Salesforce announced today that it will be increasing pricing an average of 9% starting in August. The pricing affects the Sales, Service, and Marketing Clouds as well as Industries (e.g., Financial Services Cloud) and Tableau. Much of its current (pre-increase) pricing can be found on its website (e.g., Sales Cloud pricing). The new pricing will apply — starting in August 2023 — to any new customer or any existing customer buying a new product.

This announcement is the latest in a slew of pricing increases that we’ve seen from major enterprise software vendors coming out of the pandemic, as we discussed in our recent research on 2023 software pricing trends.

Salesforce customers and prospects should consider the following actions:

  • If you have a deal in the works now, consider moving it up to lock in the old pricing. While you can’t know for sure how discounting might change after the increase, it is most likely to save you money as opposed to waiting until August or later. That said, be careful not to buy things that you’re not sure you need — because unused software-as-a-service “shelfware” is generally a worse waste of money than losing out on a deal.
  • Review existing contracts for any looming renewal dates. These should be evaluated early, if possible — especially if it’s something that you’re likely to be renewing in the next six months. Generally, we’ve seen renewals come with a price lift — such as 3%, 4%, 7%, or higher. With the new pricing, you’re at risk of a double whammy if you don’t renew early.
  • Take a good look at what you really use, what you really need, and the ROI. Now is a great time to take a detailed look at what you’re paying for compared to what you’re using. Pay careful attention to things that are unused or underused and anything that is redundant with other systems that could supplement it. This will help you decide what to renew and how much cost is “worth it.” Typically, there are some areas that are hard to decouple from — but there often are some products that you can eliminate or at least consider possibly eliminating during negotiations.