Hello, this is Matsubara, CRM Evangelist.

"Salesforce, HubSpot, Kintone, EMOROCO—which one is ultimately the best?"

Many comparison articles answer this question with "features, price, and ease of use." However, that answer only captures half the essence of the matter.

Because choosing a CRM tool isn't about "what it can do," but about "what you want to achieve."

Salesforce, HubSpot, and Kintone are all excellent tools. Each has its own distinct strengths and can be the best choice for the right purpose. This article does not negate their value.

However, when you choose a CRM based on the philosophy of CRM 4.0 (Creative CRM)—which is to "treat customers as co-creation partners"—a crucial difference becomes apparent.

We will organize these differences along three axes: function, price, and philosophy.

First, understand "what each tool aims to achieve."

Before looking at comparison tables, it's important to understand the "design philosophy" of each tool. Even though they're all called "CRM," the problems each tool tries to solve are fundamentally different.

Salesforce – "Centralizing the complex business processes of large enterprises"

Salesforce is the world's No. 1 CRM platform. With integration capabilities for over 5,000 apps via AppExchange, it boasts unparalleled scalability, global support, and massive data processing capabilities.

The core design philosophy is to " manage the complex processes of large organizations with data ." It unifies sales pipelines, marketing, customer support, and contract management, providing a platform for organizations of hundreds to tens of thousands of people.

Who is this tool for?: Medium-sized to large enterprises, organizations with dedicated system administrators, and globally operating companies.

Challenges for SMEs: The system is often over-specified for SMEs, making it difficult to implement and integrate effectively. It's also difficult to use without a consultant or dedicated administrator. Some say it's like "driving a Ferrari to the convenience store."

HubSpot – "Nurturing leads through inbound marketing"

HubSpot's greatest strength lies in its integration with marketing functions. Its key features include its accessibility, starting with a free plan, and the fact that CRM, MA, SFA, and CMS are integrated into a single platform.

The core of our design philosophy is to " automate the acquisition, nurturing, and closing of leads through the web ." We excel at attracting customers through inbound marketing (content, SEO, and email), nurturing those leads, and connecting them to sales.

Who is this tool for?: Companies focused on web marketing such as B2B, SaaS, and e-commerce; organizations that prioritize lead management and marketing automation.

Challenges for SMEs: The free plan has limited functionality, and Professional or higher is required for full use. Professional and above require an initial onboarding fee of approximately 30 yen or more, and monthly fees increase sharply. There are also complaints that Japanese language support is insufficient in some areas.

Kintone — "A platform for freely creating business applications"

Kintone is not just a CRM; it's a platform where you can create your own business applications using drag-and-drop. You can build the necessary functions yourself, such as customer management, project management, daily reports, and inventory management. It's available from ¥1,500 per user per month.

The essence of the design philosophy is " to freely build business applications without coding ." Because there is no dedicated CRM framework, you can create a system that is perfectly tailored to your company's business workflow.

Who is this tool for?: Companies with unique business processes that don't fit off-the-shelf products; companies that want to centralize management applications for multiple tasks; organizations that can afford to spend time on setup.

Challenges for SMEs: Essential CRM features such as pipeline management, email tracking, and customer sentiment management must be "built in-house." Setup takes time, and there are learning costs involved in mastering the system. The functionality required for "co-creation with customers," as outlined in CRM 4.0, needs to be designed from scratch.

EMOROCO CRM Lite — "An easy-to-use CRM for small and medium-sized businesses to cultivate customer relationships."

EMOROCO is a no-code CRM platform provided by Arcus Japan. Based on an enterprise-grade CRM platform, it combines simplicity that allows small and medium-sized businesses to "start using it today" with the scalability to "grow for up to 5 years."

The essence of our design philosophy is to " accumulate customer relationships as organizational assets and cultivate them as co-creation partners ." We provide the principles of CRM 4.0—narrative, emotional evolution, and shared meaning—in a way that small and medium-sized enterprises can immediately implement.

Who is this tool for?: Small and medium-sized enterprises; companies that want to make long-term relationships with customers a cornerstone of their business; organizations that want to eliminate reliance on individual expertise and implement customer management as an organizational system.

Comparing features and prices—presenting the "facts"

The "decisive difference" from a CRM 4.0 perspective: A comparison of ideological axes.

Now, here's the core of this article. While there are plenty of comparisons of features and prices on other sites, I will summarize the fundamental differences in how each tool approaches things from the perspective of CRM 4.0 philosophy.

Difference ①: Is it a "tool for managing customers" or a "tool for cultivating relationships with customers"?

Salesforce, HubSpot, and Kintone are all designed for "managing customers." This design is based on the philosophy of CRM 1.0 to 3.0.

Salesforce's philosophy: Manage customer data on a large scale and streamline processes (CRM 2.0 approach)
HubSpot's philosophy: Analyze customer behavior and deliver the right content at the right time (CRM 3.0 approach)
Kintone's philosophy: Managing business processes (CRM 1.0-2.0 equivalent)

EMOROCO's philosophy: "Cultivating" relationships with customers—accumulating customer narratives, understanding emotional shifts, and designing long-term relationships as co-creation partners (CRM 4.0 approach)

This difference indicates that the "questions" posed by the tools are different.

EMOROCO is a CRM system designed around the question, "What to create together with our customers," rather than "What to deliver to our customers."

