Explain the difference between CRM and PRM in Salesforce.

Hi Anjali,

Differences between CRM and PRM PRM is similar to customer relationship management (CRM) in that companies use CRM systems to monitor the marketing, sales and service process of customer relationships. When working directly with a customer, a sales rep can target the consumer and work one-to-one with that potential customer. While CRM does help with the relationship between a business and a customer, it's much more focused on the C and M of CRM -- once it converts a lead into a customer, it's about managing that next purchase. When working with partners, companies need to put more emphasis on the relationship aspect, as it's the goal of both the partner and the managing company to profit from the relationship. To effectively do that requires a different type of management and thinking, including more negotiation in the selling process.

Hope this helps.

Hi Anjali,

PRM and CRM are quite similar in nature, both architecturally and in terms of their functionality. However, there are some fundamental differences between the two types of platforms.

Core Similarities between PRM and CRM

Here is a high-level summary of how PRM tends to behave like a CRM, mostly from an architectural and workflow perspective:

Architecture – Both PRM or CRM use software that is built on the latest web services technology. Both employ a three-tier architecture (database layer, application layer and web presentation layer). They also tend to run on software as a service (SaaS) infrastructure.
Application framework – Both PRM and CRM have a core platform which houses records—records of partners in the case of PRM, and records of end users in the case of CRM. However, additional applications can be plugged into this framework to do more. A common example is quote-processing software that you can plug into a basic CRM application, allowing the sales rep to send quotes directly from the CRM to the client. Similarly, with PRM you can plug in a learning management system (LMS) or partner incentives management (PIM) software to keep track of partner training or incentives programs.
Records structure – The records structure for both PRM and CRM are pretty much identical at a core level, including fields for things like contact name, title, company name and address. Like a state-of-the-art CRM platform, a best-in-class PRM platform also allows records customization and the addition of various customizable fields. This is essential to allow adaptation of a basic record structure into a specific organization. Since each organization is different, chances are most of the fields that are used and tracked are also going to be different.

Core Differences between PRM and CRM

With the similarities in mind, let’s now focus on what’s different between CRM and PRM platforms.

Purpose-built – A CRM system is, by definition, designed for customer relationship management, so in most cases the way accounts are set up is designed for a direct sales team to prospect, sell and grow existing end-customer accounts directly. On the other hand, PRMs are built for partner relationship management and the structure, workflow, applications, etc. are all designed for partner network management or channel management. Architecturally the two systems have a number of similarities, but functionally they are two very different applications.
Pricing – Most CRM solutions are sold with per-user, seat-based licensing. This doesn’t work nearly as well in the partner management universe, simply because it is very hard, if not impossible, to predict utilization rates. If an organization pays too much to provide user licenses to all of their partners, they may end up wasting a lot money unnecessarily; on the other hand, if the organization doesn’t buy enough licenses and too many partners start using the product, they may get a rude awakening when the bills start coming in later on. This is why it is essential to procure PRM licenses for unlimited use, so that an organization is not taking unnecessary risks either way. If you are considering investing in a PRM system, look for providers like ZINFI who provide a very affordable unlimited usage model.

PRM applications are built for indirect sales (think: partners). They extend your CRM to help you manage partners and make sure the customer has the same great experience whether they talk to your sales team or your partner. Plus, they help properly train partners and have the customer data and tools partners require to drive retention and future sales.

PRM extends CRM functionality to your partners, then adds lots of partner-specific functions on top.
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