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SAP CRM vs Salesforce Marketing Cloud comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary
 

Categories and Ranking

Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Ranking in Marketing Management
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
54
Ranking in other categories
Social CRM (1st), Marketing Automation (1st), Social Media Management Solutions (1st)
SAP CRM
Ranking in Marketing Management
4th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
43
Ranking in other categories
CRM (4th), Local Government CRM (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2024, in the Marketing Management category, the mindshare of Salesforce Marketing Cloud is 15.2%, down from 21.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP CRM is 22.7%, up from 10.0% 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.
Shreyas  K M S - PeerSpot reviewer
It integrates well with our existing solutions, so we can analyze the data for analytics, forecasting and modeling
Setting up SAP CRM is straightforward. I rate it eight out of 10 for ease of setup. SAP provides all the tools and techniques were available from the vendor. However, the integration portion is a lot of work and requires some functional consultants. It takes some effort to customize the program and rewrite it to align with our business standards, but the initial implementation is straightforward. We didn't face any challenges here. Total deployment for this project took around eight or nine months, including development, testing, and validation. After deployment, the administration is fairly simple. We have to take care of the licensing part and forecast data growth for the next three or four months. We have the tools and people available for operations as well as vendor support. If we have complex issues, we can raise a ticket to the vendor and get it sorted.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It is easy to use."
"The Journey and CloudPages and automation are all great."
"Email Studio is one of the core parts of Salesforce Marketing Cloud."
"We have found the solution to be scalable."
"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."
"I like that I can constantly add leads to Salesforce Marketing Cloud and look at accounts there. I also like that the solution lets me set up meetings."
"The tool's most valuable feature is its automation. We can integrate data with the Salesforce hub. Its Einstein feature tells us whether our campaigns are on the right track. It also helps with ideas."
"Marketing Cloud has improved our productivity and our team enjoy using it."
"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."
"The solution is highly scalable."
"The features that are used most are the lead model and the opportunity model. We can create many different pipelines with many phases. These features improved our process in the States very well."
"The flexibility to design the portal and customize it according to the needs of the clients is valuable. The integration with SAP ERP is also valuable."
"The solution's contract management and product hierarchy features of SAP CRM are the most beneficial for our business operations."
"I have found the sales reporting feature specifically useful as it provides reporting and visualization which helps in decision-making. I use this to understand where to improve, which in-turn, helps generate sales."
"It was comfortable setting up the tool."
"The primary use case for us is lead creation and data management."
 

Cons

"The data extension tools are not very user-friendly."
"Salesforce Marketing Cloud should provide some debugging facilities for every user."
"Marketing Cloud's forecasting could be improved."
"We'd like to see more integrations with third-party products."
"They could improve the product's data integration functionality for larger companies."
"Marketing Cloud should change the script language that it uses because it's not good. It's tricky and difficult to develop."
"Clarity around new features could be improved when they are released."
"In a future release, adding end-user personalization would be a benefit."
"Content management is one area where SAP CRM could use some work because we were seeking a CRM solution that could store BLOB data, like PDF and email data, which takes up a lot of space in the database. Recently, we migrated to a content server, but it would be nice if CRM had built-in BLOB data management because BLOB data is a challenge we've been dealing with since last year."
"Our users are using it primarily from their laptop browser and very few are using it on their mobile because the mobile is not that user-friendly."
"It was not very stable. It was not a network problem because we were using tools that were not SAP. They were working well. But when I'm running the SAP, it's not working for us."
"I think what needs to be improved is the solution for Brazil's organization."
"The solution is slow."
"Improvement is needed for SAP CRM's integration with Microsoft Teams and Outlook Its integration with Microsoft collaboration software, including Teams, Outlook, and SharePoint, is not very good. There are issues with synchronization between appointments in CRM and Outlook, as well as challenges with managing contacts, which creates problems."
"There are quite a lot of missing parts in SAP CRM, which is why we do a lot of customization. Not everything is there, and some things need custom coding to cater to specific needs. It is not a plug-and-play solution with standard features, and we have to customize quite a lot."
"It can be a bit more user friendly, to be honest. Sometimes there are too many apps options. It should offer better UX (user experience) to make it easier to navigate and easier to use."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Salesforce Marketing Cloud is a highly expensive solution, it needs to be less expensive. We are on an annual license to use the solution."
"Salesforce has different versions of the solution and some are more suitable for smaller clients. However, Salesforce is expensive."
"On a scale where one is the lowest and ten is the most expensive, I rate the solution an eight out of ten."
"The solution is a bit expensive."
"The licensing cost for the solution is on a yearly basis."
"It's normal pricing."
"Licensing fees are paid on a yearly basis."
"This is a low cost solution suited to larger organizations."
"The pricing from SAP is good but it takes time to realize the investment."
"SAP CRM is not suitable for smaller businesses because it is expensive. The larger businesses would be able to handle the cost."
"SAP CRM costs approximately a couple of thousand a month."
"They should reduce the price to target small businesses."
"We pay for the license yearly."
"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."
"Every user needs to have a license."
"From the maintenance perspective, SAP CRM is quite expensive compared to cloud services because the current solution they're using is managed by us and we are hosting it on servers. There is the cost of hosting, and managing servers and applications. The overhead is substantial, but this solution is a legacy system. It will take some time for the customer to migrate out of it."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
57%
Computer Software Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
5%
Manufacturing Company
4%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
9%
Educational Organization
8%
 

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 is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Salesforce Marketing Cloud?
The solution's pricing is very high and should be more flexible for smaller companies.
What needs improvement with Salesforce Marketing Cloud?
I would like to see more ways to accomplish specific tasks. Instead of having one set method, there should be multiple options available. Additionally, sometimes the integration between Salesforce ...
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

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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: December 2024.
823,795 professionals have used our research since 2012.