Increase Salesforce Adoption Rates

Salesforce is an investment, often thought-of and implemented by management.

Creating a CRM that allows you to track all company activities for better forecasting can help business owners make better decisions.

Too often though, the Salesforce customizations are made only for the management and the end user is forgotten. This creates problems in adoption rates, which leads to inaccurate data to make decisions from.

Here are some tips that we have found help adoption rates when investing in a CRM platform like Salesforce.

Input From Salesforce Users

This one is tough because when you’re conceptualizing how the Salesforce data will be collected and pushed along, you may not be considering how that data gets entered. Does this add steps to your existing workflow actions? When an employee has a job and has done it for months or years, change is hard. Even if it is change for the better.

Ask for suggestions and input from y our work force at various stages of development, not just after roll out. For example, questions like:

• How are you currently collecting customer e-mails?
• Are you using a mobile phone, pen and paper, or laptop for visit notes?
• Are you capturing data at the time of conversation or afterwards?
• What is the most important data for you to move a lead into an opportunity?
• How are you currently tracking all of your open opportunities?

We can then find out what ways we can improve workflow with Salesforce instead of adding additional steps.

Automation for Easier Workflow

Salesforce is an incredibly powerful tool. To increase Salesforce user adoption, we can look towards the automation side of things. If they were collecting data at the lead, then re-inputting data to create an order, can we automate fields to pull over from lead to opportunity so that they only have to put the data in one time?

There are other time saving tips, like automated notifications for opportunities based on a number of factors. We often customize notifications to go out on a schedule to make sure leads and opportunities are moving along at the proper pace. We will create an automation such as: IF Lead has been sitting for more than 72 hours, then notify lead owner to check in on the lead and move if needed. This saves time from management having to check in on existing leads or opportunities.

We’ve also connected e-commerce platforms to Salesforce that pull customer data into the CRM to reduce the input step altogether. This type of automation can literally replace full positions or change rolls at a company. It’s a very powerful type of automation.

Understanding your work force’s currently workflow can help with automation ideas. So don’t forget step one of asking for feedback.

Tailored Training and Onboarding Programs

One of the most effective ways to increase Salesforce adoption rates is to provide tailored training and onboarding programs for your workforce. Many employees resist new software because they feel overwhelmed or inadequately prepared to use it effectively. Generic training sessions often miss the mark because they fail to address the specific needs of individual roles within the organization.

By creating role-specific training modules, employees can learn how to use Salesforce in ways that directly relate to their daily tasks. For instance, a sales representative may need training on how to quickly update leads and opportunities, while a customer service agent might need to focus on using cases and tracking customer interactions. Additionally, providing ongoing support, such as access to a help desk or a library of resources, ensures that employees can seek assistance as they encounter challenges. A confident and well-trained workforce is far more likely to adopt Salesforce and leverage its full potential.

Simplify User Interfaces with Customization

One common barrier to Salesforce adoption is a cluttered or overly complex user interface. Employees who encounter too many fields, buttons, or tabs may feel overwhelmed and discouraged from using the platform. Simplifying the interface through customization can make a big difference.

For example, one of our clients had created Salesforce customization on their own, but had forgotten to optimize for mobile. This caused problems for the salespeople who only had mobile phones when they did site visits. The buttons and data were either in different places from desktop or missing altogether.

Salesforce allows admins to create role-specific layouts, hiding unnecessary fields and displaying only the most relevant information for each team. For example, a sales team might only need fields related to lead generation and opportunity tracking, while a customer support team might focus on case management and resolution time.

Additionally, incorporating tools like Salesforce Lightning Experience can provide a more intuitive and visually appealing interface. Dashboards that display key metrics at a glance can help users quickly access the information they need without navigating through multiple layers of menus. A user-friendly experience leads to higher engagement and encourages employees to adopt Salesforce as an integral part of their daily workflow.

By addressing usability, providing effective training, and leveraging creative engagement strategies, businesses can maximize their investment in Salesforce and achieve widespread adoption across the organization.

I hope these tips can help maximize your investment into Salesforce and let us know how we can help.