Salsa CRM Erfahrungen

Essential Operating Tool

Vorteile:

Salsa CRM has been essential in making sure that our organization has run smoothly since inception. The product allows us to grow into new features as we grow as an org.

Nachteile:

Reporting and corresponding can be tedious at times but improvements to both have been made over time.

Good, but needs fine tuning

Kommentare: Overall I have enjoyed setting up and implementing Salsa. My biggest complaint (other than the alphebetical order issue) is that the person inputting the data should have more of an understanding as to the inner working and fields available in Salsa. There are many fields that I have (and still am) currently modifying/getting rid of because the fields already existed in the system so I am moving the data. All someoned needed to request was to use the existing field to upload against but I was never told or given the option. I can see the issue possibly being from me not seeing the fields but in my mind, you all are the experts and are helping implement the system the best way possible.

Vorteile:

The options in the reporting system are great and I find it superior to most query/reporting tools.

Nachteile:

The fact that NOTHING is in alphabetical order. Why and how this has happened is ridiculous.

Data Migration Less Than Desirable

Kommentare: During conversion, you cannot actually speak with a person unless you have paid. You have to email ALL your questions.

Vorteile:

It is way more user friendly that what we were using before = ETapestry but then, it's ETap so go figure.

Nachteile:

We are in process of conversion and here are my initial thoughts: 1) pay the extra money and have someone help you unless, you don't have that many constituents. 2) I was extremely disappointed. When migrating business or organizational contacts over, you will lose multiple contact names, period. They only let you migrate ONE name over which is contained in ONE text field box. This means if you ever want to do a mailing, there will be NO way to address a letter as Dear Ms FIRST NAME. This is so dumb. 3) You don't get to decide which accounts you want to split or keep intact. Once you send over your conversion template, any and all names that contain an "&" or "AND" get automatically split into two accounts. This includes organization contacts. So if you have a business IE: Brown & Smith Attorney at Law, you are SOL. 4) I could not figure out why they had Organziation TYPE and Individual TYPE on each account. In my experience, and account is either an ORG or an IND period but, here is the rub. YOU CANNOT add contact names to an existing ORG record. You have to create a seperate record and then link each IND to that ORG. So for multiple organizational contacts, they will be set up as INDIVIDUALS. The only way to sort out this mess, is to use the TYPE or ORG or IND. This is where you will list your indivuduals as say, BUSINESS CONTACT, CHURCH CONTACT, etc. This is a huge cluster &^#. Now I get why they don't let you sample the database before buying.

The Highlights of Salsa CRM

Kommentare: I loved it, and my organization could benefit from it.

Vorteile:

I love how its reports was the most accurate with numbers when compared to Card pointe Monthly statements.

Nachteile:

That the data is no longer available after 2 years.

Overall, a useful product

Kommentare: As my review title states: overall, a useful product, but it's definitely got room for macro design improvements.

Vorteile:

There are unlimited capabilities with the software. Salsa CRM offers everything you could possibly desire in a CRM designed for a nonprofit. In fact, there's so much functionality, that after six months of having used the software, I still feel like I'm only 25% of the way there with fully knowing it inside and out. Constituent profiles are clean and easy-to-navigate, and they help unearth stats that can ultimately help you recapture lapsed donors and sustain their commitment to the org. Additionally, customer support is always there to help you navigate the software should you ever get lost.

Nachteile:

The training is not exactly exciting or something an audio-visual-hands-on combo type of learner with ADD is going to find very useful. I think it's unfortunate that the product vocabulary has to be all "startup-y." I'm still trying to understand the reporting systems. I've also been faced with buggy moments that typically require restarting the software which causes delays in getting work done.

Difficult to use and quite disappointing

Kommentare: I think our sales representative was very good at what he does. The software for Salsa Engage looks great outer-facing. However, the connection to the CRM is disappointing, and email deliverability is also hard. Regarding the CRM itself, it is not at all user friendly. Getting things set up and onboarded was lacking on behalf of Salsa. Customer support is always very friendly, but they simply point me to the same articles to go read over and over again. Which I have done. Many times. Yet, I still would appreciate some actual guidance/help.

