Steps For Salesforce Application Development

Published on: 27 January 2020 Last Updated on: 19 March 2024

As an entrepreneur, your customers are the biggest pillar of your business. No matter your industry of domain, area of specialization, or even your business focus, they are the single most valuable asset to your organization and you should treat them as so.

Through their valuable feedback, your business can gain a new sense of direction, develop new concepts, as well as bring in more revenue. With that said, as a business owner, simply appreciating your customers isn’t enough. You need to truly understand them to tailor your products and services to meet them at their point of need. And that’s where Salesforce application development comes in.

It entails creating integrated customer relationship management solutions that interface businesses with their customers. These CRM platforms also give all the departments in a particular organization a unified view of all the customers and how they interact with various aspects of the business.

In this article, we are going to look at what Salesforce is and its uses. While at it, we are also going to delve deeper to see the entire Salesforce application development lifecycle.

What Is Salesforce?

Simply put, it’s a cloud computing SaaS company that provides customer relationship management (CRM) solutions. Thanks to the company’s cloud technology, businesses are able to better connect with their existing clientele, partners, and potential customers.

Over the years, Salesforce software has grown to become the leading marketing and customer behavior tracking solution for both small startups and Fortune 500 companies. As it turns out, customer relationship management is one of the key driving factors for the increasing demand for application development in Salesforce.

Recent research from Vonage offered a compelling view of the effects and consequences of poor customer service. In the US alone, the research revealed that an estimated $62 billion is lost annually as a result of bad customer experience.

To underwrite this figure, a different report from Huffpost has indicated that 91% of customers won’t hesitate to switch brands once they experience bad customer service. These are mind-blowing figures, especially if a business has no solution to counter the consequences of poor customer experience.

However, with Salesforce in place, businesses are able to overcome the problems caused by poor customer service and other business process variables. According to statistics published on Salesforce’s website, companies that are currently using their software have continued to see average increases in multiple areas. For instance, 34% of users have seen an increase in customer satisfaction, with 27% and 32% users seeing an increase in sales revenues and lead conversion respectively.

In 2018, Salesforce emerged as the biggest CRM software commanding a total of 19.8% market share of the CRM software market. During the same period, the company was voted as the #1 CRM provider by the International Data Corporation. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that companies are willing to pay the highest Salesforce consultant salary just to get wind of this technology.

The Benefits of Using Salesforce

Given the commendable portfolio of Salesforce, here are areas it can help your business find success. Below I am going to discuss the benefits of using Salesforce.

Helps Collect Customer Intel

In the prevailing competitive business environment, overlooking data collection can be a fatal and unforgiving mistake. As a business, collecting and collating customer intelligence should be an obsession or the very least treated as a full-time affair, because it can lead to loss of revenue. As such, if you are to improve customer satisfaction and continue remaining competitive, hiring qualified Salesforce developers to build a high-quality CRM tool is inevitable.

And with Salesforce, you get an upper hand over your competitors by enjoying tools that help you identify, understand, and solve customer problems.

Flexible And Scalable

As companies and business needs continue to evolve, the tools of trade must also adapt. For instance, if the structures of your business start to grow, the management software should be able to seamlessly accommodate the changes. Cognizant of this fact, Salesforce CRM comes with multiple functions that allow for scalability right from the initial stages to any future interactions.

Helps in Account Planning

Having a unified view of customer information allows your teams to independently make plans for various accounts. It also facilitates a more hands-on customer connection approach as well as allows various reps and departments in your organization to modify their plans for optimized results. Salesforce also comes with a to-do items feature, which helps your entire workforce stay organized throughout the day.

Along with that, Salesforce also works as an organizational tool. Your team can create calendar reminders specifying the future customer follow-ups or important duties reminders to the upper management, which helps prevent anything from falling through the cracks.

If you are in the service-based businesses, Salesforce also gives you insights into the amount of time a particular customer/s has stayed in a particular subscription package. Once this info is established, your team is able to customize marketing materials to match a particular customer niche.

