Salesforce Customer 360
More than just a CRM
For over two decades, Salesforce has gained a reputation for being one of the most dynamic and reliable CRM systems on the market. While many may know the standard functionalities of this platform, some may wonder how it can actually deliver exceptional customer experiences. This is where Salesforce Customer 360 comes in.
A Glimpse into the History of Salesforce
Salesforce was first conceived in 1999 as a CRM SaaS. The idea was to eliminate the need to download software and interface over the internet, which back in 1999, was a difficult concept to help users understand. This was just the beginning for Salesforce. Since their founding, they have done an excellent job keeping up with various technology trends, and expanding their platform beyond a CRM system.
At the forefront, Salesforce is and always will be a CRM platform. However, there is ultimately more to the integrations that drive this tool. Salesforce serves to be a cornerstone in your digital transformation journey. The first step of the digital transformation journey is getting a complete view of your customer. As the author and customer experience expert Annette Franz puts it,
“You can’t transform something you don’t understand. If you don’t know and understand what the current state of the customer experience is, how can you possibly design the desired future state?”
Salesforce Customer 360 - Image courtesy of Salesforce
Salesforce Customer 360 is not a single product; it is the entire portfolio of technology and services that uses AI, Data and CRM together to help companies to connect with customers.
The 360-degree view of the customer allows companies to adopt a customer centric strategy that aligns the development, delivery of its products, and services with the current and future needs of their customers in mind.
How Does Salesforce Customer 360 Work?
There are many use cases demonstrating how Customer 360 works, and the characteristics that help make Salesforce more than just a CRM system. With the number of offerings Salesforce has, providing use cases or details for everything would make this article a bit long-winded.
Here are a few general solutions that make Salesforce Customer 360 a well-rounded platform:
Salesforce is a Platform-as-a-Service which means developers, or even non-developers, can create custom applications on top of the Salesforce framework. This is a big deal because it allows developers to focus on business logic without worrying about other complexities associated with development.
In fact, Salesforce development partners have built ERP systems on the Salesforce platform itself. These are available on the Salesforce AppExchange and can easily be managed with the Salesforce Customer 360 platform.
The Data & Analytics Component of Customer 360 – Tableau
Data is the fuel that runs organizations and systems. Salesforce has created an easy way to get the most out of the data stored in Customer 360, using the business intelligence platform, Tableau. Tableau can take any kind of data from almost any system and turn it into actionable insights with the help of intuitive visualizations.
Salesforce also offers a native analytics product called CRM Analytics which allows visual and predictive insights directly in the Salesforce user interface, including Account and Opportunity pages. Einstein Discovery feature provides AI-enabled insights and decision-making capabilities.
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Salesforce as a Source of Truth
If Salesforce is more than just a CRM, its position as a system of record in your organization becomes more valuable. With great responsibilities, comes great power! And when you have more power, you need more integrations! External platforms outside the bounds of Customer 360 will in fact empower the model, and you may have legacy systems that you can’t yet rip and replace.
Here are a few ways to extend Customer 360 outside of the Salesforce family:
A Bright Future for Salesforce
Salesforce has been leading technology trends since their founding in 1999, and they plan to continue that pace for years to come. For companies starting their digital transformation journey, Salesforce provides a way to stay ahead of technology trends by providing the best solution possible for the user experience.
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Optimizing your enterprise systems and business processes is a critical step to increasing productivity and profitability. Salesforce offers solutions to create an efficient, streamline lead to cash process with features to support each sub-process.
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