Decisions, decisions... Are you tired of having your charity contact information all around? Have you finally decided to use a cloud CRM service? Making your mind is just the beginning. Very soon you will realise that there are two main players out there: Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics Online CRM. Now the problem begins; which one is the best CRM provider for your charity?
The answer is not easy. I will try to provide you with some information to help you during the decision making process.
Out of the box
If we compare the two CRMs we will find out that in terms of basic features both products are very similar. Nevertheless, be aware that this does not mean that you will be up and running in no time. Salesforce and Dynamics are like the first time you sit in a new car, everything is in place but you will spend time adjusting the mirrors, your sit, fiddling with the radio, to accommodate the environment to your needs. This means that, most probably, you will have to spend some resources to help you to fit your CRM solution for your needs.
Said that it is worth mentioning that Salesforce for charities comes with a basic application designed for non-profit organisations. This does not mean that you will have everything you need from the start but at least is something.
Bees and Honey
Money! This is probably the most important factor when deciding what CRM are you going to go for. The good news is that Salesforce and Microsoft offer discounts for charities. Both companies include different licences types into the charity discount so we are going to concentrate in the most popular ones: Salesforce Enterprise and Dynamics Professional.
- Salesforce: They will give you 10 licences for free. On top of that they will give you 80% discount on additional licenses, and big discounts on products and/or services from salesforce.com. This means free 10 licences and then, £17 per month for any additional user.
- Dynamics: Microsoft does not provide free licences but the cost per user is cheaper: £9.40 per month per user.
Here is a graph showing a cost per month comparison:
What does it mean? If you have a small charity and do not need more than 23 licences, Salesforce will cost less but if you need 24 or more then Microsoft Dynamics will become the cheaper option.
Integration
This is another point to take into account. Why? If your organisation is heavily dependent on Microsoft products like Outlook, SharePoint, etc. you would like your new CRM to get along well with your services. In this case Dynamics will provide deeper integration with Microsoft products. This does not mean that Salesforce cannot work well with Outlook or SharePoint is just that Dynamics give you a better integration.
Pros and "pros"
Finally, to keep it positive, I am going to give you a "pros and pros" table. I will list which are, from my point of view, the best features for both products.
Choosing the right CRM cloud solution for your charity it is not a task to be taken lightly. easyIThelp provides big discounts for charities, if you need help, contact us now and get the professional advice you deserve.
