CRM vs. CMS: what’s the difference?

The abbreviations are similar. Both forms of software are utilized in the workplace. However, they serve vastly distinct business reasons.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is an acronym for Customer Relationship Management. A CRM keeps track of customer contacts and future customer interactions to improve customer service. CMS, on the other hand, stands for Content Management System. A content management system (CMS) allows you to manage your website’s content using a simple and intuitive interface without technical expertise.

Now that we understand the fundamentals of a CRM definition and a CMS let’s examine the distinctions in further detail.

In this post, we compare CRM and CMS side-by-side.

We demonstrate who the two types of software are best suited for. We assess attributes and advantages. We also consider suppliers and prices.

CRM

CRM is an all-encompassing platform for business processes. A “single source of truth” for enterprise information. A simplified, all-in-one solution for organizing workflows and corporate operations.

CRM is fundamentally intended to increase customer interactions and develop lasting connections. It is designed to help you get new consumers and retain existing ones.

Obviously, not everything is altruistic. CRM is designed to improve your bottom line.

CRM systems include marketing and sales force automation, contact management, and project administration. With CRM, your team can interact more effectively, complete more business, and accomplish more.

CRM software gathers data from social media, your website, email, and phone conversations, among other avenues. It records contacts and transactions. The software then enables you to evaluate the data and generate reports and projections.

HubSpot, Insightly, Salesforce, Keap, and Pipedrive are some of the most prominent CRM providers.

CMS

CMS handles the production, modification, and publication of website content. It handles JavaScript, HTML, and CSS in a single location. Also, the interactive portions of web pages need validation and submission of activities.

This sort of software gives a graphical user interface for managing your website. Without a CMS, you would need to interface directly with your web server. Whenever you make updates to your website, you would need to upload a new HTML file to the server.

So CMS maintains the website’s backend. This software component is known as a content delivery application (CDA).

However, CMS also maintains the website’s front. It guarantees that material can be uploaded, managed, and displayed as intended. This second component of CMS is the content management system (CMA).

You may be familiar with the following CMS providers: Squarespace, WordPress, and Weebly.

Pricing

CRM

CRMs often feature three or four price tiers. Numerous of them provide free trials.

CRM price is often divided as follows.

  • The basic plan costs $25 per user per month and is invoiced yearly.
  • The median plan costs $45 per user per month and is invoiced yearly.
  • Advanced Package – $79 per user, per month; yearly billing.

CMS

CMS price is quite variable. Many add-ons for open source platforms are charged, yet the platforms themselves are free. The majority of premium plan providers provide a free trial.

Pricing for CMS is often structured as follows.

  • Standard – $25 per month per website, payable yearly.
  • Monthly costs average $45 per webpage when invoiced annually.
  • Advanced – $79 per month per website, yearly paid.

Features

CRM

CRM is typically associated with sales.

Using a lead management system, the platform discovers potential customers. It provides sales pipeline management. Using a contact management system stores customer data.

This is the beginning of the CRM process. However, this sort of software today now carries out a variety of additional functions.

Other capabilities include email management, reporting and analytics, and automated workflows. Many CRMs have project management and collaboration functions.

Frequently, your CRM may be coupled with enterprise resource planning software (ERP). Sometimes, a company offers both types of software within a single corporate suite. Microsoft Dynamics and Salesforce are comparable in this regard.

CMS

A content management system provides templates and stylesheets to facilitate website setup. Once you’re up and running, they provide a WYSIWYG content editor (what you see is what you get). To update your website, add material, or schedule content, you do not need to understand programming.

You are able to monitor site activity and admin logins thanks to the security features. CMS also provides substantial hosting advantages. You control all of your material, allowing you to switch hosts with no hassle.

A CMS makes it simple to create and manage an e-commerce website. Some CMS providers are designed specifically for online retail.

A variety of plug-ins and widgets may enhance your content management system (CMS) website. These can be used to expand features and collect more data.

You may also simply create custom domains and subdomains. In addition, you may generate and manage meta tags, article titles, and headers for your web pages with ease.

Providers

CRM

There are several CRM providers available. From free to proprietary software. From basic to expansive.

CRM technologies meet the whole company’s requirements. Only a handful of the most popular retailers are listed here.

HubSpot

HubSpot is an industry leader in CRM and marketing automation. HubSpot CRM is free and offers limited functionality.

The platform oversees the whole sales procedure. There are solutions for lead management and tracking consumer interactions across several channels. It has capabilities for controlling processes and enhancing project management.

HubSpot is compatible with both G Suite and Microsoft Office, allowing you to use it independently of your developer’s preference. The Zapier connector enables you to communicate information across applications such as Slack and Google Sheets.

The Sales Hub CRM add-on significantly ups the ante with AI help, deeper prospect analytics, and sophisticated automation. Marketing Hub and Service Hub packages are also available.

Salesforce

Salesforce is by far the market share leader for CRMs.

The company offers a robust, adaptable CRM. It has sophisticated tools for sales processes, analytics, and team communication. This strong solution enables sales managers and sales teams to construct extremely complicated task management systems.

Salesforce automates a number of tiresome daily chores and decision-making procedures. And if you want further functionality, there are a staggering amount of connectors and add-ons available.

Insightly

Web-based and mobile versions of Insightly are available for both Android and iOS. Additionally, it interacts with Google Apps and Microsoft Office 365.

The seamless integration of the pipeline feeds into functions such as contact and customer data management. You may monitor opportunities (also known as sales leads) and assign team members tasks using convenient to-do lists.

