Advertising
- Mobile Messaging
- B2C Journey Management
- Interaction Studio
- B2B Marketing Automation
- Email Marketing
- Salesforce Data Management Platform
The additional modules include:
- Commerce Cloud Digital is used for e-commerce
- Pardot is used for marketing automation service
- Field Service Lightning is used as an app for managing employees and workflows in the field
- CPQ is used as a pricing management service
- DMP is used as a data management platform
- Community Cloud is used as a self-service portal builder
- Einstein is used for AI-driven analytics
Dynamics 365
Dynamics 365 is a cost-friendly solution and provides companies with the flexibility to choose the best model for your organization. It also features primary CRM-focused apps which include: Dynamics 365 for Sales, Dynamics 365 for Customer Service, Dynamics 365 for Retail, and Dynamics 365 for Marketing. A major factor with Dynamics 365 is that companies can use each app as one service or in collaboration with the other apps from Dynamics 365 suite. Microsoft products all share the same data model and can employ knowledge from the data throughout all their products including Dynamics, Office and Outlook.
Dynamics 365 for Sales
-Enable smarter selling with embedded insights
-Empower sellers to build relationships with authentic personal engagement
-Boost seller productivity with seamless tools
-Accelerate sales performance
-Innovate with solutions built to evolve
- Adapt quickly
- Extend and connect
- Invest with confidence
- Drive innovation
Dynamics 365 Customer Service
-Engage with customers on any channel or device
-Deliver fast, personalized service and support
-Learn from every interaction
- Learn from customers
- Turn insights into actions
- Speed onboarding and adoption
- Enable an agile support model
Dynamics 365 for Retail
-Drive unified commerce
-Create a modern store experience
-Effectively manage to merchandise
-Optimize operations through insights
-Innovate with a modern and adaptable platform
- Adapt quickly
- Extensible platform
- Invest with confidence
- Drive innovation
Dynamics 365 for Marketing
-Create and nurture leads
-Aligns sales and marketing
-Make smart decisions
- Gain marketing insights
- Focus on top priorities
- Monitor multiple marketing channels
- Improve social engagement
- Survey customers
-Innovate with a modern and adaptable marketing and sales software platform
Their additional apps and features include:
- Project Service Automation is project-based business management for resource planning and automation
- Field Service is an app for managing employees and workflows in the field
- Microsoft Social Engagement is a social media management and social listening app (included with both Sales and Customer Service at no additional cost)
- Microsoft Relationship Sales is a sales navigator integrated with LinkedIn data
Salesforce and Dynamics 365 contain similar features, but what helps Dynamics stand out is the ability to integrate with Power BI to provide detailed business analytics. In addition, they deliver increased efficiency by Dynamics 365 and Office 365 working together to provide productivity tools that companies prefer. Dynamics 35 gives you the choice to integrate with existing Microsoft applications such as Excel, Outlook, OneNote, PowerPoint, SharePoint, Skype, and Word.
The last comparison we have will break down the cost since we know that’s what you really want to know.
The Cost
Pricing is a major concern for businesses since the budget is a major factor to keep their business needs on track. Especially for small business owners, finding a cost-effective solution to their CRM needs can be tough. Salesforce Business Edition (Lighting Professional) cost $75 USD per user per month. Whereas the Lightning Unlimited is $300 USD per user per month.
This price may seem doable for even small business owners because of the initial price. However, you must factor in the customizing software features and adding third-party solutions. Dynamics 365 has a similar plan for Customer Engagement that is $115 USD per user per month. They also have a Dynamics 365 Plan that includes access to all applications except Microsoft Relationship Sales for $210 USD per user per month.
Which will you choose? Read into each option carefully before deciding. Break down the pros and cons of the information we provided and always read the fine print. However, if you want to learn more about Dynamics 365, check out our website and reach out with any questions you may have. We want the best for your company, and we want to see you not only succeed but grow. Let us help you by scheduling a meeting today!
Recommended Reading: Learn How to Migrate to Dynamics 365 from Salesforce
