Salesforce Overview: What It Is, How It Works & What Does Salesforce Do?

Whether you run a business in the healthcare, banking, finance, or any other sector, you must have already realized the challenges that come along with customer management on a daily basis. Even the smallest mistake can have an everlasting impact on your already established client base and may lead to losing a few of them. However, all of this can be easily avoided if a proper, self-running automated process is in place. A powerful CRM like Salesforce can help with that.

Salesforce is a strategic solution that helps companies stay organized, automate end-to-end processes with Agentforce AI Agents, and provide personalized experiences at scale. It is more than just a tool. But to fully realize its potential, you require professional Salesforce consulting services catering to Sales, Services, CPQ, Marketing, Health & Life Sciences and more.

As leaders in Salesforce consulting, our dedicated team of experts are easily accessible to guide you through everything you need to know about this powerful CRM platform—and how to make it work seamlessly for your business.

So, first things first.

What is Salesforce?

Salesforce is a cloud-based CRM platform that helps businesses manage sales, service, marketing, and more through automation and centralized data. It is a leading cloud computing company that has revolutionized the CRM market history. It provides tools for business process automation, helping companies manage sales, customer service, and marketing.

The image above shows the revenue impact of Salesforce Solutions till 2028. Further, as Salesforce is cloud-based, teams can access it from anywhere, ensuring that managing customers and growing sales becomes easier.

Now that you know what Salesforce CRM is, let’s discuss another important point.

Also Read: Want to know more about Salesforce Agentforce? Check out this complete blog.

What Does Salesforce Do?

Salesforce enables businesses to keep track of their customers, sales, and services in one place. It acts as a digital assistant that organizes customer information, automates tasks, and makes work easier for sales, marketing, and support teams.

So, whether you are looking to enhance sales or speed up the marketing process, Salesforce is the perfect solution.

• Stores Client Information: All client information is kept in a single system.
• Track Sales and Leads: It assists companies in following up with prospective clients by tracking sales and leads.
• Task Automation: Automatically sends emails, updates, and reminders.
• Offers Customer Support Tools: Tracks emails, chats, and phone calls to improve customer support.
• Generates Reports and Insights: Empowers companies to use data to make informed decisions.
• Cloud-Based: Accessible via a computer or mobile device from any location.

Now that you know what Salesforce is and what it does, the next will explain how it works.

How Does Salesforce Work?

Salesforce is a cloud-based CRM software that helps companies centrally manage their customer interactions, sales, marketing, and service operations. Teams can monitor interactions, automate processes, and customize client engagement thanks to the central storage of consumer data.

With the help of Force.com and the Lightning Platform, the platform, which runs on Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), allows organizations to create unique apps. Einstein AI offers predictive insights, while smooth third-party connections guarantee seamless communication with other corporate programs.

As Salesforce is cloud-based, it can be used from any location, allowing companies to boost productivity and scale effectively.

We can create an infographic here to show how salesforce works

What are the Key Features and Capabilities of Salesforce?

To understand more about what does Salesforce do, we have listed its key features and capabilities:

We can add an infographic here to list the points

• Sales and Customer Relationship Management

  Salesforce helps companies effectively manage their sales funnels by offering a powerful customer relationship management (CRM) technology. To track possible clients and make sure sales teams can follow up when it's appropriate, it incorporates lead and opportunity management.

  Businesses can provide individualized service by centralizing client information, history, and preferences through contact and account management. Sales forecasting tools help businesses make data-driven decisions and complete sales more quickly by analyzing patterns and predicting income.

• Marketing Automation

  Businesses can quickly automate and customize their campaigns with Salesforce's marketing solutions. Personalized customer journeys enable every marketer to send custom messages based on their consumer behavior and email. Further, campaign management helps in the creation and monitoring of email campaigns.

  The CRM also ensures a cohesive marketing approach by integrating easily with social media and advertising solutions like Google Ads. It gives marketers room to concentrate on strategy and consumer interaction by automating monotonous business tasks.

• Customer Service and Support

  By offering a case management system to effectively track and address client complaints, Salesforce improves customer service. Einstein AI-powered chatbots automate responses and provide immediate customer support.

