Really Simple Systems vs. Salesforce Marketing Cloud

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Really Simple Systems
Score 7.6 out of 10
Small Businesses (1-50 employees)
Really Simple Systems is a customer relationship management (CRM) software deployed via cloud with built-in features like email marketing, pipeline management, and case management.
$8
per month
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Score 7.8 out of 10
N/A
Marketing Cloud is an AI-powered, cloud-based digital marketing platform within the Salesforce Customer 360 ecosystem. Marketers can segment their audience, deliver personalized messages, track campaign performance, engage leads and accounts, and optimize strategies based on real-time insights.
$1,250
per month per installation
Pricing
Really Simple SystemsSalesforce Marketing Cloud
Editions & Modules
Free CRM
$0
2 Users and 100 Company Records
Starter
$15
per User, 1000 Company Records, Unlimited Contacts, 1 GB Document Storage, MailSync, Custom Settings, Custom Reports, API Integration, Online ‘self-service’ Support Hub, Email and Online Chat Support, Optional Marketing Module
Professional
$33
per User, 5000 Company Records, Unlimited Contacts, 5 GB Document Storage, MailSync, Custom Settings, Custom Reports, API Integration, Advanced User Permission Levels, Online ‘self-service’ Support Hub, Free Email, Chat and Phone Support, Priority Technical Support, Optional Marketing and Service Desk Modules
Enterprise
$50
per User, Unlimited Company Records, Unlimited Contacts, Unlimited Document Storage, MailSync, Advanced Reporting, Custom Settings, Advanced User Permission Levels, API Integration, Online ‘self-service’ Support Hub, Free Email, Chat and Phone Support , Top Priority Technical Support, Dedicated Account Manager, Free Online Team Training , Optional Marketing and Service Desk Modules
Account Engagement
$1,250
per month
Engagement
$1,250
per month
Intelligence
$3,000
per month
Loyalty Management
$20,000
per month
Personalization
$100,000
per year
Data Cloud for Marketing
$108,000
per year
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Really Simple SystemsSalesforce Marketing Cloud
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
YesNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoYes
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsAll plans include free customer support and setup help.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Really Simple SystemsSalesforce Marketing Cloud
Features
Really Simple SystemsSalesforce Marketing Cloud
Sales Force Automation
Comparison of Sales Force Automation features of Product A and Product B
Really Simple Systems
7.2
33 Ratings
7% below category average
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
-
Ratings
Customer data management / contact management7.833 Ratings00 Ratings
Workflow management7.213 Ratings00 Ratings
Territory management6.98 Ratings00 Ratings
Opportunity management7.727 Ratings00 Ratings
Integration with email client (e.g., Outlook or Gmail)6.325 Ratings00 Ratings
Interaction tracking7.525 Ratings00 Ratings
Customer Service & Support
Comparison of Customer Service & Support features of Product A and Product B
Really Simple Systems
7.2
25 Ratings
6% below category average
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
-
Ratings
Case management7.423 Ratings00 Ratings
Help desk management7.024 Ratings00 Ratings
Marketing Automation
Comparison of Marketing Automation features of Product A and Product B
Really Simple Systems
7.1
27 Ratings
8% below category average
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
-
Ratings
Lead management7.024 Ratings00 Ratings
Email marketing7.220 Ratings00 Ratings
CRM Project Management
Comparison of CRM Project Management features of Product A and Product B
Really Simple Systems
7.0
29 Ratings
9% below category average
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
-
Ratings
Task management7.127 Ratings00 Ratings
Reporting6.925 Ratings00 Ratings
CRM Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of CRM Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
Really Simple Systems
6.5
25 Ratings
16% below category average
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
-
Ratings
Forecasting6.320 Ratings00 Ratings
Pipeline visualization6.321 Ratings00 Ratings
Customizable reports6.824 Ratings00 Ratings
Customization
Comparison of Customization features of Product A and Product B
Really Simple Systems
6.8
28 Ratings
12% below category average
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
-
Ratings
Custom fields7.128 Ratings00 Ratings
Custom objects6.824 Ratings00 Ratings
API for custom integration6.517 Ratings00 Ratings
Platform
