How to Use Salesforce Effectively?
Salesforce had a great impact on the world of computing. It was not just a simple technological disruption but was able to successfully replace lengthy processes of installation of in-house CRM solutions. Salesforce provided a solution which was affordable and completely online. There was a complete change in business strategy and planning. It initially started as a Software as a Service company but eventually came to become the fifth-largest software company in the world. The reason behind its astronomical success was Cloud Computing. Salesforce empowered businesses in many ways. There was no longer the need seen for long licensing processes as they were taken over by simple monthly subscription.
Salesforce gave the clients the fastest route from the conception of an idea to the development of the App. This helped them save a lot of time and money. Businesses found Salesforce was much faster in terms of installation time as compared to other CRM software tools which often took over a year for deploying. Also it was found to be much easier to use than other traditional software. Most of the CRM needs of the businesses were addressed successfully. It was easy to access by the workers due to its Cloud location. Another major milestone which is achieved over other traditional CRM tools was that it was easily integrated with other software and third-party apps. With so many benefits in its kitty it was able to bag a huge market share of 19.7% in CRM as against its closest rival SAP which has 12.1% followed by Oracle at 9.1%. This was a game-changer in true sense. Another remarkable feature which caught the public eye is the Salesforce AppExchange which has over 2700 applications which witnessed over 3 million installations. The popularity has led to increased demand in the professionals especially developers and administrators.
Salesforce, which was initially a SaaS company evolved to provide its clients with various solutions in CRM and also gave a platform to developers for both distributing and developing customized solutions for the clients. In other words, it is a CRM tool developed by Salesforce Inc. Salesforce found its use in many verticals, but to better understand the same, it makes great sense to what range of cloud services offered by the Salesforce.
By now, it is amply clear that Salesforce is a great CRM tool and provides different kinds of solutions to its clients. Here are some of the most prominent uses.
All the information above must have helped shape your opinion about Salesforce, its scope, and also the uses. If you know that Salesforce is the right answer to your business needs. There are ways in which Salesforce can be optimally used for maximizing benefits and achieving lasting results. Most businesses only use Salesforce for getting leads which many times cancel their subscriptions and account a few days after subscriptions. Acquisition of leads is a costly process and has proven to be nearly 5-25 times costlier than customer retention. So, it is highly important to work on retention strategies alongside getting new leads. Retention of customers helps a nearly 25 % increase in profits. Here are some useful ways in which Salesforce can be used for maximizing benefits.
This is important. You have to completely align and bring together sales and marketing teams in one place. It helps in bringing together all the touch-points of customer interaction at one common base and rules out the need for manual transfer of data from one app to another as any interaction which is recorded by a customer gets updated by default in the CRM. E.g., if your marketing, sales, and customer service teams use different software, there can be great delay and discrepancy in data. All this can be avoided if everyone is on the same platform but integration of other software with Salesforce to derive maximum information. This ultimately helps in giving great customer service across all verticals. Remember the best way to achieve great customer service is by keeping the whole team on same pitch, fast sharing of information and effective coordination.
In the course of your marketing efforts, your business will develop great relations with your customers as there will be a lot of data generated by then. However, if you have already incorporated all your customer data at one place into Salesforce, you will in complete control of the customer data and can efficiently manage the customer relationships by making them more personal. The latter is often done by personalizing various customer touchpoints like emails, communications, to make them feel special and being valued by the brand. Also, you can make suitable buying suggestions based on the previous search history of the customer. This often leads to a sale as once browsed products do rest in the minds of the customers for long. In the case of Salesforce, you will have an ocean of data in front of you about every customer, and it will depend on your skill and expertise to use it effectively. Many studies have proven the fact that personalization has a great impact on customer retention.
Research shows you can lose nearly 15 percent of your customers if you are not fully leveraging the benefits from your social media strategy. So, basically social media cannot be ignored. You must have a sound social media strategy in place and are carefully scanning and replying on every communication made by the customer. Even one point left unattended can lead to a complete loss of the valued customer who had cared enough to like your product and also leave a few words. There are many features on these social media engines which help track the interactions, and they send you suitable notifications. It is also a good idea to regularly refresh your feed and revert to all queries either by a personal response or even an automated one. Also, every other touchpoint and communications have to be personalized for maximizing the impact.
Poor after-sales service or customer service is a leading factor why many valuable customers are lost to competition. This often leads to a great loss of revenue. Effective customer service is the best way to retain loyal customers. However, many companies are known to still lose at this mainly because there is a great disconnect between sales and customer service executives. In fact, in many companies they are completely different departments who have no business with each other. Effective Salesforce CRM helps to integrate both the teams in one place, so they have access to common data, customer feed, delivery time and even the product feedback. After-sales do not just mean merely checking if the product is delivered or sending them more offers or thankyou messages but in fact involves handling their complaints with full energy till a resolution is achieved. Many customers will be lost if their complaints or returns are not handled effectively. All this can be ruled by proper integration of Salesforce with the Customer Service platform. The Salesforce Service Cloud is a complete customer service platform which helps the teams to get a clear overview of the customer interactions.
This may sound redundant but carries a lot of significance so has to be touched especially. Every single interaction of the customer with your business is important and is worth referring to. If your valued customer hasn’t shown up on any of the platforms there is a huge chance you have lost him or her. Salesforce allows you to track such touchpoints by searching the date fields and then listing them as per their last contact. Such processes are best handled when they are automated to give regular reports so that no one is missed.
This is a huge missing opportunity which can be tapped. It has been proved that even the inactive subscribers can be actively engaged to purchase if they are well-targeted. Studies have stated that an inactive subscriber is not completely lost and stands a chance of 32% to revisit. Email marketing helps a lot and with a Salesforce integrated account mass emails can be sent. Integration of MailChimp with Salesforce has helped many businesses make fortunes. MailChimp also allows for segmentation of inactive user accounts so that special re-engagement emails are sent to them in the form of many offers or discounts.
Salesforce is one of the major CRM giants in the world which has completely changed the meaning and level of customer relationships. The platform has many options for effectively handling customers but not many businesses that use Salesforce are able to make most of it. Hence, the results are not as expected. It is thus imperative to have full-scale knowledge of how to make use of Salesforce so all the benefits of it are properly explored. Janbask offers training in almost all aspects of Salesforce which is highly useful if pursuing a career in the same or even if your business has not been able to get benefits from it.
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