  You can provide omnichannel assistance to handle communications via social media, chat, and email from a single platform. Offering continuous support through a variety of channels guarantees prompt response times and improves customer satisfaction.

• Customization and Development

  Salesforce may be easily customized to a company's needs through Force.com and the Lightning Platform. With unique programming language instruction and without code knowledge, Salesforce makes premise to all serious business.

  Integration with other applications, Salesforce allows businesses to connect with third-party apps, including ERP solutions, Slack, and Google Drive. Salesforce has a high level of versatility and can be applied in many business configurations and industrial sectors.

• Business Process Automation

  Multiple intricate business processes can be mechanized using Salesforce, leading to larger efficiency by freeing human intervention and boosting productivity. The implementation of workflow rules and approvals permits companies to accelerate processes like contract approvals and follow-ups.

  Teams can also rely on predictive insights from Einstein AI to help determine which potential leads and tasks should be prioritized. Advanced reporting and dashboards enabled real-time analytics, letting companies monitor crucial KPIs and make informed decisions. Salesforce CRM increases operational efficiency and productivity by automating repetitive tasks.

• Cloud-Based Accessibility and Security

  Salesforce is an enterprise-level security and compliance company that uses multi-factor authentication and encryption to keep customer data secure. In addition to that, it supports companies ranging from small start-ups to large corporations.

  With the cloud-based Salesforce CRM, companies do not have to worry about server maintenance - an assured and cost-effective solution.

How Does Salesforce Work for Sales and Service?

Salesforce works for sales and service by centralizing customer data, automating workflows, and providing real-time insights to improve engagement, efficiency, and decision-making. It centralizes customer data, automates processes, and provides insights to enhance customer engagement.

Automating complex pricing calculations, guaranteeing precise product configurations, and giving sales teams a guided selling experience, expedites the sales process.

What is Salesforce CPQ?

Salesforce CPQ is a sales tool that assists businesses quickly configure products, set accurate pricing, and generate professional quotes. Before we begin with exploring how Salesforce helps sales, let’s understand a bit about Salesforce CPQ. Salesforce CPQ is a sales tool that helps businesses to precisely configure their products and service packages. It assists in applying suitable packages and producing expert quotes.

Here’s how Salesforce CPQ enhances the sales process:

• Product Configuration: Provides sales representatives with guided selling routines to help them choose compatible product combinations.
• Automated Pricing Rules: Based on preset logic, automated pricing rules apply the appropriate discounts, pricing levels, and optional extras.
• Quote Accuracy: Produces precise, brand-consistent quotes that are easy to communicate with customers.
• Approval Workflows: When discounts are above predetermined levels, quotes are automatically forwarded for internal approval.
• Smooth Integration: Ensures that all quote and customer data remain centralized and current by operating natively within Salesforce.

Let's now look at how Salesforce benefits both sales and services teams.

Streamlining the Sales Processes with Salesforce

Did you know that about 79% of sales managers say that their revenue increased with Salesforce CRM? Salesforce enables teams to work smarter by automating tasks, tracking deals, and providing data-driven insights.

Here's how it enhances the sales process:

• Lead and Opportunity Management

  Salesforce makes sure that companies never overlook valuable clients by gathering leads from a variety of sources which includes websites, emails, and social media. It also streamlines the sales process by allocating these leads to the appropriate sales professionals. Sales teams can then concentrate on the most promising prospects with the help of AI-powered tools that evaluate lead quality and recommend the best course of action.

• Sales Automation

  Sales teams can also free up critical time for more strategic work by using Salesforce to automate repetitive operations like scheduling, email outreach, and follow-ups. Recommendations driven by AI help create tailored communications, increasing interaction with potential clients.

• Account and Contact Management

  Salesforce combines client data, keeping all the specifics, previous exchanges, and past purchases on one platform. It enables sales teams to tailor their communications and build closer bonds with customers by learning about their preferences and past experiences. By offering a shared, real-time picture of customer data, the platform also facilitates smooth coordination between the marketing, sales, and customer support teams.

• Sales Forecasting and Analytics

  Salesforce uses strong predictive analytics based on past data and present trends to help some companies predict future sales. It makes it easy for sales leaders to base their decisions on detailed information regarding team performance, deal closure, and revenue projections. With the use of AI-powered insights and data visualizations, companies can better spot revenue opportunities, optimize strategies, and enhance sustainability for their growth.

