What is Salesforce?
Salesforce is an enterprise Software as a Service (SaaS) cloud computing tool. Sounds intimidating? Let’s simplify!
Salesforce is a leading technology company. Their software powers startups, mid-sized businesses, as well as large conglomerates. Some of the prominent users of Salesforce include Uber, Facebook, and Apple.
Today Salesforce has over 70,000 employees worldwide and has been named 'the best place to work' in several countries, including France, Germany, The United Kingdom, and the United States.
Salesforce CRM is the largest cloud-based CRM in the world. If you haven’t used Salesforce CRM or the Salesforce Mobile app before, you probably aren’t familiar with the platform. Don’t worry. This article introduces you to:
Salesforce is an enterprise Software as a Service (SaaS) cloud computing tool. Sounds intimidating? Let’s simplify!
A cloud computing tool is accessed via the internet browser instead of an in-office server. That was the vision and goal of developing Salesforce.com. Before the advent of Salesforce, software development required huge upfront investment.
Organizations had to build servers, hire top engineers, create software tools from scratch, install, and deploy them. This took years and millions of dollars of investment. Not to mention, the cost of maintaining the infrastructure was significant too.
Even so, users (employees) could only leverage it from within the company premises. There was no way of accessing it anytime, anywhere. In 1999, Salesforce entered the scene, and all of these drawbacks vanished.
It started as a customer relationship management (CRM software). Thanks to cloud computing technology, the Salesforce CRM could now be accessed by simply logging in to your Salesforce account through any web browser.
Since 1999, Salesforce has evolved from being just a cloud-based CRM software to a full-blown SaaS platform that allows businesses to create and deploy apps quickly. You can build both customer-facing and internal apps using Salesforce tools.
Companies no longer need to build the tools and infrastructure from scratch. As a result, you save millions of dollars and years. Imagine buying the framework of a car but making your modifications inside it according to your unique requirements.
Listed below are the other significant benefits of Salesforce:
Salesforce Products and Use Cases
Now let’s talk about some of the products offered by Salesforce and understand the use cases through them.
All businesses deal with customer relationship management. A local auto repair shop might use a notebook or spreadsheet to record their customers – who they are, the products they purchased, and their interactions with them.
However, manual recordkeeping becomes impossible as the business expands. Hence, you’ll find every business, from startups to Fortune 500 companies, using the Salesforce CRM software, also known as Sales Cloud.
It allows companies to store all information related to their customers on a single platform. It is also referred to as a 360° customer view. Therefore, it helps sales teams to move prospects through the sales cycle – from leads to paying customers.
Some of the best features of Sales Cloud include:
Employees, too, require Salesforce. Marketing teams use Marketing Cloud to promote products or services through social media, SMS, and email. It integrated perfectly with Sales Cloud, allowing digital marketers to leverage the CRM data.
Another product offered by Salesforce is Service Cloud. It's tailored for customer service teams to help them address customer issues, raise tickets, and offer resolutions. Customers can quickly contact the support team via phone, live chat, or email through this platform.
Again, all Salesforce products are built on a single platform. Hence, they can be easily integrated.
App Exchange is the marketplace for all the fantastic apps that you can seamlessly integrate with Salesforce to extend its functionality.
Here you’ll find email marketing apps like MailChimp, customer feedback apps like SurveyMonkey, mobile form apps like Youreka, accounting & finance apps like FinancialForce, eSignature apps like DocuSign, and so much more!
These are the most popular Salesforce products. However, others include Commerce Cloud, Analytics Cloud, Community Cloud, IoT Cloud, Health Cloud, and Experience Cloud.
Salesforce Community Cloud, for example, allows employees, customers, and partners to communicate with each other and share data and images in real-time.
Now, it's time to talk about the Salesforce Mobile app.
There is a smartphone in every working professional’s pocket today. And they expect to access essential data on the go through their mobile devices. Enter the Salesforce Mobile app!
Unlike most mobile app versions, the Salesforce iOS app and Salesforce android app are not the inferior versions of their browser application. They have the same features as the browser version.
However, that’s where things can get a bit complicated. The Salesforce app feels bloated and is challenging to use for on-ground teams. Not to mention, the implementation is challenging too. When people use mobile apps, they look for ease of use and simplicity.
That’s exactly where Zorp can help. You can quickly and easily build anything from a simple data form to a complex delivery app within minutes!
Here’s a video we made on how you can create a delivery app with Zorp in under 10 minutes. You don’t need any coding knowledge to use Zorp. Hence, if you’re looking for a simpler alternative to Salesforce for building mobile apps for your business, Zorp is the way to go!
