What is a Salesforce Partner and Why Does Your Team Need It

With 150,000 customers and an annual revenue of 21.25 billion, Salesforce is clearly doing something right. As a wildly successful customer relationship management (CRM) platform, you might think that Salesforce wouldn’t need support when helping its customers make the most of its system. You would be wrong. A Salesforce partner can be a critical asset to any business wanting to maximize all the features Salesforce can offer.   

What Is a Salesforce Partner? 

A Salesforce partner is a Salesforce-authorized company that works with businesses to help them take full advantage of all that Salesforce offers. Salesforce partners are fully credentialed and certified by Salesforce to empower companies with solutions that can help drive them forward. Because Salesforce provides so many innovative tools, it requires different types of partners to cover the breadth of its services: 

• Independent Software Vendors (ISVs): Salesforce ISVs develop applications for the AppExchange to enhance users’ experience and productivity within the platform. These apps are fully-integrated optional add-ons that can help customize your Salesforce interface. 
• Consulting and Integration Partners:  When your business needs a Salesforce consulting partner with technical expertise to get your new operating systems up and running, these are the experts to call. They can migrate data from previous platforms into Salesforce or help you configure an entirely new platform to fit your business’s needs.  
• Cloud Resellers: Cloud resellers deliver highly specialized services to local markets. They help Salesforce expand its reach by introducing new markets to the software. Cloud resellers work closely with each client to provide support throughout their entire Salesforce experience.    

5 Reasons Your Team Needs a Salesforce Consulting Partner 

Purchasing a new CRM can be exciting, but it can also be intimidating. Going in blind, without the guidance of a qualified user, can lead to frustration and stress. Thankfully, you don’t have to learn in a trial-by-fire environment when you work with a knowledgeable Salesforce consulting partner. 

You Want To Leverage Their Extensive Experience 

When a business chooses to dive into Salesforce without the help of an experienced professional, there are several common pitfalls that can hinder the process: 

• User adoption hurdles: It’s unfortunate but true that people resist change. Even when the old system has clunky, inefficient processes spread across multiple platforms, users tend to feel comfortable in their chaos and can get frustrated when asked to learn something new. Having an experienced user show them how Salesforce can increase efficiency is an efficient way to excite them and encourage them to learn how to maximize all the platform can do. 

• Lack of support: Salesforce provides free support, but their agents typically offer potential solutions rather than specific ones; this can result in an unnecessarily long support session (or multiple support sessions) that only partially solves the initial problem. A professional who works closely with you can help you identify issues before they occur and give personalized, accurate answers to your questions.  
• Updates: With everything a business needs to do, checking for system updates tends to fall by the wayside. Failing to update your system promptly and properly can result in slow performance and system errors. You could also be missing out on some helpful new features and bug fixes. When you have an experienced partner monitoring for updates, your system will continue to run smoothly and with the latest improvements. 

You Require Custom Solutions and Automation 

 When it comes to CRM, a one-size-fits-all approach will rarely get a business ahead of the competition. A platform may work just fine right out of the box, but it can only help get you so far without careful goals analysis and customization. Without tailoring a CRM like Salesforce to meet your goals, your team may lose sight of your business’s core values, and progress will stall. Having the support you need to get your processes automated while keeping your objectives at the forefront will help your team stay focused and productive.    

You Want To Streamline the Implementation Process 

Implementing a new system can be a headache. When things go wrong, your business can lose a significant amount of time and money before it gets back on track. Before initiating implementation, it is crucial to spend a little time in the planning stages to evaluate your desired outcomes. Here are some questions you need to address: 

• What is your budget?  
• Which pain points are the most detrimental?  
• What are your criteria for success?   
• Are your data and reporting accurate? 

• Do your employees have the tools and support they need? 
• Are your customer interactions successful? Why or why not? 

With the help of a Salesforce partner, you can develop a plan for the ideal implementation that considers these points and more.  

You Have a Hefty Data or Software Migration 

Accurate data is the backbone of any CRM. If your business has bad or incomplete data, virtually none of your departments can execute their work effectively. Some dangers of a messy database include the following: 

• Missed opportunities due to incorrect contact information for leads 
• Lost customers because your communications went to the wrong audience 
• Loss of revenue when conversion rates drop due to inaccurate information 
• Customer frustration when the same email is sent to the same person multiple times due to duplicate records 
• Inaccurate internal reporting that could skew projections and get you off track 

One of the most significant Salesforce partner benefits is that they can manage a large data migration with precision by assisting with data mapping, duplicate records management, updating contact information, and everything in between. This service is vital to your data health.   

You Want To Improve User Experience and Customer Success 

A streamlined CRM can help you reach your target audience and understand their wants, needs, patterns, and habits. Without this information, you are wasting your time and money on misguided customer interactions. A Salesforce consulting partner can help you with this by enhancing your users’ experience with the system. By routinely reviewing your processes and adjusting them for growth and evolution within your industry, a Salesforce partner can help you reach your customers on a more personal level.  

Are You Ready To Transform Your CRM? 

You’ve invested a lot in Salesforce and deserve an experienced partner to help you get the most out of it. By customizing the platform, automating your processes, streamlining your implementation, managing your data, and improving experiences for users and customers, your Salesforce partner can help your business reach its goals.  

Visit Astreca today to see how their team can work with you to optimize Salesforce for your business.

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