Optimizing Marketing with Salesforce

Salesforce provides a centralized platform to enable businesses to manage and automate their marketing efforts across various channels like email, social media, and the web. It helps:

• Audience Segmentation

  To generate comprehensive customer profiles, Salesforce enables marketers to gather and arrange client data from many sources (CRM, website, social media, etc.). It helps divide up the audience using these profiles according to demographics, behavior, preferences, past purchases, and more.

• Personalized Campaigns

  Salesforce assists in developing customized and focused campaigns after audiences have been divided into segments. Companies can dynamically customize messaging, scheduling, and content for every consumer with AI-powered technologies like Einstein, to boost engagement and conversions.

• Multichannel Marketing Automation

  Businesses can create and manage customer journeys across many platforms from a single dashboard with Salesforce, enabling multichannel marketing automation. Marketers can design and automate customized email campaigns with Email Studio. Social Studio facilitates social media post scheduling and management, follower interaction, and sentiment analysis for brands.

• Lead Nurturing and Scoring

  Salesforce rates lead according to their involvement and keep track of how customers connect with your advertising. It enables businesses to find quality leads and forward them to the sales team at the appropriate moment.

Must Check: Our Real-Time Inventory Managment Solution Helped Bring Tangible Results for the Client.

Enhancing Customer Support and Retention with Salesforce

Salesforce empowers service teams by providing the tools needed to resolve customer issues faster and improve satisfaction. Here's how it works:

• Case Management and Ticketing System

  Salesforce supports customer service through a single line of handling complaints, questions, and service requests. By automatic assignment of cases, based on the support agents' workload and area of expertise, the resolution will surely be an expeditious one. There will always be an up-to-date case from one point to another recorded in the software in real-time to their customers and support staff.

• Multi-Channel Support (Omnichannel Service)

  Salesforce offers numerous options for client support, including self-service portals, social media, live chat, phone, and email. The combination of all the customer interactions into a single dashboard provides service teams with a single view of client inquiries, ensuring no request gets missed.

• AI-Powered Chatbots and Self-Service Portals

  Salesforce Chatbots, embedded with AI, give quick-fire replies to the most common customer queries, thus easing the burden on humans and enhancing response times. Self-service tools that include a knowledge base and FAQ enable users to seek answers independently.

• Customer Satisfaction and Retention

  Salesforce assists companies in monitoring client interactions and assessing consumer happiness to enhance retention tactics. Automated feedback gathering and follow-up surveys yield insightful information about consumer experiences. Salesforce also uses predictive analytics to identify customers who are at risk, enabling companies to take pre-emptive steps.

How Does Salesforce Work for Healthcare (Health Cloud)?

Salesforce Health Cloud is a specialized CRM to streamline healthcare operations, improve patient care, boost collaboration, and ensure compliance. It gives the care teams a 360-degree view of patient data for personalized treatment plans, proactive care coordination, and smooth communication.

Case Study: Discover how Accelirate's Salesforce Health Cloud Integration helped increase patient volume by 3-4x.

• Scalable Patient Management: It gives an overview of patient data, all for personalized treatment plans, proactive care coordination, and excellent communication among care teams.
• Workflow Automation and EHR Integration: It helps streamline administrative tasks through automated workflows, appointment scheduling, telehealth support, and seamless EHR integration to improve patient care.
• Security and Compliance: Speedy Management adheres to HIPAA; thus, data security is guaranteed to keep patient information safe and respect regulatory standards.
• Predictive Analytics with AI: It makes use of AI to predict health risks, optimize care plans, and provide real-time insight for improved patient outcomes to reduce readmissions.

Must Read: Learn From Experts Why is Salesforce Shield a Must-Have for Healthcare Organizations with our blog.

What are the Benefits of Implementing Salesforce?

Salesforce CRM system comes with various benefits for businesses in different industries. Some of the major benefits of using Salesforce in your business include:

• Better Sales Efficiency

  As a leader of your business, your primary goal would be to enhance sales quickly. That is what exactly Salesforce does. It automates repetitive tasks, helps manage leads, and provides AI-driven insights. Implementing Salesforce results in a 35% increase in the lead-to-conversion ratio.

