Converting Your Current CRM Solution to SalesForce

morgan — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:04:24 +0000

Customer Relationship Management software, such as SalesForce, has proven to be an invaluable asset to many companies. This technology focuses on managing customer relations through the ability to organize, automate, and integrate business functions from sales, marketing, customer service, to technical support. The overall goal is to provide maximum customer satisfaction to retain clients and attract new business, all while reducing the cost of providing such services.

It should come as no surprise that such a powerful tool would come with a significant investment to set up, implement, and use. Whether a company was first instituting a CRM program, or upgrading to a new system, getting past the barriers to entry at a lower cost makes CRM programs create a return in investment much more quickly.

A Smooth SalesForce Import Process

CRM software specializes in handling large amount of disparate data, consolidating it, and then distributing useful information. Client profiles are created to aid in targeted sales opportunities, manage customer histories, and pursue new clients while providing new services. A very large amount of information is needed to build these databases and to establish the history to create trends and predications, creating a natural hurdle.

A successful SalesForce import of client data is the first priority in leveraging CRM software. Powerful scripts and data management software handles SalesForce automation by moving, managing, merging, and maintaining customer data without the need for technical programming knowledge. Data is correctly mapped from legacy systems into a new CRM program without the need for custom code.

Staying On Deadline

New system implementations run against tight deadlines; startup problems have to be avoided at all costs. SalesForce automation requires the use of data solutions that leave a clear auditing trail to identify potential issues as they appear rather than noticing problems hours down the line. Regression testing methods can be used to find solutions to problems while strengthening the underlying code. Ultimately, this means that over the course of transferring hundreds of thousands of data entries, the SalesForce import process will steadily improve.

If a new system runs over the conversion deadline, the amount of lost business opportunities can be staggering. Down time in many industries can be crippling.

Efficient Data Entry

One of the best methods for migrating data to a new system is to use the standard data entry portal for the newly adopted CRM. A script would take the legacy data and input it through the data entry interface. This method would be known as a front-end propagation of data. The end result is that the data would be correctly entered in the new format. This avoids the problem of trying to fill a database directly without the aid of the CRM’s management capabilities.

Minimizing the inherit risk of new technology implementations is the fastest method for achieving a quick return on investment. Through the use of automation and scripting, data can be moved quickly and without a loss of integrity.

Chris Harmen is a writer who enjoys researching data entry methods for CRM applications such as Salesforce automation and effective Salesforce import programs.

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Converting Your Current CRM Solution to SalesForce

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