Vorteile:

I think the CRM has the potential to be robust. However, entering and mining the data is quite difficult.

Nachteile:

As someone who has been in marketing, fundraising, and tech for 15+ years, I am pretty tech savvy. And, this CRM is hard to use. Anything that should be easy isn't. Specifically, printing donor recognition letters/receipts is cumbersome. Running donor reports is cumbersome.

User friendly

Kommentare: Better constituent tracking.

Vorteile:

Copying previous emails makes it very easy to create new ones. Once you learn the functions, it is simple and straight forward to create emails.

Nachteile:

It would save time if brand colors could be saved to a palette for fonts and background colors in emails so that it isn't necessary to type them in each time I create a new row or title. I have repeatedly found that the text adds a return prior to completely filling a line. I have removed formatting, and it doesn't change this problem.

Easy to Use

Kommentare: We are a local chapter of a national nonprofit organization, and manage roughly 50,000 records. I use it daily with little to no issues, enter and acknowledging donations and keeping details records of constituents. My favorite part is the ProPortal where you can get resources such as software upgrades and video tutorials.

Vorteile:

Easy to use. Tons of online resources. Open to user input.

Nachteile:

Getting more complicated issues resolved can be a chore. But I think this is an example of growing pains. Hopefully more staff will cure this problem.

Salsa has been a game changer for our small nonprofit!

Vorteile:

Reasonably priced, Salsa offers an affordable way to track, organize and engage our supporters. As an advocacy organization, we especially love the action alert, petition and letter to the editor options.

Nachteile:

One downside is that it's difficult to separate out event income from donation income. Most of the built in reports automatically add up both totals when querying.

I helped a medium sized nonprofit to start using Salsa CRM.

Kommentare: Easy to set up.

Vorteile:

Very easy to get set up. We were getting on the platform after using only excel sheets. Canned reports are also helpful.

Nachteile:

I think it would be great if there was a user group or community of users available to exchange ideas.

Salsa gets it done, but only if you have the staff to make it work

Kommentare: My team used Salsa for a 1-year campaign to raise money to build a home in Nepal for trafficking victims. We successfully raised $467,000 in 10 months! Hands down, we COULD NOT have done it without Salsa. Because it had everything in one (emails, analytics, segmenting, Peer 2 Peer campaigns, donation pages, event pages, and much more) it was much easier to keep track of everything we needed to keep track of.

Vorteile:

*I didn't realize it at the time, but I really like how easily I could create queries/segments of donors. It has a "If/Then" approach with clicks of a button that is a lot easier than another CRM I use (eTapestry by Blackbaud). *Their email system worked well for our purposes. We had templates that we used throughout the campaign that looked good and were easy to fill in our information. It sent the emails we told it to send without a problem. *The event feature was helpful. We had lots of people sign up on the events page that was relatively easy to create. *I definitely like like analytics features. (This is probably my favorite feature.) It is really nice to see who opened emails, click rates, donation totals/types, etc... It is especially neat that we could send emails to people based on what emails they have opened or clicked on. *Branded donation pages was a must have for us and we got that so it's a big plus with Salsa.

Nachteile:

*The emails were mostly good, but sometimes editing the templates was frustrating. You can't delete certain aspects (like a table or a line) in the email and if you're not careful and press "backspace" at the wrong time, the system will think that you've clicked the "Back" shortcut key and it will take you out of the email...unless you've saved recently, your email is gone. So, save OFTEN. *The Peer2Peer pages were good but had a few glitches. It was difficult to import off-site giving and link to a person's Ambassador page. I had to go through Customer Support to remove re-imbursed donations that were given via the P2P pages. It is really difficult to format the P2P pages - oftentimes, a page that was perfect would later start showing random signs: $ & % | and stuff... *We had some difficulties with people getting charged more than once when they clicked the button too many times. Not sure if that's Salsa's fault or the users'. *We had some issues with security warnings when donors when to the donation page. This was a frustrating thing that popped up often but never really got resolved. *While the event feature was nice, it didn't work so well for people inviting guests. I'm not sure what went wrong, but we had a lot of people who were unable to register guests for some reason, even though we had clicked the box to allow it. This lead to a small logistical headache at the event itself. *I didn't know they required 60 days notice to cancel the subscription. I had to jump through a TON of hoops to get our account canceled when our campaign was over because I only gave 30 days notice. Luckily they eventually caved and allowed us to go on good terms, but it took a lot of phone calls, emails, and polite convincing...okay, not always polite toward the end...