• Superior Customer Service

  Businesses can provide smooth, individualized customer service via a variety of channels, including chat, email, and phone with Salesforce's Service Cloud. AI-powered case management solutions and chatbots greatly speed up response times.

• Business Process Automation

  Using Salesforce, complex procedures can be quickly automated using Salesforce, to lower manual labor and boost operational effectiveness. Businesses can expedite processes like contract approvals, follow-ups, and service escalations by using workflow rules, approval procedures, and AI-powered automation.

• Centralized Customer data

  Another major benefit of the Salesforce CRM system is that it consolidates all customer information, interactions, and transaction history in one platform. Surveys have shown that customers reported 45% improved forecast accuracy with Salesforce CRM.

• Enhanced Marketing Automation

  Businesses like yours can design, customize, and automate marketing campaigns at scale with Salesforce's Marketing Cloud. Predictive lead scoring and targeted client segmentation are made possible by AI-driven insights.

• Customizable Platform

  Due to Salesforce's great degree of adaptability, you can modify workflows, apps, and connectors to suit your own requirements. With Force.com and Lightning Platform, you can also create unique apps without knowing a lot about code.

• Data-Driven Decision Making

  Salesforce helps enterprises make better decisions by offering real-time reporting, dashboards, and analytics driven by AI. Businesses can obtain customer behavior research, sales forecasts, and predictive insights with Einstein AI.

What is Einstein AI in Salesforce?

We have been talking so much about Einstein in Salesforce but what exactly is it? Einstein in Salesforce is an advanced AI system that is designed to improve customer relationships. It enhances CRM tools by providing insights, automation, and personalization.

When integrated directly with the Salesforce platform, Einstein AI leverages ML, NLP, and deep learning to analyze huge amounts of customer data. It further enables businesses to gain actionable insights, forecast sales trends, and improve decision-making.

The image below shows the percentage improvement achieved with Salesforce Einstein.

Einstein AI automates repetitive tasks like data entry and leads scoring, helping sales, marketing, and customer service teams to work more efficiently while focusing on high-value interactions.

What is Agentforce?

Salesforce's Agentforce is a potent tool that combines AI, automation, and real-time data insights to improve customer experience. With the help of AI-driven recommendations, automated workflows, and intelligent case routing, support personnel can effectively address client inquiries.

Agentforce guarantees smooth communication and quicker response times by consolidating client contacts across many platforms, including chat, email, social media, and the phone. Additionally, it offers predictive insights and real-time data, which assist companies enhance agent efficiency and service quality while providing a more individualized client experience.

What is the ROI of Salesforce?

The Salesforce CRM is a complete investment in growth, efficiency, and better decision-making. The reports state that there has been an increase of 32% in overall marketing ROI and an average ROI of 3800% in email for businesses that implemented the Salesforce CRM system.

• More Focused Teams

  Service teams can resolve problems more quickly, marketing can plan more effectively, and salespeople can sell more.

• Increased Customer Retention:

  Personalized assistance and greater loyalty are made possible by the 360° customer view.

• Smarter Decisions:

  Forecasting and insights are enhanced by integrated analytics and Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions like Einstein.

• Scalable and Customizable:

  It expands with your company with automation, integrations, and adaptable apps.

What Do You Get with MuleSoft and Salesforce Integration?

Salesforce easily connects to several systems, applications, and data sources with MuleSoft and Salesforce integration. MuleSoft's API-driven methodology facilitates seamless data transfer between platforms like marketing automation, CRM, ERP, and more. It increases operating efficiency and gets rid of silos.

With a consolidated view of data, automation workflows for quicker processing, and guaranteed secure connections across cloud and on-premises apps, this integration further enhances client experiences.

“Agentforce 2dx blends the power of Salesforce and MuleSoft to create intelligent, adaptive workflows—where agents move across systems, trigger actions, and keep everything in sync through seamless API and natural language integration.” — Shahzad Khokhar, Global Head of Platforms at Accelerate Inc.

With MuleSoft and Salesforce, businesses can expedite digital transformation, make better decisions, and streamline processes.

Must Read: Do You Own a Small or Mid-Sized Business? Check Our Blog on MuleSoft RPA For Small and Medium Businesses.

