Cloudy's Favorite Apps: SyncApps by Cazoomi

So your Salesforce org is up and running, and you are starting to think about how to connect it to other systems.

If you are like many others, Email Integration is at the top of your list. Email integration can be a big slippery subject, as there are many possible requirements, and just as many possible solutions! 

Recently, Cloudy discovered a solution that is both robust AND user friendly: SyncApps by Cazoomi offers an "integration framework", capable of connecting Salesforce with many common Email platforms (among other things). 

Let's see how SyncApps by Cazoomi is able to connect Salesforce with one popular Email Marketing tool, MailChimp.*

To get started, sign up for a free trial SyncApps account and create a "Sync Profile" for your Salesforce-MailChimp connection. 

• The setup wizard walks you through the process, where you will enter your login credentials for both platforms, and select the sync options you prefer from a list of check boxes. 
• The wizard also allows you to specify which Salesforce object to sync your lists with: Campaigns, or a new custom object called "Marketing Lists". Cloudy likes the custom object; it's nice and simple, and keeps your Salesforce campaigns less confused.
• If you choose to sync MailChimp email responses as well as lists, these will sync to Salesforce Campaigns. Each MailChimp email you send to a synced list creates a new Salesforce Campaign, with the current list members as Campaign Members, logging opens, clicks, and bounces on the Campaign Member record. The Campaign will display summary totals of opens, clicks, and bounces for that email.
• When you look at a Contact record in Salesforce, you will see which MailChimp groups they belong to (in the "Marketing Lists" related list, if you use it) and the details of their interactions with each individual email in the Campaign History related list. 

Here are screen shots of an example setup, and a chart that explains how the sync will work:

Action:	Sync result
Salesforce side
NEW Contact is added to Salesforce with NO email address, and is not added to a Marketing List.	Nothing
NEW Contact is added to Salesforce WITH email address, but is not added to any Marketing List	Nothing
NEW Contact is added to Salesforce with NO email address and IS added to a Marketing List	Nothing
NEW Contact is added to Salesforce WITH email address, and IS added to a Marketing List	Contact will be added to MailChimp Master List and added to the matching SyncApps Groups
Existing Contact Name is updated in Salesforce	FN and LN will be updated in MailChimp Contact with matching email address
Existing Contact Email is updated in Salesforce (and this contact is on at least one Marketing List)	The email will be updated on the contact in MailChimp
Existing Contact has “Email Opt-Out” Checked in Salesforce	Contact will be opted out in MailChimp too.
Contact is DELETED	Email address is deleted in MailChimp (**If this option is selected in sync settings**)
MailChimp Side
Existing Contact Email is updated in MailChimp	The matching contact in Salesforce will be updated as well.
Existing Contact Name is updated in Mailchimp	If the “MailChimp Update Form” was used, the update will push to Salesforce. Otherwise, the change in MailChimp will be overwritten by data in Salesforce.
NEW Contact is added to MailChimp but is not added to a SyncApps Group	New Contact is created in Salesforce
NEW Contact is added to MailChimp and IS added to a SyncApps Group	New Contact is created in Salesforce and is added to a Marketing List
Existing Contact Unsubscribes from all lists thru MailChimp	Salesforce Contact will be removed from all Marketing Lists and "Email Opt-out" is checked "true" (**if this option is checked in sync settings**)
Existing Contact updates subscriptions thru MailChimp - ie. Unsubscribes from one group, and/or Subscribes to a different group	Salesforce Contact will be removed and/or added to Marketing Lists, accordingly
Subscriber is DELETED	Contact will be removed from synced Marketing Lists

If you would like Cloudy's help implementing SyncApps by Cazoomi for your org, or evaluating other tools for your integration Contact Us!

*If you use MailChimp, you may have noticed they offer a free Salesforce integration. Cloudy does not really recommend using this sync, as it has some serious downsides and limitations: it does not sync opt-outs, it can only sync new subscribers as leads (not contacts), it creates copious amounts of records which can get you into a bind with data storage, and customer support is limited.

