Ask Wendy - System Administrator

• View Your SFDC Data Schema or Entity Relationship Model

  Wendy Close Feb 2, 2007

  Recently an application support analyst from a salesforce.com customer asked for an application where one can easily view and print one’s current salesforce.com Data Schema or Entity Relationship Model.  Four solutions come to mind:

  1. Developers’ Sidekick by Upside Outcomes is a free client app that instantly displays the objects and attributes of your salesforce.com schema. Handy for developing custom apps or designing reports.

  2. Sforce Explorer is a .NET and Partner API based executable that provides a simple user interface for testing SOQL queries and browsing your salesforce.com data model. Source is included with the download. Requires .NET Framework 1.1 or later.

  3. SnapShot by Dreamfactory allows an account administrator to take a picture of the current state of the customizations in their salesforce.com org and track all changes over time, between different accounts, or between different user profiles.

  4. Simon Fell’s Soqlx (for Mac only). It also allows for export to PDF and has a nice graphical schema explorer.

     Take a look and let community know which one you like best. Have a CRM question? Askwendy@crmsuccess.com.

  5 Comments | Bookmark

• How Companies Measure Employee Adherence to Data Quality and What They Do With the Data Once It’s Clean

  Wendy Close Aug 18, 2006

  We were recently asked by a customer for examples of how companies measure their employees in terms of adherence to data quality standards.  For example, his regional marketing specialists are responsible for creating, cultivating, and maintaining an active database of potential and current clients in Salesforce.com for their region. Right now, they use fairly broad measurement criteria of "cleaning, updating, enhancement and consolidation of customer & prospect data for pipeline accounts & target markets." He was curious if we could share any best practices to guide them in making the measurement criteria more tangible. Read on for the best practice. And, using a dynamic scoring process, learn what to do with your data once it’s clean.
  
  

  4 Comments | Bookmark

• A Dozen CRM Best Practices

  Wendy Close Aug 10, 2006

  Whether you’re just starting out in customer relationship management (CRM) or you’re a seasoned CRM veteran looking for a boost, these 12 CRM best practices can get you off on the right foot or into the next generation. From justifying a CRM investment, to measuring and improving customer loyalty, these short and easy to read CRM best practice whitepapers answer some of the most common CRM questions today.

  1. Download Eight Ways To Justify an Investment in CRM.doc
  2. Download Building the Case for CRM in Your Organization.doc
  3. Download Four Strategies for Creating Successful Customer-Centric Organizations.doc
  4. Download Five Secrets for Building the Customer-Centric Small or Mid-sized Business.doc
  5. Download Business Process Automation.doc 
  6. Download Cleaning Up Dirty Data-Choosing the Right Approach.doc
  7. Download Leveraging the Salesforce On-Demand Platform.doc
  8. Download Managing Strategic Customers.doc
  9. Download Improve the Customer Experience with Self-Service.doc
  10. Download Leverage Professional Service Automation for Success.doc
  11. Download How to Select Mobile Apps for Your Workforce.doc
  12. Download How to Measure and Increase Customer Loyalty.pdf

  To learn more about the on-demand CRM and business applications offered by Salesforce.com you can visit our CRM software as a service applications area on www.salesforce.com.

  Have a CRM question? AskWendy@CRMSuccess.com

  0 Comments | Bookmark

• Improve Your Prospecting with Account Intelligence

  Jamie Grenney Jul 10, 2006

  Based on our June 2006 customer relationship survey*, we estimate 21 percent of you are interested in additional data cleansing and data quality services however, we suspect many of you may not know that one of the best ways to improve the quality of your data is to leverage the data enrichment services of providers like OneSource.

  The best CRM system is only as good as the data that goes into it. Too often, low-quality contact and prospect data keep companies from achieving the sales productivity gains that CRM can help deliver.

  Join salesforce.com July 14^th for a live Webinar and learn firsthand how you can empower your sales force with on-demand Account Intelligence.

  You'll hear a customer share their story of how his team has increased productivity and call success rates with better account intelligence, you’ll see a live demonstration, and get all your questions answered in live Q&A. Give your sales organization the information they need for better prospecting, deeper account penetration, and increased close rates. Start by registering for this free event now: Pump Up Your Prospecting with Account Intelligence. (Update: this link has since lapsed)

  * June 2006 salesforce.com Customer Relationship survey conducted by independent 3rd party CustomerSat Inc., 963 respondents, randomly selected.

  Salesforce includes many features to ensure that real-time data is always on-hand. To learn more about these features visit Lead Management, Opportunity Management, Sales Activity Management and Sales Management feature pages.

  Have a CRM question? AskWendy@crmsuccess.com.

  0 Comments | Bookmark

• Finding the On-Demand Applications You Most Want in the AppExchange: #1 Customer Satisfaction Surveys

  Jamie Grenney Jun 22, 2006

  For the second quarter in a row, customer satisfaction surveys remained the number one on-demand application of most interest to our customers. It’s not surprising as most often, the first step toward improving the customer experience is to start surveying customers. Can you tell your CEO what percent of your customers are loyal and what percent are likely to defect?  And, better yet, what your strategy is to acquire and retain loyal customers? For best practices in measuring customer loyalty and all kinds of advice on finding the on demand solutions you most want to solve your top business issues, Download finding_the_apps_you_most_want.pdf

  0 Comments | Bookmark

• Best Practices in Selecting Applications in the AppExchange

  Jamie Grenney Jun 22, 2006

  With the AppExchange, Salesforce customers now have an easy way to address dozens of business needs through the world's first on-demand application-sharing service. The AppExchange directory gives Salesforce customers an easy way to find and install hundreds of on-demand applications designed to solve a wealth of common business challenges. With hundreds of pre-integrated, on-demand applications now available on the AppExchange, you may be wondering where to begin.  For some good advice, 

  Download best_practices_in_selecting_applications_in_the_appexchange.pdf

  2 Comments | Bookmark

• Improving Customer Self-Service: Analyst Research and On-Demand Webcast

  Jamie Grenney May 8, 2006

  Are you creating great customer experiences? According to research firm Yankee Group, customer service is one of the few differentiators that a company possesses. And, self-service is increasingly the customer's first choice for interacting with your business. Join us for a complimentary on-demand Webcast ‘Five Steps to Improving the Customer Self-Service Experience' including myself as host, Wendy Close, Salesforce.com CRM Success Expert; Yankee Group Director of Customer-Centric Strategies Sheryl Kingstone; and salesforce.com customer Steve Petrofsky, VP of Support Services at m-Qube. Learn 5 key steps for creating great customer self-service experiences from auditing your current service and support operations to developing a 360-degree, real-time, cross-channel view of the your customer. And, hear how m-Qube deployed Salesforce Service & Support to immediately scale its support center to handle more than 10,000 inquiries a week without adding any new staff. View the Five Steps to Improving the Customer Self-Service Experience Webcast now and get Latest On-Demand Software Eases Self-Service Experience, a Yankee Group research report by Sheryl Kingstone, compliments of salesforce.com.  The Webcast is about 50 minutes of easy listening packed with actionable advice. It is well worth the time for all those with a keen interest in improving customer self service. As always, comments and questions welcome. Have a CRM question? Askwendy@crmsuccess.com.

  4 Comments | Bookmark