Financial services companies always look for ways to simplify their complex workflows, gain a holistic view of their users, and implement stringent protocols around security, privacy, and regulatory compliances. With so many bottlenecks to tackle and continued reliance on legacy systems, which are equally difficult to integrate to other modern systems, it is common for financial enterprises to look for solutions that can lessen their load and accelerate their path towards digital transformation. And Salesforce, along with its suite of core clouds and industry solutions provides a futuristic way ahead.
Salesforce is a software solution that can help with this by providing various tools and features to help businesses make better decisions and achieve their goals. However, implementing Salesforce can be difficult for financial services companies, especially when dealing with its complex features.
In this blog, we will discuss the top challenges financial services companies and developers face when implementing Salesforce and suggest practical solutions to overcome them.
The pressing challenges for financial services companies
Here are top 5 challenges financial organizations face during Salesforce implementation:
#1. Security and privacy concerns
Security and privacy concerns in the finance industry are critical due to the nature of the data handled. Customer's personal and financial data need to be protected to maintain their trust and ensure compliance with industry regulations. Implementing strict security measures such as multi-factor authentication (MFA), encryption, and access controls is crucial to prevent unauthorized access to sensitive data. Apart from security measures, data governance policies play a significant role in ensuring customer information privacy.
How does Salesforce helps:
- Salesforce allows you to establish clear data governance policies and ensure adherence to them consistently across all applications and departments.
- Salesforce includes guidelines on data classification, retention, access, and sharing to handle sensitive information properly.
- Salesforce implementation complies with industry regulations such as GDPR and PCI DSS by providing stringent security measures such as multi-factor authentication, encryption, and access controls. The GDPR governs the handling of personal data within the European Union, while PCI DSS governs the security of payment card information.
- Salesforce can help businesses establish clear data governance policies that consistently adhere to across all departments and applications.
Organizations must take necessary steps to ensure their Salesforce implementation adheres to these regulations to avoid legal consequences such as fines and reputational damage.
#2. Integrating legacy systems
Integrating legacy systems to third-party solutions is a major challenge for finance organizations looking to implement Salesforce. Legacy systems, often heavily relied upon in finance, can be difficult to integrate with modern cloud-based platforms like Salesforce due to their large, complex, and tightly coupled nature. Integrating legacy systems with Salesforce is further complicated because legacy systems may store information in different formats or structures than Salesforce, making data migration and integration a daunting task.
To address this challenge, financial institutions must assess which legacy systems need integration with Salesforce and their compatibility and readiness for integration. They must consider data migration strategies and the potential impact on existing workflows and processes.
How does Salesforce helps:
- Salesforce can be integrated with legacy systems through the use of middleware, which can include APIs and integration platforms that help to facilitate seamless data exchange between the legacy systems and Salesforce. This approach involves creating APIs that connect to the legacy system and allows it to communicate with Salesforce.
- Another approach is data warehousing, where legacy data is extracted, transformed into standard formats, and loaded into a central repository before integration with Salesforce occurs. This approach can help simplify the integration process and improve data accuracy but requires significant resources and expertise.
#3. Delivering personalization
One of the key advantages of Salesforce is its versatility and ability to be customized and personalized according to the unique needs of each business. However, with its complex processes and regulations, the finance industry may face challenges when it comes to customization and personalization.
To address this challenge, finance organizations must first define their business requirements and identify areas where customization or personalization can be necessary. This could involve examining the specific needs of their customers, the regulatory landscape, and the competitive environment. In addition, they must consider the impact of customization on system performance, maintenance costs, and future upgrades.
How Salesforce helps:
- One approach to customizing and personalizing Salesforce for businesses is to use its native customization tools, such as custom objects, fields, and workflows, to meet their specific requirements. For instance, businesses can create custom fields that capture unique data points or set up automated workflows that streamline their business processes.
- Salesforce provides a 360-degree view of customers, enabling businesses to engage with them personally and meaningfully. The finance industry deals with highly sensitive data, including customers' personal and financial information. Salesforce implementation can help businesses in the finance industry better understand their customers' needs and preferences, leading to improved customer engagement and stronger relationships.
- One of the significant advantages of Salesforce is its versatility and ability to be tailored specifically for each business's needs. Successful Salesforce implementation can help finance industry businesses customize and personalize Salesforce to meet their unique requirements. It can improve user experience, increase adoption rates, and improve overall business performance.
#4. Scalability
Financial institutions face the challenge of rapidly scaling their operations, which requires engaging and training new employees on Salesforce. Improper training can impact productivity, tech ROI, and organizational growth. Fortunately, Salesforce is a scalable tool that enables businesses to easily meet customer demands and add application servers to accommodate increased users.
However, while Salesforce is scalable, it may lack the personalization and guidance needed for optimal employee productivity and growth. This is where proper analytics come in, as they reveal users' challenges and when they need assistance. Unfortunately, the standard CRM tool does not provide such features.
How Salesforce helps:
- To enhance Salesforce's scalability, financial services businesses must analyze usage and identify employee bottlenecks and areas for improvement. Supplementing Salesforce with additional tools can provide valuable insights and personalized guidance for employees, ensuring maximum effectiveness and growth within the organization.
- Salesforce can transform finance industry business operations by automating tasks, reducing manual effort, and providing real-time insight into company performance. Successful Salesforce implementation can improve operational efficiency, reduce costs, and increase productivity, allowing businesses to focus on strategic initiatives that can drive growth.
#5. Digital experiences
In today's digital age, customers expect seamless and uninterrupted experiences; the financial industry is no exception. To succeed in this competitive landscape, financial service organizations must prioritize providing world-class customer experiences that meet the needs and expectations of their customers. Salesforce is an invaluable tool for organizations looking to achieve this goal by providing comprehensive customer data and insights. However, it is up to the employees to ensure that the data is accurate and up-to-date.
How Salesforce helps:
Ensuring data accuracy and employee involvement can be especially challenging in the remote work culture that many organizations have adopted in recent years. However, it is essential to overcome these challenges and maintain high standards of process compliance and data accuracy among Salesforce users. To achieve this, financial businesses should develop a clear strategy and plan for Salesforce implementation that includes employee training and education, data validation measures, and supplementary tools and technologies to empower employees and enhance data accuracy. By prioritizing data accuracy and leveraging the power of Salesforce, financial organizations can provide their customers with world-class digital experiences that set them apart from their competitors.
