How to Choose a CRM: A Marketing Expert's Perspective for SMBs

Key Takeaways

• Impact on Business Growth
• Advice on Shopping for and Qualifying a CRM Vendor
• Key Questions to Ask During a Demo
• Cost Considerations and Pricing Transparency
• Essential Features to Consider
• AI & Future Proofing
• Implementation and Adoption
• Common Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them

Introduction

As businesses grow, it quickly becomes clear that spreadsheets alone can no longer keep pace with managing and tracking customer information effectively. Many business and team leaders face this turning point early on, realizing the need for a more robust system. Over my 20 years in marketing, I’ve witnessed how adopting a CRM (Customer Relationship Manager) is not just a technical upgrade but a strategic step that fundamentally supports scaling operations.

In this article, I’ll guide you through the key considerations and practical steps for integrating a CRM into your tech stack, focusing on two industry leaders: HubSpot and Salesforce. Both platforms are evolving rapidly, especially with AI enhancements that are reshaping how teams engage with data and customers. Salesforce offers advanced AI-powered agent solutions designed to streamline service and sales workflows, while HubSpot is the first to directly integrate with ChatGPT, empowering marketers with conversational AI to enhance customer interactions, automate tasks, and perform data analysis.

This discussion is tailored for business and team leaders who want a pragmatic, professional perspective on choosing a CRM that not only fits current needs, but is also equipped for the future of AI-driven customer relationship management. This is not an endorsement of any specific platform. 

I'm sharing insights as a marketing professional, not a tech specialist, who has navigated the entire implementation cycle of these platforms multiple times. From initial demos and pricing to integration and daily operations, I'll break down core differences between HubSpot and Salesforce, explore common perceptions in the market, and help you consider what might work best for your small or medium-sized business when choosing a CRM.

Understanding Market Perceptions

There's a prevailing narrative that Salesforce is the go-to CRM for large enterprises and B2B companies, while HubSpot is seen as the friendly, accessible choice for smaller, scrappier businesses. Some critics argue that Salesforce is over-engineered and complex, whereas others feel HubSpot lacks the flexibility it promises and has lost some of its luster as it matures in the market. Fun fact: Did you know Salesforce was an early investor in HubSpot?

Let's unpack these views and take a balanced look at both platforms, drawing from real-world marketing experience so you can make an informed decision tailored to your organization's needs.

CRM Usability From a Marketing Perspective

When it comes to usability, the true test is how easily marketing teams can adopt and leverage a CRM to drive growth. HubSpot shines here with its intuitive, user-friendly interface designed for marketers, not just tech experts. It offers built-in automations, workflows, content management, and lead nurturing tools that align closely with typical marketing workflows. This can mean less time spent on training and more on executing.

Salesforce, on the other hand, offers immense customization and power which typically requires dedicated admin resources or consultants to configure and maintain. They also boast a unique EDA structure for managing the relationship between contact and account records, which is often of benefit to educational institutions. These specialized features can be a boon for companies with complex needs.

From my experience, SMBs benefit most from a CRM that marketing teams can use confidently which is almost always less about the technology you select and more about how to onboard the system and train your team. 

Impact on Business Growth

The ultimate goal in selecting any CRM is (or at least should be) to fuel business growth. Both HubSpot and Salesforce have proven track records on this front with a wide range of businesses. However, the path to growth looks different depending on the tool.

HubSpot’s all-in-one platform encourages alignment between marketing, sales, and service teams, breaking down silos that can stall growth. This isn't surprising given they were instrumental in cultivating the inbound marketing approach. The analytics, dashboards, and reporting are really flexible and easily accessible, allowing marketers to track performance and optimize strategies without a steep learning curve.

Salesforce excels in scalability and integration with a vast ecosystem of third-party apps, making it ideal for businesses anticipating rapid growth or complex sales processes. But this complexity can sometimes delay actionable insights and slow down decision-making.

I’ve seen companies accelerate their growth trajectory by choosing the CRM that best matched their team’s capabilities and business model, not necessarily the most feature-rich or expensive option.

Advice on Shopping for and Qualifying a CRM Vendor

Choosing the right CRM vendor goes far beyond comparing features; it requires a structured approach to understanding your unique business needs and how the CRM aligns with them. While this discussion focuses on HubSpot and Salesforce, the principles apply broadly to evaluating any CRM platform. 

