Choosing the right chat tool for your B2B website can be a game-changer. The right solution not only boosts customer engagement but also aligns with your business goals, whether it's demand generation or account-based marketing (ABM). Today, we’re diving deep into two well-known players: Drift vs. Qualified, and an up-and-comer with excellent affordability and powerful features: ServiceBell. Let’s explore their features, pricing, and which one might be your next secret weapon for success.

What is the Difference Between Live Chat and B2B Live Chat?

There are over 550 live chat vendors tracked by G2. But not all live chat platforms are created equal. There is a reason that demand gen marketers gravitate toward Drift, Qualified, and ServiceBell rather than HubSpot's chat, Chili Piper's, or Intercom. In fact, many teams begin with one of these simpler, less expensive, or bundled-with-another-vendor-we-already-use chat tools, and graduate to more sophisticated B2B chat tools.

Note: if you’d like to dive deep into feature-level comparisons between Drift, Qualified, Chili Piper Chat, HubSpot Messages (Chat) and ServiceBell, check out our very detailed Google Sheet.

So what's different about these B2B live chat platforms? Well, first of all, sales teams prefer to use Drift, Qualified, or ServiceBell because they give them alerts about high-intent visitors and help them engage in on-site prospecting of visitors. Secondly, these B2B chat platforms tend to have the capacity for complex orchestration with CRM connectivity. But Drift isn't that stellar here. Qualified and ServiceBell shine when it comes to integrating with the CRM to understand the status and relationship of the visiting company.

The other big differentiator is embedded "first-party intent" – visitor identification of the company in order to run CRM lookups and flag visiting accounts that fit the Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) of the company. In other words, B2B live chat platforms like Drift and Qualified make it possible for sales teams to create pipelines through the website. They open up the website as a sales channel.

Innovation and Company Trajectory: Who’s Headed in the Right Direction?

Drift created the category “Conversational Marketing” but then failed to deliver long-term. This is because it was never good at customer support, was never the best Direct-To-Consumer or Ecommerce chat platform, and never really delivered for B2B demand gen teams. Hence a fire sale - Salesloft acquired Drift in early 2024 even though both companies had raised just over 100M, meaning they both got massively diluted. Read more about why this was not good news for Drift here.

Qualified has long been an innovator on chat and website conversion capabilities. They coined the term “Pipeline Cloud” which is perhaps loftier than they can deliver, but admirable for its positioning value. They also are launching “Piper” their AI Live Chat and the demand gen marketers we know seem excited. The big concern will be how quickly can they innovate? Will they ever grow up and hook into HubSpot CRM (Sales Hub)? Or will they die on the Salesforce hill forever? Will they be able to imagine all the possibilities of AI?

ServiceBell is a much smaller team with big ambitions and a track record of delivering incredible product at much more affordable prices. Early-stage and mid-market B2B sales and marketing teams love the ability to customize chat experiences like Drift or Qualified, while also getting incredible value through video sales calls on their own websites. AI live chat coming soon as well! Not just text either.

Pricing and Typical Deal Sizes

When it comes to pricing, each platform offers something a bit different.

• ServiceBell: At $24,000 annually for an all-inclusive package, it’s the most budget-friendly option. With an average deal size matching its price, it offers solid value for money.

• Qualified: Priced at $36,000 per year minimum, it seems somewhat affordable at first. But many of its best features, like AI chat, are restricted unless you shell out $70,000 or more. Average deal sizes range from $50,000 to $64,000, which means it's likely aimed at bigger budgets, and that’s typically only if you lock in a 2- or 3-year deal.

• Drift: At $30,000 annually, Drift sits in the middle but is also feature-limited. But many companies end up paying $60,000 and $75,000, leading to many Drift buyers shifting away from the antiquated giant.

Feature Comparison: Drift vs. Qualified vs. ServiceBell

Chat Capabilities

Live Chat: All three platforms provide live text chat, making them capable of immediate engagement. But if you want to take it up a notch with audio and video capabilities, here’s how they compare:

• ServiceBell & Qualified: Both offer live audio and video chats, proactive and reactive video features, and external calendar booking links. These tools make it easy to connect on a more personal level.

• Drift: Unfortunately, it lacks audio and video chat, limiting the depth of interaction you can have with customers.

Analytics and Visitor Interaction: Understanding visitor behavior is crucial.

• ServiceBell & Qualified: Provide extensive chat analytics, live visitor views, and visitor-blocking features. They also let you monitor mouse activity and offer session replays.

