Hosted CRM solutions for smaller businesses
A view on banding, 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.
First up, this is looking at Hosted, On-demand, Software-as-a-Service delivered CRM systems. The pioneer and market-leader of this approach is Salesforce.com, with Netsuite also strong. There are some well established On-premise CRM solutions, like Goldmine, ACT! and Maximizer, and some of these are now offering On-demand solutions too. The benefits of On-demand Hosted solutions are many, especially in reducing the initial financial outlay and reducing the need for technical skills in-house.
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 changes 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.
1. 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.
2. Up to $30 pu pm
Solutions in this category include ZoHo and SalesPush at $11-12 pu pm for Professional version and $25 for ZoHo Enterprise level. Salesforce.com offers Contact Manager and a Basic level (Group) CRM for $5 and $25 pu pm. Salesboom offers Team version for $20 pu pm but on an annual contract.
3. From $30 to $60 pu pm
There are several Professional level options at this price-point including from SugarCRM, SalesNexus, Commerce, SalesTrack, and Salesboom. Also the Enterprise version from SugarCRM. Annual contracts and minimum numbers of users may apply. The Business Catalyst solution recently acquired by Adobe is an interesting contender at this price level too. It has also gone under the name of GoodBarry. Check out the solution at
reseller NewIcon.4. From $60 to $100 pu pm
This price point includes Professional level versions from heavy-weights like Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Salesforce.com, Netsuite, SageCRM, Oracle and Aplicor and Enterprise level versions from Commerce and Salesboom.
5. 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. Also, platforms like
Infusionsoft include additional functionality like e-commerce, email marketing and marketing automation over and above core CRM functionality.
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.
