Competitiveness for every business lies in finding one’s competitive advantage. The Salesforce® platform is a huge cog in the wheel of many organizations, housing immense amounts of valuable data about customers, prospects, sales, marketing efforts, and general performance across the organization. But having this kind of data is not enough. But the real power lies in distilling actionable insights from this data and using them to drive strategic decisions. This Ad Victoriam Salesforce Blog will look at how you can unlock the full potential of your Salesforce data and transform it into a powerful engine for growth.

Unpacking the Goldmine of Data within Salesforce

Salesforce is more than a contact management system but is an entire platform of captured data across different departments and functions—everything on Salesforce- from sales interactions and marketing campaigns to customer inquiries and support tickets- gets recorded. Proper analysis of this data will expose important patterns and trends that may drastically affect your business. Think about it: within your Salesforce instance, you likely have data on:

• Customer Demographics and Behavior: Who your customers are, what they prefer, and how exactly they will interact with the brand. 
• Sale Performance: The top-performing sales reps, pipeline deal cycles, and what needs improvement in the sales processes. 
• Marketing Effectiveness: Measures for showing ROI, which channel gives maximum leads and personalizing marketing.
• Customer Service Efficiency: Analyze customer support interactions, identify areas of concern, and enhance your customer service processes. 
• Product Performance: See which products sell the most, determine which areas to develop more product offerings, and personalize product recommendations.

Valuable Insights Extraction Strategies

Raw data can only be transformed into actionable insights if a well-thought-out strategy guides the process. The following are some of the major strategies that may be considered:

1. Clearly Outline Your Business Objectives: Before you get started with analyzing the data, define what exactly you want to achieve. Is it increasing sales, retaining more customers, or optimizing your marketing campaigns? By having clear objectives, you will ensure that you are focused on the most relevant data.
2. Clean and Organize Your Data: First and foremost, high-quality data is a must. Bad or incomplete information can provide inaccurate insights into the organization. Take time to clean up and organize the Salesforce data. It means the removal of duplicate data, the standardization of data formats, and the completeness of data. Salesforce has tools that can help in this process, like Data Loader or deduplication features.
3. Use Reports and Dashboards in Salesforce: Salesforce has robust inbuilt reporting and dashboard functionalities. One can run customized reports, visualize data in different formats like charts and graphs, and track KPIs. Dashboards give a quick glance view of the most important metrics to track performance.
4. Do Analytics on Salesforce: If you would like more high-end analytics for your company, you may leverage Salesforce Analytics-Tableau CRM. The potent platform gives meaning to advanced data visualization, predictive analytics, and AI insights. You will be able to connect with your sources, visualize insights on your interactive dashboard, and see some of those points that you never understood on the general reports.
5. Combine with Other Data Sources: Your Salesforce data is much more powerful when combined with other sources of information, like your marketing automation platform, website analytics, or financial systems. By integrating these data sources, you can see the holistic picture of your business and find correlations and patterns that may go unnoticed.
6. Application of Data Mining Techniques: Use techniques like clustering, association rule mining, and regression analysis from data mining, which can expose hidden patterns/relationships in the data. It can then be used for the segmentation of customers, finding cross-sell opportunities, and predicting behavior.
7. Invest in Training and Expertise: It takes expertise to maximize the value of your Salesforce data. Invest in training for your team on Salesforce reporting and analytics. Consider partnering with a Salesforce consulting company, like Ad Victoriam Solutions, which can help drive a data-driven strategy and put the right tools and processes in place.

Examples of Actionable Insights

The following are a few examples of how you can use Salesforce data to drive business outcomes:

• Identify High-Value Customers: You can use customer data to determine who your most valuable customers are and then tailor your marketing and sales efforts toward their specific needs.
• Optimize Sales Processes: You can look at sales data to see where the bottlenecks are in your sales process and implement improvements to shorten the sales cycle and increase win rates.
• Customer Data for Marketing Personalization: Use customer data to segment the audience and create targeted marketing campaigns, which would be easy for your target groups to engage with.
• Improve Customer Service: Gain insights into areas of regular failure in your customer service. Then, analyze that information to develop better methods and processes so that your customers get enhanced satisfaction with their service interactions.

Summary

Your Salesforce data holds the key to driving business growth over your competition. By applying these strategies from this blog post, you will be able to transform your Salesforce data from a heap of records into an actionable insight powerhouse. Remember to outline your business goals, clean and organize your data, use reporting and analytics with Salesforce, and consider integrating this with other sources of data to get a better view of the business. Lastly, investment in training and skills will also be crucial to ensure maximum value is derived from Salesforce data.

How AdVic Can Help

The world is finally going data-driven, and the right strategies applied to your Salesforce data will show more about how to run and grow the business. Give us a call at AdVic® today and find out how we can help unlock the power of your Salesforce data.

Related Resources:

Enhancing Data Security: The Role of AI

Exploring Today’s Data, Digital, and AI Challenges

How Salesforce Data Cloud Boosts Business Operations 

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The post How to Extract Valuable Insights from Your Salesforce CRM Data appeared first on Ad Victoriam Solutions.

For any business, the year’s first quarter is busy. The sales team wants to get off to a strong start, the finance team is working to close the books on the previous year, and the executive team is prioritizing company goals for the coming year. But it’s also a time to reflect on the year that was. 

For us, that means looking at not only the traditional key performance indicators (KPIs) like revenue, profit margins, and employee retention, but also looking at how we lived up to our company mission and values. 

Our Annual Impact Report summarizes that review, of the KPIs for our community impact initiatives, commitment to workplace culture, and the results of our workforce development program. We’re proud to report these numbers, and we’re even more proud that AdVic’s 10th year was another stellar year of living up to our founding values. 

Read on to find out more, or click here to view the full report. 

Pledge 1%

AdVic® joined Pledge 1% in 2017, and we just completed our 8th consecutive successful year of hitting our target, donating 1.2% of revenue in the form of time and money to local charities. Whether sponsoring events or volunteering in the community, we look forward to celebrating this accomplishment again in 2025. 