What are the Examples of Salesforce in Action?

Several big brands have already put Salesforce into use. Some of the examples include:

• Amazon Web Services

  With numerous Salesforce products operating on the AWS infrastructure, AWS and Salesforce have a solid strategic alliance. Through this partnership, Salesforce users can expand and improve their Salesforce capabilities by utilizing AWS services.

  For example, contact center agents are given a full suite of capabilities through the combination of Salesforce Care Cloud Voice and Amazon Connect, which enables them to provide more effective and individualized customer care.

• Spotify

  Salesforce is used by Spotify to improve customer relationship management and provide more accurate, focused marketing.

  Spotify platform can personalize music suggestions by analyzing their user behavior using Salesforce Marketing Cloud, increasing engagement and boosting subscription conversion rates. The platform drives Spotify's push notifications and email campaigns, which assist provide timely, pertinent content that encourages consumers to return.

• Coca-Cola

  Coca-Cola Germany implemented the Salesforce Customer Success Platform to enhance its employee-customer interactions and optimize business processes. Its field representatives could access customer information, inventory details, and order histories in real-time while they were on-site through Salesforce-powered mobile applications.

  From their mobile devices, representatives may place orders promptly, handle deliveries, and respond to customer demands more quickly thanks to this easy access

The Dynamic Ecosystem of Humans, Agents, and Robots

In today’s fast-paced digital environment, exceptional customer experiences demand more than just human efforts. It needs an intelligent blend of human skills, smart AI agents, and robotic process automation (RPA).

Salesforce combines the three to create a strong and dynamic ecosystem that enables smooth customer engagement through the cooperation of people, digital agents, and automation.

• The Role of Humans

  The human element is important to all customer interactions. Your marketing, sales, and support teams provide relationship-building, empathy, and critical thinking. By eliminating tedious chores, bringing to light significant insights, and providing a 360-degree perspective of each customer, Salesforce enables them to concentrate on what really counts: meaningful discussions and significant decision-making.

• The Power of AI Agents

  Your digital agent is Salesforce Einstein, the platform's integrated AI engine. It provides teams with intelligent chatbots, next-best-action recommendations, lead scoring, predictive analytics, and personalized content recommendations. By enhancing human abilities, these AI agents make conversations quicker, more intelligent, and more customer-relevant.

• The Efficiency of Robots

  Time-consuming, rule-based processes including data entry, invoice production, approval routing, and status updates are handled behind the scenes using robotic process automation (RPA). These bots, which are integrated with Salesforce, guarantee that processes continue without interruptions, increasing efficiency and decreasing errors across departments.

How to Get Started with Salesforce?

Getting started with the Salesforce CR M is quick and easy. Partnering with the right Salesforce consulting services will help you get started with Salesforce CRM seamlessly.

For instance, our experts at Accelirate will first assess your business needs, recommend the best Salesforce edition, and ensure a smooth implementation. From optimizing workflow with automation to configuring AI-driven insights, and providing training to help your team, we will guide you through it all.

With our expert guidance, you can streamline operations, improve customer relationships, and drive better business outcomes.

Get in touch with us or book a call to get started with Salesforce.

How to Choose the Right Salesforce Consulting Partner?

Choosing the right Salesforce services can be confusing and a tiring process. Below are the steps that can help you find the right Salesforce partner:

• Define Your Project Goals

  Make sure you know exactly what you want from your Salesforce implementation before choosing a partner. It helps in finding a consultant who shares your goals and provides appropriate answers.

• Look for Platform Specialization

  Salesforce offers a number of products, including Marketing Cloud, Service Cloud, and Sales Cloud. Select a partner who has extensive knowledge of the particular cloud or clouds that are important to your company.

• Evaluate Customization and Scalability Skills

  Your Salesforce setup should change as your business does. A capable partner can create adaptable and scalable solutions that expand with your company.

• Consider Team Size and Availability

  Verify if the Salesforce service provider has skilled employees that can fulfill the timeframes for your project. Bandwidth and availability are crucial, particularly during crucial stages like going live.

• Ask About Post-Launch Support

  Salesforce projects continue after they are deployed. To maximize your investment, pick a partner that provides ongoing training, support, and optimization services.