Comparison of Platform features of Product A and Product B
Really Simple Systems
6.8
21 Ratings
10% below category average
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
-
Ratings
Mobile access6.821 Ratings00 Ratings
Security
Comparison of Security features of Product A and Product B
Really Simple Systems
7.8
28 Ratings
7% below category average
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
-
Ratings
Role-based user permissions7.828 Ratings00 Ratings
Email & Online Marketing
Comparison of Email & Online Marketing features of Product A and Product B
Really Simple Systems
-
Ratings
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
7.6
170 Ratings
0% below category average
WYSIWYG email editor00 Ratings7.7121 Ratings
Dynamic content00 Ratings7.8152 Ratings
Ability to test dynamic content00 Ratings7.1111 Ratings
Landing pages00 Ratings7.5120 Ratings
A/B testing00 Ratings7.5150 Ratings
Mobile optimization00 Ratings7.0110 Ratings
Email deliverability reporting00 Ratings7.8131 Ratings
List management00 Ratings8.0128 Ratings
Triggered drip sequences00 Ratings7.694 Ratings
Lead Management
Comparison of Lead Management features of Product A and Product B
Really Simple Systems
-
Ratings
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
7.9
123 Ratings
1% above category average
Lead nurturing automation00 Ratings8.1108 Ratings
Lead scoring and grading00 Ratings7.9109 Ratings
Data quality management00 Ratings7.6115 Ratings
Automated sales alerts and tasks00 Ratings8.2100 Ratings
Campaign Management
Comparison of Campaign Management features of Product A and Product B
Really Simple Systems
-
Ratings
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
7.6
113 Ratings
2% above category average
Calendaring00 Ratings7.8102 Ratings
Event/webinar marketing00 Ratings7.396 Ratings
Social Media Marketing
Comparison of Social Media Marketing features of Product A and Product B
Really Simple Systems
-
Ratings
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
7.3
87 Ratings
2% below category average
Social sharing and campaigns00 Ratings7.682 Ratings
Social profile integration00 Ratings7.138 Ratings
Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
Really Simple Systems
-
Ratings
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
7.7
123 Ratings
6% above category average
Dashboards00 Ratings8.0117 Ratings
Standard reports00 Ratings7.7122 Ratings
Custom reports00 Ratings7.499 Ratings
Platform & Infrastructure
Comparison of Platform & Infrastructure features of Product A and Product B
Really Simple Systems
-
Ratings
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
7.5
123 Ratings
1% above category average
API00 Ratings7.189 Ratings
Role-based workflow & approvals00 Ratings7.388 Ratings
Customizability00 Ratings7.0110 Ratings
Integration with Salesforce.com00 Ratings8.0112 Ratings
Integration with Microsoft Dynamics CRM00 Ratings8.513 Ratings
Integration with SugarCRM00 Ratings7.610 Ratings
Third-party software integrations00 Ratings7.023 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Really Simple SystemsSalesforce Marketing Cloud
Small Businesses
Salesmate
Salesmate
Score 10.0 out of 10
Vbout
Vbout
Score 10.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Creatio
Creatio
Score 9.1 out of 10
PFL Direct Mail Platform
PFL Direct Mail Platform
Score 9.0 out of 10
Enterprises
Creatio
Creatio
Score 9.1 out of 10
PFL Direct Mail Platform
PFL Direct Mail Platform
Score 9.0 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Really Simple SystemsSalesforce Marketing Cloud
Likelihood to Recommend
7.6
(34 ratings)
8.0
(328 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.1
(1 ratings)
8.2
(114 ratings)
Usability
7.8
(18 ratings)
7.9
(37 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(11 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
9.6
(9 ratings)
Support Rating
8.0
(17 ratings)
7.0
(36 ratings)
In-Person Training
-
(0 ratings)
5.0
(4 ratings)
Online Training
-
(0 ratings)
8.1
(7 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
3.0
(17 ratings)
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
-
(0 ratings)
5.0
(1 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
7.0
(2 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
7.4
(39 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(3 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
7.0
(3 ratings)
User Testimonials
Really Simple SystemsSalesforce Marketing Cloud
Likelihood to Recommend
Really Simple Systems CRM
If you have a customer/job where there are steps to be followed such as quotes, follow up, purchase orders received, etc. You can set reminders for a member of the team with their next step and they will be sent reminders. Works well as long as it is kept updated.
