HubSpot and Salesforce are both great CRM platforms.
However, they are very different software products.
This week, I was asked to advise a large enterprise company on the best CRM and customer experience platform for their current and long-term strategies across multiple divisions.
There were over a dozen people on the phone - from IT to sales.
When you have that many people asking questions from so many different angles, it can be hard to provide clarity to the group.
In these situations, it is important to re-frame the decision, rather than push a specific solution.
Sometimes Salesforce is the right solution, and other times HubSpot is the better CRM.
How did I provide clarity when it came to customization and extensibility?
I re-framed the comparison by tying these abstract CRM solutions to technology that they already know.
(Warning: this only works if the parallels fit.)
Salesforce is like an Android phone.
You can customize it from top to bottom with little restriction. You can build out your dream system and include all of your requirements to your exact specifications, regardless of how complex that are.
It may be more expensive to plan, develop, and maintain, but you’ll have a system that can do everything you need, in the way you want it done.
HubSpot is like an Apple iPhone.
While it is equally as powerful at its core, HubSpot’s interface and modules are a more controlled environment.
You can customize the CRM significantly, including developing custom integrations and rendering that data in the CRM. However, it is done within a predefined user experience.
At the end of the day, is Apple better than Android?
It depends on how you prioritize cost, control, and user experience.
Is HubSpot better than Salesforce?
Again, it depends on how you prioritize cost, control, and user experience.
This process will lead you to the right solution for your business, rather than making you rely on experts to give you the answer.
