Salesforce is a widely-used cloud-based SaaS Platform that specializes in customer relationship management (CRM). Apart from handling Enterprise CRM operations, Salesforce also provides other services such as enterprise applications for customer service, marketing automation solutions, and application development.
Salesforce is now the dominant player amongst the CRM solution providers and according to reports from Salesforce, companies that use Salesforce saw a 27% increase in their sales revenue, 32% increase in lead conversion, 34% increase in customer satisfaction, and a 56% faster deployment.
Because of a large number of applications and cloud services, Salesforce is used in many companies. One of the most popular services offered by Salesforce is Salesforce App Cloud. App Cloud provides developers with tools that are required to build custom applications based upon the requirement. Some of the tools of App Cloud are:
- Force.com: This allows admins and developers to develop websites and integrate with the main Salesforce.com solution
- App Exchange: App Exchange is a marketplace for developers looking to develop custom applications.
- Heroku: Heroku gives flexibility for developers to create apps in their preferred language.
- Salesforce Sandbox: Salesforce sandbox allows you to test the application in a safe and isolated environment.
Salesforce AppExchange is one of the most popular Salesforce Enterprise services to build and develop custom apps based upon your business needs.
Also Read: Salesforce & SAP Integration – Advantages, challenges and How to Get Started
What is Salesforce AppExchange?
It is a Salesforce app store started in 2005. This platform is enabling businesses to expand their capabilities and functionalities across all industries. Salesforce App Exchange is a huge ecosystem of 5000 apps, 90,000 customer reviews, and more than 6 million downloads.
You may consider AppExchange as the marketplace for all third-party apps, components, and solutions that are compatible and can integrate with Salesforce.
How to build and deploy apps with Salesforce AppExchange?
Before you start building your apps, here are the 3 types of applications that you should know:
- Integration apps can be integrated with the Salesforce platform;
- FSM apps are the innovation stand-alone platform solutions that let developers built better software or launch better services for end-customers;
- Augmented Functionality apps are the apps with which you can add extra features to Salesforce.
Here are the steps that you should follow to create an app using AppExchange:
- Get into the Salesforce Partner Community
This is a platform from where you can learn the best practices of app development for your business by taking part in webinars, discussions to stay updated with new tools and features.
Join this community to connect with Salesforce partners and consultants. With that, you will get a free org for development. You can also ask queries in the discussion forum to get more insights into your errors.
- Planning
The next step is to build upon your idea and layout a plan. Begin with strategizing about how your app should look like and also choose the Salesforce edition type (Classic / lightning) and select the suitable tools that would be required for your application. Make sure you also add the security features as the sales force would require apps to have security before listing them on the marketplace.
- App Development and Packaging
For the development and packaging of your app, you have to sign up for two different org.
To do this, simply follow these steps:
- Open the environment hub app;
- Click on “create org” and name this new org as “dev_org”.
- Once you have finished the development, create a new org called “package_org”. It’s the packaged app files, ready to be deployed in the Salesforce App Store.
- The Security Review by AppExchange
Securing the data of its customers is the ultimate motive of Salesforce. Having a security review is crucial for trust-building. Salesforce AppExchange has a strict security review policy which each and every app needs to follow before it gets to listen to on the store. You can check out the free guides and resources about how to implement security features to your apps.
- Choose Deployment Model and Market your app
A freemium app or a trial-enabled premium app is a good model for Salesforce deployment, but you must think about your purpose and make the choice yourselves.
Next, one of the most important marketing strategies to attract new customers is to offer free trials and discounts. Giving out free trials helps customers understand what your product is about and it also serves as a review process, helping you explore for bugs and do needed improvements.
- The Launch
It is important for your application to look attractive when it’s in the marketplace. Prepare a trustworthy and noteworthy app exchange listing by using high-quality images, demos and screenshots, and short video tutorials to attract more customers. You can also add SEO-rich content for better rankings as well. Make sure you add an attractive image and useful screenshots on the dashboard of your app exchange listing.
- Customer Support and License
The most important step of the whole building process is providing after-sales support to your customers. Plan a solid roadmap about how you provide support to the difficulties, or challenges that your customers face. Develop a few options for licensing so that you can capture a wider audience base.
Listing an app in AppExchange
Once you app is ready, the first step of promoting your app is to list your application on the Salesforce app exchange. Provide pp description, pricing details, explainer video, and support details while you do this. The details that you provide should be sufficient for the customer to understand what the app is about.
If you are a lightning platform developer and then AppExchange is the right place to publish your apps and also connect with enterprises. You may also add research or white papers providing more details about your app.
Conclusion
Developing a custom app using Salesforce app exchange can add a great benefit to your organization and also automate some processes that are unique to your business. People using Salesforce app exchange has grown up over the last few years and more than 89% of the fortune 100 people use at least one Salesforce app exchange application.
Also Read: Enhanced Organization’s sales cycles implementing CPQ in Salesforce
If your business is thinking of developing and deploying apps on Salesforce, hiring a team of professionals is also a good idea. Consider consulting with Stridely Solutions and taking our services. Our team has years of experience in this domain and we have helped dozens of enterprises in Salesforce app development till the date.