Read about more of Cloudy's Favorite Apps:
Cloudy's Favorite Apps: Apsona 
Cloudy's Favorite Apps: More from Apsona!
Cloudy's Favorite Apps: DupeCatcher
Cloudy's Favorite Apps: Rollup Helper
Cloudy's Favorite Apps: FormAssembly
Cloudy's Favorite Apps: Conga Composer
Cloudy's Favorite Apps: FlipTop Social Profiles
Cloudy's Favorite Apps: Mass Edit + Mass Update + Mass Delete

Cloudy's Favorite Apps: MORE from Apsona!

One of Cloudy's Favorite Apps just keeps getting better!

Apsona has long been one of Cloudy's top picks for enabling all kinds of easy data management tasks in salesforce.com. 
Now there is an add-on that allows easy merges to documents, spreadsheets, or email. Read on to see how easy it is to set up a merge for Thank You letters - in batches or one at a time!

(**note: this demo uses Salesforce + Non Profit Starter Pack with 1:1 model. Other data models and merge processes will vary in the details**)

First create a Word document with merge fields for the data you wish to pull in to your Thank You - this probably includes data from both the Donation record and the Contact record of the Donor. Upload this doc to the "Documents" tab in salesforce.com.

The merge fields needn't conform to any rules or format conventions - just call them whatever makes sense to you.

Next, create a report on the Donation Contact Roles tab in Apsona. Pull all of your merge field data into the report. Add any filter terms as needed, for example:

-Filter so that Donation "Stage=Posted/Closed Won"

-Consider creating a custom checkbox on donations that marks "Thank You Sent"; filter so that the report only shows un-thanked donations. 

If you don't see this tab, you must first create a custom tab "Configuration" under "Settings", then "Clear Cache" under settings to make it visible.

Run the report to preview the data. The list you see should be a complete list of un-thanked Donations. If everything looks good, you are ready to create your merge; click "Merge/Mail" at the top of your report.

Pro-Tip! If you want your Merge to *AUTOMATICALLY* update a field on a record, such as a "Thank You Sent" checkbox, you must include the ID field for that record in the report (ie. Donation ID).

The Merge Wizard that appears will walk you through the merge setup: Your uploaded Word template will be available to select, and you will be able to match your Word merge fields to the data columns in your report. Finally, note the options available in Step 4 of the merge: 

You can log a Task on each donation record, showing that a Thank You was generated. Even better, you can update a field on the record with a given value. 
For this process, check the custom "Thank You Sent" checkbox on the Donation record. You filtered the Merge report so that it only pulls donations where "Thank You Sent=False"; now you can run the Merge and it always creates a perfect set of the latest Thank Yous!

When it's time to create the next batch of Thank Yous, there is no need to go back to the report on Donation Contact Roles. Your new Merge can now be found and run under Settings>Merge Actions. 

One more amazing feature of Apsona Merge is the ability to very easily create a Merge Button on a record. For this example, a button right on the donation record can generate quick, one-off Thank Yous as needed. To create it, simply go to Settings>VF pages & buttons, look up your Merge, and click the "Generate code" button.

Copy this code into a new "Button" on Donations and add it to the Donation page layout. Now you can create a one-off Thank You on a Donation with a single click.

These Thank You letters look great, Cloudy!

If you would like some help evaluating this tool for your salesforce.com, please Contact Us!

Read about more of Cloudy's Favorite Apps:
Cloudy's Favorite Apps: Apsona (Part 1!)
Cloudy's Favorite Apps: DupeCatcher
Cloudy's Favorite Apps: Rollup Helper
Cloudy's Favorite Apps: FormAssembly
Cloudy's Favorite Apps: Conga Composer
Cloudy's Favorite Apps: FlipTop Social Profiles
Cloudy's Favorite Apps: Mass Edit + Mass Update + Mass Delete

Cloudy's Favorite Apps: Mass Edit + Mass Update + Mass Delete

What do you do when you want to edit the addresses of a couple dozen contacts?