Volunteerism

While 2025 was a milestone for our organization, which celebrated 10 years of being open for business, it was also a milestone year for our volunteer efforts as it marked five years of our adopted highway through Keep Forsyth Beautiful. In addition to the quarterly cleanups, our team took advantage of their 40 hours of paid volunteer time off, racking up a whopping total of 1,110 hours at 60 different organizations. 

Charitable Giving

Speaking of milestones, 2024 saw our all-time donation total surpass $250,000. We continued our long-term support of Bulldogs Battling Breast Cancer, the Georgia English Bulldog Rescue, and UGA’s Terry College of Business General Scholarship Fund. 

In addition to other company-sponsored causes, our team members also stepped up with their fundraisers for HYPE and Tech Forward, annual efforts that have now raised over $2,500 for each organization since they began back in 2019. Our team also organized a school supply drive and several pet-themed fundraisers for local animal shelters. 

Workforce Development

Back in 2018, the Salesforce ecosystem had more open jobs than it did qualified candidates. So we crafted our solution, launching Elevate, our internal training program that hires new college graduates with zero technology experience and puts them through an intensive hands-on three-month course to prepare them for project work. 

We’ve now hired over 100 graduates, with many of them still with us at AdVic. In fact, over a third of our team has been with us for over five years, and we have a combined 761 active Salesforce certifications! 

Women in Technology

Since our early days, we’ve taken pride in hiring and developing some of the most talented individuals in the Salesforce space. We’re proud to report that we continue to outperform our industry, with women making up 43% of our workforce. And better yet, almost half of our female employees are in manager, director, or executive roles! 

Planning for 2025

We hope you enjoyed some of our impact highlights for 2024, and the things we continue to value as we strive for profit and purpose. Our team is already hard at work for 2025, with planned cleanups, community events, and employee outings already on the calendar. We look forward to reporting back with our final numbers again in early 2026. 

If you have any questions about the report, please let us know. We’d love to hear from you. And until then, make it a great, and impactful, 2025. 

AdVic thanks Profitable Purpose Consulting‘s Nathan Stuck for his contributions to this blog.

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The post 2024 in Review: The AdVic Annual Impact Report appeared first on Ad Victoriam Solutions.

As we close out 2024, it’s the perfect time to reflect on how Salesforce® has empowered businesses to innovate, scale, and thrive. We’re immensely grateful for the continued support and collaboration from the Salesforce community, which has fueled this incredible journey.

In our final blog of the year, we present “The Top 24 Salesforce Blogs of 2024,” curated by AdVic®. These articles, shaped by the insights and feedback of our readers, offer valuable takeaways for everyone in the Salesforce ecosystem.

We hope these blogs inspire and guide you as you continue your Salesforce journey.

Wishing you a fantastic New Year from the Ad Victoriam Solutions Team!

1. Fortifying Healthcare Cybersecurity with Data Diversification

On a recent Summer 2024 Ad Victoriam Salesforce Simplified podcast, the topic was data security within the healthcare industry. Our expert guest from AdVic® taught us quite a bit about how the latest cyber threats are affecting the healthcare industry, gave us current-day examples of data breaches and the impact they are having, advised on how to safeguard sensitive patient data, talked about how Salesforce® solutions are leading in data protection, and much more. Read More

2. Salesforce Ben’s Christine Marshall Highlights Top Summer ’24 Release Features

On a May 2024 AdVic “Salesforce Simplified” podcast – we spoke with Salesforce Ben’s Technical Content Director and 12X Salesforce-Certified Evangelist Christine Marshall about her favorite new features in the Salesforce Summer ’24 Release. Here are the eight she selected for AdVic®. Read More

3. Salesforce Ben’s Christine Marshall Highlights Top Spring ’24 Release Features

On a January 2024 AdVic “Salesforce Simplified” podcast – we spoke with  Salesforce Ben‘s Courses & Community Director and 12X Salesforce-Certified Evangelist Christine Marshall about some of her favorite new features in the Salesforce Spring ’24 Release. Here are the six she selected for AdVic®. Read More

4. AdVic Turns 10: A Discussion with Our Top Dawgs

On an April 2024 episode of the Ad Victoriam Salesforce Simplified podcast, the topic was… Ad Victoriam Solutions (AdVic®). You see, we celebrated our 10th anniversary in 2024 (in May to be specific), so we thought you might like to learn a little bit more about us: our roots, our culture, and more about the Salesforce® world… so we’ve invited AdVic CEO Jeff Jones and President Brian Mize to fill in those holes for us. Here are just a few of the highlights from that conversation. Read More

5. Top Salesforce Winter ’25 Release Features: Selected By Salesforce Ben’s Christine Marshall

On a September 2024 Ad Victoriam Salesforce Simplified podcast – we spoke with  Salesforce Ben‘s Technical Content Director and 12X Salesforce-Certified Evangelist Christine Marshall about some of her favorite new features in the Salesforce Winter ’25 Release. Here are the seven she selected for AdVic®. Read More

6. The Role AI & GenAI Are Playing in Today’s B2B Marketing

To understand how these tools are evolving into today’s B2B marketing space, AdVic® invited digital marketing agency Vende Digital Founder and CEO Paul Slack back to the “Salesforce Simplified” podcast in late 2023/early 2024 to get his take on where we are and where he sees AI and GPT advancing B2B marketing efforts. What follows are a few of the highlights from that conversation. Read More

7. An Insider’s View of Salesforce’s Account Engagement (Pardot) & Marketing Cloud

Salesforce Ben‘s Operations Director, Lucy Mazalon, knows a thing or two about Salesforce’s Account Engagement (a.k.a. Pardot) and Marketing Cloud. We invited her to be a guest on a February 2024 episode of the Ad Victoriam Solutions Salesforce Simplified podcast to discuss the difference between those two marketing tools. Read More

8. Enhancing Customer Experience with AI

On the July 2024 episode of Ad Victoriam’s  Salesforce Simplified podcast, we dove into the transformative role of AI in enhancing customer experience. Joined by guest Nick Glimsdahl, a senior account executive at VDS and host of the Press 1 for Nick podcast, the discussion explored how AI reshapes customer interactions across various industries. Read More

