With 19.5% of the market share, Salesforce has become the biggest CRM provider in the world. The data shows that businesses that have opted for Salesforce implementation services are leveraging and inspiring other companies to adopt this cloud-based CRM.
With successful Salesforce implementation services, a business can bring smoothness in their different operations such as sales, service, marketing, and other factors.
No matter from which industry you belong, manufacturing, education, finance, or any other, the implementation of Salesforce will bring a 30% increase in lead conversion, 28% improvement in sales revenue, and 45% enhancement in customer retention.
Best Practices for Salesforce Implementation in 2021
If you are reading this post, it means you must have hired a Salesforce implementation company, and you are also ready to leverage Salesforce implementation services.
The process of Salesforce implementation is quite daunting, and it requires lots of time and money.
To help you save both these things, we are here with the top five ways that ensure your planning pays off and you start generating greater ROI rapidly.
Whether you are in the middle of the Salesforce implementation process or about to start with the one, these ways will be of great help to you, irrespectively.
Expand Your Salesforce Horizon
It means that you should start using cloud-based technology more than just CRM. Salesforce is built on the open Force.com platform. It offers companies an entirely new realm of technology that will help them bring digital transformation into their businesses.
The cloud-based CRM not only comes in handy for sales representatives to close more deals but also helps in streamlining other areas of business such as configure-price-quote, marketing, customer services, and many more.
You can perform multiple functions through Salesforce, such as lead tracking, opportunity pipeline management, supporting customers, etc. You can also create additional custom objects, applications as per the unique requirements of your business.
Improvise Salesforce Integration with Other Applications
One of the best parts of Salesforce is its facility to integrate with other applications that a business uses. Salesforce can get integrated with any apps in an easy way and dramatically improves business performance.
According to a study by Gartner, in an enterprise, app integration accounts for 35% of the total cost of development, designing, and maintenance.
Salesforce integration ensures your business a greater level of revenue generation as it empowers other business applications and unifies all information. With integration, you can access entire data from multiple channels and get a report in real-time.
Henceforth, it is advisable to integrate Salesforce with other applications.
IT Security
One of the best things about using Salesforce is its high-end security level. And businesses often neglect the importance of the IT department because they over-rely on Salesforce.
There is no doubt that Salesforce is a robust tool with unprecedented security, but if you couldn’t involve your IT team then things might go bumpy.
If you want to leverage Salesforce integration services entirely then it is advisable to involve your IT team from the beginning.
It will help the team to understand integration in a clear way, and they can be a saviour in case any technical jargons come up. They will also make sure that after integration, apps and Salesforce work well and deliver excellent solutions.
Team Involvement for Omni-Departmental Success
Salesforce is a long and tricky process. You should involve all the key stakeholders in the loop from the starting of the Salesforce implementation process. If you keep the functional managers engaged during all the phases of implementation, it will help them understand the process. Also, encourage your employees to engage with Salesforce. It will help them understand why business has opted for Salesforce implementation services and how it will benefit them.
If you have a large scale enterprise, then it is advisable for you to have a key stakeholder from different departments of an organization that ensures cross-functionality of the teams. For example, if your sales team closes a deal, your finance team requires certain information. Therefore, to make Salesforce implementation a successful one, you should sync different departments in an organization and rest assured for much better solutions.
Best Practices for Implementing Salesforce CRM?
Now that we have understood the best ways to make the Salesforce implementation a successful one, it is the time we learn the practices that we should follow for a seamless and successful Salesforce implementation.
Proper Planning
The foremost step is planning where you should take the following things:
- Structuring team
- Proper resource planning
- Project methodology
- Defining a roadmap for goal achieving
Decide Timeline
Once you finalize your requirements and planning, start with the project deadline. There are two approaches, SCRUM and Waterfall. Make sure the implementation process doesn’t get hampered by the involvement of the team in other projects. Therefore, to complete the project in a stipulated time frame make sure you start with dependencies.
Cost Planning
Salesforce implementation involves a substantial involvement of cost. Consider all the business requirements, and finalize your cost. Try to keep the following things in mind at the time of cost planning:
- Cost of Consulting
- Cost of Data Migration
- Cost of Customization
- Cost of Integration
- Cost of User Training
- Cost of Support & Services
Define Success Goals
Planning is the key to achieve success and what is more important to achieve growth in business is to set realistic goals. You should always define your success metrics.
The goals for success vary from organization to organization. Always have SMART goals – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-Based.
Prepare Live
Before you leave the implementation, set up a customized Salesforce CRM according to the requirements of your business. Have a proper checklist, and in this way, you will get to know about the necessary improvements in the future.
Change Management Strategy
The importance of having a change management plan is that it will help users understand the benefits of Salesforce and also their training methods.
Drive Adoption
Launching Salesforce CRM with proper automation, best UI, and customization ensure that you have completed half of your journey. Now it’s time for you to get your employees to use Salesforce. And for that, you require them to give them proper training and encourage adoption.
Post-implementation Plan
After the successful Salesforce implementation, you should start planning for your next phase. Have a proper post-Salesforce implementation plan, that includes:
- Release management
- Usability tests
- Building feedback system
- A strategy for future
- Development of resource library
Conclusion
Theoretically, the Salesforce implementation process is like a piece of cake, but when it comes to actual implementation that’s where the real challenge comes. Salesforce implementation without professional help leads to low results and causes severe damage.
Therefore, it is advisable to follow all the points we have discussed above and to hire Salesforce integration experts or a Salesforce implementation company to garner every single benefit of the implementation process.
You can hire FEXLE Services, a Salesforce Gold Consulting Partner company that has 13+ years of rich experience in Salesforce implementation. Connect with certified Salesforce experts at FEXLE and flourish your business with excellent Salesforce implementation services.
