Going to implement marketing automation and considering SalesForce? We advice to view similar platforms to make a decision.

When clients choose marketing automation software, in most cases they are looking for functionality for email builder, marketing lead database, landing page builder, lead scoring, segmentation etc.

Comparing SalesForce with competitors people pay attention to the automation builder, customer data platform, chatbots, conversations, survey builder, segmentation, number of triggers and actions and so on.

We’ve compiled a list of top 10 competitors that are very resembling in cost and features to SalesForce. The list is based on popularity, so if SalesForce doesn’t suit you in any way, here you can easily select the best variant for you.

E2 Shop System

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We help shops and manufacturers of all kinds and sizes work smarter for improved efficiencies, greater flexibility and bigger profits.

FinCRM

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FinCRM holds expertise in providing Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Software and Full Stack Office Management solutions. The company possesses prowess in developing tailored CRM software solutions with the integration of advanced features to empower your workforce and lead to the pathway of lucrative business opportunities. It also offers CRM integrated Office Management Software to streamline your internal operations, improve marketing proficiency, and upsurge productivity.

1CRM

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OneCRM Software, powerful and affordable online Customer Relationship & Project Management (OneCRM) Software aimed at deriving better business insights, understand market demands, innovate product/service, meet business deadlines, stay compliant, take steps forward to deliver extra services.

Astute Social

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Astute Social is a comprehensive social media management platform trusted by leading B2C brands all over the world. It combines listening and brand monitoring with consumer engagement, publishing, and ad management capabilities to offer a complete solution.

Apptivo

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Apptivo is the perfect small business suite for google apps. Apptivo has CRM, Project Management, Invoicing, Timesheets and more. Apptivo's business suite consists of 40+ apps that are integrated and seamlessly work with each other. The information is shared across apps, so data once created can be used everywhere improving overall productivity.

Practifi

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Practifi is the business management platform powering growing financial advice firms around the world. We’re more than your average CRM. Unlock new insights, manage your pipeline, automate operations, monitor compliance and build deep client relationships, effortlessly.

KeyOffice

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Best for small companies and self-employed persons who are looking for a secured and dedicated all-in-one application to run their daily business.

EngageBay

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With a limit of 1,000 contacts and 1,000 emails/month, Enagebay CRM suggests its users the cheapest paid plans of the 3 providers. The basic plan will cost you $12 a month per user, and it includes 10,000 contacts and the same amount of emails.

InSyncTelco CRM

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InSyncTelco is the Best CRM for Small Business that has all the basic capabilities that small businesses need in CRM software, but is also highly ascendible as your business grows up. Moreover, InSyncTelco is one of the most affordable CRM solutions available; there's a free version to help you get started, and paid plans to start at a small part of the price of comparable CRM software.

Maximizer CRM

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Maximizer CRM is a customer relationship management software suitable for businesses of all sizes, which includes sales management tools, a customer service system and marketing automation features.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM

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Microsoft Dynamics CRM is a customer relationship management software package developed by Microsoft focused on enhancing the customer relationship for any organization. Out of the box, the product focuses mainly on Sales, Marketing, and Customer Service sectors, though Microsoft has been marketing Dynamics CRM as an XRM platform and has been encouraging partners to use its proprietary (.NET based) framework to customize it. In recent years, it has also grown as an Analytics platform driven by CRM.

How to choose SalesForce substitute

Many marketing automation platforms are resembling each other. Software with the same features can differ in cost by 2 times. The first feature you should look at is the availability of node interface. This is a basic feature of marketing automation apps and if it doesn’t include this feature, most likely this software isn’t ready yet. All node interfaces look almost identical. It's important not to pay attention to the UI, but look at the features.

In a month, you'll get used to the UI, but the missing features will always annoy you. Changing marketing automation software is very time-consuming. If you have the usual email chains set up, it's not that hard to change platform. But if you've already set up integrations, workflow, and have complex funnels, it can take years to replace the tool. That's why you should be attentive to study SalesForce competitors.

What to pay attention to when investigating the flow builder? It has 4 important features categories.

1. Triggers. For example, "Form submit" is a trigger that starts a funnel. The most often used triggers are: opening an email, clicking a link in an email, reaching a goal, adding or removing a tag, closing a deal, visiting a page, etc. In each system for marketing automation this set may differ. The more, the better.
2. Action. For instance, "Send email". This is the most standard action you can have. The most popular actions are: add or remove a tag, send a text message, send a messenger message, set a salesperson task, update a transaction, notify someone by email, move a transaction to another stage, etc.
3. Delay. For example, "Wait 3 days. Subscriber submit the form on the website and get in the marketing automation app (Trigger), the system sends a Welcome email (Action). After that the tool waits 2 hours (delay) and sends a second email. This is the most simple automation. But there are other variants. For example, "Wait until something happens". Or wait until January 20th, or wait until 10 PM in the subscriber’s time zone.
4. If/else. For example, "If a lead, has the tag "Purchased product #1", send the email, if the subscriber doesn't have the tag "Purchased product #1", wait 4 days and send the email. The most often used if/else parameters are: visited the site page, bought certain items, opened certain emails, user field the user card matches some requirements. This is information according to which you can segment the subscriber base.

Analyzing the automation builder, you should look carefully at all four categories of features. The more, the better. Usually it appears that powerful marketing automation software with the greatest number of features look uncomfortable. New platforms look nice, but they have few features. You look into the tool you want to use very deeply. Otherwise, it will be very hard to change it in the future.

After you've analyzed the automation builder, you need to whether there are integrations with the platforms you need. Fortunately, Apiway can help you. In most cases, apps like SalesForce are the core of business IT infrastructure. It's like a digital hub for all your customer. This type of app is like an tree, which is putting its tentacles into other software. Software like SalesForce has to integrate with most other ones. Or you’ll have to spend a lot of money and time making custom integrations.

Also those who are looking for alternatives to SalesForce use tools from other categories like chatbot software, helpdesk software, CRM system, lead management software