A Delicious Pairing: Salesforce + Email

Find Out If this Duo Will Satisfy Your Cravings

Combining the right ingredients is the secret to great cooking. When flavors mesh well, the end result is universally mouth-watering. That’s why peanut butter and chocolate desserts are always tasty, whether prepared by top chefs or right at home.

Today we’re talking about another great combo: email and Salesforce. For many businesses, adding a comprehensive view of Salesforce CRM right in the inbox is a recipe for success.

The recommended Salesforce special is Einstein Activity Capture (a scalable engine that automatically records emails, events and contacts) paired with a customizable Outlook or Gmail UI plugin. Thanks to this “mini Salesforce in the inbox,” salespeople can log and update emails.

This functionality heats things up by increasing the speed and organization of sales teams.

Of course, combinations aren’t always inspired (just try garlic ice cream!). We’re here to help you gauge your appetite for a Salesforce email integration or even a third party product.

The Recipe Gets Messy

Two important ingredients come into play when serving up a Salesforce and email integration.

First, a business should consider its email data retention policy. Here are the Salesforce offerings: with the “Sandbox” or “Sales Cloud” license, data is stored for six months. The “Inbox” or “High Velocity Sales” license gives users a limit of up to 50k emails and 5k events. Additionally, users with a paid subscription get the option to increase storage up to five years.

Despite Salesforce bringing this broad assortment to the table, some companies crave more options. For instance, to be FINRA-compliant, businesses need to save emails for 10 years. A third-party product would be more satisfying in this case. To choose the most scrumptious third-party product on the Salesforce app exchange, check how frequently it’s updated. This pro tip will help you find the vanilla ice cream to your apple crumble.

The second important consideration for businesses is the desired data model. Salesforce allows companies to log emails and relate any given message to one opportunity or account.

Naturally, we’re big fans of Salesforce here at Accelerize360. But everyone’s got different tastes. Some companies hunger for the ability to record the same email across multiple objects, multiple times. For example, an insurance rep conversing with a customer might want to log that email on the policy record, customer record and household record. In this case, a third party app might be the best thing on the menu.

Basic Ingredients

Now we’ve gotten the complicated stuff out of the way and the table is set. Let’s review the basic points businesses should take into account when considering an email integration:

• Cost shouldn’t be overlooked. Third party apps aren’t free, so make sure any added functionality is worth the increase in price.

• Software versions matter. If a company is using an older version of Outlook, we don’t recommend integrating. Wait until you’ve upgraded, so you can be sure you’re ready from a technical standpoint.

• A dedicated IT team makes all the difference. Any system will eventually have support issues, so it’s important to think through who is going to own the email integration. Keep in mind that Salesforce support is known for being reliable and effective.

Forgetting these three points would be like cooking a gourmet meal but serving without any condiments. Salt and pepper might not be fancy, but they make a big difference.

Find Your Flavor

How emails are used and stored is serious business. With a Salesforce integration, salespeople gain visibility into key customer information right from their inbox. Savvy teams log customer communications to create robust records. For many companies, combining these systems makes as much sense as stacking tomato and basil on mozzarella cheese.

The Salesforce email integration could be right for you. Or perhaps you crave expanded functionalities available from third-party products. Either way, think of Accelerize360 as your sous-chef. We’re happy to help you cook up success!