Whether you have decided to use customer relationship management (CRM) software for the first time or you want to upgrade to one that better meets your needs, you want to be sure to choose the right platform. Choosing a CRM can be a difficult task because you want to make the right choice for your business.
Two of the most popular CRM platforms out there are Nimble and Salesforce. Both are high-quality options, which may make it difficult to choose the right one for your business. For that reason, we’ll take a close look at both software to see which one may be the better fit for your situation. However, let’s first take a look at what you need to consider when choosing a CRM.
What to consider when choosing a CRM
It’s essential to do your homework when choosing the right CRM software for your business. Naturally, you want to consider the cost of the software, but there is more to consider beyond that. You also need to weigh aspects such as:
- How user-friendly it is
- Ease of implementation
- How well it integrates with social media, email and contact data
- Mobile capabilities
- Level of security
- Scalability
- Level of automation
- Quality of customer support
With this in mind, it’s important to consider the pros and cons of both Nimble and Salesforce to determine which one is right for your needs.
Pros and cons of Nimble
Ultimately, Nimble is a great choice for small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). In fact, it is designed to offer SMBs the same level of features that are usually reserved for larger businesses and enterprises. Having said that, Nimble is also compatible with enterprise-scale needs.
Pros
Nimble offers many advantages, particularly to SMBs that may not have their own well-established IT department. The pros include:
- Easy to set up and learn how to navigate and use all its features and capabilities
- Reasonably priced
- Frequent updates with new tools
- Integrates seamlessly with email and business applications to pull relevant and in-depth information on individuals and companies
- Integrations with Microsoft 365 and G Suite
- Powerful integration with social media
- Automated back office tasking, such as data entry, lead scoring and forecasting
- Prospector tool that pulls the information for all available contacts from any company website visited
- The ability to sync multiple email accounts with Nimble and view those accounts individually or at the same time
- The ability to organize contacts under tags based on different criteria, such as prospect, job title, previous client, influencer or industry
- The ability to take time-stamped notes within a contact
- The ability to manage all active deals and opportunities and access information on the individuals involved
- Full mobility with a mobile app for both iOS and Android with the ability to scan business cards and add information to or generate a contact
Cons
As with any piece of software, there are bound to be some drawbacks. When it comes to Nimble, here are the cons:
- Customer service is only offered via email or chat, and they can take until the next day to respond
- Not easy to find documentation on platform features
- Doesn’t have significant project management capability in terms of things like team collaboration, project mapping and task tracking
- Data and analytics customization is limited
Pros and cons of Salesforce
Salesforce has a long history of being one of the best CRM services, and it has been making great strides when it comes to keeping up with new technological advancements. With this in mind, here are the pros and cons of Salesforce:
Pros
Salesforce has been around for a long time, so it is well known. It has also kept up with all the advancements that have taken place when it comes to CRMs. There are many pros associated with Salesforce, including:
- Automated back office tasking, such as data entry, lead scoring and forecasting
- Integrates seamlessly with social media, email and business applications to pull relevant and in-depth information on individuals and companies
- Seamless integration with SAP and Oracle
- Fully customizable
- Very robust reporting features
- Full calendar and schedule organization
- Can take time-stamped notes within a contact
- Full mobility with a mobile app for both iOS and Android
- The ability to manage all active deals and opportunities and access information on the individuals involved
- Call tracking and click-to-call
- Full customer support via phone, email and chat
Cons
There are a few fairly significant cons that come with Salesforce. These may or may not make a difference for your company. They are:
- Has a steep learning curve, making it challenging to introduce to your company and employees
- Difficult setup and configuration
- Expensive
- Interface is not user-friendly in terms of navigation
- Must pay for additional add-ons to get the full benefit of the software
The bottom line
Ultimately, if you are running a large enterprise that requires a robust solution, and you have the resources required to get Salesforce up and running and to train your staff to use the software, then that is the way to go. However, for most SMBs, Nimble is just as its name implies. It will provide you with the features you need at a cost that is reasonable, and it is easy to set up and use. While Salesforce makes more sense for large organizations, Nimble makes sense for everyone else.
Contact Sherweb today if you need help with choosing a CRM that is right for your business.
