Zoho Corporation is looking to revamp its image as it grows, adding more partners who service larger businesses. Historically, Zoho has been known as an inexpensive software option, especially useful for smaller businesses. However, when enterprise-level customers do come knocking, they’re frequently impressed.
Zoho has done just fine by gathering up smaller businesses, making the relationships “sticky” with suites of apps like Zoho One, and growing with (until recently) hardly any US advertising. But, Zoho is showing Salesforce isn’t the only game in town for larger businesses.
So, what does this mean for Zoho Corporation, for you (whether part of a small business or a larger one), and for us as Zoho consultants?
No matter what, Zoho still wants to help you
Businesspeople shouldn’t look at this move by Zoho as an eschewing of the company’s roots. Rather, smaller businesses make up the vast majority of the global market. And, chances are larger businesses have even more connections to smaller businesses that Zoho can use to its advantage–namely for referrals. So, no, Zoho won’t likely turn into a one-dimensional company from this move.
Is it better to be big, or small?
The question remains: Is Zoho still better suited for larger businesses, or is it better for smaller ones? Zoho purposefully paints with a very broad brush, offering software packages suited for both larger and smaller enterprises, with pricing plans to match.
The answer is it doesn’t really matter, and it all depends on your preference–as always.
Zoho purposefully gears themselves towards smaller organizations.
Their competitive price points make the barrier to entry very low. As well, Zoho’s plasticity makes it easy for some businesses to turn on an app and start using it in production right away. And, suites like Zoho One or Zoho CRM Plus provide a whole system of apps for less than their constituent parts combined. Recent additions like Zoho Remotely and the Emergency Subscription Assistance Program (ESAP) ease small business pains related to working from home, or from the recent COVID-19 outbreak.
Zoho Corporation clearly values their SMB clients greatly. However, they expect some companies to grow larger as a natural function of their success.
Zoho’s customizability makes it a perfect choice for enterprise-level companies.
Anyone can turn on Zoho CRM and start tracking lead data. However, many Zoho apps boast a slew of features specific to automating workflow and simplifying processes for large departments. (Take blueprint, for example, available in Zoho CRM and Zoho Desk too.) Many Zoho apps can communicate with each other. Others can also integrate with third-party apps like QuickBooks Desktop. Furthermore, Zoho’s platform-as-a-service, Zoho Creator, puts it on par with Salesforce by allowing for creating custom apps and connecting with Zoho CRM.
Clearly Zoho has designed their apps with both small and large companies in mind. Some businesses may have growth plans that don’t include Zoho. And, for some, that is to be expected, a natural part of growth. But, Zoho purposefully designs software to last, and includes “sticky” apps that companies won’t want to stop using after starting to use them! So, even if some companies actually plan not to use Zoho forever, they sometimes find their plans change due to their users benefiting greatly from using the software. Again, this is a natural part of growth as a company.
What does this push to enterprise businesses mean for us as Zoho consultants?
As Zoho consultants, our job hasn’t changed. No matter the size of your business, our job remains to devise the best Zoho solution for you given your business goals. We’ve done this for one-man shows and we’ve done it for companies with hundreds of users.
If Zoho begins to attract more large companies, however, Zoho Corporation will likely begin expanding upon newer apps like MarketingHub. They’ll also probably offer more industry-specific solutions, and improve upon Zoho Creator. Zoho will probably release those improvements to larger and smaller companies alike. And this, in turn, makes our job that much easier, as it makes Zoho that much easier to sell.
And, whether Zoho adds functionality to Zoho Creator itself or creates new apps specific to industries like field services, construction, or manufacturing, larger companies have everything to gain.
Published on: June 20, 2017Category: Zoho CRMLast Updated: May 30, 2023 Comments: 0
You’ve been searching review sites and soliciting colleague feedback for weeks. You know your business needs a CRM, but you’re not sure which CRM is best for you. As a small business, you need to have all of the features in place to scale quickly as you grow, and overcome any potential pitfalls, yet you don’t need a price tag that puts into question the ROI for your company.
