Don’t you wish you could push a button and — POOF! — the productivity kicks in? Small businesses must constantly innovate in order to keep pace with their larger counterparts. They’ve got to run efficiently or risk falling behind, and a large part of that efficiency comes from automation. Automating repetitive processes speeds things along and gives your human capital more time to focus on value-add activities (or better yet: your customers). While you’re likely using automation to some degree today — like automated emails, approvals, and routing — have you considered what other areas you could automate to streamline processes and save time?
Consider this: With the Salesforce Platform, you can turn any spreadsheet into an app via point-and-click configuration. That’s right — You can easily build apps for any department and run your business faster. Watch this quick video to see just how easy it is.
Need more food for thought? Let’s take a look at five specific departments and the possible apps you can build to streamline processes and keep everyone connected.
Information Technology apps
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Help Desk. Overwhelmed by IT support tickets? Build an app to help you follow every case from open to close to make sure nothing falls through the cracks.
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Quality Control. Create an app to track every step of the QA process; this ensures everything goes smoothly and according to schedule.
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Software Development. The development process is lengthy and complex, but a custom app lets you track every component and work that much faster.
Human Resources apps
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Recruiting. The recruit-to-hire process has a ton of moving parts. A custom app lets you track every interaction, interview, and follow-up so nothing gets lost.
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Time off. Don’t mess with vacation. Create an app to help employees request time off, then seek approval and schedule it. (This one’s a must!)
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Contracts. Ditch the manual processes! An app makes it easy to manage, view, and track every contract in a single location.
Operations apps
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Supply chain. Create an app to streamline supplier relationships, view inventory levels, and collaborate on orders from anywhere. Your suppliers will love you!
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Inspections. Log, verify, and report on inspections from any mobile device. Keep every space safe, from offices, to buildings, to warehouses.
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Project Management. Keep everyone on task! Build a custom app to make sure deadlines are met and resources stay aligned.
Marketing apps
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Events. Create an app to manage and track marketing events. It’s an easy way to request speakers, manage attendance, and collaborate with your team.
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Content Management. Take managing content to a whole new level with your own app. Track the status of content and publishing with just a few clicks.
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Campaigns. Finalize and communicate campaigns to the field with an app. Track campaign results and give sales everything they need to be successful.
Field Operations apps
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Logistics. Create an app that tracks deliveries for sales, services, and operations; connect delivery drivers to each other and to your headquarters.
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Order Fulfillment. An app can help you take, manage, and fulfill orders in real time. Add dashboards and alerts to make sure nothing escapes notice.
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Troubleshooting. Give reps the information they need to solve technical issues and assign help with a few clicks.
Level the playing field for your small business
With Salesforce Platform your possibilities are, as they say, endless. So why not get started building apps today. Learn more about how your small business can create custom apps with our new Trailblazers Guide to Apps for Small Businesses. You’ll find nitty-gritty details on how to get started, plus dozens of innovative customer examples of custom apps designed for speed, growth and performance. Check it out!
Salesforce can help you find customers, win their businesses, and keep them happy so you can grow your business faster than ever. Learn more about our small business CRM solutions or join the conversation with #SalesforceGROW.
