CRM News Feed

Many customers have asked for a chronological view of all case interactions.  It’s a very obvious need for quickly understanding how responsive you are being to a particular customer case.    We have recently released an AppExchange component that does just this and more:

This component allows you to immediately see a chronological view of all activities related to the case, these activities include Tasks, Events, Comments, Emails and field history.

In addition to allowing you to see this helpful information for your own use, you can send an email containing all the ‘Public’ activity to your customer, so they are kept informed on your efforts to resolve their case.  This is a great way to increase customer satisfaction and avoid those follow up calls from your customers.  This component is delivered via custom S-Controls and the AJAX toolkit.   If you are feeling creative you could easily make this work for Opportunities or Leads, any volunteers?  Why not post your own Appexchange component?

Feedback is welcome.  Thanks.

Based on our June 2006 customer relationship survey*, we estimate 21 percent of you are interested in additional data cleansing and data quality services however, we suspect many of you may not know that one of the best ways to improve the quality of your data is to leverage the data enrichment services of providers like OneSource.  The best CRM system is only as good as the data that goes into it. Too often, low-quality contact and prospect data keep companies from achieving the sales productivity gains that CRM can help deliver. Join salesforce.com July 14^th for a live Webinar and learn firsthand how you can empower your sales force with on-demand Account Intelligence. You’ll hear a customer share their story of how his team has increased productivity and call success rates with better account intelligence, you’ll see a live demonstration, and get all your questions answered in live Q&A. Give your sales organization the information they need for better prospecting, deeper account penetration, and increased close rates. Start by registering for this free event now: Pump Up Your Prospecting with Account Intelligence.

* June 2006 salesforce.com Customer Relationship survey conducted by independent 3rd party CustomerSat Inc., 963 respondents, randomly selected.

Have a CRM question? AskWendy@crmsuccess.com.

Based on our June 2006 customer relationship survey*, we estimate 21 percent of you are interested in additional data cleansing and data quality services however, we suspect many of you may not know that one of the best ways to improve the quality of your data is to leverage the data enrichment services of providers like OneSource.  The best CRM system is only as good as the data that goes into it. Too often, low-quality contact and prospect data keep companies from achieving the sales productivity gains that CRM can help deliver. Join salesforce.com July 14^th for a live Webinar and learn firsthand how you can empower your sales force with on-demand Account Intelligence. You’ll hear a customer share their story of how his team has increased productivity and call success rates with better account intelligence, you’ll see a live demonstration, and get all your questions answered in live Q&A. Give your sales organization the information they need for better prospecting, deeper account penetration, and increased close rates. Start by registering for this free event now: Pump Up Your Prospecting with Account Intelligence.

* June 2006 salesforce.com Customer Relationship survey conducted by independent 3rd party CustomerSat Inc., 963 respondents, randomly selected.

Have a CRM question? AskWendy@crmsuccess.com.

Today we published a new process map for Salesforce Service and Support.

The map illustrates how support requests flow through the app from capture through to case resolution.

This is a brand new document, so let us know what you think by adding comments below.

Today we published a new process map for Salesforce Service and Support.

The map illustrates how support requests flow through the app from capture through to case resolution.

This is a brand new document, so let us know what you think by adding comments below.

As you’ve probably noticed by now, we enjoy talking about our features and getting the word out about our latest innovations. One of the innovations that I’m particularly fond of is the Salesforce Sandbox. Once our customers start using it, they tell us they can’t imagine living without it.

What I’ve found interesting is the sheer number of creative ways that our customers have been utilizing it. Some exciting examples are:

• Shortening their integration and CRM deployment times
• Protecting their live operating environments during testing
• Experimenting with new AppExchange applications – exploring new areas of functionality
• Training new users in a safe environment that exactly mimics their production deployment
• Trying out extensive customizations without any fear of making a mistake that would impact productivity of their end users
• And many others…

But what we’re particularly excited to see is when the press and analysts talk to our customers and validate what we’ve been saying. The folks over at Nucleus Research did just that and have recently written an article on the benefits of Salesforce Sandbox.

