SALESFORCE vs SERVICENOW

5 min 09.03.2023 Updated: 19.06.2024

Salesforce and ServiceNow are two popular Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platforms. They offer a range of features to help businesses manage their customer data and workflows. While both platforms have their unique strengths and weaknesses, the choice between the two depends largely on the specific needs of your business.  

Both Salesforce CRM, as well as ServiceNow CRM, are about Customers. They provide automation that helps businesses manage customer interactions and thus improve their overall customer experience. 

Why are we comparing them?

Salesforce Service Cloud – as a part of the Salesforce ecosystem – is the closest customer service solution to be compared with ServiceNow – an IT-focused service management platform that handles customer service interactions. Both platforms offer powerful tools and features to help businesses improve their customer service processes, but they do so in slightly different ways. They share some similarities but there are key differences between them.  

What is Salesforce Service Cloud? 

Service Cloud is a cloud-based CRM platform designed by Salesforce for customer service and support. Service Cloud helps businesses manage customer interactions across multiple channels, such as email, phone, chat, and social media. It provides a range of tools and features, including case management, knowledge management, AI-powered chatbots, and analytics, that enable businesses to improve their customer service operations and drive customer loyalty. 

What is ServiceNow?

ServiceNow is a cloud-based CRM platform automating IT management workflows. It provides a range of solutions for IT service management, customer service management, and other service management areas it also provides solutions for other service management areas, such as HR service management, finance service management, and legal service management. The solution allows you to automate most ITSM processes, including Help Desk, monitoring services, managing their availability, managing suppliers, changes, configurations, infrastructure, incidents and events that improve collaboration between teams.

Salesforce Service Cloud VS ServiceNow: What’s the Difference?

There are some key differences between these two platforms. Let’s dig deeper.  

Salesforce’s target audience is primarily SMB (small-mid-sized business) and Enterprise customers, while ServiceNow is a more broad-based enterprise service management (ESM) tool.   

Salesforce Service Cloud is primarily a CRM tool focusing on sales, marketing, and customer service. In contrast, ServiceNow is a solution with functionality for IT service management, HR service delivery, and other enterprise services.  

Salesforce Service Cloud is highly customizable and can be configured to meet specific business needs. However, ServiceNow is even more flexible and allows for extensive customization and configuration, making it a good choice for complex enterprise environments.  

Salesforce Service Cloud is well-known for its extensive integrations with other Salesforce products, as well as third-party applications. ServiceNow also offers many integrations, but it may require more effort to integrate with non-ServiceNow tools.  

Salesforce Service Cloud has a modern and intuitive interface that is easy to use and requires minimal training. ServiceNow’s interface is more complex, but it offers more advanced features and customization options.  

4 Key Factors To Be Considered Before Choosing

Salesforce Service Cloud and ServiceNow are both powerful platforms with different strengths and target audiences. Companies should carefully evaluate their needs and priorities before selecting a platform that best fits their business requirements.  

The Routine Automation team highlighted 4 key factors to consider when choosing between Salesforce Service Cloud and ServiceNow. 

• 1. Functionality: Both platforms provide high-value features. Salesforce is more about case management and omnichannel customer support. ServiceNow is more focused on IT service management, offering features for incident management, change management, and problem management. 
• 2. Scalability: Both platforms are highly scalable and can accommodate businesses of all sizes, but Salesforce is generally considered to be more scalable, especially for enterprise-level organizations. Salesforce’s extensive ecosystem of third-party apps and integrations, as well as its robust APIs, make it easier to customize and scale to meet the needs of complex organizations.  
• 3. User-friendliness: Both platforms are relatively user-friendly, but Salesforce has a steeper learning curve, especially for those who are new to CRM systems. ServiceNow’s user interface is generally considered to be more intuitive and easier to navigate, making it a good choice for businesses that want a platform that can be easily adopted by users with varying levels of technical expertise.  
• 4. Cost: Both platforms offer various pricing tiers, with ServiceNow generally being more expensive than Salesforce. However, the actual cost will depend on the specific features and functionality you need, as well as the number of users and other factors. It’s important to carefully evaluate the pricing structure of each platform to ensure you are getting the best value for your budget.  

The Bottom Line

The choice between Salesforce and ServiceNow depends on your company’s specific needs and priorities. If you need a sales-focused CRM that is highly scalable and customizable, we highly recommend Salesforce as the best choice. On the other hand, if you need a platform that can handle a range of IT service management needs, ServiceNow may be the better option.