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Salesforce
I think the product, by definition, is meant for marketing — and we use it exactly for that, for running campaigns. That’s the best-suited use case for the product. I don’t think it’s really meant to be used for anything else — that’s just not how it’s designed.
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Pros
Really Simple Systems CRM
  • Can send out marketing emailers within 5 minutes of an industry-specific update from any device
  • Sales dashboard [can be] built how I want it using the Really Simple Systems widgets
  • Activity integration from email accounts included
  • Manage my sales pipeline opportunities effectively
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Salesforce
  • Filter relevant content so you can priorize those that are more relevant and resolve it first
  • Measure the traffic in the different social networks, as well as the response rate, average response time and other relevant metrics
  • Configure automation rules to order the work of those who must interact with the customer
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Cons
Really Simple Systems CRM
  • Resends - I would like a simple [one-click] function to resend email campaigns to [non-openers.]
  • [Emails] that have been created but not sent or attached to a campaign I would like to see a place that they could be in [the] draft so I can come back to them at a later date without them appearing on the email list[.]
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Salesforce
  • The email builder does not offer any way to catch/check bugs across different email service providers
  • Creating SQL is not as easy as drag-and-drop; a lot of technical knowledge is required
  • Salesforce Marketing Cloud is sold as a marketing tool, but to be honest, you need a LOT of technical IT support to run the tool
  • Einstein metrics are across the board; if you have multiple audiences in one instance of Salesforce Marketing Cloud you can't segment the data.
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Likelihood to Renew
Really Simple Systems CRM
No answers on this topic
Salesforce
As of right now we have not seen any other program that integrates as seamlessly into our Salesforce platform. We have barely scratched the surface of all the features and use cases. It would be irresponsible to make a move to another platform in the near future. We have not come up against any limitations that would prompt a need to switch
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Usability
Really Simple Systems CRM
Simple systems is great for smaller sales and marketing teams to log their territories and report on progress on their opportunities. There are many useful features such as tasks and reporting to show to management how opportunities are progressing and when the estimated close date would occur. The two main issues are scalability within larger [organizations] and the ease to duplicate contacts.
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Salesforce
You won't find another solution that has as many features as Salesforce Marketing Cloud Interaction Studio. We all know Salesforce, we all know how big they are and it's not for nothing... Their tools do most of the things you want, need and even imagine. Using it is complicated, but the usability is infinite.
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Reliability and Availability
Really Simple Systems CRM
No answers on this topic
Salesforce
Upgrades and timing of the upgrades were communicated well and planned during off hours for our work. If we did have a campaign scheduled during that time, it would kick-off after the system was back active. There were a few unplanned system down times, but it was a rare occurrence and those times were also short in duration.
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Performance
Really Simple Systems CRM
No answers on this topic
Salesforce
Though the make up of MA apps is not built this way today, it would be nice to see them become more real-time. The integration between Salesforce and Pardot is not a true real-time integration. If I modify something in Salesforce, those changes are not automatically reflected in Pardot immediately. There is a delay of about 15 minutes before the systems sync. This delay, although not long, is less than ideal We would love the systems to be integrated real time such that changes are propagated from one system to the other immediately.
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Support Rating
Really Simple Systems CRM
Whenever I have had any issues, which is probably only 3 times in 10 years, the back office support has been fantastic and got me up and running again in a very short time. Cannot fault them at all. But as I stated, problems have been very few and far between.