Well, you’re in luck. Though we might be biased (surprise, surprise), we’re biased because we know that Zoho works for small businesses just like yours. We wouldn’t be so passionate about this business if that wasn’t true.
While Salesforce is the number one CRM on the market, at least by market share and revenue, Zoho is truly made for growing companies. Salesforce caters to large, enterprise clients – such as Coca-Cola, ADP and Delta. Zoho, on the other hand, was created for customers who own or are part of small businesses in technology, consulting media, real estate verticals and more. Although the features and benefits are similar, functionality is different when considering Zoho vs Salesforce.
With that said, here’s why small businesses don’t need Salesforce.
Because as a small business, you need a CRM that will scale with you.
As a small business, you do not need hundreds of thousands of contacts in your CRM – yet. That’s like a single bachelor living in a 10,000 square foot mansion. Necessary? No. Nice to have? Perhaps. Yet, the annoyances far outweigh the benefits – more rooms to clean, higher cost of rent, more space for stuff.
Similarly, a CRM that offers too much comes with room to house bad data (after all, if you never reach your ceiling, why would you perform housekeeping tasks on a weekly or monthly basis?), the price tag is outside of what you can actually afford, and the feature-set isn’t what a business like yours needs.
Instead, work with a CRM that can scale with your business – so you can add on those extra rooms as your company expands.
Because cost is a factor.
Cost is a factor for any business, but even more-so for a small businesses.
Why pay for an enterprise CRM when your needs aren’t that?
Zoho starts at a price that is affordable for even the smallest of independent contractors or businesses. Salesforce, on the other hand, starts at 100% more per user than Zoho’s standard user price. Simply put, when it comes to cost, small businesses don’t need Salesforce, or a similar enterprise-focused CRM.
Features are plentiful within Zoho.
Zoho can record phone numbers, emails, meeting notes, to-do lists, documents, and much more without leaving the system. Similarly, the Zoho Import Wizard, Web Forms, or the Zoho CRM API to easily import contacts from other third-party business applications. The features are plentiful and the opportunities are endless.
The Zoho platform also centralizes all forms of sales info and communications, such as email, phone, SMS, social media, and in-person, into contacts, activity and records. These features are provided natively in some cases, and in others they exist as Zoho integrations.
Reporting matters.
Zoho provides a comprehensive view of all sales activities, including deal size, lead source, competitor information, and any other metrics you select. In addition, you can collect data and provide reports around sales forecasting, invoice data, and contract management (through digital signatures). Reporting in Zoho is everything, especially as a business grows and scales.
On-the-go is a necessity for small businesses.
Both Salesforce and Zoho offer native mobile apps for Android and iOS devices, which makes on-the-go data and insights so easy to consume. For example, you can update a record or contact through mobile, and view past notes on your iPhone as you’re walking to a meeting with a potential new client. Forget the clunky laptop as you’re in transit.
If you’re an enterprise client or massive business, like the aforementioned Coca-Cola, ADP and Delta, you should consider the features and benefits of both Zoho and Salesforce; yet, if you are a small business that is ready to scale and centralize your communication through a feature-focused CRM, Zoho is for you. This platform will provide everything you need – features, reports and more – with a cost that makes sense for your business. And that’s exactly why small businesses don’t need Salesforce.
Questions about Zoho? Click here to connect with an expert from our ZBrains team.
With so many different CRMs available today, all with different specs, you’re bound to be a little bogged down if you try to absorb too much at once. With that in mind, we’re going to pit just two against each other today: Salesforce vs Zoho.
When comparing features of Salesforce vs Zoho, it’s important to keep in mind the different versions of the two products. Tags like “Professional Edition” and “Enterprise Edition” can be misleading, as standards obviously vary between companies. In this case, the closest thing to Salesforce’s Professional Edition isn’t Zoho’s own Professional Edition, but their Enterprise Edition.
Anyhow, without further ado, let’s dive right in and figure out who wins in Salesforce vs Zoho…
The Salesforce vs Zoho CRM Review
Round One: The Cost
This is a chief concern for many business owners when picking out any software programs. Let’s take a look by making the simplest calculation possible: price per user.