Take off is rough

Kommentare: I have only been a Salsa customer for just less than six weeks. The salsa representatives I have talked with during the transition have been nice. I'm sure Salsa will end up being a great move, I just wish they were a faster and more empathetic toward our timelines and internal pressures.

Vorteile:

The sales pitch we got was exciting. Salsa has it all. I believe it will be the software that will help our little nonprofit get to the next level. I specifically liked the donor organization, peer-to-peer fundraising and their sophisticated automatic email options.

Nachteile:

Such a slow start. I was pretty quick and aggressive about getting Salsa all the info they needed but it took them longer then a month until we could even use the software (some of this was due to the holiday season I'm sure). Salsa touted about offering the first month for free, but I couldn't even use it that month. When I asked if we could get another month for free since I couldn't even use the software for the first five weeks (sometimes those little victories make all the difference when you are convincing the board to switch software) the declined. The transition process is unnerving, like maybe I'm taking a step backward.

Many improvements over the years

Vorteile:

Salsa has really added improvements over the years to help with ease of use. A key aspect I use is reporting, and there are frequent updates to built in reports and performance dashboards. I love the new update to the donor detail report. I am able to get the information I need quickly and accurately.

Nachteile:

I find the cultivation feature a bit clunky. We are still using excel spreadsheets to keep track of this type of work. Although we still keep notes in salsa, the leg work needed to set up and efficiently use the the cultivation feature may be more work for us than its worth.

Executive Director

Kommentare: It is a challenge and you have to put a ticket in for every problem. We are a small organization and wanted a simple program. This is a full time position.

Vorteile:

Price, online data is transferred to the CRM. The Engage and CRM merge. We were able to get rid of Event Brite. We can all access the CRM and use it at one time. This is helpful.

Nachteile:

Transfer of data was a problem. We would up with over 10,000 duplicates and it is taking us forever to delete them. Also the user experience was poor. Our constituents say it is too complicated. Membership is a challenge.

Great product, could use a few tweaks

Kommentare: I really like Salsa Engage and how easy it is to use. There are some functionalities that could be improved, and hopefully will be improved as they continue to roll out new product features. Our members find it easier to use that our last system, and with each update, Salsa is offering some cool new features that we will begin to use. There are some things (like event registrations) that don't work as well as we would like them to (you can't delete people who cancel attendance at a free event, and there is no way to pull all the info for registrants and guests in just one list), but hopefully those will be fixed soon. I find the customer service people very responsive, but it isn't always a quick fix for our issues. We have used this product for about seven months and so far are pleased with how it is working for us.

Vorteile:

easy to use, great advocacy tool, great statistics/reports, easy to share on social media

Nachteile:

formatting emails can be difficult if you want to include photos, event registration is a little clunky, hard to get issues resolved through customer support tickets sometimes

We are a very small new charity - I set up all registrations, peer-to-peer events, email blasts.

Vorteile:

The software is somewhat easy to use - after you play with it a while, you can usually figure it out.

Nachteile:

I have been told our platform looks cheap and almost to the point where people are unsure whether it's "legitimate". It does not have all the capabilities that Donor Pro's peer-to-peer software had so we are unhappy that it feels like we are getting less for our money this year. (e.g. participants were unable to track off-line donations)

Salsa CRM is THE tool for success

Kommentare: Salsa CRM has been one of the easiest transitions to a new tool that I've ever experienced. From the very beginning, we were supported and guided through preparing our data for the conversion, connected with staff to train us on how to make the most of the features. After we implemented the tool, the wide variety of support and training materials has made getting the answer to any question incredibly easy. Salsa CRM gives you all the functionality of an expensive system at an affordable rate. This is the third organization I've worked for using Salsa and the second that I've led the transition from a different system.

