Salesforce, one of the leading customer relationship management (CRM) companies, is expanding its presence in the small and medium-sized business (SMB) market with the launch of its “Pro Suite” offering. This move comes as Salesforce aims to compete with rivals like Zoho and Hubspot in the SMB segment and provide businesses with a scalable platform that can grow as their needs evolve.
The Pro Suite builds upon Salesforce’s Starter tier, which was introduced last year, and offers advanced features to help SMBs handle more complex business workflows. Despite the added capabilities, the Pro Suite retains the simplicity and user-friendly experience of the entry-level suite. Priced at $100 per month per user with no seat limit, the Pro Suite is accessible through a single application.
The Starter Suite, priced at $25 per month per user, was designed to provide small businesses with an easy-to-use CRM solution. It includes features such as marketing, commerce, and services capabilities, allowing users to track sales leads, manage customer service cases, send emails, and collect payments. The Starter Suite also offers guided onboarding, reporting templates, and pre-built dashboards to simplify the user experience.
According to Kris Billmaier, SVP and GM of self-service and growth at Salesforce, many customers have already upgraded from the Starter Suite to the Pro Suite due to the need for customization and advanced features. The Pro Suite unlocks additional capabilities across marketing, sales, service, and commerce, as well as access to AppExchange solutions, process automation with Flow, a dedicated sandbox for testing and training, and support for custom apps and objects. These features enable teams to handle sales more effectively, streamline revenue collection, provide better customer service through omnichannel routing and messaging, and meet specific business needs.
While both the Starter and Pro Suites currently offer basic predictive AI features like Einstein Activity Capture and Send Time Optimization, Salesforce plans to introduce more advanced generative AI capabilities with Einstein Copilot in the future. The company also aims to expose users to advanced data cloud functions, enhancing the overall AI readiness of the Pro Suite. The exact timeline for these features remains unclear.
With the launch of the Pro Suite, Salesforce is positioning itself as a long-term partner for SMBs. Once a customer starts with Salesforce, they can continue to grow and upgrade to more advanced tiers, such as the enterprise-centric Einstein 1 edition. The company’s goal is to provide a seamless experience for users, allowing them to stay within the Salesforce ecosystem throughout their business journey.
Overall, Salesforce’s introduction of the Pro Suite demonstrates its commitment to serving the SMB market and offering scalable CRM solutions. With its advanced features, customizable options, and AI capabilities, the Pro Suite provides SMBs with the tools they need to streamline their business workflows and drive growth. As Salesforce continues to innovate and expand its offerings, SMBs can expect even more advanced capabilities in the future.