How Much Does Salesforce Implementation Really Cost? A Comprehensive Breakdown

With the increasing adoption of Salesforce by businesses of all sizes and industries, knowing the cost of Salesforce implementation is crucial. 

Having an idea of the potential expenses, hidden costs, and various offerings by the implementation partners can help you make informed decisions about budget allocation, resource planning, and vendor selection. Moreover, it also helps you manage the cost related to maintenance and updates in the platform. 

This blog will introduce you to everything related to Salesforce implementation costs. To ensure a seamless process, businesses can also benefit from a Salesforce implementation checklist, which helps them prepare and streamline their efforts.

With so many versatile offerings by Salesforce, it becomes difficult to predict or set a standard implementation pricing. Businesses can scale Salesforce’s functionality up or down based on their implementation requirements. Therefore, here we have shared typical costs of Salesforce implementation focused on different requirements and needs. 

Let’s get started! 

Salesforce CRM Implementation Cost Breakdown  

Salesforce and its versatile product offering come with different pricing and editions. Starting with its CRM platform to specific products for marketing, sales, customer service, analytics, commerce, and more, you get separate pricing that adds up to your implementation cost.  

Let’s explore it for every product: 

1. Salesforce Sales Cloud 

Salesforce Sales Cloud starts at $25 for each user per month and comes with basic functionalities supporting lead, account, contact, and opportunity management. Further, the plans and features upgrade at $500 per user per month, which includes everything, as per the business requirements. 

Mainly the starter suite and pro suite are designed to support small to midsized business needs. The enterprise, unlimited, and Einstein 1 Sales editions are more focused on large business needs, offering advanced sales capabilities, including Einstein AI, sales agents, and seamless integration with data cloud and revenue intelligence. 

2. Salesforce Service Cloud 

Salesforce Service Cloud is ranked as the #1 CRM for service, offering several capabilities that empower businesses’s service teams with analytics and AI intelligence. It starts at $25/user/month with basic case management, a knowledge base, and customizable reports and dashboards. Further, Pro Suite offers advanced capabilities, and the Enterprise edition introduces the Einstein AI chatbots. New features add up and enhancements in existing features are present in Unlimited and Einstein 1 Service editions. 

3. Salesforce Marketing Cloud 

Pricing of Salesforce Marketing Cloud revolves around various editions and plans. First, you have to choose among the various editions offered by Salesforce including Professional priced at $1,250 per Org per month, Corporate at $4,200 per Org per month, and for the Enterprise edition, you can request a quote. 

Further, you get Salesforce Marketing Cloud Account Engagement Editions that offer features specific to lead engagement, campaign reporting, B2B marketing analytics and advancements, SLA support, and more. The Growth, Plus, Advanced, and Premium plans are priced at $1,250, $2,750, $4,400, and $15,000 per month, respectively. 

Laying the foundation for versatile pricing, Marketing Cloud offers annual plans— Growth plan priced at $108,000 per Org and the Premium plan at $300,000 per Org. 

4. Salesforce Commerce Cloud 

Salesforce Commerce Cloud pricing differs from other cloud’s pricing as it is not standard or statically decided by Salesforce. If you leverage Commerce Cloud in your business as per the plan and features you want, it calculates the cost based on the revenue you generate by using the platform. 

The Growth plan charges 1% gross merchandise value, the Advanced plan takes up 2% and to know the cost of B2C commerce offerings, you can contact Salesforce support teams.  

5. Slack

Adding up to the sales functionality, Slack integration with Salesforce accelerates your sales team’s productivity. The Pro edition supports the requirements of small teams, priced at $7.25 per user per month, allowing unlimited channels, automated workflows, productivity tools, and integrations. The Business+ edition comes with advanced features and functionalities, including single sign-in, data protection, and security features.

Moreover, if you are seeking advanced security capabilities and additional productivity tools for your business, you can contact Salesforce sales representatives. 

Industry-Specific Cloud 

As we already know, Salesforce is leveraged by a number of businesses across every industry. Here is a curated list of some top industry-specific clouds that are custom-built for your industry-specific requirements.  

1. Financial Services Cloud 

Salesforce Financial Services Cloud is designed for banks, insurance brokers, financial advisory businesses, and others with finance-specific domains. 

It offers sales-specific as well as service-specific functionalities separately, allowing you to choose as per your requirements. Or, you can opt for the sales and service plan that gives you a comprehensive view of both in one edition. Additionally, it comes with a separate plan powered with Einstein 1 capabilities along with sales and service together. 

2. Health Cloud 

Salesforce Health Cloud is specially designed for healthcare providers and life sciences that want to streamline and automate operations related to personalized care, collaboration, and management of patients as well as healthcare provider’s data. 

