With so many companies out there, it can be tough to nail down the best Salesforce alternative for your business. To find the right one for you, consider your goals, budget and must-have features. Additionally, consider user reviews and review articles to get a fuller picture of what the CRM software is like. We also suggest asking friends or colleagues from other companies to see what they use for their business and if they recommend it.

Essential Features

You may have certain CRM features or integrations in mind that are necessary for your business to run smoothly. If so, be sure to write them out and reference them during your search. Consult your team and other relevant stakeholders to review the list and add to it, if applicable.

• Automation tools: Your CRM software should be a central hub for finding leads, turning leads into customers, and relating with them to build customer retention. That means you need a CRM with automation features for lead management, contact management, sales forecasting, sales completion, project management, pipeline management and even email marketing.
• Reporting and analytics: Your business requires a CRM that provides in-depth and easy-to-understand CRM analytics. The data and reports you’ll get will guide your teams to develop and maintain the marketing and customer relationship strategies they need to achieve better and faster results.
• Integration capability: Ensure the CRM you’re considering enables integration with third-party apps. That’s because you’ll need CRM integration with customer data platforms, marketing software, VoIP services, email marketing software, scheduling tools such as Calendly and Doodle, and others to relate with your customers appropriately and from one place.
• Mobile accessibility: You need a CRM that provides access to CRM features even when you’re away from your desktop. That means accessing essential customer data and insights, staying on top of relevant information and initiating or completing necessary customer relationship tasks—on your Android or iOS devices with easy navigation.
• Customization options: Choose a CRM platform that allows you to customize the app to suit your business operations. You should be able to select dashboard elements, customize workflows, personalize communications and customize your package via multiple pricing plan options or add-on availability. Even better is a CRM that enables application programming interfaces (APIs) for enhanced CRM software configuration.
• Robust data security: Ensure your chosen CRM can secure customer data. Security features to look out for are encryption, two-factor authentication and advanced user permissions.

Goals

Aligning with your team is the first step you should take when looking for a Salesforce alternative. Understand what they need or don’t need in a CRM and ask if there are any pain points with Salesforce in particular.

Measure these against your business’s priorities. Review past reports to identify gaps or areas of improvement, and make sure that a CRM can help you reach your goals. For example, if you find that your customer satisfaction score (CSAT) numbers were lower than expected, a CRM can help you streamline your customer support management to provide better service.

Pricing and Budget

CRM providers vary in price. Companies such as Freshsales CRM and monday.com offer free versions, but you’ll need to pay something per month or year to get their premium features or add as many users as required. Generally, CRM pricing ranges from a few dollars per user to hundreds per month. It all depends on your needs. However, consider factors such as a CRM’s per-user per-month rates and whether discounts are available for bulk subscriptions.

Also, check for the need for specific contracts, add-ons or integration capabilities. For instance, Microsoft Dynamics 365 enables software integration only when you pay for its add-on feature. So, consider each CRM’s pricing peculiarity and nail down your budget ahead of time to make your search easier.

Ease of Use and Support

You need a CRM that is easy to set up and navigate. So, choose one with user-friendly layouts that allow you to create tasks, import and export data and update information. Also, ensure the CRM supports its users via various channels, including phone, live chat and email. Other popular support channels to look out for are tickets, user forums and resources such as webinars, tutorials, live demos and a rich knowledge base of answers to FAQs, infographics and videos. A CRM software that is easy to use will help you enjoy CRM benefits, and a reliable support team will make sure you don’t miss out on those benefits due to glitches.

The stock of Salesforce Inc (CRM) has seen a 5.45% increase in the past week, with a 8.11% gain in the past month, and a 8.11% flourish in the past quarter. The volatility ratio for the week is 1.93%, and the volatility levels for the past 30 days are at 2.11% for CRM.. The simple moving average for the past 20 days is 7.03% for CRM’s stock, with a 9.26% simple moving average for the past 200 days.

Salesforce Inc (NYSE: CRM) has a higher price-to-earnings ratio of 138.68x compared to its average ratio,, and the 36-month beta value for CRM is at 1.18. Analysts have varying views on the stock, with 31 analysts rating it as a “buy,” 4 rating it as “overweight,” 15 as “hold,” and 0 as “sell.”