Cloud Connectivity

Many companies are now gravitating towards software as a service (SaaS), which means software that is available online. Luckily, Salesforce doesn’t need to be installed on a computer as it is cloud-based. This means that you can easily access it everywhere, interface it with other digitized services, and enjoy unlimited storage capacity. And since no maintenance is required, you get to save on a Salesforce developer salary that would have otherwise been paid for this purpose.

Facilitates Team Collaboration

Poor team communication and collaboration can lead to reduced productivity. On top of a unified view of customer data, Salesforce’s “Chatter” feature allows your team members to easily and regularly communicate work-related information. Additionally, the feature also lets you highlight and prioritize urgent issues that require special attention by inviting different team members to look at them.

Salesforce Application Development Lifecycle

Software developers spend a lot of time designing, developing, securing, and delivering products that perform better than initially envisioned. As a result, different software development approaches like agile development, waterfall model, and many others have merged.

When it comes to cloud-based solutions, the incorporation and implementation of various software development methodologies make it even more complex. Moreover, the Salesforce Development Lifecycle also means that the software is developed, tested, and deployed in a cloud environment.

Below, we have laid down 6 steps that clearly illustrate the entire Salesforce Development Lifecycle:

Business Requirements Analysis

The first step towards a successful custom Salesforce application is to conduct an internal business needs analysis. It entails the development team eliciting the potential customer needs, elaborating them, validating all the assumptions, and devising efficient methodologies to meet these requirements.

Business requirements analysis is important as it helps avert potential mistakes as well as make the final product both efficient and compatible with the existing system and security standards.

UI/UX Design

Another important aspect of Salesforce application development is optimizing the app for user experience. A report by iMPACT indicates that 52% of customers are less likely to conduct business with a brand offering a poor mobile experience. On the other hand, Forbes conservative estimates indicate that intentional and strategic user experience can yield a conversion rate as high as 400%.

If these numbers are anything to go by, designing a user-friendly and highly responsive Salesforce application development is absolutely paramount. In order to optimize an app for effective and enjoyable use, developers need to map out the user journey and creatively choreograph user/platform interactions to benefit the end-user.

Development Phase

The next step in Salesforce application development entails creating developers creating isolated sandboxes. Generally, these distinct sandboxes hold the main production app copy and other supplementary Salesforce configuration information. They are also independent, implying that changes in a single sandbox don’t affect the main Salesforce production enterprise. Individual developers have to clone their branches.

To retrieve the metadata from the sandboxes to the IDE, the developers need to use Force.com IDE. Once they have the metadata, they continue coding their assigned app features, performing initial unit testing, and then submit the finished code to the Git repository.

If a subsequent developer wants to build on top of this freshly updated branch, they need to clone it to their sandbox and continue developing new features. Once done, they also have to submit their latest development to the repository.

With that said, the possibility of multiple developers working on the same branch cant be overlooked. To avoid conflicts, it is important for everyone in the development team to check for possible branch updates before committing.

Testing

The next step after building a Salesforce application is to ensure that it has an excellent and stable performance. This mainly entails developers carrying out QA activities including unit tests and code reviews. It is also at this stage that functional, performance, and integration testing is conducted within the development process.

Lastly, automation tests and debugging are conducted to augment the app’s speedy delivery.

Integration

During the integration phase, the custom CRM application is interfaced with third-party software like CMS. To facilitate a smooth transition, the development team also conduct hands-on training sessions as well as provides training materials to the client.

Launch

Once the app is launched for internal use, it is transferred to the client and subjected to their User Acceptance Testing environment (UAT). Once satisfied, the finished product is moved to the production environment and deployed to the end-users.

Salesforce Application Development Team Actors

During the app development process, different players are involved and handle different aspects of the app. In the Salesforce app development life cycle, the most common actors include:

Product Manager: Help finalize business requirements.
Release Manager: Help coordinate the app’s release schedule.
Software Developer: Handles the main coding and produces the requisite deliverables.
Quality Analyst: Tests and confirms the functionality of various app features.

