Content Mania

To my readers (if I have any),



I have been posting new walk-through documents like mad lately and wanted to
share them.



Take a look:



Install the AppExchange Dashboard Pak :

http://www.salesforceius.com/setup/dashboardpak/

Add Real-Time Stock Quotes to your
Home Page:
http://www.salesforceius.com/setup/chart/index.html

Create Custom Letterhead for Outbound
Emails:
http://www.salesforceius.com/setup/letterhead/

Add Company Logo to salesforce.com:

http://www.salesforceius.com/setup/changelogo/

Salesforce Mobile Resources:

http://www.salesforceius.com/setup/mobile/

Publish the Knowledge Base to your
Customers:
http://www.salesforceius.com/setup/knowbase/

I'm working on a few more ideas, but
if you want to see anything in particular, you can always contact me here:

http://www.salesforceius.com/contact.html

Gross @ Google

Adam Gross, VP of Developer Relations gave a great presentation to Google
around our Apex Code, API, Web Services, AppExchange and our On-Demand Platform.
Check it out.

AppX Dasboard Pak

With so many free AppExchange dashboards to choose from (and all adding value), I decided to install them all, package them up and share them in one download from the AppExchange. Click here to install all dashboards.

Data Loader open source - latest version posted to SourceForge

Salesforce has posted the source code for Data Loader 10 on SourceForge,net, in both CVS format and in a ZIP file distribution. This new posting is a significant advance over the version of Data Loader previously available at SourceForge 18 months ago, and includes a custom web service stack built for high performance salesforce interactions. You can freely download this Java application to extend the functionality of Data Loader, or just to see a good example of how we use the Apex API to move large amounts of data in and out of the salesforce database. As with any open source software, you can redistribute this code, but please keep in mind that we only support the existing version of Data Loader, not any modified or extended versions based on the open source code.

Source Forge: https://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=139991

Apex Data Loader info: http://blogs.salesforce.com/features/2006/03/appexchange_dat.html

salesforce.com Feature on Wall Strip (Parody)

Adoption is KEY!!!

ADOPTION IS EVERYTHING

 

Features of any application are great, right? Developers today make some cool stuff. Google is one of my favorite service providers with it's RSS Reader, Gmail,and Docs and Speadsheets, while Yahoo is my default mail provider. Over the years, the apps have added more features which is great for me as the user. Google Reader and Yahoo email are about the 2 things I use every single day.

 

There is also the other side of the coin. In addition to Yahoo and Google, I am a subscriber of Zoho Presenter (Web Conferencing), Goowy (Ajax Email Client), MP3tunes.com (Full Music Backup), Mozy.com (File Backup Service) and MANY MANY Other as well.

Here is the problem. I dont really use them. Some are paid for services and most are free. I can't complain about free app features but I also don't really complain about the apps I have purchased and the features that they may lack. It doesn't matter. I don't care about apps that I don't use. I did use them. Sometimes for a day. Sometimes for a month. Not no more!

What's my point?

ADOPTION!

 

It matters less what features are available if you don't have adoption. Microsoft could (and at this point SHOULD) have built the most amazing piece of software known to man. The problem is, it doesn't matter how great it is if no one uses it! 

Adoption is the key. It should be the first thing any evaluator of an application should consider before buying or using.

 

Ask yourself honestly:
- Will I use this?
- will others use this?
- Will this solve a problem I am having?
- Will others want to use it?
- will others learn it quickly?
- if there is low adoption, how can I overcome it?

 

If you can answer positively AND find an app with KILLER features, you have won the game.

 

To me, that is where salesforce.com has hit the mark.

 

Adoption is at the corner stone of every conversation. What do you need salesforce.com to do? What problem will it be solving? Who will be using it? How will you train the users? Do you have a plan? No? Here, use this one that we have created FOR YOU.

 

If you have low adoption, guess what? salesforce.com has a team of people who look at adoption statistics and will reach out to find out why adoption is a problem. That is a GREAT service called, "Customer Success Managers". Why doesn't EVERY company have this!?!?!? I wonder why Zoho, MP3Tunes, Mozy and others haven't ever called me to say, "Hey....I noticed you haven't logged into our service in months. What's the problem? Is it working? No? How come? What can we do to fix the problem?

 

Another way that salesforce.com solves the adoption visibility problem is the FREE Adoption Dashboards provided from the AppExchange directory. Some Dashboards are built by salesforce.com Labs while others are built by partners like Arrowpoint.

 

Click here for the salesforce.com Dashboards for Adoption.

 

Click here for the Arrowpoint Dashboards for Adoption.

 

Click here to learn how to Install Dashboards from the AppExchange.

 

The dashboards are free and a KILLER way to see who is inside the app, who is using it, who isn't, what areas of the app are being used, what areas need more attention.  

 

Make sure to think about adoption as the key to success and you will find a new focal point of salesforce.com and just another area where salesforce.com has nailed it!

Vote on My Ideas on the Idea Exchange

Please Log In to the IdeaExchange and Vote on the following:

* Export Reports to Google Speadsheets: http://ideas.salesforce.com/article/show/42867/Export_Report_to_Google_Spreadsheet

Show snippits of weblinks within Objects: http://ideas.salesforce.com/article/show/65763/SNIPS_of_web_links

* Click "HERE" to create SF Contact from Email Signature: http://ideas.salesforce.com/article/show/65998

Platform vs. CRM Idea Exchange: http://ideas.salesforce.com/article/show/67453/CRM_vs_Platform

AppExchange App Tags: http://ideas.salesforce.com/article/show/67536/AppExchange_Tags

* Re-Open Emails in Outlook from salesforce.com: http://ideas.salesforce.com/article/show/68796/ReOpen_In_Outlook_Button_on_emails_sent_through_SF

Embed Google Reader into salesforce.com Home Page: http://ideas.salesforce.com/article/show/68827

Refresh Recent Items: http://ideas.salesforce.com/article/show/69843/Refresh_Recent_Items

* Drag and Drop Dashboard Items: http://ideas.salesforce.com/article/show/69856/DRAG_AND_DROP_DASHBOARD_COMPONENTS

You can also find all these items from the My Ideas Page on SalesforceIUS: http://salesforceius.com/ideas.html