Managing customer relationships is probably the most important thing your business does. And yet, many Canary Islands SMEs still do it with Excel spreadsheets, phone notes or — worse — from memory. A CRM (Customer Relationship Management) is the tool that centralises all your customer information and automates commercial follow-up.

But choosing the right CRM can be overwhelming. In this article, we compare the three main options: Salesforce, HubSpot and custom development, with a perspective focused on Canary Islands businesses.

What does a CRM do and why do you need one?

A CRM lets you:

Centralise contacts: All client, lead and supplier information in one place.
Manage your sales pipeline: See what stage each sales opportunity is at.
Automate follow-ups: Reminders, automatic emails, scheduled tasks.
Measure results: Know how much you sell, to whom, with what margin and what works.
Improve customer service: Complete interaction history accessible to the whole team.

If your company has more than 2-3 people in sales or client management, a CRM isn’t a luxury — it’s a necessity.

Salesforce: the market leader

What is it?

Salesforce is the world’s largest and most complete CRM. It’s used by startups and Fortune 500 companies alike. It offers virtually any functionality you can imagine.

Advantages

Exhaustive functionality: Sales, marketing, customer service, analytics, AI (Einstein) — all on one platform.
Advanced customisation: Can be configured and extended almost without limits using code (Apex, Lightning).
Huge ecosystem: Thousands of apps on AppExchange. Integrations with practically everything.
Scalability: Works equally well for 5 users or 5,000.

Disadvantages

High price: The most basic plan (Starter) starts at €25/user/month, but the truly useful plans (Professional, Enterprise) cost €80-165/user/month. With 10 users on Enterprise: €19,800/year.
Complexity: Requires significant training. The learning curve is steep.
You need an admin: To get real value, you need someone dedicated (internal or consultant) to configure and maintain it.
Over-engineered for SMEs: Many Canary Islands businesses end up using 20% of the features and paying for 100%.

Who is it for?

Medium-to-large companies with sales teams of 15+ people, complex sales processes and budget to invest in configuration and training.

HubSpot: the popular choice for SMEs

What is it?

HubSpot is a CRM, marketing and sales platform that has gained popularity through its free version and ease of use. It’s particularly strong in inbound marketing.

Advantages

Generous free plan: The basic CRM is free forever with surprisingly complete features.
Ease of use: Intuitive interface. Anyone on the team can start using it without technical training.
Integrated marketing: Email marketing, landing pages, forms, chatbots — all connected to the CRM.
Educational content: HubSpot Academy offers excellent free training.

Disadvantages

Price scales quickly: The free plan is fine to start, but when you need advanced features (automation, reporting, teams), the Starter (€20/month), Professional (€890/month) and Enterprise (€3,600/month) plans jump considerably.
Customisation rigidity: It’s easy to use because there are few options. When you need something specific, you hit limits.
HubSpot ecosystem dependency: It works best the more HubSpot tools you use. If you only want the CRM, you lose part of the value.
Reporting limitations: Advanced reports are only available on higher plans.

Who is it for?

SMEs just starting with CRM, companies focused on digital/inbound marketing, teams of 3-15 people who value ease of use over customisation.

Custom CRM: the option built for you

What is it?

A CRM designed and developed specifically for your company’s processes, data and needs. It’s not standard software you adapt to — it’s a tool that adapts to you.

Advantages

Perfect fit: Reflects exactly your commercial process, with the fields, stages and automations you need.
No unnecessary features: Clean interface with only what your team uses.
Deep integration: Connects directly with your ERP, invoicing software, website, email tool — without limitations.
Full ownership: The code and data are yours. No monthly subscriptions that increase in price.
Canarian context adaptation: IGIC management, integration with local suppliers, Spanish-language support with market knowledge.

Disadvantages

Initial investment: A custom CRM can cost between €15,000 and €50,000, depending on complexity.
Development time: 2-4 months until the first functional version.
Ongoing maintenance: You need a team to evolve and maintain it.
No broad community: There are no forums or third-party plugins like Salesforce or HubSpot.

Who is it for?

Companies with unique or complex commercial processes, that need deep integrations with existing systems, that manage sensitive data, or whose cumulative SaaS CRM cost exceeds the investment in custom development.

Direct comparison

Criteria	Salesforce	HubSpot	Custom
Year 1 cost (10 users)	€10,000-20,000	€0-10,700	€15,000-50,000
Year 3 cost (10 users)	€30,000-60,000	€0-32,000	€20,000-65,000
Ease of use	Medium-low	High	High (designed for you)
Customisation	Very high	Medium	Total
Implementation time	1-3 months	1 day - 2 weeks	2-4 months
Integrations	Extensive	Good	Unlimited
Local support	Remote	Remote	On-site

The Canary Islands case: specific considerations

IGIC and taxation

If your CRM needs to integrate with invoicing, IGIC management is fundamental. Salesforce and HubSpot require manual configurations or additional plugins. A custom CRM handles this out of the box.

Seasonality

Canary Islands tourism businesses have very marked peaks of commercial activity. A custom CRM can incorporate specific automations for high/low season that generic CRMs don’t account for.

Languages

The Canary Islands market is multilingual by nature (Spanish, English, German, French). A custom CRM can manage multilingual communications natively, without depending on plugins or external integrations.

Tourism sector

If your business is in tourism, you probably need to integrate the CRM with your PMS, channel manager and booking engine. This is trivial with custom development and complex (or impossible) with generic solutions.

How to make the decision

Choose Salesforce if:

Your sales team has more than 15 people.
Your sales processes are complex with multiple stages.
You have budget for a dedicated administrator.
You need advanced AI and analytics features from day one.

Choose HubSpot if:

You’re starting with CRM and want something functional without initial investment.
Your commercial strategy is based on digital and inbound marketing.
Your team is small (3-15 people) and values ease of use.
You don’t need complex integrations with other systems.

Choose custom if:

Your commercial processes are unique and generic CRMs force you to adapt.
You need to deeply integrate the CRM with your existing systems.
The cumulative SaaS cost over 3-5 years exceeds custom development.
You manage sensitive data requiring total control.
Your sector (tourism, industry, professional services) has specific requirements.

Conclusion

There’s no perfect CRM for everyone. There’s a perfect CRM for your company. Salesforce is the most powerful option but also the most expensive and complex. HubSpot is ideal for starting quickly without major investment. And a custom CRM is the answer when you need a tool that works exactly the way you work.

The important thing is to take the step: move from managing clients in Excel or from memory to having a system that centralises, automates and measures. Your sales team will thank you.

Not sure which CRM is best for your business? Contact us and we’ll help you evaluate it with a personalised consultation.