It costs $50 per month* to board a single user on Zoho CRM EE. *Pricing updated June 2021
It costs $100 per month to board a single user on Salesforce CRM PE*.
For companies only boarding a few users, this sort of cost won’t be a big deal, understandably. But, when considering boarding ten users – or twenty of them – the cost per user becomes a much more important factor.
Cost per year to board ten Zoho CRM EE users: $5000
Cost per year to board twenty Zoho CRM EE users: $10,000
Cost per year to board ten Salesforce CRM PE users: $10,000
Cost per year to board twenty Salesforce CRM PE users: $20,000
In this case, the trend is clear: it costs twice as much to board the equivalent number of Zoho CRM EE users on Salesforce CRM PE, making Zoho the winner of this round of Salesforce vs Zoho.
Logically, the next thing you’ll want to do after comparing prices is see exactly what features you’ll get for the prices. That process is a little more involved than just looking at a couple of numbers, so we’ll divide it into a few rounds by category.
Round Two: The Sales Automation
One of the big reasons you’re looking into buying a CRM in general is so the program will keep track of certain things for you. Like, for example, your different leads, contacts, opportunities, and the like. Both Salesforce CRM PE and Zoho CRM EE pack a similar list of features, including competitor tracking, catalogs, and sales forecasts.
One notable feature Zoho packs that Salesforce does not, however, is feeds.
Feeds allows users to keep track of updates to certain leads, opportunities, or other activities; users can even leave comments on those activities, much like one would on a social network. This aspect alone gives Zoho an edge, although the rest of the sales automation features in Zoho are quite similar to the ones in Salesforce.
By just a nudge, Zoho wins this round as well.
Round Three: The Social Aspect
Being able to interact with customers on social media is very important, especially in today’s business environment. Both Salesforce PE and Zoho EE come into this round prepared for social battle, sporting Twitter and Facebook integrations, and Salesforce adding a LinkedIn plugin. Zoho makes up for its lack of LinkedIn with a social tab (to more easily monitor Facebook and Twitter entries) and a way to monitor social mentions, but, with LinkedIn as a big a player as it is in the business space, this round belongs to Salesforce.
Round 3A: Integrated chat options
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that both Salesforce and Zoho have integrated website chat options. In both Live Agent (Salesforce’s platform) and SalesIQ (Zoho’s), users can wait for visitor questions to roll in, or engage visitors directly via chat box. (This feature works particularly well for members of a Sales team or a Customer Support team.) Since Live Agent and SalesIQ are very similar, however, their inclusion doesn’t factor into the final decision.
Round Four: The Inventory Management
Another great quality of many CRMs is their ability to track inventory. That said, not all inventory management systems are created equally… Inventory management is where Zoho CRM EE really shines against Salesforce CRM PE; while Salesforce can track Sales Quotes, Products, and Price Books, Zoho can track those three categories of items plus Sales Orders, Invoices, Vendors, and Purchase Orders. In addition, Zoho has an integrated order procurement and fulfillment option. In this case, the unquestionable winner is Zoho.
Salesforce vs Zoho CRM BONUS ROUND: Integration
The ability to integrate is another absolutely vital part of modern businesses, as integrated systems can save time and money. Even if an integrated program doesn’t end up lowering costs, the potential for time savings can make up for that.
This round is no contest, though. Zoho was built with integration in mind; users of the program can also access MS Office, MS Outlook, Gmail, Google Apps, QuickBooks Desktop – and, they can access Zoho CRM and modify records entirely from mobile devices. Salesforce packs a few of those options – notably, integrations for QuickBooks, Gmail, Google Apps, and MS Office; however, some of the integrations are only offered for a higher cost.
On the subject of integrations, it bears mentioning that, like Salesforce, Zoho comes with a whole suite of apps and add-ons that can integrate with the CRM. Zoho’s offering, called Zoho One, is a suite of over 40 programs – and the number grows nearly every month. The entire suite, which includes CRM, Zoho Books, Zoho Desk, and a project management app, is just $45/user/mo, a far cry from similar offerings from Salesforce. With Zoho already coming up with a lower total cost without the extra charges for certain integrations, Zohowins this round as well, far and away.
