Salesforce is a $54 billion cloud computing giant that helps enterprises enforce better control over critical business data, like customer behavior. As a tech disruptor, Salesforce has always stayed ahead of the curve with continuous experiments on Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, and its new found interest, the Internet of Things.
Salesforce has been toying with the idea of venturing into the IoT space since 2015. It announced IoT Cloud in Dreamforce 2015 Conference at San Francisco – perhaps, the first of all IoT-based solutions from Salesforce.
The newly introduced Salesforce IoT Explorer will go a step ahead from what the company has launched so far. The purpose of Salesforce IoT Explorer will be to pinpoint customer requirements and react to their needs as quickly as possible by leveraging the connectivity that IoT provides.
How will Salesforce IoT Explorer do that? By processing data from connected things quickly. The data collected from connected things that customers use will be the focal point for Salesforce IoT explorer. The cloud-based CRM software edition will help businesses take away the difficulty in processing large chunks of real-time data that customer-owned IoT devices churn out on a real-time basis.
Salesforce IoT Explorer—A Better Way To Reach The Connected Customer
The new CRM software will help businesses make sense of how their customers behave, while using various devices with sensors and applications. The data that Salesforce IoT Explorer will bring to the table will help businesses take real-time business decisions that will translate into better customer service.
Salesforce, in its official blog says that Salesforce IoT Explorer will help businesses Unlock Customer Insights from a Connected World.
This is how Salesforce IoT Explorer will work in action:
As is evident from the image, customer data is captured from the connected device; the data is then transferred to the Salesforce platform for deriving contextual information. Based on rules-based automation, predictive analysis of data is done to provide prompt service to customers.
Success Stories from the Connected World
Emerson, the global leader in manufacturing climate control solutions is deploying Salesforce IoT Explorer to serve its customers proactively based on data taken from its vast network of IoT-connected heater and air conditioning installers.
Schneider Electric, a pioneer in energy management and automation is using Salesforce IoT Explorer to analyze current performance capacity of customer-owned equipment to predict the next purchase.
The CRM software will deliver three main advantages:
1. Low-code approach
2. Contextual Customer information
3. Proactive Customer Engagement
Low-code Approach
“Low code means customers can tap into the data and iterate on customer experiences and how companies go to market,” added Woodson Martin, GM, Salesforce IoT.
Salesforce IoT explorer follows a ‘Low-code approach’ that makes it extremely user-friendly for non-tech users, especially customer-facing workers and managers. The new CRM edition is designed to enable users to procure data from IoT devices even if they lack in coding knowledge.
Specific graphics-based tools will help users to design their own routines that will help manage IoT devices that are scattered across a large space, like a windmill field, a manufacturing plant, a connected building, etc.
For example, the chief mechanical engineer and the designated Equipment Engineer will be alerted when a boiler (or any IoT enabled equipment) performs below its standard output.
The image below from the demo explains how the low-code approach works in real-life:
Contextual Customer Information
Salesforce IoT Explorer will provide customer context information that will help in delivering proactive solutions. The platform will bring together several data points like devices, the sensor attached to it and the customer’s history to derive meaningful contextual information that will help serve customers in a personalized manner.
To cite an example, based on historical information relating to repairs done for the equipment and its life, the customer can be recommended to replace the equipment before a permanent breakdown happens. This customer context information will prove to be immensely beneficial in the automobile industry where connected cars are being monitored by manufacturers for predictive maintenance.
Proactive Customer Engagement
Salesforce IoT Explorer is destined to proactively sell, service and market products and services to customers. Historical data helps in identifying upcoming customer demands which otherwise may not be known at all. Based on such information, personalized and targeted sales campaigns can be created to address the same. This ultimately leads to more sales volumes and improvement in customer satisfaction.
Bringing It All Together
Salesforce IoT Explorer is tapping into the growing population of IoT devices to serve customers better. Its low-code approach combined with customer contextual information and proactive engagement will help businesses take their customer experience to a whole new orbit.
Salesforce IoT Explorer became generally available from 17th October. It is currently being offered as an add-on to Salesforce’s current suite of cloud-based products. Emerson, Schneider Electric, and Lippert Components are all pilots of Salesforce IoT Explorer. Although unconfirmed, the final product might have some value-additions that will help businesses unlock the true potential of customer connectivity.