Nov 13 (Reuters) - Seven Republican candidates are jostling to be their party's presidential nominee for the 2024 general election, while President Joe Biden is the Democratic Party's presumptive nominee, and several third-party hopefuls have joined the fray.

Here is a list of the candidates.

REPUBLICAN PARTY

DONALD TRUMP

Trump, 77, has embraced his indictments in four separate state or federal criminal cases - unprecedented for a former American president - which have boosted his popularity among Republicans, and helped make him the frontrunner in his party's race for the presidential nomination.

Trump has called the indictments part of a politically motivated witch hunt to thwart his pursuit of a second four-year term, an assertion that the Justice Department has denied. In a sign of his extraordinary hold on his party, just two rivals at the first Republican presidential debate on Aug. 23 said they would not support him as the nominee if he were convicted.

Trump has vowed to enact tougher immigration restrictions and harsher curbs on trade with China and to carry out political reprisals against those he perceives to have wronged him. He has a firm grip on his party's right wing, but may struggle to get moderates and independents to support him in a general election should he win the Republican nomination.

His support stands at 51% among Republicans, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted from Sept. 8 through Sept. 14, giving him a commanding lead over his rivals.

RON DESANTIS

After a glitch-filled campaign launch in May on Twitter, now called X, DeSantis has positioned himself to the right of Trump on a number of key social issues such as abortion. But his well-funded campaign has struggled to gain traction, and his top donor has said he won't give the Florida governor more money unless DeSantis adopts a more moderate approach.

DeSantis, 45, is Trump's top rival, but remains nearly 40 percentage points behind the former president in opinion polls. He has fired staff and rebooted his campaign several times since May, but those steps have done little to boost his candidacy.

DeSantis' campaign says it is focused on stopping Trump in Iowa, where the party will hold its first nominating contest in January. He got a much-needed boost on Monday when the Midwestern state's popular Republican governor, Kim Reynolds, endorsed him.

NIKKI HALEY

A former South Carolina governor and Trump's ambassador to the United Nations, Haley, 51, has emphasized her relative youth compared to Biden and Trump, as well as her background as the daughter of Indian immigrants.

Haley has gained a reputation in the Republican Party as a solid conservative who has the ability to address issues of gender and race in a more credible fashion than many of her peers. She has also pitched herself as a stalwart defender of American interests abroad. She has low single-digit support among Republicans, according to opinion polls.

VIVEK RAMASWAMY

A former biotechnology investor and executive, Ramaswamy, 38, started a company in 2022 to pressure firms to abandon environmental, social, and corporate governance initiatives. The political outsider has stoked grassroots chatter as a potential alternative to Trump.

Ramaswamy is a fervent supporter of the former president and says that if he won the White House, he would pardon Trump.

CHRIS CHRISTIE

Christie, 61, advised Trump's White House campaign, but became a vocal critic of the former president after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack. The former New Jersey governor and federal prosecutor stepped up his verbal attacks as Trump faced a growing number of criminal charges. Christie has received about 2% support among Republicans in a Reuters/Ipsos conducted from Sept. 8 through Sept. 14.

ASA HUTCHINSON

The former Arkansas governor launched his bid for the White House in April with a call for Trump to step aside to deal with the former president's first indictment. Hutchinson, 72, has touted his experience leading his deeply conservative state as proof he can deliver on policies Republican voters care about, citing tax cuts and job creation initiatives.

Still, his name recognition remains limited outside Arkansas, and he received 0% support among Republicans in the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll. He qualified for the first Republican debate, but not the second or third one.

DOUG BURGUM

Burgum, 67, is serving his second four-year term as North Dakota's governor after selling his software business to Microsoft in 2001. A proponent of low taxes and fewer regulations, he has sought to portray himself as a traditional conservative with a focus on the economy and national security. One of the least-known contenders, he received 0% in the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll. While qualifying for the first two debates, he failed to meet the criteria required for the third one.

DEMOCRATIC PARTY

JOE BIDEN

Biden, 80, already the oldest U.S. president ever, will have to convince voters he has the stamina for another four years in office, amid concerns about his age and poor approval ratings. Biden allies say he believes he is the only Democratic candidate who can defeat Trump.

