Author: Julien Le Dantec - Salesforce Consultant & Cloud Futura Sales Engineer

(image source: https://slack.com/intl/en-fr/blog/news/salesforce-signs-definitive-agreement-to-acquire-slack) 

Due to the pandemic, many headquarters and offices have moved their physical presence online. This new normal boosted the importance of the work-from-anywhere dynamic and the need for Salesforce to facilitate collaboration and communication on the go. This is where Slack’s acquisition finds its roots.

If you are a Salesforce user, you may be wondering how you can take advantage of this new platform.

Let’s have a look at what Slack can bring to your Salesforce operations.

1 - In which use cases can I take advantage of Salesforce integration with Slack?

Let’s examine 2 examples of use cases in which Slack can show benefits while being integrated with Salesforce for Sales and Service teams.

Example 1: Sales

For Sales, the combination of Salesforce with the channel collaboration in Slack can help close deals faster. Let’s look at a scenario:

Enter our great Business Development rep, Ralf, who’s working on a lead, ''Paul Koller,'' who works at ''Permadyne GmbH'' (fictional contact and company).

After Ralf has converted his lead, he decides to create a specific Account channel, ''Permadyne GmbH,'' in Slack. Ralf can share his discovery call notes in the channel to ensure that members of the opportunity team, as well as the broader team, stay up to date.
Because this info is key, Ralf attaches it from Slack to Salesforce at the Opportunity level. As he moves the stage of the opportunity, David (his awesome manager and Opportunity team member) automatically receives a notification in Slack. He jumps in and suggests that Ralf get in touch with one of his contacts, ''Karolin Bucher,'' who can help him gain even more insight.

After a few meetings, the deal has moved along and Ralf decides to work on the quote he has created. He shares it in Slack with David to validate the estimate.

''Paul Koller'' at ''Permadyne GmbH'' agrees with the quote and signs the contract. Time to celebrate!

Example 2: Support

Later, after a successful implementation, the care of our client is sent over to the Customer Excellence team for support.

Because automatic alerts have been created, every new case will be pushed in a Slack channel according to its degree of priority.

Julien, who’s dealing with high-priority cases, jumps on it. From there, he can collaborate with the rest of the team to gain insights into the issue.
Also, because one of Julien’s colleagues received a similar request from another client, it is shared in the channel. Julien can work together with his colleague and solve the case faster.

Because Slack Connect is also activated, Julien can communicate with the client and share the resolution directly on Slack.

Another successful resolution and satisfied customer!


Example of joint collaboration with external partners:

Slack use cases are not limited to Sales and Support teams. The Marketing team can also use the platform to collaborate on campaigns, have discussions with clients and providers, and even integrate with other apps such as social media apps to interact faster with different stakeholders.



2 - Can I do everything in Salesforce from Slack?

The integration allows you to share Salesforce records in Slack, update Salesforce records from Slack, receive automated alerts, and even create automations.

At the moment, there is a focus on Sales and Service as we previously mentioned, chances are, though, that over time, you might be able to do an awful lot in Salesforce right from Slack.

The intention is not that Slack will replace Salesforce. Its purpose is to provide the integration to facilitate in-context communication and exchange in order to avoid silos created by emails.

Who does what?

In short, Salesforce is your integrated CRM platform for Marketing, Sales, Commerce, Service, and IT, enabling a 360° view of the Customer.

Slack is a messaging app for business that connects people to the information they need. Its purpose is to replace email silos with Channels (projects, teams, sprints, office locations, business units, etc.).

 Salesforce remains the CRM we know, and Slack complements its offer linked to the new normal of remote working.

 3 - Will Chatter disappear?
At the moment, Chatter’s future is unclear. While some speculate that it will be retired, this requires confirmation.

Let’s take a simplified look at how they compare so that you can see cases for using Chatter and some limitations that Slack can overcome.



How do they compare?

Salesforce Chatter	Slack
Asynchronous	Real-time
Built in the Salesforce app	Mobile-friendly
Inside Salesforce collaboration	In and Out collaborators
Code required	Integration focus
Record collaboration	Account collaboration

In either case, you should always define a clear list of requirements to select the solution that will best match your needs. This is where Nexell (your Salesforce integrator of choice) comes in to support you ;)

4 - Quick disclaimer: Keeping an eye on potential tweaks of Slack with Salesforce

As Salesforce just closed on its acquisition of Slack (21.07.2021), it’s clear that we will hear a lot more on the future of Slack and how Salesforce will position it in its offer.

We can cite the annual Dreamforce 2021 event from Salesforce in September (21-23/09) and the Slack Frontiers event in October (5-6/10).

Stay tuned for more with Nexell.