Operational Efficiency Series: Business Process Optimization

Published by Steve Wood at May 31, 2016

It’s Not About Doing Less; It’s About Better Results, Less Work

Salesforce, the world’s leading Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, has a well-earned reputation as the best-in-class solution for sales, marketing and customer service. However, it’s also widely understood that the features of Salesforce are able to create efficiencies throughout an organization. It’s far more than CRM; it’s a roadmap to help companies manage widespread operational challenges.

Business Process Optimization

In today’s ever-changing business environment, operating as a lean organization is critical for staying ahead of the competition. Forward-thinking organizations achieve and sustain lean operations by continuously innovating and refining business processes. This, in turn, controls costs and allows these organizations to scale with minimal growing pains. On the other hand, organizations that are unable to adapt to rapidly changing conditions frequently find themselves outperformed and outmaneuvered by their competition.

Salesforce enables organizations to optimize their business processes by providing faster, more efficient ways to operate. Sales Cloud, Service Cloud and Marketing Cloud, among many other things, help users connect with customers — current and prospective — and provide the best service and support across all operational platforms.

Key Benefits of Automation

Perhaps business process optimization in its most recognizable form can be found in automation and workflow rules provided by Salesforce. Automation and workflow rules can be applied to frequent and consistent tasks so users can focus on high-value concerns, such as client communications, demonstrations and customer support. Additionally, automation reduces the number of resources organizations require to run day-to-day business processes, thereby reducing required investments and enabling faster growth.

Innovations like automation and workflow rules in Salesforce save time, reduce effort and eliminate human error. At the same time, they enable the kind of flexibility organizations need to anticipate and adapt to changes in the business environment. Such business process improvements are critical for organizations to maximize not only their business growth, but also their technology investments.

It’s Time to Do More than TALK about Automation

Beyond the Salesforce features so many embrace and use every day to improve internal efficiency and create extraordinary customer experiences, the Salesforce AppExchange offers more than 3,000 apps, covering all conceivable business activities, to enhance and customize your Salesforce org. But, it’s more than just about improving processes, it’s about automating activities you never even considered.

A few examples:

Accounting and finance-related activities are critical to the health and welfare of any company. Did you know that Accounting Seed for Salesforce can automate your accounting department to not only save your team time and your company money, but to increase accounts receivable, improve time-to-pay ratios and eliminate departmental silos that prevent various employees from seeing all the data necessary to do their jobs efficiently.
Simple Survey for Salesforce decreases survey fatigue and abandonment and increases survey response rates. Since this easy-to-use survey app can be triggered to send surveys from any Salesforce object, your company can stay ahead of the curve by measuring customer sentiment without having to constantly think about the mundane task of sending surveys. Automation at its finest!
Front Desk for Salesforce is another app that transforms the way companies greet their visitors. Still using pen and paper with a clipboard? Forget about it! This app enhances the customer experience in person, in real time! Now, the check-in process is fast and easy. And all information is logged safely and securely in Salesforce.

These are three of the apps available for free trials and purchase on the Salesforce AppExchange. Whether you are considering automating any of your business functions, including human resources, sales, customer service, marketing, etc., there’s an app for that! Ready to stop thinking about automation and streamline your operations, now is the best time to start.

In the final two installments of this series on operational efficiency, we will focus even more on customizing a Salesforce org with robust AppExchange apps and on how Salesforce, as a total platform, helps organizations improve customer service.

Ready to learn more about how we can help your company grow through operational efficiency? Contact Internet Creations today for a consultation.

About Internet Creations

Internet Creations is a business technology and Salesforce consulting firm that empowers organizations to operate efficiently and accelerate success by aligning people with technology. We help our clients leverage the benefits of technology and avoid the perils by delivering innovative solutions backed by world-class customer service.