Or what if you need to update the Stage of numerous Opportunities at once?

Or might you wish to quickly delete all Leads who have had no activity in the past year?

This is the type of important data management that keeps your salesforce.com vital, but if it is a hassle, it might not get done.  These jobs are too small to bother with data loader, but as you search, open, and edit each record individually, you will surely wish there was a better way.

One of Cloudy's favorite FREE apps makes this possible:

Mass Edit + Mass Update + Mass Delete -- the name says it all!  After the easy installation of this app, all you need to do is go to the Search Layouts page of the standard object where you would like to use this button.  (Step by step instructions appear in the install guide on the app)

The new buttons will appear on any list view on those object tabs. For specific data management tasks, you may want to create filtered list views that narrow down a list to the records you want to Mass Edit/Update/Delete.  ie. "All Contact with No Mailing Address", "All My Opportunities in Negotiation", or "All Leads with No Recent Activity".  You will have a chance choose specifically which records you are going to edit/update/delete from a list by checking the box next to the record.

Here is an example of a "Mass Edit" view of Contact records.  
From here it's a snap to edit all four records at once and then save!  
Use Mass Edit when you want to Edit multiple records at once, but with different information for each one.  For instance, each contact above likely has different phone and address information.

Here is an example of a "Mass Update" view of Opportunity records.  
From the list view, select several Opportunities to update, and on this page choose the field to update (Stage), and the value to update to.  Use Mass Update when you want to update multiple records with the SAME information.  For instance, I can change all of these Opportunities to "Closed Lost".

BONUS:
Once you are in the groove of using Mass Edit + Mass Update + Mass Delete for your small-batch data management needs, you might wish you could use the buttons on custom objects, or that you could customize the Mass Edit fields available.  Since this free app is an "Unmanaged Package", it is possible, and easier than you might think, to extend its capabilities in these ways. You can find some how-to help among other app users on the "reviews" tab of the appexchange listing.

If you need more customization, training, or help, please Contact Us!

For instructions on test-driving an App in your salesforce.com sandbox:
Test Drive an App in your Salesforce.com Sandbox

More of Cloudy's Favorite Apps:
Dupe Catcher
Conga Composer
Form Assembly
Rollup Helper

Cloudy's Favorite Apps: Apsona

Have you ever wished you could import and export all of your salesforce.com data without firing up an external application or digging out your security token?

Have you ever encountered the limits of Salesforce.com reporting, wished that you could create more sophisticated reporting filters, or gotten frustrated while managing a list of custom report types?

How much time would you save if you could perform inline-editing on a whole list of records, without clicking into each one individually?

What if you could realize all of these functions and more with a single inexpensive app?

Apsona is one of Cloudy's favorite AppExchange apps, with such varied and powerful functionality that it can benefit any organization. What's more, nonprofits have access to 10 free licenses! 

Cloudy recently created an awesome report for a nonprofit client, allowing them to see which of their donors contributed to last year's matching grant Campaign, but did not contribute to the same Campaign this year. This insight will enable them to do a targeted and informed "ask" of those invested donors for this year's matching grant challenge!  The information on how to create this report using nested filters was right on the Apsona website:

The Apsona Website has lots of eye-opening use-cases and tutorials like this one!

Surely you are already considering the possibilities, but here are even more exciting ideas to ponder:

-Create Exception Reports: ie. Show all Accounts WITHOUT Opportunities
-Quickly change record ownership en mass.
-Import into multiple objects.
-Cleanse and import data in a single, integrated process.

Visit this page for some short, informative demos to see how powerful yet simple Apsona can be: Apsona Demos on the AppExchange 

If you would like help evaluating this App for your salesforce.com, installing it, or creating your first custom reports, CONTACT US!


