CRM: dynamics 365 vs salesforce

CRM is currently the fastest-growing type of business software, but the notion of customer relationship management has been around since the 1970s, and some of the biggest names on the CRM software market today have 15 years of experience.

Hundreds of CRMs can perform core functions like managing customer information, tracking sales, offering customer service, and analyzing data, but the reason that big vendors like Microsoft and Salesforce have managed to climb to the top is the depth and extent of their capabilities.  

Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Salesforce are both huge names in the CRM space, but they won’t be the right fit for every company.

Salesforce

Salesforce helps businesses of all sizes accelerate sales, automate tasks, and make more informed decisions to grow their businesses faster.

It allows your sales team to access real-time customer information in one place, plus pull insights from dashboards and reports.

Dynamics 365

With its automated features and AI help sales teams better understand their customers, know the best time to send an email, and monitor social channels.

It includes a direct connection to the business social platform LinkedIn.

Its core CRM package—Dynamics 365 Sales—is focused on sales force automation and helping teams find and close opportunities, and comes as a single tool or can be bundled with other business operations tools.

Deployment

Both Dynamics 365 and Salesforce have cloud capabilities, allowing users to access data anytime, anywhere.

However, Salesforce was designed and built for the cloud, while Dynamics 365 allows flexibility to choose the best model for your organization, offering cloud, on-premise, and hybrid options.

Pricing

Monthly subscriptions to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales are slightly less expensive than Salesforce Sales Cloud,
when implementation and training costs are included in that price, the Salesforce solution can end up costing significantly more than Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales.

Integrations and Add-ons

Customers who use Microsoft tools in other areas of their businesses, Dynamics 365 Sales will seamlessly plug into the existing infrastructure.

Microsoft offers countless add-ons and integrations with tools you may already use, such as PowerBI, Outlook and Office 365, Linkedin, Power Automate, Power Apps.

The tools available to Microsoft customers makes this solution accessible for businesses with the budget for one suite of integrated solutions housed within your Dynamics 365 portfolio.

If you’re not a Microsoft shop, value third-party integrations and customizations, and want to take more of a best-in-class approach, you’ll appreciate the flexibility offered by Salesforce.

Conclusion

Neither of these two CRMs is objectively better than the other—and your decision will come down to your unique business needs.

Both tools offer industry-leading features and a scalable platform, as well as the ability to custom-build a unique solution.

Your decision should be based on what business systems you already have in place, what features your teams can use to excel, and how much you’re willing to spend. 

The critical differences between them, however, lie primarily in their purchasing models, so identifying which one is right for you will depend on your circumstances, and what’s most important for you to get out of your CRM.