Potential money from the Salesforce AppExchange development:

After researching the fact this has been seen that Potential money from the salesforce AppExchange development can depend on several other factors.

How To Build an App for Salesforce AppExchange?

To build your AppExchange app, you must go through the multi-step procedure, which includes compliance, release, ongoing support, and demand app development. Below, I will discuss how to create an App for Salesforce AppExchange.

1st Step: Become the Part of Salesforce Business Partner Community

The first and foremost step in becoming a Salesforce AppExchange trade Partner is to join the Salesforce Partner Community. In this case, you must submit the form using AppExchange. After all, the Salesforce Partner Community is the hub of existing AppExchange Partners.

2nd Step: Examine AppExchange Market

The next step in building the app is to examine the AppExchange market. AppExchange offers many products and solutions for several products and cloud services in Salesforce. In this case, for optimal outcomes, you must use the curated collections of AppExchange.

3rd Step: Make the First Sketches of Your Product

Once you are done researching the existing solutions on AppExchange, you must start defining the unique value proposition of your product. For the outline, you must follow the below-mentioned procedure such as:

Firstly, you must understand your target audience.
Secondly, ensure you have an idea of business targets.
Thirdly, you must follow the types of Salesforce editions you will support.
After that, ensure you have an idea of the package type.
Next, ensure you have the Salesforce Licenses that you want to use.
Lastly, it would help if you ensured the requirements for your AppExchange App security.

4th Step: Define the Type of ISV Partnership and the Type Of Your AppExchange Solution

Once you have joined the Salesforce Partner Community, then, you must analyze the existing products, and you can create a rough roadmap. In this case, ensure you have defined the type of ISV partnership, and consequently, you also have built the AppExchange solution.

There are seven types of ISV partners in AppExchange. It includes OEM, CDP Cloud Partner, Commerce Cloud Partner, All Other Clouds (paid), All Other Clouds (free), and Technology Partner/Tableau.

5th Step: Choose the Programming Type and Tools to Build Your Salesforce App

Recently, Salesforce provided two types of programming languages and two types of tools that you can use. Let’s know what programming tools are used in Salesforce App development. This includes Apex Cloud-based programming language. Next are Lightning components and Visualforce.

6th Step: Build Your Salesforce App

Once you can identify the exact type of solution, it must have the programming language, licensing, and packaging, and of course, you must continue with the building procedure.

Two ways to do this are using internal sources or outsourcing the dedicated team. If you want to build the SalesForce App using an in-house team, it could be one the most viable and remarkable options. If you don’t have enough resources, ensure you can control the entire product cycle of AppExchange.

7th Step: Test Your Salesforce App

If you want to ensure optimal performance, then it must conduct comprehensive end-to-end testing in technological domains. In this case, you must adhere to the development of best business practices, especially for testing.

8th Step: Prepare Your App for the Launch on AppExchange

Once you are done testing and finalizing the app, the next step is to prepare by submitting it to the SalesForce AppExchange. In this procedure, it includes creating the managed packages and providing screenshots.

9th Step: Submit Your App for Security Review and Market This

Ensure you have submitted your final app by undergoing the security review and then have met the necessary security requirements.

Final Thoughts

Salesforce CRM is a critical business tool. It helps streamline data analysis and reporting, provides invaluable customer feedback, and aid in formulating better customer service strategies. As a result, businesses are able to align their resources towards creating timely, customer-oriented solutions.

With that said, Salesforce application development isn’t a linear process. It entails working with different tools and multiple software development methodologies. And with cloud solutions continuing to capture the imaginations of business owners, the world is yet to see the full potential of CRM Salesforce and the cloud ecosystem as a whole.

