Intercom Customer Communications Platform vs Salesforce Marketing Cloud comparison

Intercom and Salesforce are both solutions in the Social CRM category. Intercom is ranked #6 with an average rating of 9.5, while Salesforce is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.5. Intercom holds a 3.2% mindshare in SC, compared to Salesforce’s 6.7% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Intercom users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 98% of Salesforce users who would recommend it.

Intercom Customer Communica...

Read 2 Intercom Customer Communications Platform reviews

552 Views
132 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Salesforce Marketing Cloud

Read 60 Salesforce Marketing Cloud reviews

3,606 Views
325 Comparison Views

98% willing to recommend

Intercom Customer Communica...

Salesforce Marketing Cloud

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 27, 2025

Salesforce Marketing Cloud and Intercom Customer Communications Platform compete in the digital marketing and customer engagement space. Salesforce Marketing Cloud seems to have the upper hand due to its comprehensive marketing automation and analytics capabilities, while Intercom's strengths lie in engaging customer interactions through conversational interfaces.

Features: Salesforce Marketing Cloud is known for its robust analytics, diverse CRM integrations, and sophisticated automation. Intercom offers innovative real-time communication tools, streamlined customer management, and effortless user interaction capabilities.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Salesforce Marketing Cloud involves a complex deployment that may require extensive resources but delivers powerful results. Intercom is designed for quick deployment, leveraging intuitive interfaces and guides for ease of accessibility without needing significant technical support.

Pricing and ROI: Salesforce Marketing Cloud typically involves a higher setup cost reflecting its scalable features, offering a significant long-term ROI through data-driven marketing efficiency. Intercom emphasizes lower setup costs and delivers cost-effective improvements in customer engagement.

To learn more, read our detailed Intercom Customer Communications Platform vs. Salesforce Marketing Cloud Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Intercom Customer Communications Platform vs. Salesforce Marketing Cloud

September 2025

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Helped 867,349 peers since 2012

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Intercom Customer Communica...

Ranking in Social CRM

6th

Average Rating

9.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

CRM Customer Engagement Centers (9th), CRM (27th)

Salesforce Marketing Cloud

Ranking in Social CRM

2nd

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Marketing Automation (1st), Marketing Management (1st), Social Media Management Solutions (2nd)

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the Social CRM category, the mindshare of Intercom Customer Communications Platform is 3.2%, up from 2.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Salesforce Marketing Cloud is 6.7%, down from 10.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Social CRM Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Salesforce Marketing Cloud	6.7%
Intercom Customer Communications Platform	3.2%
Other	90.1%

Social CRM

Featured Reviews

Kumar Abhishek Anand

Director at Revivo Technologies

Customer support has improved significantly with seamless chat integration for quick resolutions

The feature we appreciate most about the Intercom Customer Communications Platform is the messenger functionality. We are able to integrate it into our application and provide support to customers directly through our application. The messenger works efficiently, allowing users to have conversations without entering their details repeatedly. There is conversation history available for each customer interaction, and they can access the help section within the chat itself. The Finn AI agent handles conversations both in chat and WhatsApp, which is particularly beneficial. Regarding automation tools, we have enabled the AI agent to answer customer queries instantly, reducing the need for constant staff presence. The AI agent quickly responds to customers and summarizes their issues, informing us when it cannot resolve a problem independently.

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Napitch K

Chief Executive Officer & Founder at growth innovation

Integration challenges impact workflow efficiency

The features of Salesforce Marketing Cloud that I have found most valuable are the Journey Builder and Flow. These capabilities are valuable because they make managing automation easy. Automating customer journeys saves time when scheduling content through every channel, and we can set the automation in advance when planning marketing content. The AI-powered tools such as Salesforce Datorama and Einstein save time and have an impact on marketing strategy decisions for my customers. I have noticed a positive impact from Salesforce Marketing Cloud through customer feedback. For example, a customer mentioned after project completion that it had a significant impact on their marketing team by eliminating the need to hire additional staff for marketing content and planning.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"The live chat is pretty good because you can create a macro, which is a predefined input we can give customers."

"The feature we appreciate most about the Intercom Customer Communications Platform is the messenger functionality, allowing users to have conversations without entering their details repeatedly."

"Datorama is part of Salesforce Marketing Cloud, which is quite a valuable feature that provides customer analytics."

"It has excellent lead and opportunity tracking."

"The most valuable features of Salesforce Marketing Cloud are the ease of use of the basic features."

"We are satisfied with the Salesforce Marketing Cloud products, which is why we have extended and acquired the Data Cloud as integration."

"The user interface is easy to use, especially for my staff who use assistive technology."

"The most valuable feature of Salesforce Marketing Cloud is the reporting engine. Reports are very good and easy to build."

"I like that I can constantly add leads to Salesforce Marketing Cloud and look at accounts there. I also like that the solution lets me set up meetings."

"The most valuable features of Salesforce Marketing Cloud are that it performs well and gives me what I need. It's the most friendly interface system for CRM I've worked with. Additionally, it integrates fairly well with different kinds of AI and ML to allow you to receive more out of your application."

More Salesforce Marketing Cloud pros

Cons

"Sometimes, the solution lags and takes time to update something."

"It would be beneficial if there was a way to train the AI to better understand customer language."

