As your business grows, it will naturally become difficult to track every one of your prospects down your sales funnel. If you run an online store, it’s simple to create ads and build online awareness to attract people who will buy from you and leave your website.
On the other hand, if you’re selling services and products to B2B leads, you’ll need to nurture them into becoming paying customers. Of course, using manual spreadsheets isn’t ideal if you plan on reaching hundreds and even thousands of customers.
This is where using Salesforce comes in. Salesforce is one of the most popular customer relationship management (CRM) platforms available. It even allows users to customize the platform exactly to their needs.
If you’re interested in learning more about how custom Salesforce development works, then you’ve come to the right place. This guide will teach you all you need to know about how you can customize your Salesforce platform to your exact needs.
What is Salesforce Configuration?
Salesforce configuring is basically any system or custom tweaks you can make inside the native CRM system. Custom Salesforce configuration entails using specific rules and formulas to achieve a custom outcome.
Developers can access Salesforce to create user-defined values that can allow a desired feature to function. Depending on the type of custom feature you’re looking to add, you can either do this type of work on your own or hire a qualified developer for the job.
In most cases, it’s best to hire a developer to ensure that your Salesforce platform can be adapted to the way you do business. Also, hiring a developer can help you:
- Change page layouts
- Customize the user interface (UI)
- Create additional reports
- Alter fields
- Change workflows
What is Salesforce Customization?
Unlike configuration, Salesforce customization refers to the coding and custom development to add significant upgrades to the entire platform. These upgrades can be integrated to the platform to help scale your marketing operations.
Salesforce customization is necessary when the native platform cannot perform the features you need. Thus, customization can help enhance the functionality of your entire platform.
Salesforce customization is usually conducted by enterprises that perform unique operations. Examples of customization include:
- Third-party integrations
- Apex triggers and classes
- Visual force emails
Salesforce Configuration: 6 Best Practices
Salesforce configuration helps organizations use their CRM platform in a suitable way. To achieve the best outcome when configuring or customizing your Salesforce platform, here are some essential practices to follow.
1. Perform Field Utilization Reports
When conducting a Salesforce configuration, you can discover if pollution is being caused by any news sources. To tackle this issue, you can perform regular field utilization reports.
This will help you remove any fields that are left consistently blank most of the time. It’s important to remember to never remove these fields from the CRM, however.
2. Deactivate Inactive Users
One of the most frustrating mistakes businesses make is granting random people access to their Salesforce platforms. You should remove all users that don’t need access to your Salesforce platform.
If an employee has left your company, make sure that their account is immediately deactivated. Doing so can help improve the efficiency and collaboration of your platform.
3. Monitor All Errors
You should always monitor configuration errors that can occur over time. To avoid any last-minute bugs, you should debug all logs to stay on the safe side. For example, when integrating a third-party application, take a look at the error logs to notice any patterns before they become problematic.
If an issue arises, it’s best to hire a developer to work out the bugs before your platform’s functionality suffers.
4. Inspect the Login History Table
Login errors aren’t just frustrating, but they are also damaging to the entire CRM platform. When multiple login errors pile up, it can cause nagging security issues that can lock out vital members of your team from collaborating and interacting with leads and customers.
Luckily, with Salesforce configuration, you can pinpoint any user lockouts. Make sure to avoid any repeated login errors to prevent crippling security issues in the future.
5. Perform an APEX Test
Performing APEX tests are also beneficial in uncovering new errors that may have occurred during altered validation triggers and rules, as well as a previous data cleanup.
6. Update your Setup Audit Trail
A vital aspect of Salesforce configuration is checking for deletions, additions, and changes made recently on your platform. Finally, keep an organization note of all changes made on your platform.
Configuring your Salesforce platform is usually a straightforward process. If you have the time and effort, you can configure your own platform to accomplish any desired function.
However, Salesforce customization is not as simple. It may be in your best interest to hire a developer to lead the customization campaign for your business.
Should You Hire a Salesforce Development Expert?
If you plan on using Salesforce “straight out of the box”, then there’s no need to hire a developer to customize your platform. If the platform meets all of your needs, you can move forward with the native product.
Many businesses want to use Salesforce but the platform lacks certain integrations and functions that will streamline their marketing operations. In this case, it’s best to hire a developer that can customize the platform exactly the way you want it.
When searching for a developer, be sure to:
- Check their online reviews to make sure they provide high-quality work.
- Ask for a portfolio that shows the type of work they’ve completed in recent months.
- Gain a clear understanding of their pricing model and deliverables so you can move forward without a hitch.
Need Help Customizing Salesforce?
Do you need to customize Salesforce to accommodate your business? Are you looking for qualified custom Salesforce developers? If so, then you’ve come to the right place. At Dev.co, we specialize in creating unique Salesforce customizables for all kinds of companies.
To learn more about how we can help, contact us today to speak to a member of our team.
Connect with Ryan on Linkedin.
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