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Corporate Hackathon: Benefits To The Employees

Hackathons are becoming a growing hit in the business world as a tool to encourage employee innovation and collaboration. A hackathon is an event where employees from different departments come together to work on specific projects. It is usually a time-bound event, ranging from a few hours to several days. The objective is to come up with creative solutions that businesses may use and leverage. Hackathon events offer various advantages to workers. In this post, we'll talk about a few of these benefits and how they might raise an organization's general productivity and efficacy. Virtual Hackathon Platform An online platform that allows businesses to hold hackathons remotely. Regardless of their geographical location, it offers a digital environment for participants to interact, share ideas, and work on projects together. Benefits of Virtual Hackathons Flexibility: Virtual hackathons can draw a more excellent range of participants from different locations. Businesses hosting a Corporate Hackathon where employees are globally located benefit from Virtual hackathon platforms. As it involves multinational teams, participants can work from anywhere with an internet connection. Scalability: Compared to physical events, virtual hackathons are not limited by venue capacity or logistical problems. Supports collaboration: This includes video conferencing, chat rooms, project management tools, and real-time feedback mechanisms. Exciting and engaging experience: It makes sharing ideas, working together, and building innovative solutions easier. In general, virtual hackathons offer a practical and effective approach to organizing hackathons. One of which is corporate hackathons. With a virtual hackathon platform, businesses can use the power of cooperation and creativity to advance their operations. How to Host a Hackathon at Your Organization? Set specific goals and objectives for your hackathon. Decide on a theme or problem statement to focus on. Invite participants from across your organization. Think about opening up participation to outside parties as well. Choose the right hackathon software to facilitate the event. Consider from idea submission and team formation to project management and presentation. Provide appropriate resources and support, such as access to technology, mentors, and refreshments. Encourage teamwork and communication amongst participants. Set realistic deadlines for the hackathon. Ensure that teams have enough time to develop their ideas. Plan for a post-hackathon review and feedback. Determine future steps to be taken. Benefits of Corporate Hackathons to Employees Advancement in the Workplace Corporate hackathons are an essential tool for the professional development of employees. Through hackathons, employees can acquire new skills and approaches that can help them advance in their careers. Here are some of the ways that corporate hackathons can promote professional growth: Exposure to new technologies: Participants can learn about new technologies and hackathon software, which can broaden their skillset and improve their problem-solving abilities. Project management: Hackathons often have tight deadlines, which can help employees learn to deal with pressure and improve their resilience and adaptability. Leadership development: Leading a project during a hackathon allows participants to develop their leadership abilities and hone their decision-making skills. Encourages Creativity and Innovation In today's fast-paced corporate world, it's easy for employees to get bogged down with daily tasks and lose sight of their creative potential. However, hosting a hackathon can provide a platform for employees to unleash their creativity and come up with innovative ideas. By using hackathon software, employees can collaborate and build on each other's ideas. Together, they can generate unique and novel approaches. This kind of environment creates a space where employees can think beyond their comfort zones. It allows them to push the boundaries of traditional problem-solving methods. Additionally, a hackathon can help identify the creative members of your team and encourage professional development in those areas. Example: A company wants to improve its customer service experience. Employees from several departments collaborate to enhance customer support's efficiency and engagement. One employee introduces gamification components to make the experience more interactive. Another employee suggests utilizing chatbots to respond to frequent consumer inquiries. Then the team combines these ideas and creates a prototype for a chatbot. This chatbot uses gamification to make the customer service experience more enjoyable. Advocates Cooperation and Teamwork Teamwork and cooperation are vital for a successful and productive workplace. Corporate hackathons provide an opportunity to promote these values and foster a collaborative culture. Corporate hackathons provide a platform for networking ideas. This exposure to various viewpoints and skill sets can lead to new solutions. Thereby, directing to a better understanding of business operations. Employee skill development is possible through this cross-functional cooperation. It promotes a culture of collaboration and knowledge sharing. For example, a developer may learn about the user experience from a designer, whereas a marketing employee may work with a software engineer and learn to code. The team-building component of a hackathon enables staff members to train in resolution techniques, enhancing interpersonal competencies. Employees can leverage their individual strengths to achieve a common goal. This saves time, considering the pressure of time constraints and the need to produce a functional prototype. Employees feel good that their ideas and contributions are acknowledged. They will likely have a positive attitude toward their work and the company. Favors inclusion and diversity. By encouraging participation, hackathons can help break down barriers and promote a more inclusive work environment. Boosts Morale and Motivation Participating in a hackathon can be a great morale booster for employees. They feel satisfaction in their work and a sense of success. Staff members are motivated to put in more effort and advance the company. Hackathons also provide employees with a break from their routine work. Staff members get to work on something different and exciting. This is helpful in reducing boredom and burnout. Increased job fulfillment and employee retention may also follow from this. Hosting a corporate hackathon demonstrates the organization cares about its employees' growth and creative potential. Creating a fun and exciting work atmosphere can increase employee engagement. Safe Space: Hackathons give workers a place to try out novel ideas and take chances without worrying about failing. Employees from discriminated groups who might be reluctant to speak up in traditional workplaces may find this beneficial. Summing Up Corporate hackathons are a remarkable resource for professional development overall. Corporate hackathons are a fantastic method to promote innovation and creativity among employees. They offer a distinctive setting for workers to cooperate and devise original answers to challenging issues. Employees can gain new talents, improve their interpersonal skills, and network with coworkers from various departments. It is a powerful tool for promoting a culture of inclusivity in the workplace. The benefits of hosting a corporate hackathon include professional development, innovation, collaboration, employee morale, and diversity and inclusion. Hackathon software has made it more exciting and enjoyable for participants. Moreover, hackathon software allows companies to make these events more accessible and streamlined. Hosting a corporate hackathon has advantages for businesses trying to stay competitive in today's fast-paced business world. Read Also: 5 Intelligent Sources to Boost Business Strategies all Over the World Are There More Doors Or Wheels In The World? Business To Business [B2B] Content Guide