9. Boosting Sales with AI & GenAI: The Game-Changers for Productivity

Within sales, AI is like having a super-smart assistant, always ready to help. It’s not about replacing humans but enhancing their capabilities. AI can analyze vast amounts of data faster than you can say, “closing the deal.” Now, sales teams can focus on what they do best – building relationships and sealing the deal. In this blog, we looked at what sales teams will accomplish when they embrace AI. Read More

10. Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud: Powering Impact

Implementing a customer relationship management (CRM) tool can be a daunting task for any organization. For nonprofits with smaller staffs and limited budgets, it presents a myriad of challenges. But with Salesforce’s Nonprofit Cloud, it can be a walk in the park. From its cost-effectiveness to its ability to drive fundraising, donor engagement, and project success, the world’s #1 CRM helps empower nonprofits to new heights. Read More

11. Creating a Healthier World with Salesforce

Doctors, nurses, schedulers, and other healthcare professionals have played an intricate part in ensuring our safety throughout the recent healthcare industry challenges. During this time, healthcare has become disrupted and the industry needed innovation quickly. From in-person visits, pick-ups at the pharmacy, and an influx of ICU patients, they adopted new ways to care for everyone. How did they do this? Technology. Read More

12. The Power of Managed Services in Technology Management

Many businesses have internal challenges, such as bandwidth limitations or limited in-depth and broad-based knowledge among their staff. In such scenarios, considering a Managed Services solution becomes a logical choice. These solutions, delivered by certified experts working as an extension of your team, offer cost-effectiveness, flexible commitments, and tailored solutions to meet your specific needs. Read More

13. Outset Medical Transforms Marketing with AdVic: A Success Story

After successfully leading several large-scale projects to help medical technology company Outset Medical evolve key capabilities within Salesforce Service Cloud, Ad Victoriam Solutions (AdVic®) was invited to participate in an RFP to help them migrate from another third-party marketing automation platform to Salesforce Marketing Cloud. Read More

14. AdVic Earns B Corporation Recertification

In May 2024, Ad Victoriam Solutions (AdVic®) proudly celebrated our 10th anniversary. But there is another milestone we were proud of in 2024… We’ve re-certified as a B Corporation! Read More

15. Manufacturing in the Fast Lane: How Salesforce Manufacturing Cloud Puts You in the Driver’s Seat

Imagine a single platform that streamlines operations, secures your valuable data, and gives you a complete picture of your customers – all while boosting collaboration, eliminating roadblocks, and keeping everything transparent. That’s the power of Salesforce Manufacturing Cloud. Read More

16. Elevating Sales Efficiency: 5 Key Benefits of Salesforce Billing Integration with CPQ

Salesforce Billing, an add-on package to Salesforce CPQ (Revenue Cloud), empowers users to seamlessly invoice orders generated through CPQ sales, consolidating finance and sales functions within a unified platform. This integration streamlines invoicing, payment processing, tax application, and credit/debit note issuance, fostering organizational cohesion and enhancing customer experiences. Here are the top five reasons to use Salesforce Billing. Read More

17. How Salesforce Can Help Startups Grow and Scale: Beyond the Cost Perception

For many startups, the initial focus is building a strong foundation and achieving product-market fit. In this phase, cost-consciousness is paramount, leading some to believe that a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solution like Salesforce® is out of reach. However, this perception overlooks the immense value Salesforce offers startups looking to grow and scale across any industry while streamlining operations, and building deeper customer relationships. Read More

18. Barking For Service: Using Volunteer Time Off to Boost Pet Adoptions

In early 2024, Jasper, Georgia-based nonprofit Barkville Dog Rescue reached out to AdVic for help with a marketing overhaul and we emphatically raised our hands to serve. Our in-house marketing team quickly got to work, taking advantage of their Volunteer Time Off, a benefit allowing each employee to spend 40 paid hours volunteering with a nonprofit of their choice.  For this project, that meant helping BarkVille rebrand its “Be Cool, Adopt” logo, completely rebuilding its website, adding new images and videos, and helping bolster its calls to action for donors, volunteers, fosters, and people searching for their family’s new four-legged sidekick. Read More

19. Why Traditional CRM Falls Short in Healthcare

Imagine a patient who feels unheard and confused by their healthcare journey. This scenario, unfortunately, is all too common. To thrive in today’s competitive landscape, healthcare organizations need a solution: building strong patient relationships through a robust CRM system. This is where Salesforce Health Cloud comes in, offering a revolutionary approach to Customer Relationship Management (CRM) specifically designed for the healthcare industry. Let’s take a look at it, but first, what functionalities make a valuable healthcare CRM? Read More

20. 10 Salesforce Products to Supercharge Your Sales Pipeline

Salesforce® offers a powerful suite of cloud-based tools designed to empower businesses of all sizes. However, navigating the vast array of Salesforce products can be overwhelming. If you’re looking to streamline your sales processes and boost efficiency, here are 10 Salesforce products you should consider. Read More

21. Meet Salesforce’s Einstein Copilot: Revolutionizing Business with AI

In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, businesses are constantly seeking innovative solutions to streamline their operations, enhance customer experiences, and stay ahead of the competition. Enter Salesforce’s latest game-changer: Einstein Copilot. This cutting-edge AI-powered tool is set to transform the way businesses interact with their Salesforce® platform, revolutionizing productivity and efficiency like never before. Read More

22. 9 Signs It’s Time to Hire a Certified Salesforce Consultant

Have you ever attempted to tackle a Salesforce® implementation in-house, lacking the necessary knowledge and expertise, only to find yourself falling short of achieving your goals? Perhaps you’ve experienced the frustration of navigating through the complexities of Salesforce features and functionalities, resulting in wasted time, effort, and resources. Your initial excitement may have waned as you questioned the suitability of Salesforce for your needs. This is where the importance of engaging a Certified Salesforce Consultant becomes evident. Without the guidance of an experienced partner, you risk prolonging the implementation process and squandering additional resources. Read More