Difference ②: Starting point is "attracting and acquiring customers" or "relationships and retention"?

HubSpot is the most powerful tool for inbound marketing—attracting and nurturing leads online. It excels in the process of "turning non-customers into customers."

However, in this era of population decline, the biggest challenge for small and medium-sized enterprises is not "continuously acquiring new customers," but rather "deepening relationships with existing customers and continuing to be their choice for the long term."

If HubSpot is a tool for designing the "upstream (customer acquisition)" of a business, then EMOROCO is a tool for designing the "downstream (relationship deepening, continuation, and co-creation)" of a business. It's not a matter of which is better, but rather a difference in what you prioritize.

EMOROCO is designed as a tool specifically for addressing the most pressing challenges that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) must tackle today: maximizing customer lifetime value (LTV), preventing churn, and designing referral chains .

Difference ③: Is it a "scaled-down version of a large corporation's product" or "designed specifically for small and medium-sized enterprises"?

Salesforce is a product that makes CRM systems designed for large enterprises "usable." While it has a wealth of features, small and medium-sized businesses need a dedicated administrator, consultant, and a corresponding training period to fully utilize it.

While Kintone offers a high degree of flexibility, it requires significant design effort to function as a CRM. It assumes that you will "create your own" dedicated CRM pipeline management, customer sentiment management, and workflows.

EMOROCO was designed from the outset for small and medium-sized enterprises.

The concept of "CRM that grows to suit your business needs" reflects a philosophy of "not trying to create a perfect system from the start." Starting with minimal functionality and gradually adapting it to your company's needs as you use it—this design philosophy increases the likelihood of adoption by employees.

The simple pricing structure, which allows you to use all features for just 1,500 yen per month, is a result of prioritizing lowering the barrier to "trying it out first."

Difference ④: The unique combination of "enterprise-level infrastructure" and "ease of use for small and medium-sized enterprises."

This is EMOROCO's most unique strength.

EMOROCO is built on Microsoft's platform, which, along with Salesforce, is one of the world's leading enterprise CRM platforms.

In other words, EMOROCO is positioned as **"a platform that combines a world-class design foundation with an interface that is easy for small and medium-sized businesses to use."**

Salesforce is "enterprise-level but difficult for small and medium-sized businesses." Kintone is "easy to use but requires custom design." HubSpot has "strong marketing capabilities but is weak in relationship building"—EMOROCO is the only one that does not have any of these weaknesses.

This position is made possible by Arcus Japan's more than 20 years of expertise as a CRM specialist company. From being the first Japanese recipient of the Microsoft MVP for Dynamics CRM award, to conceiving CRM 2.0, and advocating for CRM 3.0 and CRM 4.0—it is precisely because the tool was designed by a company with this history of CRM philosophy that "the philosophy and implementation are aligned."

"Which tool should I choose?" — Criteria for decision-making based on the situation.

Let's honestly summarize the situations in which each tool excels.

Cases where Salesforce is suitable:

• Over 100 employees and a dedicated system administrator.
• Global expansion and complex process management are required.
• Advanced customization and extensive integration with external systems are required.

Cases where HubSpot is suitable:

• I want to directly link leads from my website to my CRM.
• Our core business is inbound marketing (content, SEO, and email marketing).
• We want to start small and gradually strengthen our marketing capabilities.

Cases where Kintone is suitable:

• We want to manage not only customer management but also various internal business applications on the same platform.
• We have a unique workflow that cannot be handled by off-the-shelf products.
• We have an IT specialist and can allocate the necessary time for design and configuration.

Cases where EMOROCO CRM Lite is suitable:

• For small and medium-sized enterprises, deepening relationships with existing customers and maximizing customer lifetime value (LTV) should be the top priority.
• We want to eliminate reliance on individual employees and implement customer management as an organizational system.
• We want to put into practice the philosophy of CRM 4.0—customer emotions, narratives, and co-creation.
• I'd like to start small with 1,500 yen per month and grow it as I use it.
• I want to start using map integration, workflow automation, and dashboards today without any setup.

Finally, let's start with the question: "What is CRM used for?"

Before asking which tool is "good," it's important to answer the question, "Why are we using CRM?"

Want to efficiently acquire new customers? → HubSpot
We want to centrally manage processes in a large organization → Salesforce
I want to freely build various business applications → Kintone

We want to grow together with our current customers in a deep, long-term relationship. → EMOROCO CRM Lite

The CRM 4.0 philosophy of "treating customers as co-creation partners" is a core strategy for small and medium-sized enterprises to become "companies of choice," especially in an era of population decline and market contraction.

You can start using that system today, starting from just 1,500 yen per month, with no coding required—that's EMOROCO CRM Lite.

First, try out CRM 4.0 with our 30-day free trial.
EMOROCO CRM Lite Product Page

Summary—A one-sentence summary of the "ideological differences" between the four tools.

When you answer the question of whether to choose based solely on functionality and price, or on the philosophy and the relationship you aim to create, you will see the CRM that your company truly needs.

Related article: [What is CRM 4.0? — The latest CRM philosophy and practices that realize "co-creation" with customers]

Related article: [What is CRM? - A complete explanation of the evolution from "customer management" to "co-creation with customers" up to CRM 4.0]

Related article: [What to do in the first 30 days with EMOROCO CRM Lite—A 4-week roadmap to turn a small start into success]