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Cision Communications Cloud vs. Salesforce CRM Analytics

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Cision Communications Cloud

    Score8 out of 10
    N/ACIsion Communications Cloud is used for identifying key media and influencers, connecting with audiences, monitoring traditional and social media, and analyzing outcomes.N/A

    Salesforce CRM Analytics

    Score8.5 out of 10
    N/ASalesforce CRM Analytics (formerly Tableau CRM) is a cloud-based business intelligence solutions and analytics software. It provides users with automated data discovery, CRM-connected analytics, top-down views of data, augmented analytics, predictive insights, and customizable data visualization tools.

    $125

    per month

    Pricing
    Cision Communications CloudSalesforce CRM Analytics
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Cision Communications CloudSalesforce CRM Analytics
    Free Trial
    NoNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details——
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Cision Communications CloudSalesforce CRM Analytics
    Considered Both Products
    Cision
    Chose Cision Communications Cloud
    I was using Vocus and then switched to Cision PR for the ease of use. Since the two platforms have merged the intuitiveness and user friendliness has only improved. Radian6 is not for media list building since the influencer section is very clunky. It's better suited for …
    Incentivized
    Salesforce
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    92%
    Would buy again
    45 Answers
    73%
    Would buy again
    8 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    86%
    Delivers good value for the price
    32 Answers
    89%
    Delivers good value for the price
    8 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    90%
    Happy with the feature set
    44 Answers
    91%
    Happy with the feature set
    10 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    93%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    37 Answers
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    11 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    97%
    Implementation went as expected
    36 Answers
    90%
    Implementation went as expected
    9 Answers
    Features
    Cision Communications CloudSalesforce CRM Analytics
    BI Standard Reporting
    Comparison of BI Standard Reporting features of Cision Communications Cloud and Salesforce CRM Analytics
    Feature
    Cision Communications Cloud
    -
    Ratings
    Salesforce CRM Analytics
    7.8
    48 Ratings
    5% below category average
    Pixel Perfect reports00 Ratings7.541 Ratings
    Customizable dashboards00 Ratings8.548 Ratings
    Report Formatting Templates00 Ratings7.546 Ratings
    Ad-hoc Reporting
    Comparison of Ad-hoc Reporting features of Cision Communications Cloud and Salesforce CRM Analytics
    Feature
    Cision Communications Cloud
    -
    Ratings
    Salesforce CRM Analytics
    7.8
    49 Ratings
    3% below category average
    Drill-down analysis00 Ratings8.548 Ratings
    Formatting capabilities00 Ratings7.548 Ratings
    Integration with R or other statistical packages00 Ratings7.537 Ratings
    Report sharing and collaboration00 Ratings7.546 Ratings
    Report Output and Scheduling
    Comparison of Report Output and Scheduling features of Cision Communications Cloud and Salesforce CRM Analytics
    Feature
    Cision Communications Cloud
    -
    Ratings
    Salesforce CRM Analytics
    8.1
    47 Ratings
    1% below category average
    Publish to Web00 Ratings9.037 Ratings
    Publish to PDF00 Ratings7.044 Ratings
    Report Versioning00 Ratings8.543 Ratings
    Report Delivery Scheduling00 Ratings8.540 Ratings
    Delivery to Remote Servers00 Ratings7.534 Ratings
    Data Discovery and Visualization
    Comparison of Data Discovery and Visualization features of Cision Communications Cloud and Salesforce CRM Analytics
    Feature
    Cision Communications Cloud
    -
    Ratings
    Salesforce CRM Analytics
    7.4
    45 Ratings
    8% below category average
    Pre-built visualization formats (heatmaps, scatter plots etc.)00 Ratings8.042 Ratings
    Location Analytics / Geographic Visualization00 Ratings6.540 Ratings
    Predictive Analytics00 Ratings7.042 Ratings
    Pattern Recognition and Data Mining00 Ratings8.02 Ratings
    Access Control and Security
    Comparison of Access Control and Security features of Cision Communications Cloud and Salesforce CRM Analytics
    Feature
    Cision Communications Cloud
    -
    Ratings
    Salesforce CRM Analytics
    9.0
    48 Ratings
    6% above category average
    Multi-User Support (named login)00 Ratings9.046 Ratings
    Role-Based Security Model00 Ratings8.546 Ratings
    Multiple Access Permission Levels (Create, Read, Delete)00 Ratings9.042 Ratings
    Report-Level Access Control00 Ratings9.02 Ratings
    Single Sign-On (SSO)00 Ratings9.541 Ratings
    Mobile Capabilities
    Comparison of Mobile Capabilities features of Cision Communications Cloud and Salesforce CRM Analytics
    Feature
    Cision Communications Cloud
    -
    Ratings
    Salesforce CRM Analytics
    6.7
    45 Ratings
    15% below category average
    Responsive Design for Web Access00 Ratings7.543 Ratings
    Mobile Application00 Ratings7.034 Ratings
    Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile00 Ratings6.539 Ratings
    Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding
    Comparison of Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding features of Cision Communications Cloud and Salesforce CRM Analytics
    Feature
    Cision Communications Cloud
    -
    Ratings
    Salesforce CRM Analytics
    8.2
    33 Ratings
    6% above category average
    REST API00 Ratings8.031 Ratings
    Javascript API00 Ratings8.529 Ratings
    iFrames00 Ratings8.525 Ratings
    Java API00 Ratings8.528 Ratings
    Themeable User Interface (UI)00 Ratings7.528 Ratings
    Customizable Platform (Open Source)00 Ratings8.527 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Cision Communications CloudSalesforce CRM Analytics
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    Help a Reporter Out (HARO)
    Score5 out of 10
    Cyfe
    Score4 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Critical Mention
    Score8 out of 10
    Qlik Cloud Analytics (Qlik Sense)
    Score8.1 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Meltwater
    Score7.6 out of 10
    Sisense
    Score6.9 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Cision Communications CloudSalesforce CRM Analytics
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.0
    (280 ratings)
    9.1
    (51 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    7.0
    (17 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Usability
    8.0
    (54 ratings)
    8.5
    (10 ratings)
