SMB CRM – We all know the name. The machine, the myth, the legend?…SalesForce, one of the world’s biggest CRM platforms.

For those that aren’t familiar, a CRM – Customer Relationship Management is the combination of practices, strategies, and technologies that companies use to manage and analyze customer interactions and data throughout the customer lifecycle (TechTarget). With the end goal to develop better relationships with current customers and to grow their sales strategy. Back 10 years ago, only a handful of these tools existed, but now they’re over 350. Making it hard to choose.

Salesforce is known for having A LOT – from analytical reporting to portfolio and a plethora of features. However, having too much comes at a price (no pun intended).

It’s no surprise SalesForce has been able to stay on the top of the hill this long. They’ve built out a system used by over 41% of the CRM market. By constant expansion, easy integration with third parties, and sheer size, their platform is second to none.

But for small & medium-sized businesses, a giant tool like Salesforce can be overwhelming. First, Salesforce can be very overbuilt for a business needing only simple tracking. Large CRMs are built for multi-national operations, where, in some cases, thousands of team members are using them daily. With such an overbuilt solution, simple tasks become not so simple and time-consuming.

Salesforce is also incredibly complex. Some smaller businesses don’t have dedicated sales or marketing teams to manage these functions, and simple tasks become more challenging for a user.

It doesn’t help when customer service or support is trying to help hundreds of businesses all at once. Many smaller-medium-sized businesses can be overlooked when support resources are used on multinational companies. To be fair, this is a typical case with any large service provider but should be considered when a massive tool can leave a user searching in the dark for many SMB CRM.

Implementing these complicated tools can be even more challenging. With a top-down approach and push from your company’s higher-ups, the end-users might not end up using the tool. Using a well-known brand in your organization feels reassuring, and many executives make that push. However, when it comes to the ease of use for your employees, their needs can be overlooked. Many reps given a CRM tool like SaleForce are overwhelmed with its complexity and experience a slight pushback. When this happens, does the work even get done?

Next, the big-name has a hefty price tag. Having all the bells and whistles comes at a cost. These tools can come in handy; however, if they’re not being used, they just end up being a wasted expense. There’s no point using a Ferrari to plow a field. You’ll waste a Ferrari, and you’ll be stuck looking for someone else to do the job and a SMB CRM.

Lastly, businesses can face the issue of customization. Large CRMs have so many different uses & features that it’s challenging to customize and requires expensive consultants to get the job done. There’s no one size to fit all. To customize, many small businesses spend a fortune to add specific features better suited for their operation when there are many other Simple CRMs available to them. I’ve seen dozens of companies get burned, trying to customize an already expensive platform for their people to use it properly.

It doesn’t even surprise me that this can happen. Due to high marketing budgets, these large CRM platforms can overshadow other applications that could meet your business needs more effectively.

At the same time, it’s never too late to make the switch to a more effective platform. Several businesses have struggled with many of the challenges listed above and made the switch over to a Simple CRM. Reps can customize their platform for ultimate use, save time adding new leads and grow their business at a lower expense. Look into other Simple CRMs better suited for your business, and don’t get caught in the groupthink.

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