10 Best Key Practices for Successful Salesforce Customization

Salesforce is the key to limitless possibilities. To fully utilize the potential of Salesforce, you must consider the distinct vision, demands, and goals of your company. Although most businesses eventually need configuration and customization to make the platform operate best for them, they usually don't want both options at once. Salesforce is widely recognized as the premier cloud-based CRM platform. Organizations typically seek Salesforce consulting services, including Salesforce customization.

According to a survey, Salesforce customization results in an average 75% boost in ROI for businesses.

This involves incorporating additional features or functionalities that are not readily available in the standard application environment. Additionally, as the default settings are not geared toward any specific business, organizations must customize the platform's features to address their requirements effectively. Fortunately, Salesforce allows for customization, so businesses can tailor the platform's functionality to suit their particular requirements.

Research reveals that personalization plays a critical role in consumer purchasing decisions, with 89% of consumers admitting that it influences their buying choices, and 45% stating that it has a significant impact. When customizing the platform, coding is required to bring your ideas to fruition, necessitating salesforce development and the expertise of a Salesforce customization specialist. Companies appreciate that each client has unique requirements and preferences. To meet these evolving needs, companies must prioritize customization.

Benefits of Salesforce Customization

Improved Productivity and Revenue

Salesforce customization helps in reducing the workload on internal teams, allowing companies to concentrate on critical areas for growth and development, thereby increasing productivity and revenue. However, for effective Salesforce customization, it is essential to work with a reliable Salesforce company.

CRM users report that it clearly affects client retention in 47% of cases

Collaborating with certified Salesforce consulting partners can also enhance efficiency, increase revenue, and ensure long-term success for your company. It is worth noting that Salesforce is specifically designed to enhance business performance, and customization enables the addition of new features that address various challenges.

Don't forget to check out: Achieving Your Business Goals through Salesforce Customization: A Step-by-Step Guide

Boost Business Analytics

Improving business analytics can help determine how to approach potential clients and retain existing ones. Unreliable reporting can lead to substantial profit losses. Salesforce customizations enable sales representatives to collect operational data, decode additional perspectives, and gain valuable business insights, thereby enhancing the efficiency of the analytics process.

Salesforce's annual revenue from the Marketing and Commerce industry is $3.13 billion.

Improved Decision Making

Salesforce customization can improve the decision-making process by consolidating all relevant information in one place. With access to the right information, companies can make more effective decisions and enhance the customer experience.

Integration with Systems

Customizing Salesforce to integrate with other systems can provide your team with access to all necessary data, as well as enhance overall business efficiency by using complementary tools. Additionally, seeking guidance from Salesforce consultation or customization partners can facilitate integration with third-party business applications such as Google Apps or HubSpot. Investing in Salesforce integration services has the potential to revolutionize your business indefinitely.

According to a report by Bluewolf, an IBM company 65% of businesses believe that customizing their Salesforce instance is essential to accomplishing their business goals.

Key Practices for Successful Salesforce Customization

1.   Planning

Prior to investing time and resources in modifying the system, it is imperative to identify all the requirements. Planning and preparation are essential to determine which features require customization and the necessary resources for successful implementation. Salesforce customization renders your project unique. However, any changes made may affect other Salesforce features. Therefore, it is crucial to ensure that Salesforce customization has no adverse repercussions.

According to a Gartner estimate, 90% of Salesforce users will have modified their Salesforce instance to some extent by 2025.

2.   Focus on Key Users

Customizing Salesforce with the aim of enhancing efficiency and user-friendliness for end-users, who are the employees regularly working with Salesforce, is one of the primary goals. As such, it is critical to seek their input on challenges, additional features, and other aspects that could support the implementation process. Successful customization hinges on ensuring that all needs are fully met. Continuous feedback and consultation can aid in efficiently customizing Salesforce.

3.   Thorough Research and Specific Goal setting

During this phase, it is crucial to have a comprehensive understanding of how Salesforce operates and its integration with other components used. Additionally, evaluating the necessary resources and expertise required for successful customization is necessary. To effectively customize Salesforce, it is advisable to engage a certified Salesforce customization expert. The consultant will help prioritize critical features, test the customization, and other factors that may impact the result.