Read Cloudy's reviews of other popular Apps:
Form Assembly
Conga Composer
Flip Top Social Profiles
Dupe Catcher
Rollup Helper

Cloudy's Favorite Apps: DupeCatcher

The number one Salesforce.com data quality complaint at most organizations is duplicate accounts and contacts.  Without safeguards in place, it can be all too easy to add duplicate records.  When this problem reaches a critical threshold, is it impossible to trust your data and make the daily decisions that depend on it. 

Salesforce.com experts and developers have many strategies, tools, and apps to address this common issue, including proper search technique for users and good matching criteria for data uploads.  The third strategy used by many companies who are winning the battle against "dupes" is DupeCatcher from Symphonic Source.  This simple, free app stops dupes on their way in, based on rules that you define.  

If you have never installed an AppExchange app in your Salesforce.com org, DupeCatcher is a great first choice.  Start the process by going to the AppExchange listing and clicking the green "Get it now" button.  After you follow the step-by-step directions to install it in your org, you will find you have a new listing for Dupecatcher in the App menu drop-down in the upper right corner of your Salesforce.com.  If you click on it, you will have a new view of the collection of tabs that comprise the DupeCatcher App.  To start blocking dupes in your org only requires two steps:

Step 1: Create a Filter
On the "DupeCatcher Filters" tab, click "New" to create a new filter.  From the drop-downs, select whether the filter will apply to Contacts, Accounts, or Leads and define the action you want to occur when a duplicate is detected.  For instance, do you want the duplicate to be completely blocked, or just display a warning to the user?

Step 2: Define the Filter Rules
Once you have saved your filter, it is time to define the duplicate-matching criteria.  On the filter record, scroll down the the DupeCatcher Filter Rules related list and click the "New DupeCatcher Filter Rule" button.  You will probably want to add several rules to have a well defined filter.  

Here is an example of a good set of rules for one contact filter:

Resources:
DupeCatcher on the AppExchange <--Go here to download to your Salesforce.com org
www.DupeCatcher.com <--For more information and resources about this app
Cloudy's favorite: Quick-Start Guide from DupeCatcher
Cloudy's Step-by-Step Direction to install an app

For more of Cloudy's advise about Dirty Data:
Clean ALL the Data!!! Part I
Clean ALL the Data!!! Part II

If you would like help setting up DupeCatcher in your org, if you are struggling with duplicates and need help cleaning up the mess, or if you would like more resources and training on how to effectively manage your data, please Contact Us!

More of Cloudy's Favorite Apps:
FormAssembly
Rollup Helper
Conga Composer
FlipTop

Cloudy's Favorite Apps: Rollup Helper

Last week, Cloudy demonstrated how to set up a simple Roll-up Summary field in your Salesforce.com org.  If you are already using Roll-up Summary fields, you know how useful they are for understanding your data and creating meaningful reports.

But if you are a fan of Roll-ups, then you are probably frustrated by their limitations as well!

Roll-up Summary fields can only be created on Master objects in Master-Detail relationships, and there are tight limits on the numbers and configurations of Master-Detail relationships in an org.  If you have run into these limits, you have probably wished that Roll-Up Summary fields could be set up on simple Look-up relationships.

Well now they can!  Rollup Helper, from Passage Technology has created an App that allows you to create Roll-up Summaries almost anywhere.  Not only that, it also expands the concept of Roll-ups beyond counts, sums, and min/max to include concatenated text and formulas.  Consider these cases:

-Display an aggregated count and description of all products purchased on an account record.
-Count the Events or Tasks of a certain type on account or contact records.
-Display the number of campaigns that a contact has participated in.
-Count the numbers of contacts of certain types on accounts.
-Calculate membership renewal dates and amounts, based on information in related records.

The list could go on and on, but perhaps these ideas have sparked your imagination!