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Salesforce
They are really responsive and more than not solve the problem or give you insight to how you can manage the solution yourself. I do find however sometimes a long delay on the more complex issues when they need to loop in other departments. but overall a good experience with support
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In-Person Training
Really Simple Systems CRM
No answers on this topic
Salesforce
The trainers at the Pardot user conference (Elevate and Connections) were very knowledgeable and presented the material well. Again, the content was targeted to more of a new user audience, and was not really relevant for folks who had been using the product for 2+ years.
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Online Training
Really Simple Systems CRM
No answers on this topic
Salesforce
Pardot's online training touches on all topics briefly and vaguely without much indepth exploration into how a final outcome could look, such as Nurturing Campaigns, Email templates, landing page templates, etc... The only true way to uncover Pardot's full capabilities is to have Front End design and coding experience. Without this key skill set, I would not recommend Pardot to another business.
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Implementation Rating
Really Simple Systems CRM
No answers on this topic
Salesforce
From an IT perspective, once you set up the Javascript beacon and start collecting data there is a waiting game. During this time you can start labeling your site actions which can be labor intensive for a single person, but you don't really have the final end-users on the platform yet. We did a lot of training so users were experienced, but it wasn't until they had their first tasks to accomplish that they started using the system and had questions. I'd recommend setting up some immediate goals for an end-user to start segmenting for the purpose of displaying message campaigns so you can jump start end-user action.
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Alternatives Considered
Really Simple Systems CRM
We choose RSS due to cost. We are a startup and needed a great solution that did not cost [a lot]. RSS [fits] all our needs at the perfect price. We could not be more thrilled with our choice and it has simplified our client interaction[.]
Read full review
Salesforce
We use Salesforce Marketing Cloud for lead management, generating reports, tracking customer and dealer information, inputting orders, and more. I prefer HubSpot for email marketing and automation because it is easier to use and the emails are designed much better. We currently use Salesforce and HubSpot, and we are very happy to have both, as they have different pros/cons.
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Contract Terms and Pricing Model
Really Simple Systems CRM
No answers on this topic
Salesforce
was not involved with this part but i have not heard about clompaints
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Scalability
Really Simple Systems CRM
No answers on this topic
Salesforce
Prior to this, we had no solution and literally were doing things on paper in a world where technology is outpacing paper. Having this process optimized has made it easier for the sales and marketing people to change information. From the training perspective, it has allowed us to see holes in where we could create additional support training, so the ROI here has been a lot more than just the optimization of a process.
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Return on Investment
Really Simple Systems CRM
  • A very positive effect on our understanding of our customers and what kind of events are working well at the venue and which aren't. This will allow us to work more smartly when responsive to enquiries, improving our overall productivity.
  • Very positive impact on our current review of marketing and sales strategy.
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Salesforce
  • Salesforce Marketing Cloud allows us to more efficiently reach out to a higher number of prospects.
  • Salesforce Marketing Cloud allows us to nimbly communicate important messages in a timely fashion to facilitate conversion.
  • Salesforce Marketing Cloud allows us to track who is opening our messages so that we can stop sending to those not interested and focus on the most engaged audiences.
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ScreenShots

Really Simple Systems Screenshots

Screenshot of Accounts PageScreenshot of Tasks PageScreenshot of Marketing Dashboard

Salesforce Marketing Cloud Screenshots

Screenshot of Pardot Analytics - Pardot's reporting and analytics can be used to perform true revenue impact analysis and closed-loop reporting.Screenshot of Pardot Email Analytics - The reach and impact of  email marketing efforts are displayed in real-time with advanced reporting and analytics by device, and email client.Screenshot of Pardot Forms and Landing Pages - Pardot's form and landing page builders are used to turn online traffic to leads with targeted offers and content marketing.Screenshot of Pardot Email Marketing - Lead nurturing flows are defined via an interface that enables definition of the simplest or most complex segmented and targeted campaigns.