The built-in reporting module for Salesforce is limited to the data residing within Salesforce. As a result, most medium to large Salesforce customers choose to extend their reporting capabilities beyond what Salesforce can deliver.
They end up pursuing a best-tool-for-the-job strategy. They use Salesforce reporting when the requirements are straight forward and the data they need resides in Salesforce itself. They extend to third-party analytics tools when Salesforce reporting is insufficient for the business requirements and data from multiple sources is required.
Why choosing Tableau for Salesforce makes good sense
Tableau is a good choice as a third-party analytics tool when your reporting requirements exceed the capabilities that are native to Salesforce. For starters, the two platforms are designed to work together – Tableau visuals can be embedded within the Salesforce application. Data can be securely passed back and forth so that Tableau vizzes are automatically customized to each account or opportunity.
Using Tableau to do Salesforce reporting offers multiple business benefits:
Full information availability. Tableau has built-in integration with Salesforce, allowing Tableau reports and dashboards to be embedded within the Salesforce application itself. More important, Tableau can pull in data from all pertinent sources; it is not limited to only the data that resides in Salesforce. The implications of this are significant: sales reps and management can have full information when making sales strategy decisions.
Tableau can access all types of sales information including but not limited to
- Information about customer lifetime value, recency and frequency. This comes from sales history data that exists outside of Salesforce.
- Information about customer satisfaction. This comes from the call center application outside of Salesforce.
- Actuals versus quota. The quota spreadsheets or database exist outside of Salesforce.
Self-service analysis and visualization. Tableau has democratized information analysis. With a focus on ease-of-use, Tableau has made it possible for non-IT people to analyze and visualize data themselves. This availability drives informed decision-making to all areas of the company and replaces gut-feel decision-making.
Data blending. Salesforce reporting is not able to combine data across Salesforce modules. For instance, it cannot display marketing engagements and pipeline growth on the same chart. Tableau does this type of data blending natively.
Knowledge and skill sharing. Since Salesforce reporting is limited to Salesforce data, it is not a candidate to be the standard tool throughout an organization. Tableau has no data limitations and can be the familiar standard for all departments in the company.
Making it happen
Embedding Salesforce data into a Tableau dashboard can be done using Salesforce Canvas and Tableau Sparkler adapters, both of which are free.
Learn how to set up the adapters in our instructional primer. If you need assistance, we can install and configure Sparkler and Canvas for you quickly and affordably. Contact us at 888-601-6010 or info@senturus.com.