• Drift: While it provides essential analytics and interaction tools, it doesn’t match the advanced features offered by ServiceBell and Qualified.

Video Experience

ServiceBell: Takes the lead with video calls, screensharing, annotation, and screen takeover. These features make it a powerhouse for those wanting to leverage video.

Qualified: Offers solid video communication tools, including video calls and pre-recorded videos, but lacks some of the advanced interactivity features of ServiceBell.

Drift: Primarily focuses on pre-recorded videos, missing out on live video engagement, which could be a dealbreaker for some.

Scheduling and Alerts

Scheduler:

• ServiceBell & Qualified: Shine with customizable scheduling events and rich scheduling windows within chats.

• Drift: Offers basic scheduling but lacks the depth and flexibility of its rivals.

Alerts: All platforms provide in-app, Slack, MS Teams, browser, and mobile notifications, ensuring you’re always in the loop.

Chat Routing

Routing Features: Whether it’s routing to users, teams, or CRM owners, all platforms offer robust chat routing.

• ServiceBell & Qualified: Stand out with features like round-robin and first-available routing, ensuring efficiency in customer service.

• Drift: Offers basic routing features but lacks some advanced options.

Qualified also offers complex form-based routing with its “Form Concierge” product. But if you have RevenueHero or Default.com or LeanData you can accomplish the same thing (or better, in some use cases) for a great deal less money.

Segments and Journeys

Segments:

• ServiceBell & Qualified: Allow custom segment creation, enabling targeted interactions with specific audiences.

• Drift: Lacks advanced segmentation capabilities, which might limit personalization.

Journeys: All platforms support branching logic, CRM updates, and chat routing within customer journeys to enhance user experience.

Visitor Intelligence

Intelligence Tools:

• ServiceBell & Qualified: Offer comprehensive intelligence tools, including company and person reveal, integration with 6sense and Clearbit, and custom lead scoring.

• Drift: Provides basic visitor intelligence but lacks the depth of its competitors.

Integrations and Customization

Integration Capabilities:

• ServiceBell & Qualified: Lead with extensive integration options with platforms like Salesforce, HubSpot, and more. ServiceBell integrates with HubSpot CRM, while Qualified excels with Salesforce.

• Drift: Offers a solid range but isn’t as comprehensive.

Customization Options: Both ServiceBell and Qualified offer significant customization capabilities, allowing businesses to tailor the chat experience to align with their brand identity.

Compliance and Other Features

Compliance: All platforms meet GDPR, CCPA, SOC 2 Type I, and II standards, ensuring your data remains secure and compliant.

Unique Offerings:

• ServiceBell: Upcoming features include automated ICP creation and buying committee building from enrichment integrations.

• Qualified: Offers premium features and integrations, perfect for high-budget businesses.

• Drift: Provides a reliable platform with standard features, making it a good choice for those seeking stability.

Summary of Customer Feedback and Reviews

User Experience and Interface

ServiceBell: Known for its intuitive interface and ease of use, making it accessible for teams with varying levels of technical expertise.

Qualified: Offers a sophisticated interface with a steeper learning curve, requiring some technical expertise for setup and customization.

Drift: Provides a straightforward and user-friendly interface, making it a good option for businesses looking for an easy-to-navigate platform.

Use Cases and Success Stories

ServiceBell: Ideal for businesses looking to enhance customer support and engagement through rich video chat features and seamless CRM integration.

Qualified: Best suited for companies focusing on account-based marketing and real-time lead qualification, especially those using Salesforce.

Drift: Effective for businesses that prioritize conversational marketing and need a reliable text-based chat solution.

Decision Factors

When selecting the best B2B live chat platform for your pipeline creation needs, consider the following factors:

• Budget and Resources: Evaluate your budget and the resources available for implementation and management. Would you rather pay the vendor to set up and run everything (Qualified)? Or do you have a mildly technical demand gen or marketing ops person on your team (then go for ServiceBell)?

• Business Goals: Determine if your focus is on demand generation, account-based marketing, or both.

• Integration Needs: Consider the CRM and marketing tools you currently use and their compatibility with the chat platforms.

• Technical Expertise: Assess the technical expertise of your team and the support available for setup and customization.

Market Positioning and Audience

• ServiceBell: Best for small to medium-sized businesses looking for an affordable, feature-rich solution.