    Availability
    9.1
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Performance
    9.1
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    9.0
    (192 ratings)
    7.7
    (6 ratings)
    Online Training
    8.0
    (3 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    10.0
    (3 ratings)
    6.0
    (1 ratings)
    Data Sharing and Collaboration
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.1
    (41 ratings)
    Data Sources
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.7
    (41 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    7.3
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Cision Communications CloudSalesforce CRM Analytics
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Cision
    For a small start-up, the cost-benefit to add lift to press releases [and] particular milestone accomplishments is definitely there with the Cision [Communications] Cloud. Much of what we do, by necessity, is done internally without the benefit of outsourced press folks, so the Cision [Communications] Cloud ease of use and reporting is very important.
    Incentivized
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    Salesforce
    For us it really comes down to that book management and next best contact for our advisors. When we're thinking about a book of business that may range, depending on the advisor, from 400 clients to a thousand clients, how do they really optimize their time? Who do they call next? Who do they work with to make sure not only they're keeping those clients engaged, they're not leaving the firm going to other advisors who they haven't talked to in a while who might need their attention. That's really where that CRM analytics is really proven pretty powerful for us.
    Incentivized
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    Pros
    Cision
    • Their upgraded press release templates and ability [to] pull in an entire, completed release makes the [process] faster and easier, and allows for more graphics, such as company mastheads, [are done well].
    • The media tracking offers the ability to find relevant placements across the entire country.
    • The journalist database streamlines the process of finding relevant reporters to directly connect [to] on news releases that are relevant to their beats.
    • The process of setting up, creating, and distributing a release is seamless, easy to use, and not labor-intensive.
    Incentivized
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    Salesforce
    • Interactive Dashboards, it [consists] of wide variety of charts
    • Data from different sources can be easily integrated with it
    • Security, it provides easy way to secure and share the information with the users
    • Support actions like opening hyperlink etc
    • Almost everything can be done from configuration
    • Data can easily be managed from dataflow.
    Incentivized
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    Cons
    Cision
    • In the media influencer database, the classic Cision allowed us to do a zip code radius search to really drill down to the neighborhood level. That's because we do localized media advisories and press releases for events at neighborhood schools. One part of a big city like Chicago really doesn't care what's happening in another part of Chicago that's too far away. The zip code radius search was a feature in the classic Cision but not with the current Cision Communications Cloud. We've asked for this to be restored several times, but nothing's happened. In fact, we were told to use DMA — which actually goes wider in a search (bigger than a city), not more narrow as needed. This reflects a basic misunderstanding of what we need.
    • Another missing feature involves a merge field when sending out an email press release through Cision. This is the "select insert field" button in the upper right that's used to personalize a release with the media contact's name and other information. This is key for localization of the release. Many media outlets won't run a release unless it's local. While "county" is a feature in the influencer database when putting together a media list in Cision, "county" is not available to insert into a press release as a merge field. Counties are important because this is how many newspapers and health departments are organized and identify themselves. I've asked for this to be implemented, to no avail. As a workaround, we've had to use "contact city" or "outlet city."
    • After refining a media list in Cision using filters, I've had to download the list and take it offline to see the big picture, screen for duplicates, etc. While there is a button on the bottom left intended to help with this, it doesn't do the trick. That's because there may be multiple contacts with the same email address. In addition, one media contact may represent numerous media outlets, so this same contact could show up several times. It would be nice to have a better way to see the whole list online and eliminate both duplicates as well as those who previously opted out.
    Incentivized
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    Salesforce
    • Implementation takes time and resources. It is a heavy lift to implement and at first, it can take a little bit of time to understand what you are looking at. But once it's implemented it's easy to get started.
    • Without any BI expertise or resources available to your organization, the implementation of this is difficult. If you aren't used to BI tools and don't have an expert in house, the terminology can be difficult to understand at first.
    • Their support is not on hand to help you if you encounter any issues, at least not on all the plans or the basic plans. Real-time support service is an add-on, so you'll need to be patient if you require help or pay extra money.
    • More functionality for the tool is needed to compete with other heavyweights in the arena like Tableau, Qlik, and Microstrategy. Still lacks the robustness, functionality, and flexibility other competing products possess.
    Incentivized
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    Likelihood to Renew
    Cision
    While I am happy with the product performance overall, TrendKite's recent merger with Cision is cause for concern. When we first signed on with TrendKite, I spoke with several users and the best response I received was that the company was a startup and we could expect there to be hiccups along the way as the company grew and the platform got more robust. That has certainly been the case. However, now that they have merged with Cision — a company that has grown too fast, has not focused on improving its product and has poor customer service — I have concerns that TrendKite will lose some of the qualities that have made it a great company and great product to work with.
    Incentivized
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    Salesforce
