What Happens After Salesforce Go-Live: Post-Implementation Best Practices

Congratulations! You just successfully launched the best CRM-Salesforce. But going live is just the start and first step. True CRM success and a higher return on Salesforce investment depend on what happens after Salesforce implementation. 

This critical phase is Salesforce post-implementation, which is essential for long-term success and higher ROI. This phase focuses on continuous improvements, maintaining the CRM system’s high performance, and improving user experience. 

This blog dives deep into the key elements of Salesforce post-implementation and best practices to maximize CRM’s value.

But first, let’s start by understanding the Salesforce go-live phase.

Understanding Salesforce Go-Live Phase

The Salesforce go-live phase refers to the configured Salesforce system officially made available for end-users in a production environment. 

In simple terms, it is like launching a new website after all your planning, configuration, testing, data transfer, and user access efforts culminate, and your team starts using Salesforce for day-to-day business operations. But as we already said, implementation is not the end, it is the first step as real work starts from here. As a decision maker, your focus shifts from deployment to optimization and continuous improvement. 

Salesforce is a power-packed platform designed to streamline business processes, improve productivity, and drive growth. But, its true potential can only be realized when you actively work to optimize the platform, empower users, and more.

It is the post-implementation phase, where you have to focus on key elements like system performance, user adoption, and ongoing improvements. 

Key Elements for Salesforce Post-Implementation   

Understanding the key elements of Salesforce post-implementation is crucial as it’s often overlooked. Here’s a breakdown of these elements:

1. Continuous Monitoring System Performance

Keeping an eye on the Salesforce CRM system’s stability ensures it is fast, stable, and reliable. Salesforce’s Health Check and Event Monitoring tools can help you identify performance bottlenecks and ensure the system’s stability. 

You can also track key metrics, such as API usage, error logs, and storage limits, to maintain the system’s performance and avoid disruptions. 

2. End-User Adoption

Monitoring end-user adoption and how they engage with the system is critical as they are not familiar with this technology. By collecting user feedback through surveys, you can identify their pain points and opportunities for improvement. Also, you can create a feedback loop to prioritize enhancements and continuously improve the system for end-user usage. 

3. Advanced Features Utilizations

Utilizing Salesforce features fully is critical to achieve the best result out of implementation.

After going live, it is a major improvement area for businesses to move from underutilization of features. Salesforce managed services experts can help maximize feature utilization as per your business requirements and achieve a higher return on Salesforce investments. 

4. Salesforce Release Management

Staying updated with the latest Salesforce updates and features helps you plan and leverage the new features efficiently. As Salesforce releases updates three times a year (Spring, Summer, and Winter), each release includes new features, bug fixes, and more. This will help update the system and implement patches, leading to the seamless utilization of the platform. 

5. Data Quality Management 

Managing data quality is essential for a business to gain meaningful insights. By removing duplicate data from storage systems and databases, you can gain a better understanding. You can schedule regular data cleansing and deduplication activities to maintain data integrity. 

6. Assess Compliance and Data Security 

Regularly reviewing access controls and security settings is essential to maintain data integrity. You can protect sensitive user data while ensuring compliance with regulations. Overlooking security settings can cause data leaks, and not following the compliance can cause significant fines. 

These are the key things that businesses should do after Salesforce goes live. 

How Managed Services Help in Salesforce Post Implementation?

Salesforce managed services is a flexible and cost-effective solution that helps you realize your Salesforce investment. Here’s how these experts can help you in post-implementation. 

Administration Services

The experts of managed services handle day-to-day administrative tasks, such as monitoring security settings, user management, workflow updates, and more. It frees up your internal teams’ time and efforts, focusing on strategic initiatives. 

Support Services

The managed services experts provide 24/7 support, ensuring quick resolutions for interruptions in business processes, system failures, or other technicalities. 

Release and Change Management Services

Managed services help you continuously keep track of changes related to processes, new policies, and procedures in the Salesforce environment. Experts ensure seamless updates in your Salesforce org with three annual releases and help you leverage new features effectively.

Customized Development and Integration

Managed services provide you with expertise in Apex, Visualforce, and LWC (lightning web components) to customize Salesforce solutions that meet your business evolving needs. The experts can help you enhance the existing capabilities of the platform by integrating with other systems. 

Analytical Services

Managed services help you set up advanced reporting and custom dashboards that provide you valuable business insights. By analyzing the usage patterns, experts can recommend improvement areas. 

AppExchange App Management

The experts can help you evaluate, implement, and manage third-party applications from the AppExchange to extend the platform’s capabilities. 

By partnering with Salesforce managed service providers, you can ensure continuous optimization, reduce operational burdens, and achieve long-term success. 

Best Practices for Salesforce Post-Implementation

By following the best practices for Salesforce post-implementation, organizations can ensure getting the best results. 

1. Create a Support System for Users

After implementing Salesforce, businesses should create a dedicated support channel for users where they can report issues and get help. For example: 

• You can create an online portal, designated support team, or help desk. 
• You can create easily accessible resources such as a knowledge base, blogs, guides, and FAQs to address common questions related to specific features. 
• Providing user training to introduce new features and reinforce knowledge. 

2. Ensure Monitoring Performance For Stability 

Businesses should monitor the system performance after implementation regularly. By tracking key metrics such as error rates, page load times, and API usage, businesses can identify potential bottlenecks and resolve them to improve performance. 

• Regular Salesforce updates and patches can help to access updated features and ensure system stability. 
• You can review the integration with external systems to address evolving technology changes (because API documentation and endpoints change from time to time as APIs evolve).

3. Develop Customization Strategies 

Salesforce is a highly customizable, powerful platform that can align with changing business needs. But customization should enhance the platform’s capability and streamline business operations rather than hinder the system’s performance. 

• You should take the approach of customization with scalability as your business grows. Scalable customizations will prevent system limitations and extensive future rework.
• You should identify what needs to be customized, and how it will be done while ensuring these customizations align with long-term business goals. 

4. Security Monitoring and Audits 

Businesses need to review security settings periodically to identify security issues. For that,

• You should monitor user access and system logs to identify and mitigate potential security issues. 
• You can implement multi-factor authentication, set up audit trails, compliance checks for industry-specific regulations, and monitor login history. 

It will ensure your Salesforce instance remains secure and compliant with evolving technology. 

These are the key best practices for Salesforce post-implementation that businesses can follow to ensure getting the most out of the platform. 

Conclusion 

After Salesforce goes live, remember that Salesforce optimization is an ongoing process. Having an understanding of what to do right after this phase and following post-implementation best practices ensures you leverage the Salesforce CRM capabilities. It will lead you to go in the right direction to achieve maximum value with Salesforce investment for your business. 

If you are unsure about getting the full potential after Salesforce goes live, we at Cyntexa offer Salesforce post-implementation services. Our experts will guide you through continuous improvement and achieve long-term success.