• Qualified: Ideal for larger enterprises focused on ABM with significant budgets and existing Salesforce infrastructure.

• Drift: Suitable for businesses seeking a reliable chat platform with a focus on conversational marketing.

Which B2B Chat Tool is Best for Demand Gen?

When it comes to demand generation, ServiceBell’s all-inclusive package and extensive feature set make it an attractive option. It offers a comprehensive suite of tools to engage, qualify, and convert leads without breaking the bank. Qualified is also a strong contender, particularly for businesses willing to invest in advanced features and integrations to enhance their demand generation strategies.

Which B2B Chat Tool is Best for Account-Based Marketing?

For ABM, Qualified takes the lead with its robust targeting and segmentation features. Its deep Salesforce integration allows for precise targeting of high-value accounts, making it ideal for businesses focused on ABM. ServiceBell also offers excellent ABM capabilities, including custom segment creation and visitor intelligence tools, providing a cost-effective alternative for businesses seeking ABM functionalities.

Drift vs. Qualified: CRM Considerations

Best Option for Salesforce CRM

If your business relies heavily on Salesforce CRM, Qualified is likely your best bet. Its deep integration with Salesforce provides real-time insights and allows sales teams to interact with high-value leads more efficiently. This makes Qualified particularly valuable for businesses that want to leverage the full power of Salesforce in their chat interactions. ServiceBell is catching up and remains much more affordable for teams using Salesforce than Qualified. Also, even Qualified fans will admit it’s best with Pardot, so if you’re using Marketo or HubSpot for marketing automation, things may be a bit trickier.

Best Option for HubSpot CRM

For those using HubSpot CRM, ServiceBell stands out as the ideal choice. Unlike Qualified, which doesn’t integrate with HubSpot CRM, and Drift, which lacks video chat capabilities and is overpriced, ServiceBell offers seamless integration with HubSpot and rich video features. This makes it the perfect fit for businesses looking to maximize their HubSpot CRM experience with advanced chat functionality.

Which is Best for Video Chat - ServiceBell or Qualified?

When it comes to video chat, the competition is mainly between ServiceBell and Qualified, as Drift doesn’t offer video capabilities. ServiceBell is the more cost-effective option and delivers high-quality video chat features. It is especially beneficial for product-led growth (PLG) and support scenarios, thanks to its rich features like annotation, screenshare, and screen takeover. These tools are not only agent-friendly but also make customer interactions more engaging and effective.

AI Live Chat for B2B

Both Drift and Qualified increasingly sell on their AI capabilities, but most users report only small gains at the moment. Also, Qualified's minimum tier that includes its AI Piper is $70,000 annually. ServiceBell is also launching AI live chat soon and it will be included in its $24,000 Inbound package.

AI chat can provide significant advantages for B2B websites by automating initial interactions, qualifying leads, and routing inquiries to the right sales reps. Drift and Qualified offer AI features that help with lead scoring, conversational engagement, and personalization. However, Drift’s AI capabilities are more basic compared to Qualified’s advanced AI and NLP (Natural Language Processing) features.

It’s worth mentioning that Drift isn’t even using AI on their new Salesloft page - these are just manually configured chat flows or journeys:

Qualified’s AI Piper can identify high-value visitors, assess their readiness to buy, and engage them in meaningful conversations. ServiceBell's upcoming AI features are expected to provide similar benefits at a more affordable price point, potentially leveling the playing field.

Ultimately, ChatGPT-on-your-website (e.g. Chatbase) isn't going to be sufficient for B2B marketing needs. AI for B2B marketing must be much more sophisticated, able to interact in multiple formats, and a wizard at reading CRM fields and notes and analyzing past behavior in order to convert visitors into pipeline.

Conclusion: Drift or Qualified or ServiceBell?

Choosing the right B2B chat platform depends on your business needs and budget. ServiceBell offers a cost-effective solution with a wide range of features, making it suitable for small to medium-sized businesses, or anyone who doesn’t want to spend more than half their CRM cost on what their fellow execs will basically view as a “chat tool” regardless of features. Qualified, while pricier, provides great capabilities for businesses prioritizing ABM and advanced integrations with Salesforce CRM. Drift remains a reliable choice but may not satisfy businesses looking for cutting-edge features.

Ultimately, it’s about finding the right fit for your strategy, whether it's demand gen, ABM, or a mix of both. Take the time to evaluate each platform's features, pricing, and how they align with your business objectives to make an informed decision.

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