In announcing his candidacy, Biden declared it was his job to defend American democracy, and referred to the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters. Vice President Kamala Harris, 59, is again his running mate.

The economy will factor in his reelection campaign. While the U.S. escaped an expected recession and is growing faster than economists expected, inflation hit 40-year highs in 2022 and the cost of food and gas is weighing on voters.

Biden has led the response of Western governments to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, persuading allies to sanction Russia and support Kyiv, and his administration is working to prevent the Israel-Hamas conflict from descending into a wider war.

At home, he has pushed through massive economic stimulus and infrastructure spending packages to boost U.S. industrial output, although he has received little recognition from voters for the latter.

Biden's handling of immigration policy has been criticized by Republicans and Democrats as migrant crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border hit record highs during his administration.

MARIANNE WILLIAMSON

The best-selling author and self-help guru Marianne Williamson, 71, has launched her second, long-shot bid for the White House on a platform of "justice and love."

She ran as a Democrat in the 2020 presidential primary but dropped out of the race before any votes had been cast. She launched her latest campaign on March 23 and will be on the ballot in the New Hampshire primary.

DEAN PHILLIPS

Dean Phillips, a little-known U.S. congressman from Minnesota, announced in October he would mount a challenge to Biden because he does not believe the president can win another term.

The 54-year-old millionaire businessman and gelato company co-founder announced his bid in a one-minute video posted online, saying: "We've got some challenges. ... We're going to repair this economy, and we are going to repair America."

INDEPENDENTS

ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR

An anti-vaccine activist, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., 69, is running as an independent after initially challenging Biden for the Democratic nomination, but he is far behind in opinion polls.

He is the son of U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1968 during his own presidential bid. Kennedy was banned from Instagram for spreading misinformation about vaccines and the COVID-19 pandemic but was later reinstated. He lost a legal bid to force YouTube owner Google to reinstate videos of him questioning the safety of COVID vaccines.

CORNEL WEST

The political activist, philosopher and academic said in June he would launch a third-party bid for president that is likely to appeal to progressive, Democratic-leaning voters.

West, 70, initially ran as a Green Party candidate, but in October he said people "want good policies over partisan politics" and announced his bid as an independent. He has promised to end poverty and ensure housing.

JILL STEIN

Jill Stein, a physician, re-upped her 2016 Green Party bid on Nov. 9, accusing Democrats of betraying their promises "for working people, youth and the climate again and again - while Republicans don’t even make such promises in the first place."

Stein, 73, raised millions of dollars for recounts after Donald Trump's surprise 2016 victory. Her allegations yielded only one electoral review in Wisconsin, which showed Trump had won.

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

© 2023 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

Businesses must successfully convert leads and manage and grow customer relationships to succeed. Salesforce CRM features myriad customization options to achieve these goals, empowering businesses of all sizes – and across various industries – to better understand and support prospects and customers. You can adapt nearly every aspect of the software’s interface and performance to help sales, marketing, customer service and technical support teams succeed. Salesforce CRM features thousands of fully integrated apps, plug-in scripts, and a superior API interface to help businesses create a flexible, customized solution. Once implemented, you’ll enjoy a beautifully designed product that’s speedy, powerful, and perfectly tailored to your company’s specific needs and processes.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov 6, 2023--

To help life sciences companies create sustainable value and drive growth, Accenture (NYSE: ACN) and Salesforce (NYSE: CRM) are investing in the development of Salesforce Life Sciences Cloud including new innovations, assets and accelerators, powered by data and artificial intelligence (AI).

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231106302240/en/

To help life sciences companies create sustainable value and drive growth, Accenture and Salesforce are investing in the development of Salesforce Life Sciences Cloud including new innovations, assets and accelerators, powered by data and artificial intelligence (AI). (Graphic: Business Wire)

Building on the recently announced Accenture and Salesforce generative AI collaboration, the companies will leverage their joint generative AI acceleration hub to develop new solutions and use cases for Salesforce Life Sciences Cloud. The companies will also use Salesforce Data Cloud and Einstein AI, Salesforce's AI technology, to help increase productivity and transform healthcare professional and patient experiences.

