Comparing Cost

In today’s fast-paced, ultra-competitive, and highly technical business environment, the CRM has become an organization’s most valuable asset. A CRM is essential to understanding the needs of your SEG’s, improving service, and increasing profitability. With such importance placed on your organization’s CRM and its far-reaching impact, determining the actual cost of implementation is essential. There are many CRM software options available and just as many pricing models. Pinpointing the “exact” cost of various CRMs has become challenging. The software price is only a small percentage of the overall “true” expense of a CRM system. Many hidden costs must be taken into consideration when determining your return on investment.

• Instead of zeroing in on the upfront price, companies should focus on total cost of ownership over time or the “true cost” of the CRM. You can’t set a realistic budget otherwise. After reaching the plan’s storage limit, extra space will run you $125/month for 500MB.
• If you want 24/7 support, be prepared to purchase the Premier Success Plan, which costs an additional 20% of your license list price.
• Full mobile functionality is an upgrade for Professional users and costs an extra $50/month.
• Want to access the CRM offline? Great – that will be another $25/user/month.

You don’t need to be a math whiz to figure out that the hidden costs of CRMs can eventually run thousands of dollars per month. With the variety and complexity of CRM platforms and the extensive cost considerations, hiring a third-party consultant is a must for most companies. Having a technology partner that understands an organization’s needs, diagnose potential problems, and offer solutions is undoubtedly a cost worth considering up-front, to avoid headaches down the road.