Item: Salesforce CMS
Rating: 7
Author: Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with Salesforce CMS

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use an iteration of Salesforce that was created by the national affiliate. Our organization mostly uses it for programmatic purposes (tracking communications, demographics, training, etc.). Our Advancement team used it for fundraising purposes before migrating to a new system, but some of our team still uses it for reporting and gathering other important information about volunteers. The reporting component is especially helpful with grant applications and corporate requests.

Pros and Cons

Pros

Tracking communications
Report building and dashboards
Organizational/relationship hierarchies

Cons

Organizations that are new to Salesforce need to be prepared for report building and other configurations. Customization is a great feature, but it can be overwhelming if not impossible for a brand new user.
Salesforce Trailhead is robust but can be confusing and overwhelming.
I'm currently comfortable with only using Salesforce CMS or any iteration on a desktop.

Return on Investment

A well set-up system can save hours of staff time everyday.
As part of a larger system, it is more cost effective
Initially required a lot more consulting and training which is costly

Usability

My ranking is based on the fact that usability is completely determined by the user's experience or comfort level with learning an unfamiliar system. It is also dependent on a company's policy and procedures and the amount and quality of training provided to new employees. It is a great system for an experienced user but overwhelming for a novice.

Key Insights

Do you think Salesforce CMS delivers good value for the price?

Not sure

Are you happy with Salesforce CMS's feature set?

Yes

Did Salesforce CMS live up to sales and marketing promises?

I wasn't involved with the selection/purchase process

Did implementation of Salesforce CMS go as expected?

Would you buy Salesforce CMS again?

Other Software Used

Constant Contact, Acuity Scheduling, a Squarespace company, Squarespace

Likelihood to Recommend

Salesforce is great for experienced users, especially if the system is already customized and structured. It is important to have a policies and procedures manual as well. If an organization is new to Salesforce CMS, they should be prepared to spend money on training and possibly an outside consultant to help customize the system to their preference. This can cost tens of thousands of dollars.

Salesforce CMS Feature Ratings

Comments

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Good system for experienced user or a strong, well organized company but difficult for a novice