23. CRM Adoption: The Flaw in ‘You Build It and They Come’

Michael Hudlow, a leader in business transformation and corporate innovation – and an expert on the topic of CRMs – was a February 2024 guest on the Ad Victoriam Salesforce Simplified podcast and talked about common, but not always obvious reasons people don’t use and adopt CRMs, including Salesforce CRM. Michael is also the author of the books, “How Not To F*ck Up A CRM System: Learning From Others Mistakes” and “How Not To F*ck Up Artificial Intelligence & CRM Systems: Maximizing ROI With AI.” Here are some highlights from that conversation. Read More

24. Maximizing Your CRM Investment: How Budget-Conscious Businesses Can Make the Most of Salesforce

In a time where every connection counts, mastering customer relationships has become essential to success, regardless of your company’s size or stature. While Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software like Salesforce® is often associated with large corporations, it’s an equally valuable tool for small and budget-conscious businesses. The misconception that Salesforce is prohibitively expensive might keep some companies away, but the reality is that it offers flexible, cost-effective solutions designed for organizations of all sizes. In this guide, we’ll show how businesses on a budget can maximize their resources with Salesforce, using its powerful CRM tools without overspending. Read More

Related Resources:

Subscribe to AdVic Salesforce Blogs 

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Pressing Challenges for Developers and Admins

Our conversation with Warren started with us wondering about ​one ​of ​the ​most ​pressing ​challenges he ​sees ​Salesforce ​developers ​and ​admins ​face ​today.

Technical Hurdles

In this audio clip from the podcast, Warren talks about some ​of ​the ​most ​common ​technical ​hurdles ​Developers ​encounter ​when ​working ​with ​Salesforce.

Know the Platorm’s Latest Key Features 

As you work ​within ​the ​Salesforce ecosystem, ​you ​quickly understand ​how ​the ​platform ​has ​evolved ​over ​the ​years, ​and it’s important in your Developer and Admin roles to keep up with the latest ​key ​features ​and ​capabilities of ​the ​platform. Here’s a point Warren makes about that.

Salesforce Certifications

Always top of mind with Salesforce Developers at any level, ​certifications ​are ​essential ​for ​Salesforce ​professionals ​to ​stay ​competitive, ​especially ​the ​newbies. ​We wanted to get Warren’s thoughts on what to concentrate on. Here are just a few of the ones he suggested.

There is much more to our conversation with Warren Walters. Listen to the entire podcast.

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On a recent episode of the Ad Victoriam Salesforce Simplified podcast, the topic was… Ad Victoriam Solutions (AdVic®). You see, we are celebrating our 10th anniversary in 2024 (in May to be specific), so we thought you might like to learn a little bit more about us: our roots, our culture, and more about the Salesforce® world… so we’ve invited AdVic CEO Jeff Jones and President Brian Mize to fill in those holes for us. Here are just a few of the highlights from that conversation.

Key Milestones for AdVic

AdVic President Brian Mize talks about a few of the early milestones that shaped our future, including the check we received from our first client.

What Makes AdVic Different?

From his perspective, which he says “may be jaded,” AdVic CEO Jeff Jones says what makes us different is that “we pride ourselves on our technical skill sets because they’re really deep and they’re foundational.”

The AdVic Elevate Program

As Brian Mize described it, AdVic’s in-house Elevate program “allowed us to bridge a talent gap that others have really struggled with.”

Advice for Tomorrow’s Salesforce Professionals

Regarding tomorrow’s Salesforce professionals, Jeff Jones says they should see “the opportunity is in the chaos.” What he means by that is people should recognize that a lot of change (the chaos) is coming within the Salesforce ecosystem – and the technology world as a whole –  and that is the opportunity.

Learn More About AdVic

More Salesforce Blogs from AdVic

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After successfully leading several large-scale projects to help medical technology company Outset Medical evolve key capabilities within Salesforce Service Cloud, Ad Victoriam Solutions (AdVic®) was recently invited to participate in an RFP to help them migrate from another third-party marketing automation platform to Salesforce Marketing Cloud. 

Regarding the process, Outset’s Senior Director, Information Technology Isaac Stockwell remarked, “AdVic demonstrated clear domain expertise throughout the RFP process and embraced a true partnership approach to meet Outset’s needs relative to scope, schedule, and budget.”

Challenges Faced

Before implementing Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Outset’s legacy marketing automation platform lacked key capabilities around multi-channel digital marketing campaigns and the ability to build highly engaging customer journeys.  Additionally, integration between Outset’s marketing automation platform and Salesforce was limited, creating challenges with lead management, scoring, and nurturing, as well as limitations around digital engagement with existing customers.

Building Trust and Confidence

From the initial setup, AdVic’s leadership and expertise fostered trust. 

Specifically, Stockwell stated, “As we exited our acceptance testing and it became clear we had achieved a truly integrated solution (with Salesforce CRM), the team felt reenergized and confident heading into the last mile.”

Solution Impact

AdVic delivered a comprehensive solution encompassing lead capture, Salesforce CRM integration, robust automation, and engaging customer journeys. This resulted in:

• Efficient lead management: Intelligent lead routing streamlined processes and supported handoff to sales.
• Enhanced customer experience: Outset gained the ability to create highly segmented, engaging customer journeys. 

Exceeding Expectations

Outset’s Stockwell gave AdVic glowing marks on expectations, commenting, “AdVic worked diligently, sometimes seemingly around the clock, to meet a highly aggressive timeline.” He went on to highlight how we:

• Met tight deadlines: The team worked diligently, ensuring a smooth launch despite a demanding timeline.
• Combined technical and business expertise: The lead consultant’s unique skill set proved invaluable for the project’s success.

Knowledge Transfer and Adoption

The AdVic Team’s knowledge transfer approach was crucial for Outset’s long-term adoption and success. 

Stockwell added, “AdVic’s depth of expertise on the platform and thoughtful approach to knowledge transfer was apparent in training curriculum and sessions that were well organized and highly effective in conveying technical information appropriately for both technical and business resources.”

