Customer Portals: Salesforce vs. SharePoint

6 min read

Jessica B.

Seasoned technical writer giving you top Salesforce Tips.

Updated: Apr 26th, 2024

SharePoint vs Salesforce

SharePoint and Salesforce Experience Cloud are two enterprise software platforms that are suited to different purposes.

SharePoint is a content and collaboration tool that is suited for sharing and managing files, documents, and other content. This platform includes document versioning, team collaboration, and search features. SharePoint is a good option if your business needs to facilitate team collaboration and manage and store a considerable amount of content.

Salesforce is a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software that manages customer interactions. This platform includes customer services, marketing, analytics, and sales features. Salesforce is a good option if your business needs to automate sales and making processes, or track and manage your customer data.

We’ve compared the two platforms in the table below:

Feature	SharePoint	Salesforce
Primary function	Content management and collaboration	Customer relationship management
Target audience	Businesses of all sizes	Businesses of all sizes
Pricing	Is dependent on features and usage requirements	Is dependent on features and usage requirements
Strengths	Flexible, secure, easy to use, and scalable	Powerful features, easy to integrate with other systems, large ecosystem of partners and consultantsEasy integration with other systems, powerful features,
Weaknesses	Can require a complex setup process and can be complicated to manage, not as targeted for sales and marketing as Salesforce	The more features and usage requirements you have the more expensive the package, not as flexible as SharePoint

Still not sure which is the best platform for you to choose? It’s important to take the following factors into account when choosing the best platform:

How big is your business and how many of your employees will require licenses?

What is your budget? SharePoint can be cheaper than Salesforce but ensure you think about the features you will need.

What are your technical expertise? Salesforce offers a variety of features and functionality but SharePoint can be easier to set up and manage.

What are your integration needs? If SharePoint or Salesforce needs to be integrated with your other systems, ensure you look into the availability of connectors and consider the ease of integration.

Will your business grow in the future? If you have plans for your business to grow and change in the future ensure you choose a platform that can grow as your business does.

If you are still weighing up which platform is the best for your business, you can consult with a Salesforce or SharePoint expert.

Salesforce Customer Portal Pricing

The Salesforce pricing model is based on a per-user per-month basis. The basic plan starts at $5 per user per month and goes up to $15 per user per month for the Enterprise plan. The features and functionality you require will impact the price you pay.

A Breakdown of Pricing Plans

Here is a simple breakdown of the Customer Portal pricing plans:

The basic plan starts at $5 per user per month and offers features for creating and managing customer portals including user user and content management, and form creation.

The standard plan starts at $10 per user per month. This plan offers the same features as the basic plan and includes integration with CRM, branding, and analytics features.

The enterprise plan starts at $15 per user per month. This plan includes customization, support, and advanced security measures as well as the standard plan features.

There are some additional costs associated with the Salesforce Customer Portal:

If your portal requires extensive customization, you will need to hire a Salesforce developer to implement the changes.

If you require help to implement the portal, you will need to hire a Salesforce consultant.

There are a variety of support options such as online chat, phone, and email. The cost of support depends on the plan you choose.

Before making any decisions, ensure you have evaluated your needs and requirements, and include important factors like additional costs.

The Salesforce Cloud pricing structures are subject to change, ensure you visit the Salesforce website to view the latest information.

Salesforce Customer Portal Examples

Here are a few examples of Salesforce client portal:

Hulu implemented Salesforce Customer Portals to provide customer self-service support. This allows customers to troubleshoot problems, submit support tickets, and view their account information.

Trailblazer Community is a customer portal for Salesforce users to knowledge share, ask questions, and collaborate.

CEAT implemented a customer portal to provide support; customers can view knowledge articles, track service requests, and chat with support center representatives.

AirAsia uses a support portal to provide support for flight and travel services. Customers can book flights, handle check-ins, and organize their travel itineraries.

These are just a few ways you can implement a Salesforce Customer Portal, the features and functionality will depend on your business needs.

SharePoint Customer Portal Solutions

Using SharePoint as a customer portal can allow your customers to access information and services from your company’s SharePoint environment. SharePoint portals can be created using a variety of tools but the usual approach is to use SharePoint Online.