Zoho CRM vs. Salesforce: Similarities & Differences
Zoho CRM and Salesforce are two well-known customer relationship management (CRM) software packages that provide a variety of capabilities to assist organizations in managing their customer connections, sales processes, and marketing initiatives. They have certain similarities but also significant differences. To better understand the similarities and differences between Zoho CRM and Salesforce, let us compare and contrast them:
1.Editions and pricing:
Zoho CRM: Zoho CRM offers a variety of editions, including a free edition for up to three users, as well as paid editions with additional features and functionality, such as Zoho CRM Plus. The pricing is generally more affordable, making it suitable for small and medium-sized businesses.
Salesforce is well-known for its extensive customizability. It offers a strong foundation for developing custom apps, processes, and integrations using Apex, its own programming language, and declarative tools such as Process Builder and Lightning App Builder. Salesforce is thus highly scalable and well-suited to organizations with complicated business processes.
2.Specifications and functionality:
Zoho CRM: Contact management, lead tracking, email integration, sales forecasting, social media integration, and analytics are just a few of the capabilities available with Zoho CRM. It also includes modules for email marketing and customer assistance, such as Zoho Campaigns.
Salesforce: Salesforce provides a variety of capabilities that span CRM, sales, marketing, and customer service. Through its care Cloud, it provides lead management, opportunity tracking, email automation, reporting and dashboards, workflow automation, marketing automation, and customer care functionality.
3.User Interface and Usability:
Zoho CRM: Zoho CRM offers an easy-to-use user interface. It provides a consolidated view of client data, allowing users to easily access contact information, activity history, and associated records.
Salesforce: Salesforce’s user interface is highly flexible and can be adjusted to meet unique user requirements. However, the interface, particularly for beginning users, can be confusing and daunting. The latest user interface, Salesforce Lightning, offers a more modern and streamlined experience.
4. Ecosystem and Integration:
Zoho CRM: Zoho CRM interfaces with a wide range of third-party apps and services, such as email marketing platforms, accounting software, and productivity tools. It also offers its own set of business applications, such as Zoho Books and Zoho Projects, that can be combined for complete business management.
Salesforce: Salesforce has a large ecosystem of third-party integrations as well as a dedicated AppExchange marketplace. It has a large developer community and may be integrated with a variety of popular programs such as marketing automation tools, collaboration platforms, and ERP systems.
Unparalleled Performance: Unveiling the Value of Zoho CRM
When evaluating the ideal CRM solution, Zoho CRM emerges as a strong contender, offering a suite of features that seamlessly align with your organizational goals. From robust lead management and streamlined workflow automation to comprehensive analytics that yield actionable insights, Zoho CRM is customized to enhance your business operations holistically.
Why Zoho CRM Prevails: A Closer Look
Tailored Solutions: Zoho CRM recognizes the diversity of business requirements, hence offering customizable interfaces and adaptable modules. This ensures that your CRM experience is a reflection of your unique needs.
Seamless User Interface: Navigating intricate functionalities becomes a breeze with Zoho CRM’s intuitive dashboard. The user-friendly design empowers teams, enhancing their efficiency and overall productivity.
Affordability, No Compromises: Zoho CRM stands out for its affordability without compromising on capabilities. Experience the full spectrum of CRM tools without stretching your budget, setting it apart in the market.
AI-Powered Insights: Gain a competitive edge with AI-driven analytics from Zoho CRM. Unearth patterns, predict trends, and make well-informed decisions propelling your business towards exponential growth.
Harmonious Ecosystem Integration: Zoho CRM seamlessly integrates with a suite of Zoho applications, establishing a unified ecosystem that streamlines operations across your organization. This synergy fosters collaboration and maximizes efficiency.
In the compelling face-off between Salesforce and Zoho CRM, the latter emerges triumphant in addressing the multifaceted needs of modern businesses. With its tailored approach, intuitive interface, budget-friendliness, AI-infused insights, and ecosystem integration, Zoho CRM emerges as the definitive choice for enterprises poised to achieve unparalleled success.
Conclusion?
