August 15, 2024 - Customer relationships are crucial, and tools like Salesforce are now essential for organizations seeking to optimize their sales, marketing, and service operations. Despite being one of the leading customer relationship management (CRM) solutions, many companies are still not leveraging Salesforce fully.

With the rise of technological advancements and their associated benefits, numerous companies are embracing the latest technologies. Adopting a CRM system, such as Salesforce, is a strategic move for many businesses. However, despite substantial investments in Salesforce licenses, many companies need help to fully harness the tool's capabilities. Often, they need more skills or awareness of its extensive functionalities. An exploration into what Salesforce offers and how to maximize its advantages to improve your return on investment (ROI) is key.

Five features of Salesforce that transform efficiency

Is your organization deriving sufficient value from the Salesforce licenses it invested in? Exploring how to maximize the ROI on a Salesforce investment can provide many valuable insights.

1. Leveraging Einstein AI

   Salesforce Einstein generative AI transforms customer interactions by seamlessly integrating data, context, and personalized content creation. Here is how it works:
   
   • Connect: Salesforce Einstein uses pre-built connectors to integrate external data sources into Salesforce via Data Cloud. This data is cleansed and prepared for use in generating personalized responses.
   • Prompt: With connected data in Salesforce, Einstein understands business context. It refines its understanding using real data inputs, ensuring generated responses are tailored to specific needs.
   • Trust layer: Embedded security measures protect customer data during access and use. Post-generation data is immediately masked and forgotten, maintaining confidentiality.
   • Generate: Leveraging company and customer data insights, Salesforce Einstein creates personalized content across channels. It offers real-time response recommendations for customer service, personalized outreach for sales, and automated code generation for programmers. Commerce websites can also benefit from compelling product descriptions.
   
   Salesforce Einstein empowers businesses to enhance customer relationships through personalized experiences, making each interaction impactful and memorable.

2. Understanding Salesforce Flow

   Salesforce Flow is an intuitive visual tool for automating workflows without coding. It features a drag-and-drop interface that accommodates users with various technical expertise. Flows are ideal for automating repetitive tasks, guiding users through intricate processes, and integrating data across Salesforce objects and external systems.
   
   Key components of Salesforce Flow include:
   
   • Flow Builder: This graphical interface allows users to design workflows by arranging elements like screens, decisions, loops, and actions on a canvas.
   • Flow Variables: These hold runtime data such as text, numbers, dates, and records, facilitating data manipulation and transfer between flow elements.
   • Flow Actions: These are fundamental operations within flows, from creating records and updating fields to sending emails and executing Apex code. Salesforce offers a comprehensive library of pre-built actions to streamline workflow automation.
   
   Einstein for Flow enhances Salesforce Flow by integrating generative AI capabilities. With Einstein for Flow, users can initiate workflow creation by simply entering a natural language prompt describing their desired process. For instance, typing “Create a workflow to notify sales reps when a lead converts to an opportunity” prompts Einstein for Flow to automatically generate the necessary workflow code.
   
   This AI tool is invaluable for automating workflows swiftly and efficiently, saving time. It particularly benefits users with limited programming knowledge, enabling them to create sophisticated workflows without needing deep technical expertise. Einstein for Flow represents a significant advancement in simplifying workflow automation within Salesforce.

3. Getting to know user management and process integration

   Workarounds can be inconsistent and often lead to data and workflow silos. That is why having a unified data source is essential, ensuring users of all levels can easily access, add, and edit data.
   
   Permission Set Groups within Salesforce allow for easy addition or removal of permission sets. This functionality enables quick and accurate assignment of role access to anyone within the organization who needs to use Salesforce. Additionally, Restriction Rules can be defined to further refine access at a granular level, enhancing data security and ensuring everyone is aligned.
   
   With these tools, new users can hit the ground running without waiting for IT to set up their permissions. Everything is managed within the platform using pre-defined criteria.

4. Working with Salesforce maintenance tools

   Maintenance is necessary for everything — from the shop floor to the tech stack that the organization is using.
   
   Most companies do not have a formal maintenance program, but its necessity remains undeniable despite not being the most glamorous part of the business. Consider it like buying a water heater for your home — it may not be your ideal way to spend a Saturday afternoon, but without it, you'll soon face a series of inconveniences.
   
   Salesforce has three releases each year, which look at the following aspects:
   
   • Apex Guru Insights: Proactive code review and prioritization.
   • Automation Maintenance: Review process usage and monitor errors
   
   
   Staying informed about these updates ensures that an organization remains aware of the changes needed to keep Salesforce running smoothly and optimally. Ignoring these updates can lead to slow or ineffective systems; impacting end users and extending beyond just an IT concern.
   
   Monitoring maintenance tools is crucial for maintaining an efficient and reliable Salesforce environment.

5. Enhancing strategic benefits for C-suite

   Central to solving the issue of data silos and incompatible programs is a leader who ensures that strategies strike the right balance — not overly detailed for business units but optimized across broader technology goals for the organization. Salesforce understands the critical need for alignment among C-suite members.
   
   Salesforce can directly impact C-suite decisions and drive completive advantage by:
   
   • Removing silos: Silos are often inherent in organizational structures. However, when cross-functional teamwork is essential, it impedes growth and success. With the elimination of silos, teams can open the floodgates to new opportunities, better communication, and possibilities not realized previously.
   • Knowing when to act and how: Paying attention to the changing digital landscape is vital for leaders in any industry and companies of every size. If an organization is experiencing disparate systems, lagged productivity, and bottlenecks that should be removed, it is time to consider reorganizing the source-of-truth structure.

Let Citrin Cooperman guide your way

Citrin Cooperman’s Digital Services Practice elevates Salesforce from a basic management tool to a powerful driver of business efficiency and innovation. Our team is Salesforce-ready with all the tools and knowledge needed to maximize your ROI and make the most of this robust CRM. Our experienced Salesforce advisors will help you safeguard your business and achieve its strategic goals.

Need a deeper dive? Watch our on demand webinar or get a free Salesforce Assessment and start maximizing Salesforce to its full potential!