Sharepoint Online is hosted and managed by Microsoft, This cloud-based version offers a range of features you can use to create customer portals. SharePoint makes it easy to create and manage your content and offers a variety of safety features to ensure your content is protected.

SharePoint Online allows for easy collaboration through document sharing, discussion forums, and progress tracking. You can integrate SharePoi8nt Online with our other CRM and ERP systems to gain a holistic view of your customers.

Things to Keep in Mind

If your business is considering choosing SharePoint to create your customer portals, ensure you keep the following in mind:

SharePoint is a subscription-based service which means you need to take your budget into account.

SharePoint Online can be a complex tool especially when it comes to the setup and management process, you can always get an expert in to help but this does often come at a price.

Keep the goal of your portals in mind, what features will you need and what information will need to be hosted in the portal?

SharePoint as a Customer Portal Benefits

We’ve listed a few benefits of using SharePoint to create your customer portals:

You only pay for the features you need making this a cost-effective option.

The platform is scalable and can be scaled to meet your business needs.

The variety of security features ensures your content is protected.

The platform is easy to use for your customers and administrators.

If your business is on the market for a cost-effective and secure way to make customer portals then SharePoint is a good option to keep in mind.

SharePoint Customer Portal Examples

Here are a few examples of SharePoint Customer Portals:

FedEx implemented SharePoint to create a customer portal for users to track shipments, print shopping labels, and manage accounts.

The Microsoft Office 365 portal enables customers to download software, troubleshoot issues, and manage subscriptions.

GE Health Care allows customers to access training materials and product materials through their customer portal.

Customers can manage their Xerox printers and order supplies through the Xerox customer portal.

These are just a few ways you can use SharePoint as a customer portal, the features and functionality will depend on your business needs.

Titan Customer Portal

Titan is a cloud-based solution that you can use to create portals that are integrated with Salesforce. It includes features that can help you boost collaboration, improve customer service,

Key Titan Features

A drag-and-drop interface that makes it easy for you to create and customize forms.

Real-time synchronization with Salesforce so the latest data is always displayed.

You can display dynamic content that shows or hides content depending on a user’s role, location, or any other criteria.

Titan uses industry-standard security measures to ensure your customer data is protected.

Multi-language support using Titans translation features.

Titan Customer Portal Benefits

Here are some of the benefits of using Titan Salesforce Customer Portal:

Increased customer satisfaction by providing customers with a quick and easy way to access information.

Cost reduction through the automation of manual tasks and processes.

Improved efficiency by providing a central location that hosts customer data and allows for collaboration.

Titan uses industry-standard security measures to ensure your data is always secure.

Whether you have a few customers or thousands, Titan can be scaled to meet your business needs.

If your business is looking for a way to increase customer self-service, boost collaboration, and improve customer service then Titan is a good option for you to consider.

FAQs

Why is Salesforce better than SharePoint?

One of the more reliable, feature-rich, and expandable document management solutions available is Microsoft’s SharePoint. But aside from data storage, it lacks features for customer relationship management (CRM). The Salesforce CRM platform is a robust solution for managing sales and marketing activities.

Which is best Salesforce or SharePoint?

Based on preference data from user reviews. Microsoft SharePoint rates 4.0/5 stars with 8,306 reviews. By contrast, Salesforce Sales Cloud rates 4.3/5 stars with 15,778 reviews.

Does Salesforce use SharePoint?

The Salesforce SharePoint Integration also enhances the document management process for your business. SharePoint provides automatic file versioning for your Salesforce documents. This allows your Sales Teams to have better control over the documentation process.

Is SharePoint a CRM Tool?

No, SharePoint is not primarily a CRM tool, it is a content and collaboration tool that is suited for sharing and managing files, documents, and other content.

What is the difference between SharePoint and CRM?

SharePoint supports the collaborative, organizational requirements companies have for unstructured information, while CRM excels at driving defined business processes for more operational, structured data-driven processes.

Titan Web: Available on the AppExchange

It’s time to discover Salesforce’s best-kept secret and dominate the market with a powerful drag-and-drop Salesforce Customer Portals digital tool. Create customer portals, propel your business to new levels and succeed with automated processes using absolutely no code.

We hope to see you soon!

Titan Website

Disclaimer: The comparisons listed in this article are based on information provided by the companies online and online reviews from users. If you found a mistake, please contact us.