You get the Enterprise edition at $325 per user per month with clinical and insurance data models, integrated care management, health timeline, care team and household map, and other basic features. Further in the Unlimited edition, you get all the features from the Enterprise edition and advancements into it. Plus, you get scalable resources that help you manage your healthcare operation better. 

At last, with the Einstein 1 Service edition for healthcare priced at $700 per user per month, you get intelligent AI capabilities that make your healthcare business teams work easier and boost their productivity.  

3. Consumer Goods Cloud

Specially designed for distributors, fast-moving consumer goods businesses, and more, Salesforce Consumer Goods Cloud offers plans with features and functionalities subject to your requirements. 

The Contractor edition is priced at $50 per user per month, offering Salesforce maps with routing and onsite audit capabilities. Also, you get visit planning and execution functionalities, a streamlined approval process, and so on. 

With the Merchandiser plan priced at $75 per user per month, you get field execution capabilities for your representatives. Further, the Field Sales and Strategic Sales plans provide advancements into these existing features and other additional functionalities such as Einstein visit recommendations, omnichannel support, priority scheduling, and much more. 

4. Salesforce Manufacturing Cloud 

Salesforce Manufacturing Cloud, built with a primary focus on the requirements of the manufacturing industry, offers three different plans with distinct features. 

You get the manufacturing cloud with sales capabilities priced at $250 per user per month and for service-specific capabilities, you get the cloud at the same pricing. However, if you wish to leverage both capabilities into a single platform, you should consider opting for the Manufacturing cloud—sales and service edition. It is priced at $275 per user per month and offers the best of both worlds, giving you a comprehensive view of both in the same platform at an affordable cost. 

Knowing the pricing of these products can help you gain an understanding of the standard costs that your business might incur. This can help you plan your budget accordingly and eliminate overspending. 

Hidden Costs Of Salesforce Implementation

Do you believe that purchasing Salesforce products is the only cost that will count in your implementation expense? Well, it goes beyond it. 

It is crucial to recognize the costs involved that extend far beyond just the initial purchase price. Many businesses often overlook these hidden expenses that can significantly impact their budget and resource allocation.

To ensure a comprehensive financial plan, here are some key hidden costs associated with implementation that you should thoroughly investigate. 

Understanding these will help you allocate your resources more effectively and achieve a smoother implementation process.

1. Development and Customization Expenses

Salesforce offers out-of-the-box functionalities that resonate with your business requirements. Certainly, you might want a more tailored solution beyond Salesforce’s standard offerings. 

This is when you require customizing the platform that includes all the features and functionalities that are centric to your business industry. 

The cost of tailoring the platform depends on various factors, such as the scope of implementation, what features are required, the complexity, the size of business data, and more.

Also, if you wish to develop or customize the Org on your own, lacking the technical expertise of your team, you might face a backlash, resulting in your investment going in vain. Coping with it might require additional costs that exceed your budget. 

This is a key hidden expense that you must consider while developing your financial plan. 

2. Third-Party App Costs

After successfully implementing Salesforce in your business, you might realize that your platform is missing out on certain advanced capabilities.

For instance, you want to enhance your email marketing practices. By integrating MailChimp with Salesforce, you can master email marketing tactics. Or, you want to upgrade your project management game, for which you integrate JIRA with Salesforce. These integrations offer you capabilities that are not available in Salesforce or lack advancements. 

However, the cost adds up as you purchase a third-party application and indulge in an integration process. That being said, this is a hidden cost to consider in your financial plan. 

3. Data Migration Costs 

You should never overlook the costs associated with data migration, as it is a crucial asset of your business. Migrating your data to Salesforce requires utmost focus and correct mapping of data objects that streamline the process. 

A successful data migration demands a technical expert who can map the data objects accurately across both your on-premise and Salesforce platforms. Additionally, this needs a data migration tool that can handle large and complex migrations with ease, counting in cost addition. 

There are several tools available in the market, but you must take note that not all are capable of handling lengthy migrations. Therefore, you must go for a tool that supports your data migration needs at an affordable cost. 

If you wish to migrate your data on your own, ensure that your business teams have the right technical expertise. If not, then it is advised to go by with an expert to avoid any damage, theft, and misplacing of sensitive data. 

4. Training Costs  

It is your responsibility to make your teams aware of the capabilities of Salesforce. Therefore, it is important to make your employees familiar with the benefits of Salesforce before and after the implementation. They should be equipped with the knowledge and skills required to work on the platform. 

Investing in a training process adds up to your cost but helps your employees get their hands on the environment and make the best use of it. It requires hiring a Salesforce professional or a team that can help your employees with all the if’s and but’s of Salesforce and its offerings. 

After a successful training session, your teams will excel in establishing long-term customer relationships, bringing in more business, and making you climb the ladder of success. 

