8 Tips for Improved Salesforce Integration

Salesforce is leading the pack in innovative and popular CRM platforms. 

The versatility and sheer scope of the software is the reason for its popularity. But it can be difficult for businesses to devote the time and resources to learn to use the system to full advantage. 

So if your business is having trouble making the most of your Salesforce system, you’ve come to the right place. Keep reading for a list of tips to streamline Salesforce integration and make your life easier.

1. Hire a Skilled Team of Admins

The first step for improving integration is to ensure you’ve built a competent team to handle the software. 

A Salesforce fractional support team is the most cost-effective way of having professionals to back you up. These admins make everyone’s job easier, since they have the experience to help your team operate the CRM software far more efficiently. 

Knowledgeable Salesforce admins can do so much more: they can train your staff to improve Salesforce managed services, and instruct in best practices to handle any problem that crops up. The key to integration is having the right personnel, and that starts with hiring competent Salesforce staffing. 

2. Organize Your Data Flow Around Your Workflow

The purpose of customer relationship management (CRM) software is to improve a business’ productivity—but that can only happen if it works with, rather than against, the natural workflow of that business. 

This is why a smooth Salesforce integration with a company’s routine is critical to more efficient output. And it makes sense: a successful integration doesn’t merely follow the workflow, it streamlines it and automates where it can. 

A poor integration, on the other hand, is one where existing procedures are disrupted, causing confusion and a steep drop in productivity. 

3. Be Aware of New Ideas

Not all the Salesforce help in the world will make a difference if you’re unwilling to entertain new, innovative ideas. 

And with such a versatile platform, it’s almost impossible to ignore the performance-boosting features. The beauty of the Salesforce ecosystem is that it boasts an extensive assortment of third-party apps and plug-ins. These are designed to extend the platform’s functionality in a myriad of ways. 

For instance, you can avail yourself of a special app to automatically produce standard documents. You can integrate your phone system for automatic call logging, or generate shipping labels and track packages using in-app features. In other words, Salesforce has made it as easy as possible to make your workflow streamlined and efficient. 

The key here is to remain engaged and involved: keep up with the latest add-ons and improvements, and stay on the search for new solutions.  

4. Avoid Duplicated Effort For Greater Efficiency

Duplicated effort is wasted effort. 

There’s nothing surprising about that observation—the best way to obstruct your employees’ efficiency is to bog them down with redundancy. And constantly entering the same information many times over is one way to do it. 

Even worse is having different platforms that can’t or won’t share information. This is a recipe for inefficiency, but Salesforce is designed to eliminate redundancy and streamline integration. So go ahead and dump all of your most important data into the Salesforce platform, and let it do what it does best: keep your information together and integrated for improved efficiency. 

5. Personalize Your User Interface

Salesforce is a versatile and infinitely customizable interface. 

Make the most of that by tailoring the platform to your company’s specific needs. For instance, your customer service team should focus on the data that matters most to them. This, in turn, differs from what your marketing team needs to see. 

Fortunately, Salesforce lets you create customizable pages, so each team can focus on what’s relevant to their job and minimize extraneous noise. 

6. Make the Most of System Sharing

We all have to share at some point, and this is one of Salesforce’s great strengths. 

While every company has some information that’s best kept secured and unshared, too much secrecy can hamper the smooth and efficient functioning of an organization. Salesforce helps by allowing teams to share data, collaborate where needed, and foster a culture of open communications. By all means, keep sensitive data secured—for everything else, Salesforce has the tools to build a strong, collaborative workflow. 

7. Avail Yourself of the Salesforce Mobile App

Everybody has an app these days. 

This includes Salesforce, which offers the Salesforce1 mobile app for easy access to the platform’s features even without WiFi accessibility. The app is high-powered, allowing team members to jot down notes, make fast updates, and perform other functions without logging into a computer. 

The SF1 interface is a little different from the web-based version of Salesforce, and functionality is perhaps not quite at the same level. But for quick, on-the-fly updates and changes, you can’t beat it. 

8. Be Mindful of Security

Finally, a smooth Salesforce integration requires a proactive security policy.

To ensure the protection and privacy of your company’s data, the best practice is to use Salesforce’s Application Program Interface (API). This software interlocutor is critical when communicating with the Salesforce platform. It secures data through IP address verification, user access protocols, and strong password protections. 

Learn More About Salesforce Integration

These are just a few tips for how to improve Salesforce integration. 

In a nutshell, the platform is an excellent vehicle for cloud-based customer relationship management strategies. But integrating the software with your business practices can be a little tricky. 

This is where the certified Salesforce partners at Nuage Group can prove their worth. We have a team of experts that can provide the kind of Salesforce help that will make integrating the software a cinch. 

So what are you waiting for? Go ahead and contact us today to see how our specialists can help.