Understanding The Impact: Salesforce's 9% Price Increase And Its Implications For Small Business Owners

Price rises have been a depressingly familiar part of the economic landscape throughout 2022 and 2023. Salesforce users may not be surprised, therefore, at the platform’s announced price rises due to take place this August.

The list prices will apply to Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Marketing Cloud, and Industries and Tableau platforms, and the average user will see about 9% added to their subscription invoice. This will be unwelcome news for many small business Salesforce users. However, it’s worth putting the price increases into the context of value, and what Salesforce delivers for the money.

A 9% increase is actually a fairly modest price hike for a high-profile business service provider, especially considering that their last general price increase was seven years ago, in 2016. As many subscription service providers increase their prices annually or every two years, the 9% increase is actually less than compound inflation over the time period.

Moreover, the Salesforce R&D team certainly haven’t sat on the sofa eating crisps since 2016. Over the past few years, the platform has issued 22 free updates featuring thousands of new features – the fruit of over $20 billion (USD) in new technology development and research.

This year alone, Salesforce has introduced a range of AI software tools to help users boost efficiency across all areas of the platform, from CRM to marketing engagement.

Seeking The Best Value For Money

There are alternatives to Salesforce if the platform is no longer affordable, with HubSpot being the most prominent. However, it’s important to remember that all prices change over time and, at a time of high inflation, higher-than-usual price hikes are inevitable. In this environment, it becomes more important than ever for SME owners to look at value for money over raw price. 

Yes, a monthly subscription may increase by 50% from £100-£150, but as long as the ROI remains the same, e.g. 2:1, your returns should increase in step with the cost. So instead of yielding £200 value from your subscription, you should be looking at £300, which is a real terms increase over and above inflation.

Of course, this example is highly simplistic, and in reality, there are many reasons why you should retain or change a subscription service. Salesforce offers long-term value for money because of their continual investment into new features and benefits, so that, over time, the expected ROI increases even when prices remain stable.

It’s worth taking the time to analyse your subscription services to consider whether or not they still offer you the value you need to grow your business. Even if a service has kept the same price for years, if they haven’t increased their features to accommodate new technology and trends, their real-world productivity and efficiency would have dropped. In this circumstance, your current ROI may be significantly below what it was in previous years, and you may be better off investing in a higher-priced service that delivers increased value.

Investing In The Right Technologies For Your Business

With software technology going through an explosive period of change, it’s not always possible to keep track of the changes and make the right strategic investments for your business. Using a good sales CRM platform such as Salesforce or HubSpot takes a lot of this pressure off your shoulders, as the vendor’s research team will automatically roll out new updates and features as part of your subscription.

Further benefits can be gained by working with an experienced agency such as JDR Group. Our team will guide you towards the most appropriate technologies for your business model and customers, helping you leverage the full value of your software spend. To find out more about the best CRM for your business, please contact one of our team.

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