Build a Cross-Functional Team

A successful CRM initiative is never the responsibility of just one person or department. While marketing plays a critical role, the decision to select and implement a CRM should be led by a cross-functional team, council, or committee. This group should include representatives from marketing, sales or business development, customer service, and IT. Having diverse perspectives ensures the CRM meets the varied needs of your organization and fosters broader adoption.

Develop and Document User Stories

Start by gathering detailed user stories from your team. These are narratives describing how different users will interact with the CRM to accomplish their tasks. This helps clarify real-world requirements and uncovers priorities that might not be obvious at first glance. Here's the template I've used in multiple CRM selections with clients.

Use MoSCoW Rankings

No, I didn't spell that wrong or format it in a strange way to get your attention. MoSCoW is a project management technique for prioritizing and proves extremely useful in deciding what matters most for your CRM implementation. Organize your requirements and user stories into categories: "Must-have" features that are essential, "Should-have" features that add significant value, "Could-have" features that are nice to have but not critical, and "Won't-have" features that have very little ROI or aren't critical for success of your CRM implementation. This prioritization guides your evaluation and helps keep the selection process focused.

Define Clear User Acceptance Criteria

Before demos or trials, establish specific criteria that define what successful adoption looks like for your users. Everyone on the cross-functional team that is helping in this process should contribute here. These criteria should be measurable and tied to your user stories, ensuring that the CRM meets practical needs, not just theoretical capabilities. This completed list is what you can bring to your conversations with sales representatives when framing up what you want to see in a demo of the product. 

Key Questions to Ask During the Demo Stage

• How does the CRM support the specific workflows described in your user stories?

• What level of customization is available without requiring extensive technical support?

• How intuitive is the interface for non-technical users?

• What onboarding and training resources does the vendor provide?

• How does the CRM integrate with your existing tools and data sources?

• What is the vendor's roadmap for future features and updates?

• Can you easily extract and analyze data to measure performance?

Cost Considerations and Pricing Transparency

Understanding the total cost of ownership is crucial for SMBs when choosing a CRM. Both HubSpot and Salesforce offer tiered pricing models that scale with the number of users and features. HubSpot provides a free tier with basic tools, making it accessible for startups and small teams (even solopreneurs), while its paid plans increase based on advanced marketing, sales, and service capabilities and database size. Salesforce pricing tends to be more complex, often requiring additional costs for add-ons, integrations, and consulting services. It’s important to factor in not only subscription fees but also implementation, training, and ongoing support costs to get a clear picture of the investment required.

By incorporating these steps into your CRM selection process, you’ll be better equipped to choose a platform that not only fits your current needs but can grow with your business.

Essential Features to Consider in a CRM

When evaluating a CRM, it’s crucial to categorize features into three tiers that impact both pricing and capability: Table stakes ensure your CRM covers fundamental business needs, nice-to-haves enhance efficiency and user experience, and wish list features provide competitive advantages but may require higher investment and expertise to implement effectively. The latter often become more important the bigger and more complicated your business becomes. Understanding these tiers helps you focus on what truly matters for your business and avoid paying for unnecessary functionality.

Table Stakes Features (Absolute Necessities)

• Contact and Lead Management: Robust tools to store, organize, and track interactions with contacts and leads.

• Sales Pipeline Management: Visual pipelines to monitor deal stages and progress.

• Basic Reporting and Analytics: Essential insights into sales and marketing performance.

• Marketing Automation: Automated email campaigns, lead nurturing, and segmentation.

• Data Security and Compliance: Protection of sensitive customer information and adherence to regulations.

Nice-to-Have Features

• Mobile Access: Ability to use the CRM on mobile devices for on-the-go updates.

• Customizable Dashboards and Reports: Tailor analytics to specific business needs.

• Integration with Third-Party Apps: Connectors for common tools like calendars, social media, and accounting software.

• Workflow Automation: Automate repetitive tasks beyond marketing, such as task assignments.

• AI-Powered Insights: Predictive analytics and recommendations to enhance decision-making.

Wish List Features

• Advanced Customization: Deep tailoring of fields, objects, and processes.

• Multi-Channel Campaign Management: Coordinated marketing across email, social, SMS, and more.