    No answers on this topic
    Usability
    Cision
    The flexibility and customization of Cision Communications Cloud (TrendKite)* is among its most important features. Changing the dashboards, using keywords in the saved searches to pull out the best stories and the integration with marketing automation tools gives me confidence that I will able to continue using this tool well into the future. The future implementation and integration of the media contact database will complete the suite, making list management and email marketing programs much smoother. *This review was written before Cision acquired TrendKite. TrendKite is now part of Cision Communications Cloud.
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    Salesforce
    For someone who don't have coding background, this could be a useful tool and fairly easy to learn and use given the good support. However, if you know other open source tools, it would be much easier to use the other tools and the knowledge is more transferable in the future.
    Incentivized
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    Reliability and Availability
    Cision
    Easily accessible 24/7.
    Incentivized
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    Salesforce
    No answers on this topic
    Performance
    Cision
    Generally, Cision performs well day to day, but it's got some annoying bugs that slow down usage/require user workarounds which is inefficient. More seriously, a few months ago, as a result of a major system upgrade, certain critical functionality was not working and I was unable to use the service for more than a day when I had time-sensitive work to execute
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    Salesforce
    No answers on this topic
    Support Rating
    Cision
    For Cision TrendKite in particilar, support always responded, but it was sometimes slow. For some of our booleans and search queries, we would need help refining and excluding terms/phrases that weren't relevant to our client or campaign. This sometimes took 1-2 days just to get a response back, which sometimes was too late when a last-minute report was due. This was only with the support staff, not necessarily our customer success manager or sales rep.
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    Salesforce
    I was not able to be in interaction much with Salesforce support team since every feature works the way it should be working. So far I have not experienced any bug or major glitches that would delay the result of my work and performance. There is also a hotline in our company for Salesforce issue but so far I have not used it.
    Incentivized
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    Online Training
    Cision
    The online training sessions available for the Cision Communications Cloud are helpful and informative. There's more than one option - initially, I signed up for the live webinar classes on basic functions and that is what I recommend other new users do as well. If I have specific questions or something I want to learn more about, I can search the online database and find article or online training videos to get the information I need.
    Incentivized
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    Salesforce
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation Rating
    Cision
    There is no implementation at the customer's end so this doesn't really apply to my instance of Cision (possibly to all instances of it).
    Read full review
    Salesforce
    An implementation partner would certainly result in greater output in a more efficient amount of time. However, I have found implementation partners to be extremely expensive for the output received (at least working for a non-profit company they are frequently unaffordable). Internal implementation does help with usable output though since internal knowledge would better know the data architecture and business processes
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    Alternatives Considered
    Cision
    It's a similar product. I think Meltwater sells itself as being a bit more niche, but I have not found many significant differences between Meltwater and Cision. Meltwater's sales process is a very high pressure and their prices are inflated.
    Incentivized
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    Salesforce
    Tableau is the absolute top of the class when it comes to business intelligence, but it doesn't make sense for every business case. In our case, we needed a simple data visualization platform for our CRM platform and sales pipeline. Salesforce Analytics, while nowhere near as robust, did the job we needed it to do perfectly in a significantly more cost-effective manner.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Scalability
    Cision
    Easy to use, but still room for improvement.
    Incentivized
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    Salesforce
    No answers on this topic
    Return on Investment
    Cision
    • Cision has a net positive impact on time savings for staff so we can be quicker to market
    • Cision has a positive impact on internal savings as it is used internally across multiple accounts and with the internal PR team
    • Cision is extremely useful when it comes to resourcing and conducting outreach in those DMA's where our agency doesn't have a physical presence
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    Salesforce
    • I would say it's been positive just because as a company, anyone that has access to it can go in there and pull any company information and we're very up to date then on all of our client base. So I would say it's been a very positive impact.
    Incentivized
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    ScreenShots

    Cision Communications Cloud Screenshots

    Screenshot of Media Monitoring and Analytics are just part of the complete Comms Cloud. It combines deep data dive with a database of journalists and influencers, and a media relationship management tool.Screenshot of Track brand mentions in real time across the millions of online stories on the internet. Monitor millions of stories and breaking news happening daily across the web. Professional services consultants teams are in place to ensure best practices while setting up a monitoring account.Screenshot of Cision’s media and influencer relationship management tools include audience insights, combined with a pitchable database that enables brands to uncover the best media contacts and social influencers to reach their target audience.Screenshot of Identify the social conversations and influencers that are impacting a brand. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube monitoring capabilities track brand mentions across all major social channels. Analyze results for social mentions or campaigns on the fly with its reporting features.