Odoo vs Salesforce

CRM Overview

Definition of CRM

Customer relationship management (CRM) refers to the practices that businesses use to manage customer data and handle interactions with current and prospective customers. "CRM" is commonly used in reference to CRM software—technology that helps businesses organize and analyze customer information, communicate with colleagues and customers, and manage sales workflows—all for the purpose of fostering better customer relationships.

CRM software tracks every interaction that a business has with a customer—from ad clicks and website visits to phone calls with salespeople—and makes this information readily available to employees, giving businesses a full 360-degree view of the customer story and allowing them to provide informed, personalized, and comprehensive service. CRM software also serves as a platform to effectively collaborate with colleagues using shared information, and it even provides automation tools to help salespeople get work done faster.

Benefits of Using CRM Software

Centralized Information

CRM software provides a centralized database for customer information. Everyone in the company who deals with customers can access the same database and update information in the database as needed. Data is organized in the CRM to make it easy for users to find, add, or edit information.

"CRMs automatically organize data, share customer interactions, and minimize the risk of duplicative work."

When multiple employees work with a single customer, the employees share a unified record of every interaction between the customer and the company—including automated emails and follow-ups. This allows every employee to provide informed service without relying on customers or colleagues to explain or repeat information. In addition, work can continue even when one employee is absent.

Because data is automatically organized, customer interactions are shared, and the risk of duplicative work is minimized by using a CRM, better customer service outcomes become possible. This directly contributes to more sales (in overall volume), increased average order values (via upsells and repeat customer purchases), and increased customer lifetime value (CLV).

Furthermore, most CRM software also organizes information into reports to help businesses analyze sales and marketing performance. CRM reporting tools automatically collect data from sales, leads, and opportunity progression through the variety of customer experiences a business may offer. CRMs can instantly arrange this data into pivot tables, graphs, and spreadsheets, and organize the data by date, location, and much more. Since the data is sourced directly from the CRM database itself, it is guaranteed to be comprehensive and accurate, and every team has the same data to work with. Accurate data collection and data reporting are especially useful in today's digital landscape, where advertising and user privacy data have become increasingly complex to track, and lead attribution is often mixed or missing entirely.

Streamlined Workflow

Another huge benefit of using CRM software is that it automates administrative tasks—everything from following up with customers and scheduling meetings with colleagues, to sending confirmation emails and logging correspondence. Automating these tasks, or otherwise making them very easy to do, frees up employees' time to focus on other tasks and removes the costs and bureaucracy associated with administrative work.

In addition, CRMs are now using artificial intelligence (AI) to automate tasks like lead scoring, which helps salespeople decide which leads to prioritize based on probability scores that pull from a variety of factors. This type of intelligent automation helps people work faster and smarter, as the opportunities that have the highest chance of success are identified and pursued first.

"Intelligent automation helps people work faster and smarter."

Better Customer Relationships

CRM software provides built-in tools that help businesses find new customers and nurture existing relationships. Lead generation technology finds and records the contact information of prospective customers so that businesses can turn those prospects into new business opportunities. For example, Odoo generates leads from visits to a company website. Often, CRMs also integrate with marketing technology to track leads from marketing campaigns and to quickly identify quality prospects.

In addition to lead generation, CRM platforms are also built with lead nurturing tools—such as condition-specific autoresponders that immediately follow up with customers and prospects if they fulfill certain qualifying criteria, or activity scheduling to remind teams to follow up with active leads. Depending on the particular software, CRMs may also provide tools for salespeople to quickly create and send quotations, invoices, and other essential documents to customers—such as quotation templates, draft invoices, and subscription plans

"CRMs are built with lead generation and lead nurturing tools."

Improved Financial Outcomes

CRM software is statistically proven to benefit businesses financially. In 2014, the average return on investment (ROI) on CRM technology was $8.71 for each dollar spent [3]. And this number has certainly increased since then with continual developments in CRM technology that have made the software more robust and capable—such as embedded analytics and AI-powered features [3].

In addition, CRM applications have been shown to help businesses increase sales by up to 29% and increase sales productivity by up to 34% [4]. With a CRM, salespeople can keep track of every lead, scheduled call, and client customization, and companies that use CRM systems have benefited from a 17% increase in lead conversions and a 16% boost in customer retention [5]. These companies have also seen a 21% improvement in productivity for individual employees [5]. CRM software often integrates with email, VoIP, messaging apps, and other communication systems, and offers numerous automation features, all of which improve productivity. Finally, CRM software provides a centralized and accessible database for company information, and it has been shown that data accessibility shortens the sales cycle by an average of 8-14% [6].

CRM Software Market Analysis

Market Performance and Forecast

CRM software is a popular and fast-growing industry worldwide. The global CRM market size has grown by an average of 11.6% per year between 2017 and 2022 [7]. It is projected to grow from $79.4 billion in 2023 to $131.9 billion by 2028, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.7% during the forecast period [8].

In 2021, it was estimated that over 91% of companies with more than 11 employees were using CRM systems [9].