"In a future release it would be great to have the ability to connect the data from social media and email marketing and have it in one dashboard."

"The encryption and decryption have room for improvement."

"Managing large volumes of data takes too long."

"The main action I want to do in Salesforce Marketing Cloud is to export data into Excel and use it. My company may have that feature locked down, or if the Excel data exporting function still isn't available in Salesforce Marketing Cloud, that's the feature I want."

"Technical support is good but could be faster, maybe more knowledgeable, and more customer friendly."

"Clarity around new features could be improved when they are released."

"The quality of support for this solution has been decreasing over time and the support team are sometimes more focused on closing tickets that resolving issues. Often the support team is not well trained or aware of the new features or products released by Salesforce."

"This solution could be more user-friendly."

More Salesforce Marketing Cloud cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available

"Licensing fees are paid on a yearly basis."

"It's normal pricing."

"The solution is paid for monthly."

"The licensing cost for the solution is on a yearly basis."

"My company pays to use this solution."

"The solution's pricing is very high and should be more flexible for smaller companies."

"On a scale where one is the lowest and ten is the most expensive, I rate the solution an eight out of ten."

"Its licensing is on an annual basis. Customers are okay with its licensing cost, and they don't find it expensive."

More Salesforce Marketing Cloud pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

No data available

Computer Software Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	20
Midsize Enterprise	14
Large Enterprise	28

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Intercom Customer Communications Platform?

The live chat is pretty good because you can create a macro, which is a predefined input we can give customers.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Intercom Customer Communications Platform?

For the Intercom Customer Communications Platform, we are updating our knowledge base to help the AI read more proactively. It would be beneficial if there was a way to train the AI to better under...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Intercom Customer Communications Platform?

When asked about AI tools and AI coding tools, we were using ChatGPT until recently. We switched to GitHub Copilot, which we have integrated into our IDE for software development purposes. Regardin...

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What do you like most about Salesforce Marketing Cloud?

Datorama is part of Salesforce Marketing Cloud, which is quite a valuable feature that provides customer analytics.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Salesforce Marketing Cloud?

I did not work on any pricing or implementation aspects but learned on my own when dealing with Revenue Cloud products.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Salesforce Marketing Cloud?

An area of Salesforce Marketing Cloud that could be improved is the connectivity between Sales Cloud and Marketing Cloud platforms. The issues with integration between different platforms arise bec...

See all answers

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

CRM Customer Engagement Centers

August 2025

Intercom Customer Communications Platform report

Download Intercom Customer Communications Platform product report

Buyer's Guide

Salesforce Marketing Cloud

August 2025

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Also Known As

Intercom

ExactTarget

Overview

Intercom Customer Communications Platform enhances interactions by offering robust tools designed to streamline customer engagement and support, effectively catering to modern business communication needs.

Providing a comprehensive approach to customer interaction, Intercom facilitates seamless conversation management through its adaptable suite of messaging, logistical, and analytical features. Frequently utilized for customer support and marketing, its flexibility and user-friendly design encourage efficient communication. While offering valuable insights through analytics, some users note areas for improvement in customizability and pricing models, pointing towards a potential enhancement in fine-tuning its cost-effectiveness and adaptability to diverse business strategies.

What are the standout features of Intercom?

Live Chat: Immediate customer support through real-time messaging.
Automated Bot: Streamlines inquiries by handling routine questions.
Integration Capabilities: Connects seamlessly with third-party tools.
Inbox Management: Organizes conversations for efficient response.

What benefits and ROI should users look for?

Enhanced Customer Satisfaction: Faster resolutions lead to happier clients.
Improved Team Efficiency: Automation reduces manual workload.
Actionable Analytics: Data-driven insights optimize strategies.
Scalable Solutions: Adapts to growing business demands.

Industries such as e-commerce, SaaS, and tech-driven businesses often implement Intercom for its ability to provide personalized customer journeys. Its messaging platform excels in maintaining customer relationships and resolving issues quickly, which is crucial in these fast-paced sectors.

Intercom

Salesforce Marketing Cloud is a comprehensive marketing automation platform that enables businesses to create personalized and targeted marketing campaigns across multiple channels.

With its robust set of tools and features, marketers can easily manage and automate their email marketing, social media advertising, mobile messaging, and customer journey mapping.

The platform offers advanced segmentation capabilities, allowing marketers to segment their audience based on various criteria and deliver tailored messages to each segment.

Additionally, Salesforce Marketing Cloud provides powerful analytics and reporting features, enabling marketers to track the performance of their campaigns and make data-driven decisions.

With its user-friendly interface and seamless integration with other Salesforce products, Marketing Cloud offers a seamless and efficient marketing automation solution for businesses of all sizes.

Salesforce

Sample Customers

Expensift, Moz, Invision, Salesforce, Droplr, Vend, BugHerd, Ghost, Put.io, Codeship

American Express, Financial Conduct Authority, KPN, Merck KGaA, Peterborough City Council, The Chapar, ADP, Financial Times, Stanley Black & Decker, SureFlap, Western Union, Philips

Buyer's Guide

Intercom Customer Communications Platform vs. Salesforce Marketing Cloud

September 2025

Free Report: Intercom Customer Communications Platform vs. Salesforce Marketing Cloud

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