Exploring how businesses benefit from CRM systems: A comparative study measuring the performance of Salesforce, HubSpot and Microsoft Dynamics 365

Abstract

This thesis explores the benefits of CRM systems for businesses, covering both fundamental theoretical aspects in the theory section and practical aspects in the study section. The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the performance and potential benefits of various CRM systems. The secondary objective is to gain an understanding about what CRM systems are most commonly used by businesses operating in Finland. The research area in this study only comprises businesses operating in Finland. The method used for achieving the objectives of this study involves a quantitative survey containing questions about the respondent and various CRM system aspects. The survey is distributed to randomly selected businesses, targeting respondents with experience in using CRM systems. With a sample size of 20 respondents, the results from the survey show that the three most commonly used CRM systems are Salesforce, HubSpot and Microsoft Dynamics 365. In terms of performance, Salesforce receives the highest overall and individual CRM system aspect score, followed by HubSpot in second place and Microsoft Dynamics 365 in third. The study concludes that the performance scores of the compared CRM systems provide businesses with a clear indicator of the potential benefits they can expect from each CRM system. It also draws the reasonable conclusion that, in many cases, a higher CRM system score corresponds with a higher potential benefit. However, in order to gain the optimal benefit, each business ought to independently evaluate their CRM system needs, and not solely rely on the CRM system performance scores.