Enjoyable Collaboration

Asked what Outset appreciated most about its collaboration with AdVic, Stockwell pointed to:

• Accountable Team: AdVic took ownership and met commitments throughout the project.
• Transparent Communication: Clear and open communication fostered a positive working relationship.
• Efficient Process: The project management framework provided clarity and transparency.

Summary:

Outset Medical’s partnership with AdVic resulted in a successful migration to Salesforce Marketing Cloud, addressing challenges that included a solid data security plan and driving positive business impact. The experience was highlighted by trust, expertise, and a collaborative spirit, making it a true success story.

How AdVic Can Help

In the dynamic landscape of healthcare technology, Outset Medical sought to enhance its capabilities through a strategic partnership with AdVic, and our team can start helping your business today too by crafting the right Salesforce technology solution. Schedule a free consultation now.

Related Resources:

More AdVic Customer Success Stories

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As 2023 comes to a close, we reflect on the many ways Salesforce® has helped businesses grow and succeed. We are grateful to the Salesforce community for their continued support and collaboration.

In this final blog of the year, we share “The Top 23 Salesforce Blogs of 2023,” as curated by AdVic®, and the feedback we’ve received from our readers. These blogs provide valuable insights and advice for the entire Salesforce ecosystem.

We hope you enjoy reading these blogs and that they help you in your Salesforce journey.

Happy New Year from the Ad Victoriam Solutions Team!

#1. Highlights from the Salesforce Spring ’23 Release

To help get you ready for the Salesforce Spring ’23 Release, we spoke with  Salesforce Ben‘s Courses & Community Director and 11X Salesforce-Certified Evangelist Christine Marshall about some of her favorite new features in the release. Here are the seven she selected for AdVic®.

Read More

#2. Create Better Brand Experiences with Consumer Goods Cloud

The traditional consumer products distribution strategy has traditionally been centered on face-to-face contact. However, today brands want a way for sales teams to know exactly how their items are selling, what inventory is needed in their store, and which locations need field reps’ attention. In addition, brands must also assist field teams by providing task management solutions that allow field reps to execute and audit precisely and in real-time while on the job. This is exactly why Salesforce Consumer Goods Cloud was created by the #1 CRM solution provider, Salesforce.

Read More

#3. What to Know When Migrating Data to Salesforce From a Legacy System

It won’t surprise anyone to know that migrating data from a legacy system to a Salesforce solution requires some careful planning and execution. And after you’ve chosen your Salesforce migration partner, there are a lot of things to take into consideration. Thus, the reason for us reaching out to Salesforce Lead Technical Architect Richard MacDonald is to get his expertise, guidance, and some tips. What follows are some highlights from our 2023 conversation with Richard on the AdVic “Salesforce Simplified” podcast.

Read More

#4. Expedite Salesforce Implementation with an Accelerator – Part 1

For those who don’t know, AdVic’s extensive line of Accelerators is quick-start tools that advance the implementation or enhancement of your Salesforce® platform to equip and empower your team, customers, and partners in just weeks, not months. 

With our uniquely crafted solutions, based on industry best practices and thousands of completed projects, your company will be able to quickly leverage Salesforce functionality, lower deployment costs with accelerating platform benefits, and gain out-of-the-box resolution – which can be customized to your needs – to top industry use cases. 

In Part 1 of this AdVic Salesforce Blog series, we’re taking a look at a few of our various Accelerator offerings and how they can expedite the Salesforce solution you have been looking for. 

Read More

#5. Highlights from Salesforce’s Summer ’23 Release

To prepare you for the Salesforce Summer ’23 Release, we once again enlisted the help of Salesforce Ben‘s Courses & Community Director and 11X Salesforce-Certified Evangelist Christine Marshall to share some of her favorite new features in this release. Here are the eight she selected for AdVic.

Read More

#6. Get More Out Of Your Salesforce Clouds

After their initial Salesforce implementation, certain business practices become easier and productivity is enhanced. But with time, your business, industry, and even Salesforce features change and it may become necessary to modify or improve the functionality of your Salesforce platform to do more with less, and keep teams aligned and focused on the customer experience. 

In this blog, we discuss how a company that has already implemented Salesforce can modify, improve functionality, or add features to keep their teams aligned, focused on customer experience, and growing revenue.

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#7. Commerce Cloud Goes Beyond Your Traditional Online Catalog

When people think of e-commerce, they often think of the ease of online shopping in their daily lives. But there’s another world of e-commerce with its own unique relationships and buying capabilities: business-to-business (B2B) commerce.

Businesses in the B2B space are turning to Salesforce Commerce Cloud, an e-commerce platform from Salesforce specifically designed for businesses making purchases online. It enables companies to create exceptional e-commerce storefronts and experiences for their business customers.

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#8. Salesforce Introduces Generative AI Tools for Marketers

As we look back at 2023, it was the year that AI (Artificial Intelligence) and GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) changed how people work, and marketers were some of the most affected by this brand-new technology. Salesforce is one of the companies investing in this new functionality announcing at its June Connections event in Chicago that Marketing GPT and Commerce GPT would become widely available by the end of the year. These new applications are powered by Einstein GPT — the AI-powered set of solutions that marries Salesforce AI with OpenAI’s technology and are changing the way marketers do their job, from creating audiences to promoting products dynamically in email and on their eCommerce sites.  

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#9. Sales & Marketing, SEO, and Social Media Tips for B2B Marketers

The B2B marketing landscape is continuously evolving. The last two years saw a few unprecedented changes and trends in the B2B marketing ecosystem. What trends can we expect in 2023? On an Ad Victoriam “Salesforce Simplified” podcast, Paul Slack, founder and CEO of Vende Digital discussed sales and marketing, SEO, and social media trends B2B marketers should watch – and possibly embrace – this year. What follows are some of the highlights of that conversation.

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#10. 8 Steps to a Successful Salesforce Implementation

A Salesforce implementation can be a complex and daunting process. Even if you’ve already implemented Salesforce before, starting a new implementation from scratch can present new challenges. To ensure that your implementation is successful, there are certain steps you need to follow. In this AdVic Salesforce Blog, we’ll discuss eight important steps to follow when starting a Salesforce implementation.

