7 Ways to Improve the Adoption and Usability of Salesforce

Increase usage of Salesforce in your organization by providing a supportive learning environment, recognizing successful users, and more efficiently integrating your ERP

Change in the workplace can be difficult, whether it’s trying a new coffee creamer in the break room or switching to a new CRM platform. Even if the change is for the better, many people have a hard time letting go of old processes and methods.

Salesforce is the world’s leading customer relationship management software. With over 150,000 customers around the world, Salesforce is an integrated platform that allows all of your departments to work together with updated and accurate customer data.

Although Salesforce is a valuable tool for businesses, its scale and potential complexity can intimidate users. This can make the transition challenging, especially if adding it to the existing routine means duplicating other tasks and information.

True adoption of a new system requires an internal cultural shift and enthusiasm about how the software is going to make life easier. If you’re going to make an investment into Salesforce worth it, you need to ensure it’s usable and approachable for your team.

Here are seven ways to increase Salesforce adoption in your organization with workflow and automation use cases to convince even the most stubborn stragglers.

1. Communicate the ‘why’

Telling and showing your employees why you’re making such a big change will help get them on board. It allows you to convey the benefits of the new platform and how it will impact everyone in a positive way.

Having an integrated CRM system with updated and accurate data will help your team work more efficiently. Salesforce gives you the information you need to make educated sales, marketing, and operations decisions, so moving to this platform will eliminate redundant work and manual labor. It will also streamline your organization’s processes, so tasks stop falling through the cracks.

2. Create a friendly and recognizable Salesforce interface

Some people are more hesitant to transition to a new system than others because they are comfortable with the current process. They know how it works and how to get things done, even if it’s not the best way.

One way to compensate for this is by educating your team on the usability of the Salesforce platform. Show them what the interface looks like and how the tools compare and integrate with the programs they’re currently using. Many people assume that learning a new system will be much harder than it is, which can be addressed once they understand the functionality.

3. Offer comprehensive and visual training sessions

Start training your team on Salesforce as early as possible. The more time they have to get used to the platform and its benefits, the better. This also gives them the opportunity to ask questions or raise concerns that can be addressed before full implementation.

Many people are visual learners. What may not click for them in written instructions will click in a video. Incorporate visual tools into your training to demonstrate specific scenarios, reports, and workflows your team may encounter.

It can boost your team’s confidence to watch someone else use the software well. It will also show them what they’re missing with their current methods.

4. Measure and celebrate success

There is no better way to encourage user adoption than to provide real data that shows how Salesforce is improving operations. Be sure to measure your current performance and set benchmarks to hit along the way as you fully adopt the software.

Whether its marketing, sales, or operations, recognize team and individual achievements with the new system and celebrate them. This spreads positivity and encourages others to adopt the platform so they can contribute to the organization’s success.

5. Identify supporters and coaches

Some of your salespeople will be excited about using Salesforce and learn the software very quickly. These are the people you want as the “face” of the transition, talking to others about the benefits of the software and helping them through any technical issues they run into.

Any software your enterprise uses should have an in-house expert. Even if they don’t know every single detail about the program, this person is an accessible resource the rest of the team can go to with questions, concerns, or when they run into problems. Having such a person or a small group of people can help alleviate some of the stress associated with learning new processes.

6. Maximize Salesforce with workflows

One of the biggest incentives you can give your team to adopt Salesforce is to show them how functions such as workflows will make their work astronomically more effective. Workflows are rules you create in the platform to speed up and automate existing processes. They eliminate manual labor such as data entry and minimize the risk of a task going uncompleted.

Some examples of workflows include:

• Setting reminders to check in with an account before a contract expires
• Notifying the account manager when any updates are made to their customer
• Alerting the sales manager if a discount over a certain amount is given
• Reminding marketing about customers’ birthdays

Workflows give your organization the potential to be as efficient as you want to be. Showing your team these functions in Salesforce will help them understand how they can use it personally to improve their own processes.

7. Expand the usability of Salesforce with enosix

To make Salesforce truly work for your entire organization, you need your SAP data to be easily accessible in real-time in one location. enosix creates a seamless bi-directional connection between Salesforce and SAP so users can operate solely out of your front-end system with a single source of data. Improve customer response time, sales, and shipping with enosix. Schedule a demo with us today to learn how we can help your enterprise enhance your customer experience.