{"id":536,"date":"2022-08-16T14:16:23","date_gmt":"2022-08-16T14:16:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rafter.one\/?p=536"},"modified":"2025-06-26T10:37:04","modified_gmt":"2025-06-26T10:37:04","slug":"strategies-for-maximizing-your-salesforce-investment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.acxiom.com\/salesforce\/strategies-for-maximizing-your-salesforce-investment\/","title":{"rendered":"Strategies for Maximizing your Salesforce Investment"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Lately, I have been hearing a lot of buzz around the importance of maximizing your Salesforce investment. This is a long-overdue buzz. Let\u2019s be real \u2013 Salesforce isn\u2019t the low-cost option and I truly do believe you get what you pay for. However, it\u2019s like buying a Tesla. The value isn\u2019t just in the car \u201ctoday,\u201d the value is in every update. Maybe today you have to drive yourself to the local grocery store, but with the next update your Tesla can drive you, and while you sit in the car, it can also order and pick up your groceries, and cook your dinner! <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, how has the Salesforce landscape changed? Back in the day when I was a Salesforce Admin, I was \u201cenough.\u201d I was a solo administrator for a medium-sized company and was able to keep up with all the requests that come along with a Sales Cloud implementation. Knowing what I know today, I can confidently say that even as we grew as a team and an organization, there was no way we could keep up with, nor specialize in, all that the Salesforce platform has to offer.  <\/span>For example, Salesforce has been announcing that it’s time to start moving all of your process builders and workflows to Lightning Flow, as they will end of life-ing those automation tools!  There was no way I could have run the day-to-day administration of the platform and undertaken a huge project like that.  <\/span>Over the next few months, keep an eye out for more information on how we can help you with your migration!<\/span><\/i> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maximize Your Salesforce Investment <\/span><\/b> <\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To get the most out of your Salesforce implementation, we are asking our customers to look beyond the implementation and consider their strategy for success. Success is adoption. Success is continuous improvement and feedback loops. Success is forward-thinking. You will struggle to be successful if you think that \u201cwinning\u201d is a one-and-done implementation. Don\u2019t get me wrong, your implementation is important \u2013 it\u2019s your foundation, your ticket \u201cin.\u201d However, an investment in a robust and ever-changing technology will always need nurturing. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With all this being said, here\u2019s our recipe for success when maximizing the value of your Salesforce investment: <\/span> <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Take Advantage of Salesforce\u2019s Multi-cloud Offerings <\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I know this is old news and Salesforce has been multi-cloud since the days of sales vs. service. However, there are SO MANY more clouds, and within those clouds, there are additional specialized products. If you have read any of my other blogs, I am big on layers, and Salesforce is all about layers. But it\u2019s a big job for one administrator to be fluent in the setup and best practices of all the clouds and products available today. Today, <\/span>almost 40% of Salesforce customers are multi-cloud and\/or multi-product<\/span><\/a>. Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Manufacturing Cloud, Experience Cloud, Field Service, CPQ, Billing, Digital Engagement, etc. It\u2019s important to consider what products will add value to your organization. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. View Success as Ongoing <\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

So, you have gone live with your initial implementation, your users are crawling out of their \u201cnew process\u201d anxieties, and things are starting to run smoothly. Guess what? This is a great start, but you aren\u2019t done, yet (at least, you shouldn\u2019t be). Yes, you can take a breath and bask in your successful rollout, but you should also start planning for your enhancement journey. <\/span>43% of customers aren\u2019t even taking advantage of even HALF of the available functionality<\/span><\/a> within their original investment. This is such a loss! So you should be considering the following: How are you building your roadmap? What is your strategy for continuous improvement and success? What additional Salesforce (or complementary) technologies can bring value? What features do you have access to right now that you aren\u2019t utilizing? <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Adoption is King  <\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Did you know that 32% of CRM customers struggle to achieve a 75% adoption rate? Yikes! I\u2019ll state the obvious: if your users aren\u2019t\u2026you know, using what you have rolled out, you have a big problem. Adoption is extremely important. Low adoption can hurt productivity, decrease data accuracy, waste money, and overall, just prevents you from maximizing your investment! Have you considered your plan to ensure and improve upon adoption? How are you getting feedback from your users? How are you driving people to utilize the functionality? How are you determining where there are gaps that are affecting usage? Who will be keeping an eye on the metrics that represent adoption? Adoption is very important overall, so it\u2019s vital to have a plan. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Planning is Winning <\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As you can see from 1-3, the name of the game is ABP\u2026 Always. Be. Planning. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n