Tips for Your Next Business Conference

For many businesses, 2020 has been the Year of the Video Conference. Companies around the world kept the show on the road by relying on the impressive and innovative software available on the market, without which business would have stalled or stopped. For employees, the experience has involved a steep learning curve, as they attempted to adapt to a whole new way of working. Gone was face-to-face interaction, in its place came the video conference. If new to the world of virtual conferences, it can be useful to remember a few essential tips to ensure your next business conference goes smoothly. Here are Tips for Your Next Business Conference: 1. Plan Ahead Don’t wait until just before the call to try out the software. Before the meeting begins, you will want to check that your speakers, webcam, and microphone are all working correctly. Nothing looks less professional than scrambling to fix a tech issue. You may also want to test the connection in your area. The more people on a call, the higher the demands on your computer and connection. It can also be helpful to set an agenda for the meeting or to sketch out a plan. By giving each attendee talking points to follow, you can keep the meeting on track and on-point, ensuring a productive conversation. 2. Explore the Tools One of the main benefits of video conferencing is the incredible array of tools at your disposal. Many video conferencing services allow you to share your screen, use a digital whiteboard to sketch out concepts, or to schedule meetings through Google Calendar or Outlook. If you’re using Zoom, you can also hide a cluttered or bland backdrop, with their virtual background feature. You can pick from the standard options or download one of the beautiful videos or high-quality images from hello backgrounds (hellobackgrounds.com/zoom-backgrounds). They have hundreds of options to play around with, including private offices, home interiors, skylines, and even a few images of tropical paradises – for those into wishful thinking. 3. Options for Hosts When hosting on a video call, you have a lot more options than in person. At a regular meeting, you can’t just mute someone, but then again, nor can people multitask without anyone noticing. Consider your options. By preventing people from being muted, you will ensure they cannot multi-task or get distracted from the call. However, this can lead to issues with background noise, as children or pets cause disruptions. Additionally, you’ll also be able to record the meeting for those who could not attend, or for future reference. It can provide a fantastic resource for training new employees, as well as ensuring complete organizational transparency. Plus, it’s convenient for anyone to take the minutes. Finally, consider the number of people you want at a meeting. Some may say, the more, the merrier. However, large conferences are prone to distraction and can hamper the connection. Keeping meetings more streamlined might seem exclusionary. But it can help promote better organization and collaboration as people feel their meetings are more impactful and useful. Read Also: 7 Ways To Communicate With Customers In A Better Way! What Are the Ways to Prepare a New Employee? 4 Reasons Your Home Business Needs A Virtual Receptionist