Vorteile:

It is easy to use and intuitive. The ability to create processes for cultivation and other engagement activities is invaluable and makes managing a growing team of fundraisers far easier.

Nachteile:

Salsa CRM being a newer product that was based on the DonorPro platform, the manual wasn't immediately updated to reflect the online, cloud-based product.

I love Salsa

Kommentare: Inputting data. Earmarking donations. Following metrics. Pulling reports. Sending out timely thank you notes. Sending out monthly newsletters. And I am probably using a small percent of Salsa's capabilities.

Vorteile:

The ease at which you can store and retrieve data. I love the reports! I love the help desk - they will answer any question and stay with you until the issue is solved. I particularly enjoy working with the executive - he is very knowledgeable plus he recognizes my voice which is a nice personal touch.

Nachteile:

As a nonprofit animal shelter, I would love for some kind of discount. However, I believe Salsa is a worthwhile CRM for all our needs.

Admin/Development Assistant

Vorteile:

It is user-friendly. It is very intuitive which makes navigating easier. Most questions can be answered by using the online help, but if a phone call is necessary the staff is very accommodating.

Nachteile:

The overall type is very small. This might be something I'm doing or not doing but I often get different donation amounts depending on how I pull the data, I would like to be able to add fields to a set query. There may be a way and I just don't know about it.

Top notch customer service!

Kommentare: I have already recommended Salsa to a number of colleagues.

Vorteile:

The responsiveness of the customer service has been impressive. When I get lost in the instructions, I feel confident that I can reach out to the help desk and get a response fairly quickly.

Nachteile:

There is a learning curve. They do quite a bit to help ease the transition but when you are literally a one person shop, it can be overwhelming to use the software to its functionality.

We moved from the giant database provider to Salsa DonorPro. overall we are glad we moved.

Vorteile:

I like the ease of use. I the learning curve was short so it is a plug and play program. I like copy address function. I like to screen layout.

Nachteile:

There are limits in the design I don't like. We have a lot of important data in forms and it is hard to use that info with donation data. Fix that. We did not get the kind of support I was expecting. We were contracted for a product that didn't exist. We needed P2P in August 2016 and that was a mess. It was hard to find someone honest about mistake as well. We are having a hard time with forms because we have a lot of people filling out forms and paying for others. This is an ongoing problem.

Somewhat satisfied but not meeting all expectations

Kommentare: Ability to move from Excel to a true database.

Vorteile:

Nothing in particular that you wouldn't expect from a standard CRM package. ability to add pictures.

Nachteile:

The letter/mail merging is too complicated. Even after speaking with your rep who showed me step-by-step. It's an arduous process and she agreed.

I liked it but I was not impressed.

Vorteile:

It's a good software for raising funds, and simple details of Non-Profit companies. I can say the software is relatively easy to learn and setup, I am definitely ok with it.

Nachteile:

I do not like how it is for the Non - Profit market, with no online pricing. You have to request pricing which means you will be talking to a salesman, not that it is bad. That is kinda good knowing they have people selling it who actually know about it, but again, Non - Profit that must talk to a salesman. Maybe it is just me, but in the end that is the only thing I did not like about it.

A great CRM!

Kommentare: Our staff all agree it's easier to learn, easier to use, and we have all really liked our Customer Support, and Customer Success Coach. They have helped grow to really thrilled with this CRM! And the price is a wonder factor, also. Great ROI.

Vorteile:

I initially looked at Salsa CRM because we were fed up with Raiser's Edge, and I had faith that better, and more affordable option exist! Salsa is that software for us. This CRM is user friendly, looks great, super intuitive, and the seals people were really kind and patient with my five zillion questions! This CRM has buit-in Analytics that are user friendly, the mail merge integrates with Google Docs, making our thank you process, simpler than ever! We have already grown our lists, and increased retention in the 6 months we've been using Salsa! The other HUGE factor for us, it integrates with Salsa Engage.

Nachteile:

Change from one database to another. that's all.

Salsa Labs

Kommentare: amazing and highly recommended

Vorteile:

Salsa is the best all-in-one software for non-profits on the market. CRM + Fundraising all in one place. Very easy to use and effective.

Nachteile:

There is none.