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Salesforce Agentforce Marketing vs. Microsoft Visual Studio

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Agentforce Marketing

    Score7.7 out of 10
    N/AMarketing Cloud is a cloud-based digital marketing platform, used by 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

    Visual Studio

    Score8.8 out of 10
    N/AVisual Studio (now in the 2022 edition) is a 64-bit IDE that makes it easier to work with bigger projects and complex workloads, boasting a fluid and responsive experience for users. The IDE features IntelliCode, its automatic code completion tools that understand code context and that can complete up to a whole line at once to drive accurate and confident coding.

    $45

    per month

    Pricing
    Agentforce MarketingVisual Studio
    Editions & 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
    Professional
    $45.00
    per month
    Enterprise
    $250.00
    per month
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Agentforce MarketingVisual Studio
    Free Trial
    YesNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoYes
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    YesNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details——
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Agentforce MarketingVisual Studio
    Considered Both Products
    Salesforce
    Chose Agentforce Marketing
    Salesforce Marketing Cloud is superior to other marketing platforms I have used in the past.
    Incentivized
    Microsoft
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    88%
    Would buy again
    84 Answers
    98%
    Would buy again
    40 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    89%
    Delivers good value for the price
    72 Answers
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    40 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    93%
    Happy with the feature set
    89 Answers
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    41 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    88%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    58 Answers
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    32 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    84%
    Implementation went as expected
    54 Answers
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    36 Answers
    Features
    Agentforce MarketingVisual Studio
    Email & Online Marketing
    Comparison of Email & Online Marketing features of Salesforce Agentforce Marketing and Microsoft Visual Studio
    Feature
    Salesforce Agentforce Marketing
    7.3
    171 Ratings
    6% below category average
    Microsoft Visual Studio
    -
    Ratings
    WYSIWYG email editor7.4122 Ratings00 Ratings
    Dynamic content8.2153 Ratings00 Ratings
    Ability to test dynamic content6.3112 Ratings00 Ratings
    Landing pages7.6121 Ratings00 Ratings
    A/B testing7.0151 Ratings00 Ratings
    Mobile optimization6.7111 Ratings00 Ratings
    Email deliverability reporting7.2132 Ratings00 Ratings
    List management8.1129 Ratings00 Ratings
    Triggered drip sequences7.295 Ratings00 Ratings
    Lead Management
    Comparison of Lead Management features of Salesforce Agentforce Marketing and Microsoft Visual Studio
    Feature
    Salesforce Agentforce Marketing
    8.1
    124 Ratings
    2% above category average
    Microsoft Visual Studio
    -
    Ratings
    Lead nurturing automation8.9109 Ratings00 Ratings
    Lead scoring and grading8.1110 Ratings00 Ratings
    Data quality management7.2116 Ratings00 Ratings
    Automated sales alerts and tasks8.1101 Ratings00 Ratings
    Campaign Management
    Comparison of Campaign Management features of Salesforce Agentforce Marketing and Microsoft Visual Studio
    Feature
    Salesforce Agentforce Marketing
    7.3
    114 Ratings
    4% below category average
    Microsoft Visual Studio
    -
    Ratings
    Calendaring7.3103 Ratings00 Ratings
    Event/webinar marketing7.497 Ratings00 Ratings
    Social Media Marketing
    Comparison of Social Media Marketing features of Salesforce Agentforce Marketing and Microsoft Visual Studio
    Feature
    Salesforce Agentforce Marketing
    7.3
    88 Ratings
    3% below category average
    Microsoft Visual Studio
    -
    Ratings
    Social sharing and campaigns7.283 Ratings00 Ratings
    Social profile integration7.539 Ratings00 Ratings
    Reporting & Analytics
    Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Salesforce Agentforce Marketing and Microsoft Visual Studio
    Feature
    Salesforce Agentforce Marketing
    7.5
    124 Ratings
    0% above category average
    Microsoft Visual Studio
    -
    Ratings
    Dashboards8.1118 Ratings00 Ratings
    Standard reports7.3123 Ratings00 Ratings
    Custom reports7.2100 Ratings00 Ratings
    Platform & Infrastructure
    Comparison of Platform & Infrastructure features of Salesforce Agentforce Marketing and Microsoft Visual Studio
    Feature
    Salesforce Agentforce Marketing
    7.6
    124 Ratings
    0% below category average
    Microsoft Visual Studio
    -
    Ratings
    API6.790 Ratings00 Ratings
    Role-based workflow & approvals6.589 Ratings00 Ratings
    Customizability6.8111 Ratings00 Ratings
    Integration with Salesforce.com7.6113 Ratings00 Ratings
    Integration with Microsoft Dynamics CRM8.914 Ratings00 Ratings
    Integration with SugarCRM8.711 Ratings00 Ratings
    Third-party software integrations7.624 Ratings00 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Agentforce MarketingVisual Studio
    Small Businesses
    Vbout
    Score9.9 out of 10
    IntelliJ IDEA
    Score9.2 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Bloomreach
    Score9.2 out of 10
    PyCharm
    Score9.2 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Iterable
    Score8.1 out of 10
    WebStorm
    Score9.7 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Agentforce MarketingVisual Studio
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.2
    (329 ratings)
    9.1
    (118 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    8.1
    (114 ratings)
    10.0
    (3 ratings)
    Usability
    8.5
    (37 ratings)
    9.2
    (15 ratings)
    Availability
    10.0
    (11 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Performance
    9.6
    (9 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    7.0
    (36 ratings)
    8.8
    (15 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    5.0
    (4 ratings)