Market Catalysts

A main factor driving the steady increase in the adoption of CRM software is the rising importance of customer satisfaction. In 2021, it was estimated that over 65% of buyers had higher expectations for customer service than they did 3-5 years prior [10]. For instance, 71% of customers expect a business to share information between employees so the customer does not need to repeat themselves [11]. 78% of consumers said that good customer service is fundamental to earning their business and loyalty, and 90% said they are willing to spend more money with companies that provide personalized customer services [11]. Given the rise in customer expectations and the clear financial benefits of providing good customer service, businesses are prioritizing and investing in their customer service for growth and long-term success. CRM software is the key tool that helps businesses provide informed and personalized services to their customers.

Another catalyst of the CRM market is businesses gaining customers [12]. As businesses grow, they have more and more customers to manage, and a CRM becomes increasingly vital for storing large amounts of information and providing quality customer service. CRM software makes it easy for businesses to scale as they grow their customer base.

"CRM software is the key tool that helps businesses provide informed and personalized services to their customers."

User Interface

Odoo and Salesforce provide much of the same information and options on their respective user interfaces (UIs). But while Salesforce maintains a predominantly blue theme, Odoo uses color to categorize and differentiate information on the page.

Kanban Pipeline

Salesforce

Odoo

Opportunity Page

Salesforce

Odoo

Sales Pipeline Report

Salesforce

Odoo

Google Trends

Product Search

Brand Name Search

Conclusion

CRM software is an essential tool for any business that wishes to offer a unified sales and marketing database for sales teams. It is proven to help businesses improve their sales outcomes, such as lead conversion rate, along with other valuable revenue-generating metrics, such as customer retention and customer lifetime value. CRM systems provide a centralized database for information, which leads to higher customer retention because teams beyond the initial sales team can access information about the entire customer journey, add to it, and benefit from a centralized view of everything that happens after the sale has been won. CRMs also drive employee productivity with automated actions to speed up workflow, as well as lead nurturing tools to foster personalized customer relationships.

Despite Salesforce being the dominant competitor, the space for CRM software is still a rapidly growing market. As customer service becomes more important to buyers, it also becomes more important for businesses to prioritize in order to grow and retain happy customers. CRM software is a proven tool to help businesses create smoother, easier workflows for employees based on shared customer information, resulting in positive customer interactions at every step of the sales process. Naturally, more and more businesses are opting to use CRM software for their day-to-day business needs.

As far as choosing the right CRM for your company, both Odoo and Salesforce provide excellent tools for organizing information, managing teams, communicating with customers, finding leads, making sales, and analyzing data. Both software systems also have a vast marketplace of custom apps, add-ons, and integrations (although these often come with additional costs). From a CRM perspective, the two software systems offer similar capabilities and user experience, with Odoo's pricing structure making it more affordable than Salesforce.

However, Salesforce is a sales-focused CRM, while Odoo is an ERP. For no additional cost, Odoo offers capabilities far beyond CRM that still work in sync with the CRM app. Businesses can track their entire sales flow through Odoo, providing personalized customer experiences not only through the initial sale, but also through payment, support, delivery, and follow-up. Odoo's marketing apps provide metrics on which campaigns are driving not just sales but profitable customer relationships, taking into account payment history, support needs, and more. Other departments can leverage this insight, so the supply chain and product development teams drive decisions based on customer demand. Odoo CRM also syncs with the Events and Website apps to generate leads from online appointments, event registrations, and website contact pages.

Overall, while Odoo and Salesforce offer similar CRM features, Odoo's capabilities reach beyond CRM to cover the comprehensive operations of an entire business.

This whitepaper was compiled by Odoo Inc. We did our best to make it objective and fair. If you find a mistake or a missing feature, please report it to growth@mail.odoo.com and we will update this document. Our goal is to have a continuously updated comparison of the main competitors to be as accurate as possible.

References

• [1] Salesforce Revenue. Stock Analysis.
• [2] (2021, April 20). Odoo Records Unstoppable Growth. PRNewswire.
• [3] (2014, June). CRM Pays Back $8.71 For Every Dollar Spent. Nucleus Research.
• [4] Howard, Margot. (2023, August 21). 17 CRM stats that sales professionals need to know. Nutshell.
• [5] Karr, Douglas. (2023, September 7). CRM Statistics: The Uses, Benefits & Challenges of Customer Relationship Management Platforms. Martech Zone.
• [6] (2015, August 11). Data accessibility for sales teams shortens the sales cycle. Nucleus Research.
• [7] (2023, November 15). CRM System Providers in the US - Market Size (2005-2029). IBIS World.
• [8] Customer Relationship Management Software - Worldwide. Statista.
• [9] Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Market Size, Share & COVID-19 Impact Analysis, By Component (Software and Services), By Deployment (On-Premises and Cloud), By Enterprise Size (Large Enterprises and SMEs), By Application (Marketing and Sales Automation, Customer Management, Lead Generation & Customer Retention, Customer Support and Contact Center, CRM Analytics, and Social Media Management), By Vertical (BFSI, Manufacturing, IT & Telecommunications, Retail & Consumer Goods, Government, Healthcare, Transportation and Logistics, and Others), and Regional Forecasts, 2023-2030. Fortune Business Insights.
• [10] The Netomi Pulse Report State of Customer Service in 2021. Netomi.
• [11] (2023, May 30). 2023 Customer Service Statistics. 123 Form Builder.
• [12] (2023, January). CRM Software Global Market Report 2023. The Business Research Company.