Last year (which was 3 weeks ago) saw a trend in the CRM competition.  CRM vendors were offering free migrations from CRM-X to CRM-Y.  It was also a war on trying to lure customers to switch.

We are even seeing try-before-you-buy sales pitches with free trials anywhere from 30 to 90 days.

The biggest fear among companies are the unexpected hidden limitations that pop up later in the implementation because they didn’t define their requirements properly.  And of course, there are the wish lists that come up down the road.

But trying to compare Microsoft CRM Dynamics, Salesforce.com and Oracle is like comparing a Granny Smith, Macintosh, and Fiji apple.  Yes, they are all apples, but they are all different apples which differ in costs depending on the time of year.  And they all taste different, too. 

At the end of the day, it will all come down to user requirements, and word of mouth recommendations from a trusted source.

There are literally hundreds of CRM solutions to choose from (check out our vendor page in alphabetical order) at price points ranging from free to $125 per user per month.  (Contact me if your product is not listed)

Microsoft CRM Dynamics is offering new customers of who sign up before June 30^th at $34 per month for one year.

The pricing is significantly different compared to Oracle’s CRM on Demand which begins at $75/month; and Salesforce.com’s which is either $65 or $125 depending on whether you choose the Professional or Enterprise edition.  Note that for Salesforce.com, Jigsaw data services is available at an additional fee.  If you need Territory management, then you must choose the Enterprise edition.

All 3 vendors have their advantages.  Microsoft CRM Dynamics will leverage “Microsoft Shops” where they can integrate it with existing Microsoft software suites, such as Office 2010 or SharePoint.

Salesforce.com has Chatter, which is the Facebook for the Enterprise.   Chatter is a great add on as it requires no training because everyone knows how to use Facebook.  Plus, it adds the component of tapping your entire Enterprise for feedback, including “data” talking to to you.

Oracle’s CRM on Demand strengths lie in the trusted and loyal Siebel customers.

And then there are the smaller companies like Netsuite, SugarCRM and Zoho whose price points are even lower than the above 3 giants.

At the end of the day, trying to choose a CRM package will probably all come down to price, just like anything else you buy (or rent in this case).  Don’t forget to include the cost of your Professional services to migrate, configure, and implement your CRM.