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.

Freshsales

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Freshsales CRM is all-in-one project software, that is free and can enhance team collaboration and communication and streamlines the entire project management journey. This CRM brings context, collaboration, and productivity that helps you sell better.

PipeDrive

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Pipedrive is a Flexible, highly focused on driving the sales, and easy-to-use CRM software built by salespeople and marketing professionals with a single goal – to simplify your sales process and assist salespeople in clinching the deals. Using Pipedrive CRM you can focus on the right people at the right time and convert those people into deals.

Redtail CRM

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Redtail CRM - web-based Client Relationship Management software, integrates widely and deeply with other popular tools in the financial services industry.

Tamarac CRM

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Tamarac CRM is a web-based client relationship management system designed specifically for independent advisors and built on the trusted Microsoft Office 365 platform.

CiviCRM

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CiviCRM is a web-based, open source CRM system, designed specifically to meet the needs of advocacy, non-profit and non-governmental organizations. Elected officials, professional/trade associations, political campaigns and parties, government agencies, and other similar organizations are among its growing number of enthusiastic users.

edge CRM

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Designated as India's Most Promising CRM, edge CRM is a customer relationship management platform conceived, instigated, and perfected by salespeople for the salespeople. edge CRM is a completely customizable CRM suitable for all business sizes pertaining to every industry profile.

Less Annoying

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Less Annoying CRM is a simple customer relationship manager designed specifically for small business. Store all of your contacts and their histories, track sales leads, customize the CRM to fit your unique workflow, and manage your events/reminders.

Really Simple Systems

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Our CRM our philosophy is based upon taking complex applications than making them easy and affordable. Experience tells us that the majority of SMEs don't need half of the functionality available in most CRMs and will never use it. So, by applying our philosophy to our CRM we have created a system that organizations can easily adopt and use to successfully manage their business. Basically, making CRM simple!

Follow Up Boss

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Follow Up Boss is simple real estate CRM software designed to support, and fuel the growth of ambitious real estate teams. With easy-to-use web and mobile apps, agents get more done, faster, and team leaders get more transparency into what's happening in their business.

Onpipeline

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Onpipeline is a cloud-based, reliable, and scalable Sales CRM (SaaS) that includes a full suite of tools that boost sales productivity and make the sales process more human. We believe your business deserves software that's easy to setup and use, and requires minimal training and customization. When you choose Onpipeline, you get more than just a product. You get our commitment!

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