Rollup Helper is available in a FREE Community Edition, or as a paid, supported app.  The version that is right for you will depend on your organization's needs.  The free version is not supported beyond helping you set up your first roll-up, and there is some lag-time on the roll-ups, especially for very large amounts of data.  The paid version includes unlimited tech support to set up your roll-ups and answer questions, as well as fast-paced, real-time calculations on large quantities of data.

Cloudy recommends that anyone who is interested in more roll-ups with more flexibility start with the free version of Rollup Helper.  As your organization gains value from the tool, you will be able to gauge whether you require the additional support and processing power of the paid app.

Cloudy always recommends trying an app for the first time in your Sandbox!  

Read Cloudy's reviews of other popular apps:
Conga Composer
FlipTop Social Profiles
FormAssembly

Cloudy's Favorite Apps: FlipTop Social Profiles

If you are using Salesforce to track your contacts and leads, you already know what a great tool it is for getting a detailed view of the the people, records, and relationships that are important to you.  When you are preparing to call or meet one of your clients or potential customers, one look at their record in Salesforce provides the information you need to have a more personal and up-to-date interaction.  The only thing that is missing is an easy way to view the public social media presence of your contact.  Sure, Salesforce provides the social media links at the top of the page, but often they lead to dead ends, and you have no way to know where the useful information might lie until you click on all five links!

FlipTop Social Profiles, available in a free version on the AppExchange, provides a snapshot of your contact or lead's public social media presence right on their record.  It makes a match using the email on the record and displays a photo and links to Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook accounts.  Of course, the matching only works if the email in your records is the one that your leads or contact use for their social media accounts, and if they have made their photos and profiles publicly searchable.

If tracking the social media presence of your contacts and leads is part of your toolkit for nurturing business relationships, by all means give FlipTop a try!

Click hear to read about why FlipTop is Paul Selway's favorite free social media App!

If you would like help evaluating or installing FlipTop in your Salesforce org, Click Here.


Read Cloudy's reviews of other popular Apps:
Conga Composer
Form Assembly

Cloudy Cumulus is part of Redpath Consulting Group, based in Minneapolis, MN (c) 2012

Cloudy's Favorite Apps: FormAssembly

Do you collect information from clients via website forms, through surveys, or from emailed questionnaires?  What do you do with all that information?  Often, companies are manually uploading this collected data to Salesforce.com, or worse, just letting it sit in disparate spreadsheets and folders.

If you would like a way to automate the collection and integration of data from your clients into Salesforce.com, FormAssembly is the App that can do it for you.  When you install the App, you get a FormAssembly tab right in your org, so you can manage all your forms and surverys from within Salesforce.com.  The form-building interface is clean and intuitive and supports all the options you would expect, including conditional fields, calculated fields, and validation rules.  Your completed forms and surveys can be easily integrated into your website, sent via mass-email, connected to a payment gateway, or sent to targeted contacts from Salesforce.com records.

The FormAssembly Salesforce.com Connector can match existing records or create new ones, based on what you need.  For instance, when a customer fills out a form on your website, FormAssembly can check whether that contact is in your system already and then either update the existing record or create a new one.  Answers from their form will be added to the correct places in Salesforce.com, and you will be notified.

Take FormAssembly for a test drive by installing it in your Salesforce.com sandbox; Contact Us if you need help evaluating this App for your business.

For more information about the FormAssembly+ Salesforce integration, CLICK HERE
For an interesting article about why FormAssembly might work better than Salesforce Web-to-Lead, CLICK HERE

Read Cloudy's reviews of other popular Apps:
Conga Composer
FlipTop Social Profiles

Cloudy Cumulus is part of Redpath Consulting Group, based in Minneapolis, MN (c) 2012

Test Drive an App in your Salesforce Sandbox: Ten Step Installation Instructions

If you have been using Salesforce.com for a while, you have probably heard about some of the great Salesforce.com AppExchange Apps that can add even more value and functionality to your Org.  If you are interested in trying an App, it is always advisable to take it for a test drive in your Salesforce.com Sandbox first!  If you are happy with the App after testing in your Sandbox, it only takes a few minuted to add it to your main Salesforce.com Org.

