Salesforce Outlook Integration : Requirements & Benefits

Businesses all over the world communicate with their clients through emails as it offers an economic and easy way to engage with your existing and prospective clients. Businesses also use Salesforce as it is rated as the world’s # 1 CRM. So, why not explore a way to connect the two? 

But, when we speak about any sales team, time is of paramount importance. Less time wasted is equivalent to an exponential increase in revenue for your organization. 

So, let us first find why it is important to consider an Outlook integration with Salesforce, more so in the context of present-day connected, data-driven, digital businesses?

Why Require Salesforce Outlook Integration?

Do you require the least amount of obstacles for your customer-facing employees and the data required for them to be successful in their respective roles?  Then an Outlook integration with Salesforce is what is highly recommended. Why?

Salesforce and Outlook both comprise critical data. In the absence of Salesforce Outlook Integration, the user will have to toggle between the email and Salesforce, all in search of customer information and opportunity – to devote less time for data-entry. It also helps in tracking email conversations with Salesforce records.

Here are some of the ways in which Salesforce Outlook integration is useful:

• Eliminate any sort of redundant data entry into two separate applications.
• Allow better control of your business with lack of duplicate data.
• Access the Outlook messages and the Salesforce records – all in a single place. This makes the work of the sales team easier for email communications targeted towards the right audience – customers or prospective clients.
• Sync contacts, events and tasks between Salesforce and Outlook.
• Increase business efficiency by saving employee’s precious time.

Redundancy acts as a real problem. Much of the Outlook and Salesforce data are correlated or identical. Some of these activities are tracking contacts, tracking tasks, schedule meetings and appointments. 

Here are some of the reasons which cause problems for your sales reps on account of data redundancy:

• Loss of time due to context switching and maintaining data in two places. It is this very context switching that takes out your sales reps from the selling mode into the tools management mode.
• Higher chances of errors in data entry, as data is entered into Salesforce and Outlook.

Next, we will deal with features that prove to be beneficial for your sales reps, related to Outlook Integration with Salesforce.

How Beneficial is Salesforce Outlook Integration?

Here is what proves to be beneficial for the sales reps:

1. View and Relate Salesforce Content in Outlook

Enhance the adoption of Salesforce among the sales team. Update the Salesforce workforce in your organization what’s going on by adding emails relevant to the sales cycle. 

2. Access Salesforce Features in Outlook  

• Search for Salesforce records more so for those with custom objects.
• Create Salesforce records based on standard objects such as contacts, opportunities, cases as well as custom objects.
• Connect email messages and non-recurring calendar events to multiple Salesforce contacts as well as Salesforce records accepting email messages or tasks.

3. Sync Contacts and Events

Enable you to sync events in a series. Sales reps can get updated contacts and scheduling datas and when required.

4. Add Automatically to Activity Timeline

Add the sent and received emails with Einstein Activity Capture to the activity timeline pertaining to the contacts, leads, opportunities and quote records. 

Improve the efficiency of your team working, with shared settings that decides on the users allowed to view the emails/events. 

5. Right Response at Right time

Enable the sales reps to send the right responses at the right time with intelligent data of Einstein Insights. 

How to Setup the Outlook integration with Salesforce?

The prerequisite of a setup of Outlook integration with Salesforce is server-side and client-side setups. You need to review the system requirements and ensure the email server communicates properly with integration. Here are the factors to consider:

1. System Requirements

Please refer to the below link for details on the systems requirements. 

2. Roles Required to Setup the Integration

• Microsoft Exchange Server Admin
• Salesforce Administrator
• Other Users

3. Consider the Features to Enable

Decide on whether Sales reps need access the components and to enable which all components,  please refer to the link for further details on Email Server Setup, Email Client or Salesforce Add-in within Outlook.

Salesforce and Outlook both comprise critically important data. With no Salesforce Outlook Integration, the user switches between the email and Salesforce, seeking customer information and opportunity, and devoting less time for data-entry. For the integration, use the Salesforce Add-in with Outlook. 

AnavCloud Software is an outstanding Salesforce Certified Partner, which offers best-in-class Integration services for its global clients. If you have any requirements, please feel free to connect with us at: info@anavcloudsoftwares.com