5 New Assets To Diversify Your Investments In 2021

When it comes to investing, experts suggest that the more you spread your money around, the better you can mitigate the risks. Diversification is the first step towards safeguarding your capital investment. If you have something like an oil well investment, it should help protect your asset from losing in one full scoop. The sharp drops in the recent investment market are enough proof that putting all eggs in a single basket is a risky strategy. What Is Diversification Of Portfolios? Diversification is the practice of spreading your investment around so that the exposure of your investment to one particular type of asset is limited. This is a practice to help reduce the volatility of your portfolio. The key aspect to measure while investing is the balance of your comfort levels and the amount of risk you can take while investing. This can only be achieved by diversification of your portfolios. Yes, the strategy comes with complex iteration; the concept of the strategy is pretty simple – divide the main capital investment into several segments and invest each segment into different assets. However, with the asset you also have to start planning for asset protection. Balancing Risk & Return Though the diversification of your portfolios protects you from accruing hefty losses, it does affect your annual return. This is because risk and reward go hand in hand. So anything that reduces your risk also reduces your return. Hence, it is important to allow yourself to take risks to make a better profit from your investment. There is no such rule that restricts you from taking risks at the age of 50 or asks you to take risks when you are in your 30s. Don’t fall for such tricks. Understand your risk tolerance and then risk your money into the investment. Assets To Diversify Your Portfolio Investment is an art that only a few possess. To become a successful investor, you need to understand the assets and carefully select them for diversification. Here we have handpicked some of the asset class investments to help you out with your diversification. 1. Cryptocurrencies If your risk tolerance is high, you can invest in Cryptocurrencies. Cryptocurrencies have proven numerous times to be one of the best digital assets to invest in. According to the global Cryptocurrency market, Cryptocurrency holds the potential to rival fiat currencies. If that might be the case, it becomes crucial to spread your roots as early as possible. If you want to know how you can use Cryptocurrency for your portfolio diversification, visit bitcoin up. 2. Real Estates Investment in land, property, and building is considered a real estate investment. You get the return in the form of regular cash flow (rent) and annual capital appreciation. For that to happen, ensure that your property is at a prime location. The only downside of real estate investment is that you need a huge initial investment. In addition, you need to pay property taxes and incur maintenance expenses. 3. Mutual Funds Mutual funds might be something you were not expecting on the list. But we still added for the sole purpose of adding security to your investment. Mutual funds are one of the safest assets to invest in. If you are yet to add mutual funds to your portfolio, this is the best time to do so. 4. Shares One of the best ways to diversify your portfolio is by investing in company shares. If done correctly, shares have the potential to give multifold returns. However, for that to happen, you need a considerable amount of knowledge, experience, and time to monitor the daily stock market. If you are entering the share market for diversification, you must understand that share markets are risky and are subject to market fluctuations and economic factors. 5. Gold Gold is the only commodity that people trust as a profitable investment. Most investors use gold as a hedge against inflation. Gold has an inverse relation with the share market. Generally, when the stock market is down, gold tends to perform well. Conclusion When it comes down to choosing the right investment assets for diversification, you have a wide range of investment options. But none of them is as profitable as Cryptocurrencies. Yes, Cryptocurrencies do come with high risk but do not forget they also bore the ripest fruits. After the pandemic, investors found the importance of diversification of the portfolio the hard way. Do not expose your investment to investment risks. Diversify your portfolio today! Read Also: 5 ways To Become A Profitable Landlord The Best Stock To Buy That Will Pay You Big Later