How salesforce.

com uses Salesforce Chatter

At salesforce.com, like any company, our people face the challenge of staying on top of everything that’s
happening in the business—at headquarters and at offices around the world. The idea of connecting all
those people and all that knowledge was the catalyst for Salesforce Chatter.
We asked ourselves: What if we did something like Facebook—but made
it completely private...and secure...and ran it on our trusted service? And Abstract
why limit it to following people? Let’s use it to stay up to date on all those Find out how Salesforce Chatter is changing
documents. And while we’re at it, why not make it possible to follow not just the way we work together, but the way
we work.
deals...or cases...or any other kind of data in Salesforce CRM?
This document shares evolving use cases
That’s how Chatter got started. Since then, different uses have evolved— during the introduction of Chatter at
and continue to do so at an amazing rate. As a result, departmental silos salesforce.com.
are breaking down. We’re using less email. Executives say they’re getting By Robin Daniels & Scott Holden
out of “the bubble.” Sales reps are clinching more sales, with help from
colleagues they don’t even know. And instead of everyone hunting for information, there’s a wealth of
information that comes right to them. In fact, it’s a whole new way of collaborating.

This graphic shows how one user updates her status and monitors a competitive slide deck
as well as data updates based on a back-end distribution system and the Service Cloud.
How salesforce.com uses Chatter

5 ways Chatter is changing life at salesforce.com

In the 6 months we’ve used Chatter, we’re constantly discovering new and surprising uses. Here are five
ways Chatter is changing life at salesforce.com.
1. Connections are exploding
2. Apps and data are coming to life
3. Discoveries are unleashed
4. Sharing is becoming a way of life
5. Executives are more actively engaged

Read on to find out how Chatter is working for salesforce.com. Then explore how it can work for you.
Connections are exploding
With Chatter, connections of all sorts are happening, often in unexpected ways.

 Connect to colleagues – People from across the company are connecting

and helping each other. For example, an employee needed a cruise ship Chatter goes
reference and posted his request. Several answers arrived within minutes. beyond connections
 Connect with experts – Chatter has made it much easier to find experts. to people
When a sales rep was looking for an expert in the automotive industry,
experts from around the world weighed in—people she didn’t know and
to also connect to
wouldn’t have known to reach out to. By following existing accounts live data.
related to this industry, the rep now gets relevant news and updates on
events automatically—information that would be extremely time-consuming to gather in other ways.

 Connect the dots – Chatter provides a context for all efforts associated with a particular task or record.
For example, someone looking for materials related to a product can automatically get updates about
price lists, slide decks, marketing collateral, or customer conversations about that product by following
the right people, groups, or data.
Apps and data are coming to life
Perhaps the biggest difference between Chatter and other types of collaborative applications is that Chatter
goes beyond connections to people to also connect to live data. This feature gains in productivity because
people no longer have to scour the application for data—it comes to them. For example, with Chatter you
can:

 Follow top deals in real time – You’ll always know exactly what’s happening with a deal, the moment
it happens. No more waiting for reports or going to dashboards. The status change on an account or
opportunity record triggers an update to everyone who follows that record.

 Follow accounts – You can always be up to date on any news about a customer. For example, by
following a customer record, a product manager found out the customer had signed up for a beta
program—information that turned out to be extremely useful for product planning.

 Follow cases – You can always know what’s happening with any customer with an open case. Knowing
the status of a case can be invaluable: just imagine how useful that information is if you’re getting ready
to try to cross- or up-sell that customer.
Discoveries are unleashed
Having a new way to tap into a network of resources has been one of the great benefits of Chatter. In
addition to seeking out information, people are discovering unexpected information as well. Here are some
examples from our company:

BEST PRACTICE 2
How salesforce.com uses Chatter

 A competitive analyst posted an update of a competitive product, complete

with screen shots and tips for positioning. For the many reps who hadn’t One of the
seen that product, it was a great way to prepare for their sales calls and unexpected
beat the competition.
consequences of
 An airline customer unexpectedly contacted us and wanted to visit on short Chatter has been the
notice. With the help of Chatter, everyone involved quickly got up to speed
and gathered relevant customer stories in a slide deck to show the
breakdown of silos
customer. It’s something that would have been impossible without based on geography
Chatter—some of the stories came from people who wouldn’t even have or department.
been asked.
Sharing is becoming way of life
One of the unexpected consequences of using Chatter has been the breakdown of silos based on geography
or department. As people have started posting on Chatter, many comment on how freely everyone shares
their expertise, contacts, and resources.

 Share content for customer meetings right on the account records – We’ve found Chatter to be a
great tool for preparing for customer meetings. For most companies, a big customer meeting triggers a
flurry of activity, with slide decks, agendas, and advice flying back and forth. Instead of endless email
trails and multiple versions of a presentation, everyone who followed the customer account record in
Chatter automatically received the latest versions of all resources. They could also access the complete
history of all activities related to that customer because it’s all right there on the record.

 Share important files and get instant feedback – By sharing files with the rest of the company via
Chatter, people are getting new insights and perspectives on their work. For example, the product
manager for Chatter posted a “Getting Started with Chatter Guide” that has been much improved based
on the helpful comments he received.
Executives are more actively engaged
As companies grow, many people no longer know each other and executives tend to grow increasingly
distant. At salesforce.com, we find that Chatter is a great way for executives and employees to stay
connected.

 As one of the most active Chatter users, salesforce.com’s CEO Marc Benioff posts frequently—and gets
back ideas, news about deals closing, product suggestions, and opinions from people who wouldn’t
otherwise get a chance to interact with him.

 In another example, the president of sales was at a meeting with a customer who had a technical question
that was over his head. He posted his question on Chatter and, within minutes, had an answer—from
people he’d never met. Needless to say, the customer was impressed.

Summary
If you’re ready to explore what Chatter can do for your company—or if you’d like to find out more about
how other customers are using it—check out these resources.

For More Information

Contact your account executive to learn

how we can help you accelerate your
CRM success.

DS_HowWeUseChatter_2010-06-16