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#11. The 10 Best Marketing Practices B2B Companies Should Follow

B2B companies often have long sales cycles, complex decision-making processes, and multiple stakeholders. Therefore, B2B companies need to follow certain best practices to maximize their chances of success. Here are 10 best marketing practices that B2B companies should follow.

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#12. Expedite Salesforce Implementation with an Accelerator – Part 2

For those who don’t know, AdVic’s extensive line of Accelerators is quick-start tools that advance the implementation or enhancement of your Salesforce platform to equip and empower your team, customers, and partners in just weeks, not months. 

In Part 2 of this AdVic Salesforce Blog series (read Part 1), we’re taking a look at a few of our various Accelerator offerings and how they can expedite the Salesforce solution you have been looking for.  

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#13. AdVic’s B Corp Commitment Continues Into 2023

In this Salesforce Blog, we discuss opportunities to improve as a B Corporation in 2023, and how we are getting ready for recertification in early 2024. 

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#14. The Benefits of Using Salesforce Marketing Cloud

What is Salesforce Marketing Cloud? It’s the email you received from a retailer that presented products they already know you have an interest in. Or a text message alerting you that the item you viewed, but didn’t purchase is now on sale. Marketing Cloud can do this, and so much more. 

In a nutshell, Marketing Cloud has become an essential tool for businesses looking to build brand awareness and grow their customer base. So, in this AdVic Salesforce Blog, we explore some of the most important things to know about Marketing Cloud, including its benefits and how it can help your business.

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# 15. Meet Salesforce Content Creator Ike Wagh

Ike Wagh is a unique independent Salesforce Content Creator who has been using his platform to share his passion for Salesforce with the world across social media. Ike has over 13,000 followers on LinkedIn and over 3,000 subscribers to his YouTube channel.

Ike was a guest on the AdVic “Salesforce Simplified” podcast and talked about his journey to becoming an independent Salesforce Content Creator, how he connects with others in the Salesforce Ohana, and how those inside Salesforce are reacting to his content. Here are some highlights from that conversation.

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#16. Transform the Customer Experience with Great Order Management

As you may already be aware, an order management system (OMS) – such as Salesforce Order Management (SOM) – is a platform or tool that allows sellers to track sales, process orders, manage inventory, and streamline fulfillment to make sure products end up in the hands of the customers who ordered them. It ensures that orders are delivered as expected, with full order transparency, quick shipping, and timely delivery.

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#17. How B2B Companies Can Provide a D2C Experience

In today’s ever-changing digital age, customers are more empowered than ever before. They have access to a wealth of information and can make informed decisions about their purchases. This shift in consumer behavior has led to the rise of Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) companies that sell directly to consumers without involving any middlemen. While D2C companies have been successful in many industries, they have yet to make significant inroads in the B2B space. However, with changing customer expectations and increased competition, B2B companies are beginning to realize the need for a D2C experience. In this article, we will explore how B2B companies can provide a D2C experience.

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#18. The Future of Product Information Management Inside Salesforce

Product Information Management (PIM) refers to the process of handling all the data, content, and other material that you need to market and sell products. PIM also ensures that quality data is created for internal use and multichannel distribution.

PIM was the topic of the AdVic “Salesforce Simplified” podcast. In that episode, we talked more about what PIM is, how it can help companies, and how it can be implemented into Salesforce systems. And to talk about all of that, we invited Mike Milburn, who has a deep background within the Salesforce ecosystem (he is actually one of the founders of Service Cloud), and is now the co-founder and Co-CEO of Pimly, which is a new and innovative solution that brings all of a company’s product information into Salesforce to easily manage and utilize product data and digital assets across their Salesforce clouds. What follows are some highlights from our conversation with Mike.

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#19. Decoding Salesforce: Unveiling the Messaging Behind AI+Data+CRM

It’s quite evident these days that Salesforce is full-speed ahead with using the power of AI to help transform the way businesses interact with their customers. Case in point, their “AI+Data+CRM” formula combines AI with data to create a more holistic view of the customer, allowing for more personalized and relevant experiences.

Let’s take a look at the messaging behind Salesforce’s AI+Data+CRM and explore how it benefits businesses and drives success.

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#20. Make Quality Service Connections at Scale

If you’ve been kicking the tires about a Salesforce Service Cloud solution for your business and you haven’t pulled the trigger yet, perhaps you are not aware of its powerful AI capabilities…the ones that can make your service team reinvent customer experience.

Let’s take a look at some of the ways AI-powered predictions, recommendations, and chatbots on digital channels – built right into the Service Cloud platform – will make your customers happier and your agents more productive.

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#21. The Benefits of Using Salesforce Commerce Cloud & Commerce GPT

Salesforce Commerce Cloud is a powerful platform that enables businesses to create and deliver personalized and seamless online shopping experiences. With its powerful features and capabilities, Commerce Cloud has become a popular choice among businesses of all sizes.

Let’s explore the many benefits of using Commerce Cloud for your online business.

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#22. Maximizing Internal Communications with Slack

During a 2023 episode of AdVic’s “Salesforce Simplified” podcast, we spoke with Slack Senior Solutions Engineer Aditi Chaturvedi about the great features inside Slack, which by the way stands for “Searchable Log of All Communication and Knowledge.” Here are some of the highlights from our conversation.

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#23. Why Businesses Should Embrace Using Chatbots

As a consumer, you want your questions answered and your issues resolved quickly, so you can go about your day. Calling and emailing are often time-consuming and can leave consumers feeling frustrated.

A fast efficient customer service option? Chatbots. Chatbots are computer programs designed to simulate conversation with human users, typically over the internet. 

In this article, we’ll explore the benefits of using chatbots in business and offer tips for creating an effective chatbot experience.

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The post The Top 23 Salesforce Blogs of 2023 appeared first on Ad Victoriam Solutions.

Chris Hood, former Google head of digital business strategy, the author of the new book Customer Transformation, and the host of the Chris Hood Digital Show was a recent guest on the Ad Victoriam “Salesforce Simplified” podcast. He discussed the data, digital, and AI challenges businesses face today. Here are some highlights from the conversation.

