Successforce Blog
Vision, schmision - why should I care about "vision" and what does it all mean?
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- “Nothing is more important than making every user (customer) and employee successful.”
- “Build and maintain long-term relationships with valuable customers by creating personalized experiences across all touch-points and by anticipating customer needs and providing customized offers.”
- “Customer loyalty is our highest priority. Personalized service for all customers. Provide the communication channels the customer wants.”
- Take a look at this great whitepaper on how to get your vision in place.
- Brand your home page with your vision using customizable home page components. Message of the Day, FREE from the AppExchange allows you to display a message to all your salesforce.com users daily.
Please comment by:
- Sharing your CRM vision statements
- Sharing what your organization has done to execute your vision via the application
- Sending us your questions
- And subscribing to this blog via RSS!
7 Domains of CRM Implementation Success
Customer question: I want my CRM implementation to be a success. Are there common elements to a successful rollout?
We thought we'd start off this week's blog by introducing the foundation of our success methodology called the "7 Domains of Success". There is nothing fancy about them and certainly, there are no new concepts you haven't seen before. What the 7 Domains do provide however, is a structured methodology by which we have seen companies successfully achieve their CRM strategies and goals. From a wide variety of customer interactions, including business and IT leaders around the world, salesforce.com has distilled best practices, lessons learned, and collective tribal wisdom into the following 7 domains:
What makes the 7 Domains important to you as a CRM strategist or a salesforce.com administrator is the same as what sets apart the Software as a Service (SaaS) model from the traditional enterprise model. In a traditional software delivery environment, much of the budget and delivery calories are consumed setting up the infrastructure in order to support the development of the solution as well as the production environment. Delivery timeframes are lengthy and any changes to business requirements have major impacts to schedules and budgets. Often the end result is a solution not widely adopted which doesn't meet the business needs. On the other hand, Saas (and therefore Salesforce) lends itself well to the following characteristics:
- Iterative and rapid deployments
- Rapdily changing business requirements
- Rapidly changing business climates
- Need for predictable, scalable and reliable applications
- Need for early quick wins with easy to justify business cases
Salesforce implementations are characterized by iterative and rapid deployments focusing on meeting business needs and delivering high business value to end-users. The ability to make rapid changes and deploy quickly has shifted focus from infrastructure to CRM strategy. In the upcoming weeks, we will dive into each one of the 7 Domains and take a closer look at how to apply the rules of success to your specific industry and business requirements.
Admin Tip of the Week - Apply this success tip to your Salesforce:
- White paper on the "7 Domains of CRM Implementation Success"
- Don't forget to subscribe to this blog via RSS Feed!!
Two-minute Tip on tracking your business with free dashboards
Because you don't have to recreate the wheel.
This Two-minute Tip contains quick idea on how to get more out of your Salesforce. The tidbits are categorized by application area. For more resources, be sure to subscribe to the Successforce blog and keep up to date on the latest best practices!
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- Pre-configured and bundled with popular custom reports and dashboard components. This means less setup time for you - Get a good idea of what other customers are tracking and customize the reports with a few clicks - Then, take the plunge and complement those dashboards with one of 800+ apps on the AppExchange |
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How to get started: - Looking for the whole set of free dashboards? Check them out here - Some very popular ones include the Lead and Opportunity Management and Adoption dashboards - Take a look at some of the other recommended dashboards and follow some great starter tips - Look at some of the good training options for dashboards here |
How to find more resources: Successforce - your best practice resource: Search "Dashboards" Reporting and Analytics blog - Outer joins reporting? Popular feature requests? Get the up-to-the-minute new here Your local user group - Customers sharing knowledge with customers. See which one is closest to you |
Two-minute Tip on simplifying your business through Google Apps
Because collaboration has never been easier.
This Two-minute Tip contains quick idea on how to get more out of your Salesforce. The tidbits are categorized by application area. For more resources, be sure to subscribe to the Successforce blog and keep up to date on the latest best practices!
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- Integrate your favorite Google Apps right into Salesforce. That's right: your Gmail can now be easily linked into your Salesforce instance - Take a look at the host of great AppExchange apps that bring your Google Apps to the next level |
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How to get started: - Still wrapping your head around Google Apps? Start here - Get a good feel for each Google App and how it can work with your Salesforce - Step up your integration by taking a look at these great AppExchange apps |
How to find more resources: Successforce - your best practice resource: Search "Google Apps" Google Apps blog - It's so new, but already we've got a great blog to help keep you posted on the latest developments Your local user group - Customers sharing knowledge with customers. See which one is closest to you |
Two-minute Tip on advanced searching in Content
Because finding exactly what you want quickly feels great.
This Two-minute Tip contains quick idea on how to get more out of your Salesforce. The tidbits are categorized by application area. For more resources, be sure to subscribe to the Successforce blog and keep up to date on the latest best practices!
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- Search by specific file type to find that exact presentation or spreadsheet - Find the results that are most popular among your colleagues - Filter and customize your search results. Display the fields that matter to you - Subscribe to your favorite content and have updates come to you |
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How to get started: - Still rolling out Salesforce Content? You'll want to see this - Startup best practices are here as well |
How to find more resources: Successforce - your best practice resource: Search "Content" Content blog - Stay up to date with the latest and greatest on the Content blog Your local user group - Customers sharing knowledge with customers. See which one is closest to you |
Two-minute Tip on how to use Salesforce Ideas
Because good ideas can be used in many ways.
This Two-minute Tip contains quick idea on how to get more out of your Salesforce. The tidbits are categorized by application area. For more resources, be sure to subscribe to the Successforce blog and keep up to date on the latest best practices!