As a Chrome extension, the convenient Insightly Sidebar is installed in your browser. It allows you to instantly store Gmail communications to your CRM and cross-reference contact information.

Keap

Keap organizes customer information in a centralized location to improve marketing personalization and workflow. It is intended for small enterprises.

The platform’s automation tools are strong. Advanced marketing automation allows for campaign management. Using triggers, you may automate tasks when certain conditions are satisfied.

The campaign, workflow, and tracking data are rendered more comprehensible. All by means of real-time monitoring, graphical statistics, and comprehensive analytics.

Pipedrive

Pipedrive is a CRM focusing on the sales pipeline. It includes contact management, lead tracking, and monitoring of sales activities. It also allows for information synchronization between channels.

Additionally, it offers one of the best contact management tools available. Intelligent contact data discover web data from Google+, LinkedIn, and more. This saves you time and prevents you from overlooking vital information.

CMS

There are several CMS providers available. In reality, however, a tiny number of sellers dominate the market.

Some platforms are open-source and free, while others are proprietary and cost money.

Some are adaptable and have a wide variety of practical applications. Others target certain website kinds. include blogs, e-commerce, and company websites.

WordPress

WordPress is an extremely popular open-source and free CMS.

In fact, around 36% of all websites utilize WordPress. In addition to affordability, another argument is the product’s simplicity of use.

The platform’s user-friendly interface allows the rapid development of unique website themes. Additionally, you may buy professional templates. After installing a template, adding and changing content is a breeze.

WordPress is also adaptable. There are plugins for SEO, encryption, analytics, and cloud backup, among others. G Suite connection facilitates the sharing of data with Google Analytics, Gmail, and others.

Squarespace

Squarespace is one of the market’s leading CMS platforms. It is popular because to its drag-and-drop editor and attractive templates.

The CMS is designed for anybody interested in creating an online business, website, or professional portfolio. They offer templates, analytics, and services at the point of sale. They also facilitate the categorization, sharing, and scheduling of blog content.

There are both free Typekit and Google fonts available. Moreover, a custom layout editor. Both are quite useful for adjusting your brand identity.

Weebly

Weebly is a CMS geared towards businesses. It is incredibly user-friendly and features a drag-and-drop editor. This makes it a suitable option for first-time website proprietors.

The CMS provides a variety of design templates and more than 40 layout styles. This allows for the thorough and simple customization of websites. It supports video backdrops and features sophisticated animation effects.

Integrated analytics provide access to website information. The Weebly mobile app allows you to update your website and communicate with clients while on the road.

Drupal

Drupal is an open-source, free, and popular platform. It is the third most frequently used CMS overall.

The integrated, flexible CMS is utilized in various industries. From retail and e-commerce to healthcare and advanced technology. Drupal was employed in the development of the Tesla website, a prominent example.

It is a very effective platform with API integrations, well-written code, and a loyal user community. Consequently, its intricacy comes with a learning curve.

Joomla

Joomla is an open-source and free CMS. Approximately nine percent of all business websites employ it.

It is meant to grow with your business. Consequently, you may add features and users as your business expands. Modify access privileges as well.

Thousands of vendor-verified extensions are accessible. Additionally, several editable templates may be modified in terms of languages, layouts, and hues.

Shopify

Shopify is an e-commerce-specific content management system. It facilitates the creation of an online store or marketplace and the collection of consumer payments. You can rapidly brand and customize your store with more than 70 professionally-designed themes.

It manages taxes depending on location automatically and offers adjustable delivery costs. It also manages site hosting and SSL certification.

WordPress connects with Shopify. This might help you reduce expenses. Additionally, it expands website personalization options.

Benefits

CRM

  • Increasing lead acquisition and obtaining better leads through qualification
  • Monitor sales activities and sales process management
  • Email marketing tools improve marketing campaigns
  • Improve team cooperation and work coordination by storing and analyzing data
  • Keep a record of business-related connections. This consists of previous encounters, purchasing history, location, and phone number.
  • Send automated follow-up alerts.

CMS

  • Create and maintain a website without using a web developer.
  • Utilization-friendly, having a minimal learning curve
  • The website immediately acquires integrated search capabilities
  • With role-based user access, assign user responsibilities.
  • Using templates, you may quickly alter the appearance of your site.
  • Understanding visitor intent and adapting content and marketing strategies appropriately.
  • Adding widgets and SEO plug-ins that are easier to integrate can improve website functionality.

Conclusion

CRM and CMS have vastly different intended purposes. This much is evident.

In addition, they may be quite complimentary. CRM systems are compatible with CMS. Together, they can assist increase website traffic and information collection.

Numerous CRMs, for instance, have online form builders that may be incorporated on CMS-built websites. These collect information about users that may be used to facilitate email marketing efforts.

CRM marketing segmentation can assist you in customizing your website for individual users. You may find yourself constructing new landing pages based on CRM client data. Or customizing your e-commerce website based on consumer feedback obtained from your service CRM.

Sometimes the same software provider supplies both alternatives. This is the case, for instance, with HubSpot. Salesforce, a market leader in CRM, launched its own proprietary CMS in 2019.

Do you require a CMS, a CRM, or both? Choosing the appropriate tools is a complex endeavor.

Free trials and free software are quite useful.

Therefore, we strongly advise you to start with the freebies. Determine your requirements at your own leisure. When you are ready, purchase the appropriate program.

Would you like to know the benefits of project management software? Read our blog to find out.