If you’re curious about what they found after speaking with customers and doing their own research, feel free to download the article.

As you’ve probably noticed by now, we enjoy talking about our features and getting the word out about our latest innovations. One of the innovations that I’m particularly fond of is the Salesforce Sandbox. Once our customers start using it, they tell us they can’t imagine living without it.

What I’ve found interesting is the sheer number of creative ways that our customers have been utilizing it. Some exciting examples are:

• Shortening their integration and CRM deployment times
• Protecting their live operating environments during testing
• Experimenting with new AppExchange applications – exploring new areas of functionality
• Training new users in a safe environment that exactly mimics their production deployment
• Trying out extensive customizations without any fear of making a mistake that would impact productivity of their end users
• And many others…

But what we’re particularly excited to see is when the press and analysts talk to our customers and validate what we’ve been saying. The folks over at Nucleus Research did just that and have recently written an article on the benefits of Salesforce Sandbox.

If you’re curious about what they found after speaking with customers and doing their own research, feel free to download the article.

Mail Merge can be used to retrieve data (e.g., opportunity line items) from Salesforce Offline Edition. The data can then be viewed and edited in Microsoft Word (or compatible program). More information about using Mail Merge with Offline Edition is available at:

http://salesforce.sitestream.com/assets/exe/OfflineEdition/OfflineMailMerge/

Mail Merge can be used to retrieve data (e.g., opportunity line items) from Salesforce Offline Edition. The data can then be viewed and edited in Microsoft Word (or compatible program). More information about using Mail Merge with Offline Edition is available at:

http://salesforce.sitestream.com/assets/exe/OfflineEdition/OfflineMailMerge/

This week we released Partnerforce. Companies for the first time can realize the benefits of CRM and PRM integrated and on demand. Software as a service has moved to the next stage of collaboration with our new offering. Partner Relationship Management (PRM) reduces channel conflict and optimizes channel coverage with deal registration and lead assignment programs. Now we can bring together direct sales activities and indirect sales activities in one application. For the first time consolidated dashboards can happen without the need to email spreadsheets back and forth. To view a demonstration of Partnerforce click here.

This week we released Partnerforce. Companies for the first time can realize the benefits of CRM and PRM integrated and on demand. Software as a service has moved to the next stage of collaboration with our new offering. Partner Relationship Management (PRM) reduces channel conflict and optimizes channel coverage with deal registration and lead assignment programs. Now we can bring together direct sales activities and indirect sales activities in one application. For the first time consolidated dashboards can happen without the need to email spreadsheets back and forth. To view a demonstration of Partnerforce click here.

I’d like to share a brief plug for the new Channel Executive track set for this coming Dreamforce. Click here to review registration information.  Some of the PRM centric tracks include:

1. Growth Strategies for Partner Recruitment and On-Boarding
2. Salesforce PRM, Partner Edition Roadmap
3. Hands On with the AppExchange for Channel Executives
4. Best Practices for PRM
5. Managing Channel Marketing Expenditures & Partner Incentives
6. Lead Distribution Programs to Optimize Channel Revenue
7. Developing a Multi-faceted, Global Portal Strategy
8. Channel Account Planning Strategies: Customer Panel
9. Implementation Best Practices for Partner Programs
10. Leveraging Deal Registration to Drive Channel Loyalty Programs

I’d like to share a brief plug for the new Channel Executive track set for this coming Dreamforce. Click here to review registration information.  Some of the PRM centric tracks include:

1. Growth Strategies for Partner Recruitment and On-Boarding
2. Salesforce PRM, Partner Edition Roadmap
3. Hands On with the AppExchange for Channel Executives
4. Best Practices for PRM
5. Managing Channel Marketing Expenditures & Partner Incentives
6. Lead Distribution Programs to Optimize Channel Revenue
7. Developing a Multi-faceted, Global Portal Strategy
8. Channel Account Planning Strategies: Customer Panel
9. Implementation Best Practices for Partner Programs
10. Leveraging Deal Registration to Drive Channel Loyalty Programs