Why It’s  So Difficult for Companies to Manage Their Data

Chris started by asking this question:

“How much data do you think is in the world?

“As of 2021, there are 79 zeta bytes of data, and that number is expected to double by 2025. So that’s 100 and 60 zeta bytes of data.

“So in the classic Marty McFly, Back to the Future, what the hell is a zettabyte?

“And if we were to think about this, I have a phone here in my hand; it has one terabyte of storage on it. Now that’s just storage; it’s not even completely full. But if we were to take 1,000,000,000 terabyte mobile phones that would store one zettabyte of data. And so if we think about that, that’s 79 billion phones. And then of course, by 2025 that’s 100 and 60,000,000,000 terabyte phones. That would be the equivalent of giving every person in the entire world 21 terabyte mobile devices. That’s a lot of data.”

Well, your head may be spinning after all those numbers (ours were), but to expound upon his point, Chris added, “And so when we start thinking about how do we deal with this, it’s not just the size and the amount of data. It’s also all of these new formats that we’re dealing with.

“We’ve got the online, you know, basic text, we got multimedia, we got all of the metadata from videos. We’ve got new forms of data like artificial intelligence and analytics. We are even starting to see multisensory types of data. This is obviously critical in the health field industries.

“But how do we track the data of something like smell? Those types of data are all increasing.

“And then, of course, we also have the regulatory issues, privacy concerns, and data security issues.

“All of these factors are just, you know, creating complex situations for us in terms of how to manage it. And that, I mean, those three things alone is why it’s very difficult for companies to manage the data.”

How Companies Can Be More Effective Managing Their Data

Chris outlined a few points to heed here…

“You’ve got to start thinking about moving your data to the cloud and I’m sure we’ll, we can get into that a little bit more.

“There’s probably a lot of different opinions about moving data to the cloud, but really you’re going to be safer, the whole purpose of being able to scale, you know, going from 79 zettabytes to 100 over the next three years, you’re gonna have to be able to scale and you can do that more successfully in the cloud.

“The other area is to start leveraging technologies, foundational technologies to help you manage data like APIs (Application Programming Interfaces).

“APIs are not just about creating experiences directly inside of an application or building applications that can connect with each other, those integration points.

“Obviously, it’s in the name, but it is also about helping you better manage that data across the cloud and across different platforms.”

He added, “And then begin thinking about how you’re governing that data.

“What are your internal policies to help you track, manage, and ensure that data is protected where the data is coming from? Those governance policies can be automated. Just defining what those governance policies are and building teams that wrap around those policies are going to be critical for the management of it.”

Getting Data Integration Right

On this topic, Chris drove home the point that proper data integration is pivotal for anything you’re doing, from accurate analytics or streamlining your operation to consistent customer experiences across all of your platforms.

He added, “The biggest one though, I think, is that customer experience piece. You know, we think about personalization as an example. It’s critical today. Everybody wants something that’s personalized, but you probably don’t want to personalize an experience for Sam that says, ‘Hello Paul,’ right? I mean, that’s where we’re at and this integration ensures that you’re getting proper data delivered to proper places when it’s needed.

“And it also helps drive innovation and partnerships.

“So when we think about all of those customer experiences, the ability to innovate and get to market faster and deliver those new experiences to customers that demand those experiences from you all happen within integration. That’s the customer first now.

“There’s other areas of integration across multiple platforms. When you start thinking about internal pro processes like human resources and marketing and building analytics and sharing that data across different teams so that they can see how things are working.

“But I would argue that the biggest opportunity for data integration is ultimately always going to be your customer first. And then secondary is understanding how those integrations and data management is going to help you improve operations, but you’re only improving operations to satisfy customer needs.”

How Generative AI is Fitting Into Businesses Today

Before diving headlong into this subject, Chris thought it important to give a reality check.

“We’re actually seeing a decline right now in overall AI usage. I think we’ve gotten past the hype, right? So obviously big hype, shiny new object, let’s use it.

“And we are seeing a decline, we see a decline in user subscriptions for open AI for ChatGPT as an example. I think we’re getting more settled into what is AI and what is not AI. The perspective out there for a lot of people is that they have this vision of what AI is.

“But that vision or even definition of what AI is is probably still 10 years away from today. We’re nowhere close to being able to do the things that I think people believe or it’s been hyped to do.

“And so that’s why you’re starting to see a decline in usage of AI.

“That doesn’t mean that no one’s talking about it clearly, it’s everywhere we see the government starting to take an active interest in it. We see a lot of companies trying to figure out how to use it.”

There is much more from Chris on the subject of AI, and data and digital challenges businesses face today. Listen to the entire podcast here.

How AdVic Can Help

Is your business in need of an AI solution? No worries, because the AdVic® AI team has the skills and expertise needed to get you up and running quickly so you can drive efficiencies and new revenue. Let’s explore your options and start creating your roadmap to success today!

Related Resources:

Why Forecasting Sales with AI is Important for All Industries
How to Improve Sales Forecasting in Salesforce with AI
Turn Sales Into Selling Machines, CRMs, AI, and More

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The post Exploring Today’s Data, Digital, and AI Challenges with Chris Hood appeared first on Ad Victoriam Solutions.

Ike Wagh is a unique independent Salesforce Content Creator who has been using his platform to share his passion for Salesforce® with the world across social media. Ike has over 13,000 followers on LinkedIn and over 3,000 subscribers to his YouTube channel.

Ike was a recent guest on the AdVic “Salesforce Simplified” podcast and talked about his journey to becoming an independent Salesforce Content Creator, how he connects with others in the Salesforce Ohana, and how those inside Salesforce are reacting to his content. Here are some highlights from that conversation…

How Ike Started Creating Salesforce Content

In the Salesforce ecosystem since 2015 – with Salesforce Admin and CPQ experience under his belt – Ike told AdVic that in all of the roles he had he always felt something was missing.

“There was a creative itch that just couldn’t be scratched. Even if I could architect the most amazing thing, or at least in my opinion, if I was proud of it, there’s still something missing. So one day I was thinking, “You know what? Let me just…” I was actually, this was when I was a CPQ consultant, I thought, “I’m just going to start a YouTube channel.”