4.   Connecting with Salesforce Experts

By utilizing Salesforce, organizations can address various business challenges and take advantage of its multitude of features. However, implementing Salesforce can be complex and requires expertise. Hiring a Salesforce consulting company can be a smart move in this regard. These Salesforce customization experts possess extensive knowledge of the platform and can provide valuable assistance in fulfilling business requirements. Therefore, it is recommended to seek the support of a professional Salesforce customization company to maximize the benefits of Salesforce.

5.   Sandbox Uses

Users can execute programs or access data in a secure testing environment called a sandbox without having any negative effects on the real application, system, or framework. It provides a safe space for testing and experimenting with new features or changes before implementing them in the live environment. This ensures that any issues or bugs are identified and resolved before they impact the end users. It is a best practice to work on the sandbox before deploying features to the production environment. There are three types of sandboxes: developer sandbox, partial sandbox, and full sandbox.

6.   Prevent Excessive Customization

Excessive customization can have a negative impact on the overall process. It can make it challenging to maintain, update, and enhance your Salesforce solution. Incorporating too many features can also hinder the software's functionality. Therefore, it is essential to prioritize the most significant features that offer the most benefits in the long run.

7.   Implement Naming Conventions

A naming convention refers to a systematic approach for naming files, which defines their contents and interconnections with other files. To enhance communication among developers and administrators, it is recommended to use clear, concise, and well-organized naming conventions. Adequate training may also be necessary to ensure that all members of the organization adhere to the established naming conventions.

Check out another amazing blog by Cynoteck here: Salesforce CPQ Consulting and Its Key Important Features

8.   Include Meaningful Details

Numerous features within Salesforce facilitate the creation of a description detailing the purpose of customization. It is essential to document each component thoroughly to aid other developers in comprehending the customization fully. Doing so will not only help prevent duplication but also reduce the likelihood of errors.

9.   Testing Regularly

Prior to deploying the customization from the sandbox environment, it is crucial to conduct thorough and frequent testing. The primary objective of testing is to verify that the new features perform efficiently across all environments. By doing so, valuable time can be saved, and the overall effectiveness of Salesforce can be improved.

10. Trained End Users

Upon completing the customization process, it is crucial for the company to provide adequate training to its employees to ensure effective utilization of the newly implemented features. Sandboxes can be utilized for training purposes without any impact on the data within the production environment. Ongoing support is essential to fully reap the benefits of the new features.

Having covered the best practices for customization, let us now delve into the realm of Salesforce configuration and explore how it differs from Salesforce customization.

Takeaways

Analysis of available information suggests that Salesforce customization is a critical aspect in today's business landscape. Organizations can gain a competitive edge by prioritizing Salesforce customization. It is worth noting that partnering with a certified Salesforce consulting services company is essential for achieving desired outcomes. Cynoteck can help you to provide expert guidance and support to help you understand the workings of Salesforce customization quickly and efficiently.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What Is Salesforce Configuration?

The process of integrating new or existing Salesforce capabilities so that your users may accomplish more within the environment is known as Salesforce configuration.

Q. Why Salesforce Customization is important? 

Streamlining business procedures and increasing team productivity can both be achieved by customizing your Salesforce platform. This could entail anything from integrating the platform with other tools and systems to automating routine processes.

Q. How long does it take to customize Salesforce?

An out-of-the-box setup of Salesforce could require up to three weeks to complete. And for a more complicated arrangement, it can take months. Salesforce's overall deployment timetable is influenced by a number of factors: The scale of your company.

Q. What technical expertise is required to customize Salesforce?

A Salesforce developer should be capable of working with Salesforce-related applications like Lightning App Builder, Force.com, and Heroku as well as programming languages including Apex, Visualforce, HTML, and JavaScript. It needs an object-oriented programming foundation.

Q. What are some common Salesforce customization requests?

Common Salesforce customization requests include designing custom workflows and processes, customizing reports and dashboards, implementing custom user interfaces, and creating custom objects and fields.