How beneficial is it to use Magento and Salesforce concurrently? Is there value in integrating the two?
Based on our experience, we believe using Magento and Salesforce in conjunction with each other gives merchants the best chance at making smart decisions based on tangible data. Tying the systems together provides a more holistic view of every customer and where they are in their journey with your brand.
Imagine generating interest in your product via an email campaign, a conference or a digital or a print ad. Those various marketing channels help you gather information about your target audience, and Salesforce helps B2B and B2C businesses keep track of all leads and customers in one place. It may take several communication attempts (phone, email and so on) to nurture potential customers into loyal customers, and every step of that journey can be easily tracked in a CRM system.
In Salesforce, merchants are able to classify potential customers in the “Opportunity” stage. At some point, however, they will become more inclined to buy something from you. Depending on your business model, there might be a light or a cumbersome negotiation process that takes place before the customer is happy and ready to commit. For example, you may need to send a quote from Magento, but without a CRM integration, you wouldn’t be able to see it in Salesforce.
In the retail world, the process leading to a sale might be more straightforward, but every merchant still has a similar pre-sale process where the customer needs a little push before they commit. Based on our observations every single eCommerce site, regardless of the business model, has:
- visitors who are just browsing;
- a small population of visitors who register for some incentive but never purchase anything;
- a group of customers who add products to their cart but never convert because they either change their mind during the checkout process or leave to search for a better deal.
Without a CRM integration between Magento and Salesforce, merchants only see part of the picture. In our experience, Salesforce is often not exposed to the whole side of the eCommerce business. This includes the process of invoicing a customer, collecting the payment, shipping the goods, providing tracking information, returning merchandise authorizations and processing refunds. The CRM integration between Magento and Salesforce helps close this gap, offering merchants a complete view of every customer and sale.