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- Use it as a tool to empower your communities' voices - Collect feedback on your CRM Rollout - Take your projects to the next level by incorporating Ideas to your Project Management - Like Salesforce and Dell, learn how to create internal communities to manage change. Listen to what your communities want |
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How to get started: - If you haven't already, take a look at the demo to see what you can do with this great free tool - Keep on top of new ideas by visiting the Ideas blog, managed by our very own Product Managers - Visit Salesforce's own IdeaExchange to see how we've used it with great success. While you're there, vote up your favorite feature requests |
How to find more resources: Successforce - your best practice resource: Search "Ideas" Your Ideas in Summer '08 - See how your voting is becoming a reality Your local user group - Customers sharing knowledge with customers. See which one is closest to you |
Two-minute Tip on Hands-free mobile administration
Because your mobile users can set themselves up quickly and easily.
This Two-minute Tip contains quick idea on how to get more out of your Salesforce. The tidbits are categorized by application area. For more resources, be sure to subscribe to the Successforce blog and keep up to date on the latest best practices!
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- Allows your mobile users self-service mobile setup. Minimizes your mobile admin time - Issues each mobile user a special default configuration and downloads the essentials for them automatically - Coming soon: the ability to sync your desktop's "Recent Items" to your mobile automatically |
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How to get started: - More information on using this feature is right here - Admins should take a look at this great resource - And for those looking for the full picture, there's formal Mobile Deployment training courses being offered here |
How to find more resources: Successforce - your best practice resource: Search "Mobile" Salesforce Mobile blog - Regularly updated with tips & Tricks Your local user group - Customers sharing knowledge with customers. See which one is closest to you |
Two-minute Tip on Next generation Partner Portal
Because you want a richer experience for your partners.
This Two-minute Tip contains quick idea on how to get more out of your Salesforce. The tidbits are categorized by application area. For more resources, be sure to subscribe to the Successforce blog and keep up to date on the latest best practices!
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- Support for S-controls, web tabs, and custom links for greater customization - Built on the Force.com platform, improved customization and personalization possibilities - Strengthen your Partners' voices through Ideas for the Partner Portal |
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How to get started: - If you were an existing customer and you'd like to make the change, be sure to check out the Migration Guide |
How to find more resources: Successforce - your best practice resource: Search "Partner Portal" PRM Best Practices - A regularly updated blog with Partner Portal tips & Tricks Your local user group - Customers sharing knowledge with customers. See which one is closest to you |
Two-minute Tip on Case Escalation Rules
This Two-minute Tip contains quick idea on how to get more out of your Salesforce. The tidbits are categorized by application area. For more resources, be sure to subscribe to the Successforce blog and keep up to date on the latest best practices!
Because no client issue should go unresolved.
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- Automatically notify users and managers to ensure cases are resolved within your service levels - Whether your Support is 24/7 or 9-5, customize your business hours to cater to your needs - Keep a close eye on the overall health of your customer problems with the Case Escalation Monitor |
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How to get started:
- Help & Training is your best bet to get started here. Search "Setting up escalation rules". There are a couple of quick links to the application on this page - Read all about automation and the power of workflow. The structure of an escalation rule is very similar to workflow - Let your clients help themselves with a Self-service portal. Take it to the next level by opening up access to custom tabs with the Customer portal |
How to find more resources: Successforce - your best practice resource: Search "escalation rules" Daily Best Practice Webinars - Daily, CSM hosted, and live! Check out Support Thursdays Your local user group - Customers sharing knowledge with customers. See which one is closest to you |
Two-Minute Tip on running Campaigns
Because you want to know where to invest your marketing dollars.
This Two-minute Tip contains quick idea on how to get more out of your Salesforce. The tidbits are categorized by application area. For more resources, be sure to subscribe to the Successforce blog and keep up to date on the latest best practices!
- Improve your understanding of marketing effectiveness: ROI - Run diverse mixes of online and offline campaigns in a single system: trade shows, email blasts, telemarketing, and Google Adwords - Automate and personalize responses to customer inquiries through auto-response email |
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How to get started: - Read the basics about campaign management right here. Be sure to check out the Dreamforce presentations for New and Advanced Marketing Executives to see how others have done it - Branch into email marketing and Google Adwords - And always remember to follow best practices |
How to find more resources: Successforce - your best practice resource: Search "Campaigns" Daily Best Practice Webinars - Daily, CSM hosted, and live! Check out Marketing Tuesdays Your local user group - Customers sharing knowledge with customers. See which one is closest to you Marketing blog - Stay on top of the latest marketing updates with this great resource |
Two-Minute Tip on Web to Lead
Because your website can work hard too.
This Two-minute Tip contains quick idea on how to get more out of your Salesforce. The tidbits are categorized by application area. For more resources, be sure to subscribe to the Successforce blog and keep up to date on the latest best practices!
- Reduce manual entry of leads by capturing leads directly into Salesforce from your website - Generate up to 500 leads a day - If you have campaigns, you can tie your web leads to your marketing efforts. Get accurate ROI tracking |
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How to get started: - Simply create a Web-to-lead form and paste the HTML into your site. Read more - Check out a two minute training video here (requires Flash to view) - Add data validation or pass hidden values to ensure data quality or pass hidden values to automate tracking and get the most out of your data |
How to find more resources: Successforce - your best practice resource: Search "Web-to-lead" Daily Best Practice Webinars - Daily, CSM hosted, and live! Check out Marketing Tuesdays and Sales Wednesdays Your local user group - Customers sharing knowledge with customers. See which one is closest to you Marketing blog - Stay up to date on the latest marketing developments here |
