At Perficient, we live what we sell. We have long seen the value of Salesforce and the cloud in general to impact a company and its community of partners, customers, and the public. When we think about our business we use Salesforce as the anchor technology to serve these communities. What started in 1999 as a simple contact management database in the cloud, has evolved into a cohesive solution that can potentially touch millions of people. Many of our customers share this view and passion. So why are so many companies stuck on the “sales” part of Salesforce, limiting its use to the sales team?
When you look at this visual representing major salesforce.com product announcements it is clear that each year the addressable audience that can be engaged by salesforce.com solutions grows.
While the primary use of Salesforce will remain for some time as a sales application, the “sales” part of the equation had a 5 year head start on the rest of the product suite! In the last 6 years we have seen PRM, Service Cloud, Force.com, Chatter, Work.com, and the Marketing Cloud provide incredible benefit to those beyond direct sales. Many innovative companies are extending the power of Salesforce to communities far beyond sales people. Communities of customers, employees, partners and the public, all being engaged using technology from salesforce.com.
Your call to action! Where is your thinking on how to use Salesforce to engage your communities?
- Are you thinking broadly enough about how Salesforce can touch your communities?
- Do you understand the full potential of Salesforce (beyond sales)?
- Want to get there, but are not sure where to start?
