In today’s fast-paced business environment, Salesforce has become a cornerstone for companies looking to enhance their customer relationship management and overall growth. However, many organisations struggle to fully leverage their Salesforce investment, often due to a lack of strategic planning and alignment with business objectives. Drawing on the insights provided by Red Argyle, this guide, together with our budget checklist, aims to help you navigate the complexities of budgeting for Salesforce, ensuring that your investment delivers the maximum possible value.
Maximising Your Current Salesforce Setup
Before you dive into new features or expansions, it’s essential to ensure your existing Salesforce environment is well-maintained and fully optimised. Start by evaluating any upcoming changes within your organisation that might impact your current setup. For instance, if you’re planning a significant expansion or a shift in strategy, your Salesforce configuration should adapt accordingly.
Regularly reviewing your existing strategies to identify any outdated fields, objects, or automation that need to be retired is crucial. This ensures your Salesforce environment remains efficient and uncluttered. Addressing any existing bugs or open issues should also be a priority, and establishing a regular maintenance schedule can help keep your system running smoothly.
Staying updated with new Salesforce releases is another critical aspect of maintaining an optimised environment. Compliance with new requirements, such as Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), ensures your data remains secure. Evaluate your support needs and decide whether you need more or less assistance from your Salesforce partner. Planning for any team changes, such as new hires or departures, is also essential to maintain continuity and expertise within your team. Finally, keep an eye on any changes in your provider’s support plans or pricing to avoid unexpected costs.
Managing Salesforce Licencing Efficiently
Effectively managing your Salesforce licencing fees is key to optimising your investment. While these fees might seem fixed, several factors can influence changes:
- User Adjustments: Team changes such as hiring, merging, restructuring, or unused seats can impact your licencing needs. Regularly reviewing your user licences ensures you’re not paying for more than you need.
- Limit Management: Be aware of API, data, and file storage limits. Exceeding these limits can lead to additional costs or necessary upgrades, so it’s important to monitor your usage and plan accordingly.
- New Salesforce Products: Introducing new Salesforce products can affect your limits and overall costs. Planning for these changes helps you manage your budget effectively.
- Product Swaps: Don’t let unused products remain dormant. If you’re not using something but are stuck in a multi-year licencing agreement, talk to your Account Executive about swapping for another product you might actually be able to use.
Aligning Salesforce with New Business Strategies
When launching new business initiatives, it’s essential to ensure your Salesforce setup aligns and supports these changes effectively. Salesforce continually evolves, offering new features and capabilities that can drive your business forward.
Harnessing New Features and Innovations
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is one of the most powerful tools available today, offering capabilities such as predictive analytics, conversational efficiency and content generation. Evaluating how AI can benefit your business today and in the future is a strategic move. AI can transform the way you interact with your customers, streamline operations and generate valuable insights from your data.
When integrating AI, address potential security and compliance issues to safeguard your data. Salesforce offers various tools and features to help you manage these risks effectively. Additionally, envision future use cases for AI within your organisation. For example, AI virtual assistants can automate routine tasks, freeing up your team to focus on more strategic activities. Advanced data analysis can provide deeper insights into customer behaviour, helping you tailor your services and marketing efforts more effectively.
Phasing Out Obsolete Features
To make way for new initiatives, it’s important to identify and retire any features that have become outdated. Regularly reviewing your Salesforce setup and decommissioning outdated elements keeps your system agile and ready to support new business initiatives.
Embracing a User-Centric Approach
Focusing on user needs is vital for successful Salesforce implementation. Prioritise user experience in your Salesforce setup to enhance adoption and satisfaction. A user-first approach means starting with the users’ needs and then configuring Salesforce to facilitate the best and most straightforward use. This approach drives higher user adoption rates, increases satisfaction, and ultimately leads to more efficient processes.
Leveraging your Salesforce partner’s expertise in user experience (UX) can significantly improve system functionality and user engagement. By enhancing the usability of your Salesforce setup, you can ensure that your team gets the most value from the platform.
Strategically Aligning Your Organisation
To effectively leverage your Salesforce budget, it’s crucial to align your organisational goals and create a clear roadmap. Start by defining your yearly goals and understanding your business and departmental priorities. This helps you build a comprehensive roadmap that guides your Salesforce initiatives throughout the year.
Creating and prioritising a backlog of tasks ensures that the most valuable work is completed first, aligning with your return on investment. Not all work brings the same value, so prioritising tasks helps you focus on what will have the greatest impact.
Seeking Expert Assistance
Salesforce investments can be complex, but there are several ways to get the help you need:
Collaborate with Your Salesforce Account Executive (AE)
Your Salesforce AE is a valuable resource. Share your roadmap with them and involve them in planning to get the most out of your budget. Regular discussions with your AE can provide insights into new Salesforce offerings and potential use cases for your business.
Key topics to discuss with your AE include:
- Licence Adjustments: Determine if you need to add or remove licences during renewal.
- New Salesforce Products: Stay informed about new products and how they can benefit your business.
- Data Cloud Use Cases: Evaluate potential uses for Data Cloud in your business.
- AI Integration: Plan for AI’s role in your future operations.
Engage with Salesforce Partners
Salesforce partners bring extensive experience and insights. They can help you prioritise tasks, manage costs, and make informed decisions about your budget. Sharing your budget and goals with a reputable partner like SalesFix ensures you get the most out of your investment.
Invest in a Discovery Session or Workshop
A Discovery Session is a strategic consulting session designed to align your business goals with your Salesforce roadmap. At SalesFix, we offer BIG (Business Innovation Goals) workshops to help you maximise your Salesforce investment. These sessions provide a clear plan for leveraging Salesforce effectively and ensure you stay ahead of the curve.
Budget Checklist for Salesforce
To help you create a comprehensive budget for your Salesforce setup, we’ve created a budget checklist to cover all aspects of your investment and help you plan for maximum value.
By following this guide and focusing on strategic planning, regular maintenance, and leveraging expert support, your organisation can unlock the full potential of Salesforce, driving efficiency and growth. With the right approach, Salesforce can transform your business operations, enhance customer relationships, and propel your organisation to new heights.
For personalised assistance and to ensure your Salesforce budget is appropriately allocated, connect with us at SalesFix. Our team of experts is here to support you every step of the way, from strategic planning to implementation and beyond. Contact us today to get started and see how we can empower your organisation to thrive.
Original source: Thank you to Red Argyle in allowing us to source their content.
