Investing in a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system is crucial for businesses, but determining whether you're getting the right value for your money can be challenging. Overpaying for a CRM not only affects your budget but also hampers your business's efficiency and growth. In this blog post, we will explore three key indicators to help you assess if you're overpaying for a CRM:
| Am I overpaying for a CRM? 3 ways to tell:
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By examining ROI, team productivity, and customer support, you can make an informed decision and ensure that your CRM investment aligns with your business goals and maximizes its potential.
Point #1 - Your ROI is too low.
Calculating the ROI is crucial in determining if you are overpaying for your tech stack. ROI analysis helps assess the cost-effectiveness and value of the CRM system by evaluating its impact on customer acquisition, retention, and sales efficiency. It quantifies the financial benefits gained, such as time saved, increased customer satisfaction, improved sales performance, and reduced operational costs. By analyzing the ROI, you can gauge the effectiveness of the CRM in achieving your business goals.
So, if you are pumping thousands (or hundreds of thousands) of bucks into a, let’s say, marketing automation platform, that only produces a handful of sales-qualified leads that end up customers - it’s time to reevaluate your choices.
In other words, calculating the ROI is a data-driven approach, which ensures that your investment aligns with your desired outcomes, enabling greater success, and optimizing the pricing for the CRM system.
Point #2 - Your team is not working efficiently and effectively.
If your team is not working efficiently and effectively with the CRM system, it may suggest that you are overpaying for it. Inefficient usage could indicate a lack of value and effectiveness in the CRM's features and functionalities. It may imply that the system doesn't align with your business processes or lacks user-friendly interfaces and intuitive workflows. This can hinder productivity and impede success.
Are you a year or two in, and you’re seeing that your team prefers to use spreadsheets over your CRM? Or user adoption is taking too long? That’s a red flag. Your tech stack needs to be flexible and easy to use so that your team can effectively and efficiently produce good work.
By addressing these issues, either through better training, customization, or exploring alternative CRM options, you can ensure a cost-effective solution that maximizes pricing, and value, and ultimately enhances your team's efficiency and overall success.
Point #3 - You are paying extra for customer support (or you don’t have any at all).
Opting to pay extra for customer support with your CRM could be an indication that you are overpaying for it. A CRM system should ideally offer comprehensive and reliable support as part of its package, without additional costs. If you find yourself paying extra for customer support, it suggests that the CRM provider may not prioritize providing value and effectiveness in their service. This could lead to inefficiencies, delays in issue resolution, and hinder your success.
Have you ever been in a situation where if something goes wrong, you’re left on your own? That’s the worst, especially if your work depends on it. The company you pay should be there to support you, all the way.
A cost-effective CRM solution should include robust support without requiring extra payments, ensuring you receive the necessary assistance and maximizing the value and effectiveness of your investment.
HubSpot vs Salesforce debate
It’s a battle we all know of. Let’s compare the two most popular CRMs and see if you might be overpaying in terms of ROI, team efficiency and effectiveness, as well as customer support.
It’s no secret that HubSpot offers a more affordable pricing structure, saving up to $188,000 (!), making it potentially cost-effective for businesses. While Salesforce offers robust customization and scalability, its platform is often described as disjointed and hard to use by users, while HubSpot is known for its user-friendly interface, which can improve team efficiency and effectiveness. And getting to support: HubSpot offers inclusive phone, email, and chat (our favorite) support, while Salesforce makes you pay an extra $$.
90% of customers using HubSpot’s Sales Hub see a positive return on investment in the first year. - Gitnux
It sounds like HubSpot might be a more cost-effective option that would actually improve the efficiency of your processes. In the end, assessing your specific needs, business size, and budget will determine if paying extra for Salesforce is justified or if HubSpot provides a better value proposition.
So - are you overpaying for Salesforce?
By making a switch from Salesforce to HubSpot, we are able to save up to $161,000 a year in CRM costs. Your company may qualify for such savings.
Get in touch with us to see if we can help you reduce your costs.
