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SAP CRM vs Salesforce Marketing Cloud comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Ranking in Marketing Management
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
55
Ranking in other categories
Social CRM (2nd), Marketing Automation (1st), Social Media Management Solutions (2nd)
SAP CRM
Ranking in Marketing Management
4th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
43
Ranking in other categories
CRM (4th), Local Government CRM (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2025, in the Marketing Management category, the mindshare of Salesforce Marketing Cloud is 15.5%, down from 18.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP CRM is 20.4%, up from 12.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Marketing Management
 

Featured Reviews

SantoshKrishna - PeerSpot reviewer
Easy to deploy, stable, and scalable
The encryption and decryption have room for improvement. We need to be confident that the customer's data is secure when shared outside of the organization. I would like to request additional mobile app features that go beyond push notifications. As the mobile development industry continues to advance with new technologies, such as AI components, it is important to consider these advancements when setting up campaigns. Currently, campaigns are scheduled to be sent to customers at a prescribed time, but they may not be relevant to the customer unless they see them as valuable. For example, if I want to run a campaign offering loans, I would need to consider the customer's needs and balance. In the future, I hope Salesforce can incorporate an AI component that utilizes the shared data, rather than just scheduling campaigns.
GodfreyNoel - PeerSpot reviewer
Excellent user experience with ease of use and reliable technical support
When SAP CRM does the maintenance, it can take a long time, which can impact business continuity because we have to wait for the maintenance team to finish their work. Maybe if SAP could establish how you can access the tool using a cloud-based environment that would be virtualization, that would be better.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The notification system for customer alerts, including the integration of various communication channels such as email, SMS, and mobile push, is excellent."
"The most valuable feature of Salesforce Marketing Cloud is the reporting engine. Reports are very good and easy to build."
"Datorama is part of Salesforce Marketing Cloud, which is quite a valuable feature that provides customer analytics."
"It is straightforward to set up."
"We have found the solution to be scalable."
"The most valuable feature is the 'Accelerators', which are expert-taught subject matter webinars on items such as personalization of emails and SMS to contacts and prospects."
"The most valuable features of Salesforce are the automation and the ability to create dashboards which provide a wider picture of what is going on."
"It has excellent lead and opportunity tracking."
"The solution's contract management and product hierarchy features of SAP CRM are the most beneficial for our business operations."
"We are using the HANA Z database for CRM, which enhances the products we are currently using by making the system more efficient. Everything is connected to CRM, so we can use the data for analytics, sales forecasting, and data modeling."
"We get very good support from SAP."
"The tool is easy to use."
"The most valuable feature is lead management and integration."
"The solution is stable."
"What I found most valuable in SAP CRM is its multitenancy, and you can use it from your website, SMS, and even social media, and it's all integrated, so my company is trying to leverage on all of those."
"The initial setup of SAP CRM was simple."
 

Cons

"In a future release, adding end-user personalization would be a benefit."
"The cost is always a concern for anyone using a SaaS product."
"Salesforce Marketing Cloud should provide some debugging facilities for every user."
"When you use your iPhone or Android phone, Salesforce is not as user-friendly as it could be. That UX needs to be improved."
"Salesforce could benefit by implementing further integration with more platforms."
"Salesforce Marketing Cloud is expensive. The email functionality should be more modern and user-friendly."
"It's a very good solution, but the way the prices are structured is not always good, and I feel like that is a problem."
"I've noticed on one-to-one leads, the customer objection option is not available."
"The tool's installation on the cloud takes time, but it should be easier. One transaction takes around one to one and a half hours."
"As SAP CRM is still in its pilot version in my company, and my team is still experimenting on it, there's little room for exploration, but its setup is not as straightforward, so this could be an area for improvement."
"The solution needs more flexible customization, tender request, and they need to think about some of the localization aspects."
"The implementation and integrations could be better. After we went into the production environment, we had some issues. Most of them were with the ERP integration. Many other issues were around the client's integrations between the ERP and CRM platforms. It could be more user-friendly. It wasn't very user-friendly initially, but now it's easier for them to use. Now, the users can use that platform better than at the beginning. We would like to see reports with more analytic features and artificial intelligence in the next release. For example, show more metrics and KPIs and more dynamic dashboards. Because the platform has some models, but it's not easy to use. It's a little complex."
"The interface could be improved."
"SAP CRM could improve by making the solution more current, it is out of date. There are no more updates for SAP CRM."
"I think what needs to be improved is the solution for Brazil's organization."
"The B2C features of SAP are strong, but they are not very known to the public and companies. They must make it more known for B2C applications or B2C use cases."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"This is a low cost solution suited to larger organizations."
"Salesforce Marketing Cloud is affordable, considering the significant improvements it brings to our campaign results."
"This solution is priced in the medium to high price range."
"The licensing cost for the solution is on a yearly basis."
"The price is expensive."
"The solution's pricing is very high and should be more flexible for smaller companies."
"Licensing fees are paid on a yearly basis."
"Salesforce is an expensive solution."
"As for the product licensing, we pay an annual fee. It's important to consider setup costs and licensing based on your organization's budget and needs."
"SAP CRM offers a free trial for anyone wanting to test the product before purchasing it."
"The pricing from SAP is good but it takes time to realize the investment."
"Every user needs to have a license."
"There is a license required for the solution and most of my clients purchase an annual license."
"Its price is reasonable. As compared to other CRMs, this CRM is competitively priced. They have multiple flavors with different sets of functionality. Pricing is based on the flavor that suits your requirement. If you have more users, the cost will come down."
"SAP CRM is not suitable for smaller businesses because it is expensive. The larger businesses would be able to handle the cost."
"SAP CRM is an expensive solution and is the most challenging aspect of the solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
59%
Computer Software Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
5%
Manufacturing Company
4%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Salesforce Marketing Cloud?
Datorama is part of Salesforce Marketing Cloud, which is quite a valuable feature that provides customer analytics.
What needs improvement with Salesforce Marketing Cloud?
In the SMS area, it is not up to the mark, compared to what has been developed for email.
What do you like most about SAP CRM?
Getting the right information at the right time across different programs is important. These programs lack interaction between them. IPA is a good option to bring them together.
What needs improvement with SAP CRM?
One area for improvement is the security model, especially regarding records management retention and the audit and legal holds. Since we're in the middle of a cloud digital transformation, it's es...
 

Also Known As

ExactTarget
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Overview

 

Sample Customers

American Express, Financial Conduct Authority, KPN, Merck KGaA, Peterborough City Council, The Chapar, ADP, Financial Times, Stanley Black & Decker, SureFlap, Western Union, Philips
Brau Union Osterreich AG, Nu Skin Enterprises Inc., AOK Bundesverband, RAK Ceramics, NHS 24, Wholesale Sports Outdoor Outfitters, FC Bayern Munchen AG, Tumi, The Kellogg Company, MVV Energie AG, Anglian Water Services, German Football Association (DFB), Nebraska Book Company Inc.
Find out what your peers are saying about SAP CRM vs. Salesforce Marketing Cloud and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
842,296 professionals have used our research since 2012.