CRM systems by price
There are now many hosted CRM options available for smaller businesses. This can make the task of identifying and selecting a suitable system more complex and confusing. This article provides a personal view on the relative positioning of many of the solutions available, in order to provide some initial grouping and categorisation.
Most Hosted CRM suppliers offer a tiered solution; typically two or three options from Free, Professional and Enterprise. Some offer additional modules at additional cost. Most charge on a per user per month basis. Most include support (typically extranet, email and telephone) in the monthly cost. Most solutions are available world-wide but it is worth checking if there are country restrictions which might affect you.
In looking at the solutions available I’ve attempted to categorise them into price bands. This is not an exact process but will hopefully help you to identify similar candidates and compare against options at a similar price and against more, or less, expensive versions. The bands I’m using are 1. Free, 2. Up to $30 per user per month 3. $30 to $60 pu pm 4. $60 to $100 pu pm and 5. Over $100 pu pm.
Please accept that pricing does change over time, deals and promotions are available sometimes, some suppliers have professional and enterprise versions etc. so don’t post comments that I’ve got a particular product in the wrong category for the sake of a few dollars. There will also be other solutions not covered here.
CRM for Free
Solutions offered at this entry point include:
ZoHo (up to 3 users) and
SalesPush (up to 5 users). Most vendors offer Free trial versions for 15-30 days as a way to allow you to evaluate the product prior to purchase.
CRM up to $30 pu pm
CRM from $30 to $60 pu pm
The
Business Catalyst solution, also known as GoodBarry and acquired by Adobe, is an interesting contender at this price level too. It offers an integrated suite of Content Management System (CMS), Integrated Customer Database, eqasy to use email marketing, built-in e-commerce and powerful reporting and analytics. Check out the solution at Bristol based
reseller NewIcon.CRM from $60 to $100 pu pm
CRM above $100 pu pm
This puts you in Enterprise level versions from Salesforce.com, Netsuite, RightNow, CDC/Pivotal and others offering real breadth and integration with other applications like finance.
At this level the integrated CRM system from
Infusionsoft is very attractive. As well as core CRM functionality it also has e-commerce, email marketing and marketing automation.
Other factors affecting the overall cost
Detailed evaluation and comparison of features and functions is highly recommended. Also, consider the total cost of ownership since over a 3-5 year period when other costs like training, productivity, ease of configuration, response time at the screen and other factors come into play.
