Salesforce Price Hike: How Does It Affect End Users?
Salesforce has long been a leading CRM platform, empowering businesses to connect with their customers and streamline their operations effectively. However, Salesforce’s announcement of hiking the prices on their products by an average of 9% has raised concerns among users. In this blog, we will explore the implications of the Salesforce price hike and shed light on how users can still gain significant value from their Salesforce investment.
Understanding the Salesforce Price Hike:
After maintaining stable list prices for seven years, Salesforce has finally decided to increase the costs of their products. The increase in list prices will be effective from August 2023 across Service Cloud, Sales Cloud, Industries, Marketing Cloud, and Tableau.
- The increased prices only affect new purchases or renewals
- Existing customers who have an ongoing contract have a grace period of at least 2 years before they start incurring the increased costs
Take a look at the revised prices:
| Subscription Type | Former Pricing | Renewed Pricing |
| Professional Edition | $75 | $80 |
| Enterprise Edition | $150 | $165 |
| Unlimited Edition | $300 | $330 |
Let’s take a closer look at how Salesforce price hike compares with its competitors in the CRM market. The bar graph below showcases the subscription costs of Salesforce and its major competitors for the Enterprise Edition:
How does this benefit end-users?
Despite being competitively priced, Salesforce offers unparalleled features and capabilities that set it apart from its competitors. Let’s explore how amidst the price hike, end-users still stand to gain benefits from their Salesforce investment:
More Value through New Features:
Since its last price hike in 2016, Salesforce has delivered around 22 new releases and added numerous features to expand the platform’s capacity and improve user experience. The price hike will encourage the customers to optimize their current Salesforce usage in order to get the most out of the platform. This involves identifying areas where the platform is underutilized or redundant and making modifications in their contracts to optimize the new features.
The Power of Generative AI Integration:
Over the past few months, Salesforce has released Generative AI products like Einstein GPT, AI Cloud, Sales GPT, Service GPT, etc. These products will allow customers to leverage the power of Generative AI through Salesforce helping them get valuable insights, lower costs, increase overall revenue, while ensuring increased efficiency.
Upgrading and Customization Opportunities:
With the price hike in place, customers can seize the opportunity to upgrade their existing Salesforce products. They can also consider expanding their usage to cater to evolving business needs. Furthermore, customization options allow businesses to tailor Salesforce solutions to their specific requirements, boosting competitiveness and business performance.
Optimizing Salesforce Spending:
Salesforce price hike prompts existing customers to reassess their Salesforce spending and find ways to maximize their returns on investment. Businesses can collaborate with Salesforce consultants and experts to optimize their current usage, streamline processes, and identify areas where cost-efficiency can be improved.
In addition, the existing users who can currently enjoy a grace period before they start paying the increased prices can take this time to plan their Salesforce usage in advance. This will allow them to form strategies that will help them get the optimum benefits.
Conclusion:
While the Salesforce price hike poses challenges for end-users, it also presents opportunities for businesses to reevaluate their strategies and optimize their Salesforce usage. With a proactive and strategic approach, businesses can continue to harness the power of Salesforce and deliver exceptional customer experiences while ensuring cost-effectiveness and long-term growth.