“And I think maybe there’s an audience that wants to see some reviews of apps because I’m always into new tools and trying to find new fun ways to solve problems, and I’m just going to make five-minute reviews of apps. And that was how everything started. So it really started with just putting myself out there making YouTube video app reviews.”

Salesforce Trends & Best Practices

We were curious how Ike stays up on Salesforce trends and best practices, oftentimes the subject of the content he creates and shares on social media.

“It’s really all about LinkedIn. The Salesforce Ohana is strangely huge LinkedIn fans, basically. So if I’m looking for trends, it comes down to what’s on my LinkedIn feed and also shout out to the Salesforce Ohana team. They’re great. So basically between those two resources, I can keep up with what’s going on and all the news.”

The Challenges of Creating Content

Content creation in any form presents its challenges. AdVic asked Ike how he faces his:

“There is an issue that I think a lot of content creators can empathize with, and that you get yourself deep into the metrics and you start to associate the value of your metrics directly with the value of your work and it gets kind of dangerous because then you think, “Wow, I spent so much time making this thing and if it doesn’t do,” I’m doing air quotes, “if it doesn’t do well, then maybe this wasn’t valuable.”

“And I think it’s a dangerous path because it can really deflate what you’re doing and how you feel. So it’s something I struggle with but I think a lot of the way that helps me is to try my best to always just work on the things that I truly have fun doing because in that way, even if it doesn’t do great, I can just remember that this was a fun project. Whereas your other option is work on something that you are not enjoying and if it doesn’t do well, it’s like it’s a double whammy. So just basically always choose and work on the projects that truly inspire or [you] have fun with.”

What They Don’t Tell You

So, now that Ike has been creating his unique brand of Salesforce content for a while, we wondered if there was anything that he wished he had known when he first started?

“Yeah, no one cares. No one cares at all. So care less, that is my tip. And there’s actually, one, it’s psychological and it has to do with the algorithms, many of the algorithms in which we share content on. If it’s not doing well, you don’t need to worry that… I think it’s almost like you might think, ‘Oh, I just came into a big room and everyone is looking at me put myself out there, and it flops and how embarrassing.’ But actually, your reach when you first post something is very small, and only if it gets engagement does a wider audience see it.

“So, remember, if something doesn’t do well, there’s also a good chance that not a lot of people saw it in the first place. So take a deep breath. It’s okay and people care way less than you ever think. So that is something that I struggled with, but I wish I knew from the beginning.”

There is much more to our conversation with independent Salesforce Content Creator Ike Wagh, including how people inside Salesforce are interacting with his content. Listen to the full Ad Victoriam “Salesforce Simplified” podcast here, or anywhere you listen to podcasts. 

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Today, more than ever, technology is vital to every businesses success, but managing that technology can be a challenge for companies, no matter the industry. 

Sometimes your business’ technology only needs maintenance, and sometimes it needs a lot of attention that keeps it efficient, relevant and ensures you are connected to customers. 

In addition, your internal staff may also be experiencing bandwidth or knowledge limitations, so considering a Managed Services solution – certified experts who work as an extension of your team – just makes sense because it can be cost effective, offer flexible commitments and give you the solutions you want. 

Those solutions could include cloud and adoption strategies, issue resolution, process improvement, staffing issues, project work, and tech release management, making a Managed Services solution a win-win for everyone.

Keeping Business in Motion

While there are certainly many benefits of Managed Services Program (MSP) – as outlined above – here are seven benefits that should absolutely be on your radar when you are vetting a potential MSP provider.

1. Predictable Cost Control: With an MSP, data and technology costs can be neatly packaged into a set amount paid monthly or annually. 
2. Grow as Intended: The price tag associated with an in-house data and technology team is big, and that’s why teams are understaffed, overworked, and unable to get everything done. An MSP extends your team removing all productivity bottlenecks.
3. Focus on the Bigger Picture: If your internal team is swamped with helping users fix basic issues or dealing with systems malfunctions, they don’t have the time or focus to work on projects that push your business forward. An MSP frees up your team for pursuits that are more crucial to your business
4. Wide-Ranging Knowledge: Even the most well-trained employees don’t have the knowledge and experience of an MSP’s large team. An MSP fills knowledge gaps by giving you access to a team of experts with the precise skills you need to conquer any new initiative.
5. Data Compliance: A managed services provider handles the complexities of compliance and auditing, so you don’t have to worry about violating data security regulations. This can save your in-house team thousands of hours in the long run.
6. Seamless Scalability: An MSP can make it easy for businesses to meet increased demand for products and services. The ability to scale resources means you can easily meet your demands. With an MSP on-board, you no longer have to worry about limited space, costly infrastructure, or slow rollouts. You can be sure to have the right systems and products to keep up the growing or shrinking requirements of your business.
7. Automatic Release Updates: With cloud technology constantly evolving, it is easy for your technology infrastructure to become obsolete if not regularly updated and upgraded. However, keeping your technology infrastructure constantly up to date can be a challenge given the rapid rate of innovation in cloud technology. Using a managed service provider frees you from constantly trying to keep your infrastructure updated. Your managed service provider should have the resources for keeping up with all of the advances in the cloud, as well as upgrades your technology infrastructure needs.

Thriving businesses are agile, scalable, and continually innovate to serve their customers. Based on industry best practices and the latest Salesforce® and MuleSoft® advancements, AdVic’s THRIVE Managed Services for Salesforce and MuleSoft Program keeps your cloud-based software in alignment with your processes and goals – often at a lower cost than one employee – so your business can thrive. 

Let’s talk about ways your business can start thriving! Pick a date that works for you on the calendar below, and a member of our THRIVE Managed Services for Salesforce and MuleSoft Program will immediately be in touch.

Related Resources:

Listen to What Salesforce Managed Services Can Do For You

Building and Maintaining Relationships Through Managed Services

AdVic Provides a Managed Services Solution

Salesforce Managed Services Advantages That Control Costs

AdVic’s Thrive Managed Services for Salesforce Program

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