“The rapid pace of science and technology advancements is making treatment decisions more complex,” said Emma McGuigan, senior managing director and Enterprise & Industry Technologies lead at Accenture. “Data and AI will drive differentiation around how life sciences organizations engage with their customers. Together with Salesforce, we can help organizations establish a digital foundation to support omni-channel experiences across sales, service and marketing with data and intelligence at the core.”

The accelerated adoption of data and analytics capabilities to fuel decisions and operations is a top investment priority for 58% of life sciences companies, according to Accenture Research.

“As we build the next generation Life Sciences Platform, Accenture is partnering with our teams to provide its deep industry expertise," said Amit Khanna, SVP & GM, Health and Life Sciences at Salesforce. “Accenture’s deep understanding of the pharma and medtech spaces and their current work to transform patient experiences will help us create new innovation for life sciences companies and in the new development of Salesforce Life Sciences Cloud.”

Accenture and Salesforce have worked with Cencora (formerly AmerisourceBergen), a global pharmaceutical solutions provider that offers integrated support, including patient services, across the pharmaceutical development and commercialization journey. With Life Sciences Cloud, the companies will help Cencora utilize rich data and insights to modernize patient engagement with a digital-first capability at scale.

“Cencora is committed to leveraging new and emerging technologies, like generative AI, to deliver solutions that reduce potential barriers along the treatment journey and meet the needs of our biopharma partners, healthcare providers and the patients they serve,” said Shannon Coven, senior vice president, Data & Platforms for Global Pharma Services at Cencora. “Together with Accenture and Salesforce, we are harnessing the power of data and AI to help Improve outcomes and enhance the patient care experience.”

Together, Accenture and Salesforce have already developed assets and accelerators including:

• A patient services Health Cloud assessment framework, which evaluates legacy pharma patient services solutions to generate insights and a value case for Salesforce Life Sciences Cloud.
• A pharmaceutical Data Cloud and Einstein AI accelerator, which provides a holistic view of provider and patient data, using the power of generative AI. It enables greater impact by suggesting the most important messages to be delivered to the patient during the next interaction.

Accenture will continue to develop complementary tools and methodologies to help clients test and pilot the new capabilities of Salesforce Life Sciences Cloud.

About Accenture

Accenture is a leading global professional services company that helps the world’s leading businesses, governments and other organizations build their digital core, optimize their operations, accelerate revenue growth and enhance citizen services—creating tangible value at speed and scale. We are a talent- and innovation-led company with approximately 733,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Technology is at the core of change today, and we are one of the world’s leaders in helping drive that change, with strong ecosystem relationships. We combine our strength in technology and leadership in cloud, data and AI with unmatched industry experience, functional expertise and global delivery capability. We are uniquely able to deliver tangible outcomes because of our broad range of services, solutions and assets across Strategy & Consulting, Technology, Operations, Industry X and Song. These capabilities, together with our culture of shared success and commitment to creating 360° value, enable us to help our clients reinvent and build trusted, lasting relationships. We measure our success by the 360° value we create for our clients, each other, our shareholders, partners and communities. Visit us at www.accenture.com.

About Salesforce

Salesforce empowers companies of every size and industry to connect with their customers through the power of data + AI + CRM + trust. For more information about Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), visit: www.salesforce.com.

Copyright © 2023 Accenture. All rights reserved. Accenture and its logo are registered trademarks of Accenture.

Salesforce, Life Sciences Cloud, Health Cloud, Data Cloud, Einstein and others are among the trademarks of Salesforce, Inc.

View source version on businesswire.com:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231106302240/en/

CONTACT: Hannah Unkefer

Accenture

+1 206 839 2172

hannah.m.unkefer@accenture.comSalesforce

pr@salesforce.com

KEYWORD: UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA NEW YORK

INDUSTRY KEYWORD: TECHNOLOGY FINTECH HEALTH TECHNOLOGY PROFESSIONAL SERVICES SOFTWARE NETWORKS DATA ANALYTICS HEALTH DATA MANAGEMENT ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

SOURCE: Accenture

Copyright Business Wire 2023.

PUB: 11/06/2023 07:59 AM/DISC: 11/06/2023 07:59 AM

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