For the second quarter in a row, customer satisfaction surveys remained the number one on-demand application of most interest to our customers. It’s not surprising as most often, the first step toward improving the customer experience is to start surveying customers. Can you tell your CEO what percent of your customers are loyal and what percent are likely to defect?  And, better yet, what your strategy is to acquire and retain loyal customers? For best practices in measuring customer loyalty and all kinds of advice on finding the on demand solutions you most want to solve your top business issues, Download finding_the_apps_you_most_want.pdf

For the second quarter in a row, customer satisfaction surveys remained the number one on-demand application of most interest to our customers. It’s not surprising as most often, the first step toward improving the customer experience is to start surveying customers. Can you tell your CEO what percent of your customers are loyal and what percent are likely to defect?  And, better yet, what your strategy is to acquire and retain loyal customers? For best practices in measuring customer loyalty and all kinds of advice on finding the on demand solutions you most want to solve your top business issues, Download finding_the_apps_you_most_want.pdf

With the AppExchange, Salesforce customers now have an easy way to address dozens of business needs through the world’s first on-demand application-sharing service. The AppExchange directory gives Salesforce customers an easy way to find and install hundreds of on-demand applications designed to solve a wealth of common business challenges. With hundreds of pre-integrated, on-demand applications now available on the AppExchange, you may be wondering where to begin.  For some good advice, 

Download best_practices_in_selecting_applications_in_the_appexchange.pdf

With the AppExchange, Salesforce customers now have an easy way to address dozens of business needs through the world’s first on-demand application-sharing service. The AppExchange directory gives Salesforce customers an easy way to find and install hundreds of on-demand applications designed to solve a wealth of common business challenges. With hundreds of pre-integrated, on-demand applications now available on the AppExchange, you may be wondering where to begin.  For some good advice, 

Download best_practices_in_selecting_applications_in_the_appexchange.pdf

Lookup company phone numbers with a click. Often leads will come into salesforce.com with out correct phone number data, for any number of reasons (the lead capture form was filled out with bad/incomplete data, etc.). However, people often don’t have a problem providing their zip code, or high level address information.

This tool lets you still turn these leads into workable records by doing a quick lookup online, using a custom link to Google Local, which acts like an online yellow pages.

How does it work?

The “Company Lookup” custom link in the lower right side of the lead screen takes the name and address information and passes it to Google Local Search, which will perform the lookup for you. Presto! There’s the phone number as it is listed.

The URL for the lead custom link that enables this is as follows:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q={!Lead_Company} {!Lead_City} {!Lead_State} {!Lead_PostalCode}&ie=UTF8&om=0

Lookup company phone numbers with a click. Often leads will come into salesforce.com with out correct phone number data, for any number of reasons (the lead capture form was filled out with bad/incomplete data, etc.). However, people often don’t have a problem providing their zip code, or high level address information.

This tool lets you still turn these leads into workable records by doing a quick lookup online, using a custom link to Google Local, which acts like an online yellow pages.

How does it work?

The “Company Lookup” custom link in the lower right side of the lead screen takes the name and address information and passes it to Google Local Search, which will perform the lookup for you. Presto! There’s the phone number as it is listed.

The URL for the lead custom link that enables this is as follows:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q={!Lead_Company} {!Lead_City} {!Lead_State} {!Lead_PostalCode}&ie=UTF8&om=0

Scott Hemmeter did an excellent write up on Kieden on Perspectives on Salesforce.

We’ve written about Kieden before, but it bears mentioning again because this is really a fabulous application. It allows Salesforce Marketing users manage their Google Adword buys from within Salesforce, tracking them from campaign conception through to closed business. It’s very easy to set up a Google Adwords buy and using dashboards in Salesforce you can give your executive team visibility into the impact you’re making.

Kieden is free for monthly spends of less than $100 so there’s no risk to test it out. Other affordable pricing plans are presented on their website.