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    Online Training
    8.1
    (7 ratings)
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    3.0
    (17 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Contract Terms and Pricing Model
    5.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    7.0
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    7.6
    (40 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    8.0
    (3 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    7.0
    (3 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Agentforce MarketingVisual Studio
    Likelihood to Recommend
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    When working with base C# code for desktop and web projects, then Microsoft Visual Studio is ideal as it provides the libraries and interfaces needed to quickly create, test and deploy solutions. It is when slightly more complex scenarios are required that issues can arise. The built-in integration for things like PowerBI Paginated Reports and dashboards is far from ideal.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    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
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    • I like how the tabs and panels are organized; everything is gathered together so you can find what you're looking for quickly.
    • If you can't find something, there's a thorough search engine that searches all of Visual Studio's features.
    • The Team Foundation Server feature is fantastic since it allows us to easily deploy and roll back changes on the server.
    Read full review
    Cons
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    • Would be great if there was a better way to save and restore open tabs.
    • The built-in test runner can be improved, for example, by adding the ability to save a set of commonly run tests, etc.
    • Better integration for Microsoft SQL server would be great.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    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
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    VS is the best and is required for building Microsoft applications. The quality and usefulness of the product far out-weight the licensing costs associated with it.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    I love the overall usability of Microsoft Visual Studio. I’ve been using this IDE for more than 20 years, and I’ve seen it evolve by leaps and bounds. Today, with AI and code-suggestion/completion features, developers no longer need to remember countless libraries, methods, or language syntax, or invest a huge amount of programming effort to complete a project. It truly offers everything a developer needs to program, debug, test, and deploy in a single IDE.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    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.
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    Performance
    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.
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    Support Rating
    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
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    There are many resources available supporting Visual Studio IDE. Microsoft whitepapers, forum posts, and online Visual Studio documentation. There are countless demonstration videos available, as well. If users are having issues, they can call Microsoft Support, but depending on the company's agreement with Microsoft, the number of included support calls will vary from organization to organization. I've found that Microsoft support calls can be hit or miss depending on who you get, but they can usually get you with the right support person for your issue.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    In-Person Training
    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.
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    IT is very complicated to understand all the functions that the environment has if you are not familiar with this type of development environments. It is important to select a good in-person training to achieve to understand all the possibilities and the capacity of the application. In this case, you will be able to develop a lot type of different applications.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Online Training
    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.
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    If you are not accustomed to develop in this type of development environments it would be complicated to follow all the parts of the course because if the course does not include a great tour with all the concepts to develop you will not have the option to understand all the functions.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Implementation Rating
    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.
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    Alternatives Considered
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    I personally feel Visual Studio IDE has [a] better interface and [is more] user friendly than other IDEs. It has better code maintainability and intellisense. Its inbuilt team foundation server help coders to check on their code then and go. Better nugget package management, quality testing and gives features to extract TRX file as result of testing which includes all the summary of each test case.
    Read full review
    Contract Terms and Pricing Model
    Salesforce
    was not involved with this part but i have not heard about clompaints
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    Scalability
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    Return on Investment
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    • Using the integration between Visual Studio and our source control service, the cost of re-work and losing code is drastically reduced.
    • Paid versions of Visual Studio enable developers to be so much more productive than hacked-together open source solutions that it's hard to imagine developing in Windows without it.
    • When combined with support subscriptions and the vast array of free online help options available, Visual Studio saves our developers time by keeping them coding and testing, not wasting their time trying to guess their way out of problems or spend endless hours online hoping to find answers.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    Agentforce Marketing 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.