• In-Depth Sales Forecasting: Sophisticated tools for predicting revenue trends.

• Customer Service Modules: Built-in support ticketing and knowledge bases.

• Enhanced Collaboration Tools: Real-time chat, document sharing, and team collaboration features.

Integration Ecosystem and Compatibility

Both HubSpot and Salesforce boast extensive integration ecosystems, but their compatibility with your existing tech stack can vary. HubSpot offers seamless integration with popular marketing tools, e-commerce platforms, and content management systems, making it straightforward for SMBs to connect their CRM with existing workflows. Salesforce, with its vast AppExchange marketplace, supports a broader range of third-party applications and custom integrations, which is ideal for businesses with complex or unique requirements. When evaluating these platforms, consider how easily they integrate with your current software and the potential need for custom development or staff to serve as system administrators.

AI and Future-Proofing

AI capabilities are becoming a defining feature of modern CRMs. HubSpot’s integration with ChatGPT empowers marketers to automate content creation, customer engagement, and data analysis with conversational AI. Their Breeze integration enriches your lead and prospect data, and built in tools can draft content with limited prompting. Salesforce offers advanced AI-powered agent solutions that enhance sales forecasting, customer service automation, and workflow optimization. For SMBs, understanding how these AI enhancements can improve efficiency today and adapt to emerging trends is key to future-proofing your CRM investment.

After Choosing Your CRM: Implementation and Adoption

Once you have selected the CRM system that best fits your business needs, the real work begins. Implementation must be approached thoughtfully and meticulously to ensure success. A CRM is only as good as the data and processes it supports; a poorly set-up system will hinder rather than help, regardless of the tool chosen. This phase is as important as the selection itself, so treat it with the attention it deserves.

Here are the critical steps to follow after choosing your CRM:

• Prioritize Data Accuracy and Completeness: Take the time to clean, validate, and import your data carefully. Inaccurate or incomplete data will compromise your CRM’s effectiveness and lead to poor decision-making. Mismanagement of this critical step is a recipe for disaster and can jeopardize your entire CRM project. 

• Plan User Roles and Permissions: Clearly define who can enter, edit, or remove information within the CRM. Proper permissions safeguard data integrity and prevent unauthorized changes.

• Conduct Thorough User Acceptance Testing (UAT): Validate that the CRM functions as expected and meets the user requirements defined during the selection process. This is your chance to validate the user stories and your MoSCoW requirements. This step helps catch issues early while the vendor is still available to help you troubleshoot and ensures the system supports your workflows.

• Develop a Team Adoption Strategy: Plan how your teams will use the CRM daily, including training, support, and ongoing communication. Adoption is key to realizing the CRM’s full value.

Remember, investing the necessary time, energy, and effort in these steps will pay dividends. A "dirty" system setup—rushed or careless—will never enable success. By implementing your CRM thoughtfully, you set the foundation for better customer insights, streamlined processes, and sustained business growth. 

Common Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them

Many SMBs fall into traps such as over-customizing their CRM, underestimating the importance of data quality, or neglecting user training and adoption strategies. Avoid these pitfalls by setting clear goals, prioritizing essential features, and investing in thorough onboarding and continuous support. Remember that a CRM’s success depends on how well it fits your team’s workflows and how effectively it is used, not just on its technical capabilities.

Vendor support quality and community engagement can significantly impact your CRM experience. HubSpot offers extensive online resources, training academies, and an active user community that fosters peer support. Salesforce provides robust customer service options, including dedicated account managers and a vast network of consultants and developers. Both platforms have vibrant user groups and forums where SMBs can exchange best practices and troubleshoot issues. Evaluating the availability and responsiveness of these resources should be part of your CRM selection process.

Conclusion

Choosing the right CRM is a strategic decision that can significantly impact your business growth and operational efficiency. Both HubSpot and Salesforce offer powerful features tailored to different needs, but the best choice depends on your team's capabilities, business model, and growth plans.

By focusing on usability, aligning features with your priorities, and following a structured selection and implementation process, you can ensure that your CRM investment delivers real value. Remember, the goal is not just to adopt technology but to empower your team and enhance customer relationships in a way that supports sustainable growth.

With thoughtful planning and execution, your CRM can become a central asset in driving marketing success and overall business performance.