Want to cut right to the case? Salesforce is the better software for batch email marketing while SAP is more versatile.
The wave of technology has enveloped the business world, bringing about various software, solutions, and tools. These aid efficiency in managing work processes, clients, productions, offerings, human resources, and many more. Technological solutions such as CRMs offer pipeline management, sales force automation, marketing functionalities, and SaaS or cloud access. While Salesforce is a top dog in the realm of CRMs, SAP, on the other hand, functions not just as a CRM but also as an ERP. Before deciding whether to use SAP or Salesforce for your business, you should finish reading this article first.
Main differences between SAP and Salesforce
| SAP | Salesforce | |
| Software type | ERP and CRM | CRM only |
| User interface | Great and easy to use | More interactive and intuitive |
| Offline access | Offline access to nearly every feature | Limited offline mode. |
| CRM features | A considerable number | Larger number |
| Back office integrations | Seamless | Better |
SAP vs. Salesforce: Features and capabilities
Features and capabilities of SAP
- Email Marketing: SAP provides enhanced email marketing tools that let you design and customize batch emails using the pre-built templates, manage your campaigns, attract customers, and reach your target groups. It offers in-depth personalization, high-volume delivery, and advanced targeting.
- AI services: SAP has various AI services, such as SAP Co-Pilot, SAP Customer Retention, and SAP Deal Intelligence, that can predict customer behavior, prioritize tasks, measure your brand influence, and achieve a more personalized experience for your customers.
- Offline mode: With SAP, you can get complete access to almost all tools and features without an internet connection. The generated offline data is then synced when you are back online.
- Online case management: With SAP, you can process customer service tickets, categorize cases in pre-defined hierarchies, and manage a wide range of internal financial issues and HR. SAP also offers an incident tracking feature with custom fields.
Features and capabilities of Salesforce
- Custom reports: In addition to its pre-installed reporting templates, Salesforce lets you create unique custom reports to suit your business needs. You can gather your KPIs, such as conversion rates and sales metrics.
- Business intelligence: With Salesforce, you can build and manage your marketing campaigns, monitor your KPIs, and develop strategies. You can also increase sales effectiveness by evaluating trends using the Quikview add-on.
- Marketing tools: Salesforce offers a marketing cloud with many tools, such as Data Studio, Social Studio, and Salesforce DMP, that help you coordinate customer experience, create and run effective advertisements across many channels, and meet your overall marketing needs.
- Knowledge base: Salesforce has a Salesforce Knowledge which serves as a comprehensive database for information resources such as tutorial resources, forums for Q&A interactions, and ‘how-to’ articles, among others.
SAP vs. Salesforce: Pricing
Salesforce Sales Cloud pricing
- Free trial
- Essentials Plan (Costs $25 per user/month)
- Professional Plan (Costs $75 per user/month)
- Enterprise Plan (Costs $150 per user/month)
- Unlimited Plan (Costs $300 per user/month)
SAP Sales Cloud pricing
SAP’s ERP offerings include SAP ERP, SAP S/4HANA, SAP S/4HANA Cloud, SAP Business One, and SAP Business ByDesign. However, the focus here is on SAP’s Sales Cloud pricing, which starts at $57.
- SAP Sales Cloud Core solution (Available on request.)
- SAP Intelligent Sales Add-on (Available on request.)
- SAP Dynamic Visit Planning Add-on (Available on request.)
Reasons to choose SAP over Salesforce.
SAP is more versatile than Salesforce because, unlike Salesforce, which can only be used as a CRM, SAP can be used as both CRM and ERP.
SAP’s offline mode has the edge over Salesforce’s because it allows you to gain full access to almost all the features in the suite while offline and syncs when back online, whereas Salesforce’s offline mode is very limited.
SAP provides better and more robust case management utilities and functionalities than Salesforce.
SAP offers a more interactive and intuitive reports feature with unique assigning and access controls than Salesforce.
Reasons to choose Salesforce over SAP.
Salesforce is the better software for batch email marketing and provides more email utilities than SAP.
Salesforce is easier to use and has a more intuitive and efficient user interface and knowledge base than SAP.
Salesforce is the more powerful, features-packed CRM with greater capabilities and utilities than SAP.
Salesforce provides better marketing functionalities than SAP as it has more useful tools that let you manage your campaigns across various channels, do email marketing, and provide a better customer experience for your customers.
Salesforce offers an overall better and more diverse business intelligence module.
Similarities between SAP and Salesforce
Both SAP and Salesforce function as CRM.
Both software offer an offline mode.
Both software have AI services and support business intelligence.
Both software offer marketing functionality through marketing clouds.
Both software can be used for email marketing.
Both software support integration with various social media.
SAP and Salesforce alternatives
- HubSpot CRM: HubSpot provides powerful CRM features and tools that let you manage your sales, contacts, and marketing. It offers great automation and self-service features and is the best for small businesses.
- Pipedrive: Pipedrive is an easy-to-use sales management software that is ideal for organizing and managing customer relationships. It also has vast integration options.
- Zoho CRM: With Zoho, you can manage sales, marketing, and support with ease. Zoho offers an intuitive UI, automations, and real-time reports/insights.
- Freshworks CRM: With Freshworks, you can boost sales productivity, customer communication and sales team collaboration.
SAP vs. Salesforce: Final verdict
Although SAP is the more versatile software because it functions as a CRM and an ERP, Salesforce is the more powerful CRM with many features and tools. Also, each software has unique features that make it better suited for specific use cases than the other; for instance, although both can be used for marketing, Salesforce is the better option for a marketing firm. Therefore, you must compare the features and capabilities of both software, their use cases, and pricing to determine which is better suited for your company’s needs.
FAQ
Is Salesforce bigger than SAP?
Yes, Salesforce is very much bigger than SAP. Salesforce dominates the CRM industry and is, in fact, the CRM with the largest market share–its market share is more than double of its closest competitor.
Is SAP a CRM or an ERP?
SAP is both a CRM and an ERP. The SAP Business Suite offers both SAP CRM and SAP ERP.
Can Salesforce send text messages?
Yes. With Salesforce, you can set up SMS text messaging for your company, using your company’s existing number or a new one, to communicate with your customers via SMS messages.
Is SAP same as Salesforce?
No. SAP is different from Salesforce, even though they share some similarities and functions.
Are SAP and Salesforce competitors?
Yes, they are. Both Salesforce and SAP are big players in the CRM industry, offering powerful CRM features and tools; however, Salesforce is more dominant and has a larger CRM market share than SAP.
What is Salesforce best known for?
Salesforce is best known for its cloud-based CRM product comprising Service Cloud, Marketing Cloud, Sales Cloud, and Commerce Cloud, among others. In fact, it is ranked as the number one CRM software in the world.