Nearly 80% of users have rated Salesforce Analytics Cloud “excellent” or “good”.
Salesforce Analytics Cloud is a very powerful tool, it’s beneficial particularly for organisations looking to improve their decision-making process.
What is Salesforce Analytics?
Like many Salesforce products, Salesforce Analytics offers a range of tools and features. This cloud-based solution is designed to collect, process and analyse data.
The automated processing and analysis of data provides actionable and updated insights. What is Salesforce Analytics? To put it simply, it’s your key to turning raw data into valuable information with minimal effort.
Key Features of Salesforce Analytics
Up-to-date Insights
Its ability to process and analyse data in real-time makes Salesforce Analytics that much more outstanding among competitors. Having up-to-date insights means that organisations can make data-driven decisions quickly. With 87% of organisations stating data is the most under-utilised asset within their company, organisations risk falling behind when failing to stay updated on changes in customer behaviour.
Predictive analytics
Being proactive is without a doubt better than being reactive, particularly for organisations. Salesforce is renowned for the constant innovation of their product suite, and Salesforce Analytics is no exception. Artificial intelligence integrations and advanced algorithms allow organisations to predict future trends and outcomes with great accuracy. Why is this important? Being able to anticipate changes in the market gives organisations the time to adjust their strategies without having to rush, increasing the chances of success.
Data Centralisation
To ensure your operations run as smoothly as possible, you need to provide employees with a single source of truth. Before considering new tools, make sure they integrate with other tools you’re already using, or you are looking to use. Salesforce Analytics is designed to seamlessly integrate with other Salesforce Products, this means organisations can easily centralise their data, improve their processes and get a true, comprehensive image of their performance.
Custom Dashboards
Dashboards are used to visually represent relevant information to key stakeholders. With Salesforce analytics, you can customise these dashboards to meet different needs. A customer dashboard reduces the risk of information overload, clarifying specific and useful performance indicators and minimising the display of irrelevant metrics makes performance tracking and problem identification easier for decision-makers.
Benefits of Using Salesforce Analytics
The main purpose behind this solution is automating the collection, processing, and analysis of data, but how would this benefit your organisation?
It’s a domino effect: understanding customer needs allows organisations to tailor offerings and meet these needs effectively through making data-driven enhancements to existing strategies. It doesn’t stop there, real-time insights facilitate a proactive approach, ultimately leading to a significant and sustainable advantage over competitors!
Applications Across Different Industries
Salesforce Analytics is not industry specific, named a leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant 2024, Salesforce is used by organisations of all sizes across industries, it’s versatile and effective. Here are some examples of possible applications in different industries:
Retail
Tracking product demand levels and sales volumes helps retailers make data-driven decisions about stock levels and marketing strategies. Retailers also use Salesforce Analytics for:
- Tracking sales performance
- Monitoring inventory levels
- Analysing purchase patterns
Hotels
Hotels utilise hotel CRM software to manage guest data, Salesforce Analytics analyses the data collected from various touchpoints and provides insights to increase occupancy rates and satisfaction levels by:
- Tracking booking patterns
- Monitoring satisfaction levels and feedback
- Managing guest preferences to personalise services
Learn more about the best CRM software for hotels
Healthcare
By analysing patient data, healthcare providers can identify areas for improvement. In the healthcare industry, Salesforce Analytics helps organisations improve the overall patient experience by:
- Centralising patient data
- Tracking previous treatment and outcomes
- Improving service delivery
Airlines
Salesforce travel management leverages Salesforce Analytics to enhance operational efficiency and improve the passenger experience. Airlines can use it for:
- Tracking flight performance
- Managing passenger data and preferences
- Personalising services and optimising routes
Explore the features and benefits: best CRM for travel industry
Manufacturing
Analysing data on production processes using Salesforce Analytics allows manufacturers to increase productivity by:
- Streamlining operations
- Managing supply chains
- Monitoring production efficiency
Financial Services
The ability to analyse financial data in real-time helps organisations in the financial services sector organisations make timely and informed decisions through:
- Monitoring market trends
- Assessing risk
- Optimising investment strategies
Discover more: What is Salesforce Financial Services Cloud.
How to Implement Salesforce Analytics
Whether it’s improving sales, operations or customer satisfaction levels, organisations need to have a clear goal before implementing any new tool. Clearly defining what you are looking to achieve is essential, it serves as your guide to choosing the right tools.
Salesforce Analytics offers a range of tools, so it’s important to select the ones that align best with your needs. Salesforce pricing also varies depending on the tools and features your organisation decides on, this directly impacts your ROI and may have unfavourable financial consequences if not chosen wisely.
There are many advantages to using Salesforce Analytics, however, implementation without a proper background on the platform may be complex. Lack of knowledge leaves room for error during this process. This may cause inefficiencies due to missed opportunities, resulting in wasted resources. The basics are doable, but if you’re looking to fully capitalise on the features available, it’s best to hire a Salesforce consultant.
What is a Salesforce consultant? Salesforce consultants are qualified professionals who help businesses implement, customise, and optimise the platform to meet their unique needs. Aim for a trusted Salesforce partner, and look for those that follow a hands-on approach and provide ongoing support.
Overcoming Common Challenges
Employee Resistance
One of the most common challenges when implementing anything new is employee resistance. Getting people to accept new tools may be difficult, but the solution is quite simple.
First, explain why you chose to employ Salesforce analytics, highlight its benefits to your team in specific. There’s a higher likelihood of acceptance when employees understand these tools can simplify their tasks and improve their workflow.
Comprehensive training and support is essential to addressing this challenge — try to make the onboarding process more enjoyable by encouraging collaboration, team activities and insight sharing.
Our in-depth guide on improving CRM adoption includes further tips and techniques to overcome this challenge.
Data Quality and Centralisation
Always remember, the quality of the output heavily depends on the quality of the input. For Salesforce to generate accurate insights, high quality data is critical.
To ensure data quality:
- Conduct audits to ensure data is regularly updated.
- Establish clear data governance policies and implement best practices for data privacy management.
- Develop a robust data integration strategy to centralise information and maintain data accuracy.
Salesforce for Your Organisation
Organisations may be unaware of the hidden power their data holds. This makes Salesforce Analytics a game-changer for forward-thinking organisations.
However, nobody knows your organisation better than you do. And although the benefits of using Salesforce CRM are extensive, investing in new systems and services takes a lot of consideration. We’re Unify, a global Salesforce Agency, that works closely with ambitious, customer-centric organisations worldwide. We offer expert advice to drive digital transformation, optimise customer experiences, and achieve operational excellence.
For a detailed consultation and to learn how Salesforce can benefit your organisation, contact Unify Data & Analytics today.