5. Maintenance Costs 

The work does not stop at just implementation; it goes beyond it. 

After a successful implementation, it is essential to maintain and review the platform along with integrations, ensuring that it yields the best results possible. Whether the platform is efficiently working or not? Is it resulting as expected, or is there scope for improvements? Are there any technical challenges related to the Org or products? 

Looking into these issues, reviewing the performance, overseeing the integrations and more requires continuous maintenance. 

Maintaining the Salesforce Org and keeping it updated with the advancements rolled out by Salesforce, is an ongoing expense and adds up to the cost over time. These costs come monthly or annually, which are often overlooked by businesses but should be considered. 

Isn’t it surprising that these costs count up to your Salesforce implementation but are neglected? Considering these will actually help you build a financial plan that does not exceed your budget. 

How would you deal with these hidden costs? By consulting with a partner having team of developers, administrators, consultants, and more that help you identify hidden and associated costs in advance. 

How Much Does a Salesforce Partner Charge?

Salesforce implementation pricing depends on various factors that we have already covered. Apart from these, the pricing also depends on the services offered by the partner. 

Go for a partner that offers a comprehensive set of Salesforce implementation services, including customization, integration, configuration, data migration consulting, training, and maintenance. Don’t just opt for a company that offers a variety of services but also focuses on quality delivery. 

One such leading Salesforce partner is Cyntexa. Their 400+ experts work closely with you and your teams to understand your objectives and business processes and develop solutions that cater to the best of your needs. 

With Salesforce managed services, they embark on continuous updates, support services, and change management that help deal with evolving market needs. 

From implementation to AppExchange App management, Cyntexa is your go-to partner! 

Best Practices To Reduce Implementation Cost

Now that we have talked about what and how your implementation cost adds up, this might make you have second thoughts about implementing Salesforce. But don’t worry, investing in Salesforce is worth it! 

As per the Salesforce data, businesses that implemented Salesforce experienced 29% positive ROI within nine months of implementation. Think of what amazing results they might have embarked on now! 

Here is a compiled list of best practices that you must follow to reduce the cost and gain the maximum benefits of Salesforce.   

1. Create A Financial Budget

Start by carefully evaluating your business requirements and needs. Clearly state your objectives and the Salesforce offerings that are to be leveraged. 

Factor in the number of users who will gain access to the platform, as it significantly impacts the licensing and customization costs. 

Get a rough estimate of the potential expenses involved, including implementation, customization, training, and support from your chosen Salesforce implementation partner.

While budgeting, avoid setting rigid financial boundaries and allow room for modifications and flexibility that can accommodate unexpected costs and changes as per your evolving needs. 

With this approach, you can ensure a well-structured and adaptable budget, laying the foundation for a successful Salesforce implementation.

2. Opt. For The Right Salesforce Edition That Best Fits Your Business Needs 

Now that you have stated clear business objectives, you must be aware of what features and functionalities you need across Salesforce. 

What are the must-haves, and what features do not count as your choice? Go by looking for them in various product offerings of Salesforce. Opt for the clouds that meet your requirements. 

Suppose you are able to generate leads easily, but notice that they do not make a purchase and seem to disappear. It is important to identify where you are losing them in the process. For this, you have the Journey Builder feature in Salesforce Marketing Cloud that helps you track the whole journey of the lead and highlights the point at which you lost it. By analyzing this data, you can gain insights on how to improve your strategies to engage customers better, encourage purchases, and ultimately increase revenue. 

Additionally, you can consider opting for industry-specific clouds if you want features and workflows that are centric to your industry. This eliminates any additional cost that you would have incurred over. 

3. Break Your Project Requirements Into Manageable Phases 

Breaking down a large Salesforce implementation into small and manageable phases can significantly help you reduce costs. 

You can continuously assess the impact of each phase of development and make adjustments as needed then and there, eliminating costs associated with post-implementation challenges. 

Also, it eliminates the cost of disaster recovery, as in case any issue arises in one phase, it will not impact other phases, making it easier to recover on the spot.  

4. Consider Consulting With A Salesforce Implementation Partner 

That said, partnering with a reliable implementation partner can help you save costs in the long run. They offer you comprehensive services at an affordable rate, ensuring quality of service delivery. They are your dedicated partner, who might offer additional services and recommendations due to the relationships you have established with them. 

They ensure a smooth, efficient, and cost-effective Salesforce implementation. 

Final Words 

The cost of Salesforce implementation varies depending on various factors. Be it your business’s unique needs, the complexity of the project, and the resources that you require. 

While it may seem like a significant investment at first, in the long term, it benefits you by offering improved efficiency, enhanced customer engagement, and scalable growth. 

Partnering with experienced Salesforce partner ensures a tailored, cost-effective solution that drives maximum value for your business.