If you are an Admin in your org but have not installed an App in your Sandbox before, here are the steps to follow:

1- log in to your Org (not your sandbox!).

2-  Click the Apps tab in the far upper right corner of the screen and select “Add Appexchange Apps”.

3- Browse/search to find the app, and click it to open its detail pages.  It’s a good idea to read all the information on these pages.  Make sure the App is compatible with your edition of Salesforce.com, check the pricing and trial period details, and read a few customer reviews!

4-Click “Get it Now” on the App’s detail page.

5- If prompted, click “Log in to the AppExchange.”  On the login page, enter your login and password for your regular production org (not your sandbox!).

7- You will be given 2 choices: Install in production/ Install in Sandbox.  If you are Test Driving the App, Choose the Sandbox option.

8- Check the box next to “Terms and Conditions” and click “Confirm and Install”.

9- On the next login page that appears, use the login and password for your sandbox (If you are installing in the sandbox).

10- click the orange Install button.  Review the security details that appear on the next pages and click “Next” on each page until the “Install” button appears.  Click “Install.”

Once the app is installed, you can click your app tab in the upper right corner, and the new app will appear in that list.  By clicking on the app in this menu, you can easily view and explore the new objects (tabs) that are part of your new app.

Read more about the AppExchange or check out Cloudy's reviews of his favorite Apps:
Conga Composer
FormAssembly
FlipTop Social Profiles

Contact Us if you would like help evaluating which AppExchange apps will help you achieve your business objectives.

Cloudy Cumulus is part of Redpath Consulting Group, based in Minneapolis, MN (c) 2012

Cloudy's Favorite Apps: Conga Composer

Conga Composer from AppExtremes is one of the most popular apps on the Salesforce.com AppExchange, and with good reason.  Conga allows you to produce formatted reports, emails, mailings and presentation documents with the click of a button.  Many users find tasks that used to take many hours can be reduced to a single step!  Conga Composer also extends the merging capabilities of Salesforce.com by allowing you to easily pull data from multiple objects into one final document.

If you have any business processes that involve lengthy sessions of copying and pasting data from one place to another, or if you wish you had better mail merge options, give Conga a try.  They offer a free 30 day trial and excellent ongoing customer support.

We would love to talk to you about your business, and help you to evaluate whether Conga might help your business.  If you think you might be interested in talking to a Salesforce.com consultant but are not sure what to expect, click here for more information.


Read Cloudy's reviews of other popular Apps:
Form Assembly
FlipTop Social Profiles


Cloudy Cumulus is part of Redpath Consulting Group, based in Minneapolis, MN (c) 2012

The Salesforce AppExchange: What does it have to offer your business?

The Salesforce.com AppExchange is a marketplace for business apps built just for the Salesforce.com community.  These apps can extend the functionality of your Salesforce.com org to fit even more of your business needs. 

If you have never visited the AppExchange, go to http://appexchange.salesforce.com/ and have a look around!  Try entering search terms relating to your business processes, and you might be amazed to find an app that is made just for you.

When you are looking at an App, click through all the info tabs to find pricing, functionality details, and customer reviews.  Some apps are free or have special pricing for Non Profits.  Many apps have free trials if you want to take a test drive.  If you want to try an app, it is advisable to install it in your sandbox first, as sometimes new apps may not play nicely with other apps.  Just click the “Get It Now” button on the app and you will be given the option to choose whether you are installing in your sandbox or main production org.

If you would like help finding the apps that can boost your business and extend your Salesforce.com, please contact us!

Read Cloudy's reviews of these popular Apps:
Form Assembly
Conga Composer
FlipTop Social Profiles