Of course, this report doesn’t extract every single detail from both Zoho CRM Enterprise Edition and Salesforce CRM Professional Edition. However, the overview of the few features outlined gives prospective users an idea of what to expect.
What this report does not do is detail the exact look and feel of each UI, nor does it mention the methods of online or phone support plans or CRM consulting services offered, since those tend to be judged more subjectively.
The real object is to get you to make your own decision between Salesforce vs Zoho. While Zoho may be a cheaper option with more features, you may be looking into something more, still. You might prefer something lighter than Zoho CRM Enterprise Edition–or lighter than Salesforce Professional Edition. In any event, hopefully this post helps in your search for the CRM that’s most appropriate for your own business.
If you are a small or medium business searching for a cost-effective but powerful solution for CRM with an accounting integration feature, some automation, data security, and Google App integration, then you should consider implementing Zoho CRM. As a relatively new player in comparison to Salesforce, you may be skeptical until you read this article.
Affordability
The most important aspect for most small businesses is the bottom line cost. If two options exist that offer relatively similar features, the one that is 50% less in cost is the natural choice. This is the exact reason why Zoho has been gaining market share for their software, which is priced aggressively and includes much of the same features if not more than Salesforce at the same price points.
What’s even more important is the fact that Zoho offers a simple ‘pay-as-you-go’ model avoiding what most businesses fear; vendor lock-in. If you want to try out a solution, generally you do not want to be locked in for a year. Zoho’s monthly option allows you to give it a trial without wasting valuable cash flow over a longer period of time. Salesforce, however, ensures a lock-in period of at least one year. The fact that Zoho is 1/5th the cost of Salesforce, does not lock you in, provides similar features and is an easy- to-implement solution makes it the clear choice for small and medium businesses.
Leading Feature Set
At a fraction of the cost of Salesforce you may question the power of features that Zoho Online CRM can offer, yet you would be surprised that it still compares well to Salesforce. The pay-as-you-go model for Zoho also refers to the fact that you can choose only which plug-ins you need, paying only for what you use. Even with most of the plug-ins, the price is still generally less than a comparable package with Salesforce. The leading features that Zoho offers includes software updates as they are rolled out, Zoho support during implementation and deployment, mobile access, an intuitive web interface that is easy to use and implement, customizable interface to match your own company’s workflow, automation of key aspects of your business processes and the ability to export your data anytime.
These are on top of the standard features you have come to expect from a CRM with such a flexible and detailed customer relationship management. Included features are prioritizing your sales activities, automating your sales force, tracking sales, engaging clients through email and social CRM, all within Zoho CRM.
Easy Implementation
Requiring a week of setup and training is just not possible in some small and medium enterprises. Instead of hiring an IT expert to help you implement your new CRM, which is often the case needed with Salesforce, you can implement Zoho CRM into your software environment and start using it usually within the first day. Of course, full customization and implementation may take a few days but this process is simple and easy with Zoho CRM’s intuitive online interface. Also, our team of Zoho Certified consultants can help you integrate your CRM with other ERP software environments such as Sage quickly and efficiently as well, and even offer specialized CRM training sessions for you and your team.
As an SME you need to weigh your options for performance and automation against the bottom line cost. The best option is generally a program that meets most of your needs as well as your budget. Outgrowing Zoho for Salesforce three or five years later is a good problem to have.
Integrations Galore
Like Salesforce, Zoho comes with a wide variety of integrations – and not just 3rd-party ones. Zoho’s family of apps includes CRM, Zoho Books (for handling finances as well as orders and invoices for customers), Zoho Campaigns (for email marketing management), and many others. Zoho even offers a whole suite of apps called Zoho One, which contains over 40 apps. Zoho One is available for just $45/user/month*, a far less expensive choice than Salesforce. Add in Zoho’s platform as a service, Zoho Creator (similar to
Force.com), and you have a myriad of integration options, including custom Zoho ERP software integrations. *Pricing updated June 2021
Still can’t decide? We’ll talk you through it honestly
Looking for someone to help you make the decision between Zoho vs Salesforce? Feel free to drop us a line at (888) 207-4111 and one of our certified CRM experts would be happy to work with you to define the best solution for your business!
