Salesforce Contact Sync into Contact Hub
How to connect Salesforce data in and out of our platform
Responsibilities 
Product Design 
Interaction Design 
User Research 
Technical exploration
About this project 
Currently, the majority of our product's customers use Salesforce as their primary tool for managing customer and marketing leads. Through our research and conversations with customers about the Contact hub, it has become evident that there is a need to establish a system that allows seamless communication and synchronization between the two platforms. This would enable us to have a unified data source for customer feedback collected through surveys, leading to a more comprehensive understanding of our customers and their needs.
You can read more about the Contact Hub here.
Value proposition
Integrating a feedback platform with Salesforce can provide numerous benefits for businesses, including improved customer engagement, better data management, enhanced analytics, and streamlined workflows. By automating the process of collecting and analyzing customer feedback, businesses can gain valuable insights into their customers and make more informed decisions, ultimately driving business growth.
The challenge
The project of connecting Salesforce to a feedback tool comes with several challenges that need to be addressed:
From a user perspective, the specific needs that need to be met include the ability to seamlessly share customer data between Salesforce and the feedback tool, as well as the ability to automate the feedback collection process. Users also need to be able to visualize the feedback data in a meaningful way that allows for easy analysis and decision-making. 
Business requirements for the project include the need for improved customer engagement and increased customer satisfaction, which can ultimately lead to increased revenue and business growth. The project must also be cost-effective and efficient, with minimal impact on existing business processes.
One pain point that needs to be addressed is the potential technical constraints that may arise during the integration process. Both Salesforce and GetFeedback may have different data structures, which could lead to challenges in mapping and synchronizing data. Additionally, there may be technical constraints such as data security and privacy requirements that need to be considered during the integration process.
A significant challenge that arises when integrating Getfeedback with Salesforce is the difficulty in setting up the mapping process without a technical background. This poses a challenge for users who lack technical knowledge and expertise, as they may struggle to navigate the mapping process effectively. As such, one of the main challenges in this project is to create a user-friendly and intuitive experience that enables non-technical users to effectively map data between the two platforms.
First drafts 
The solution design process began by identifying the main constraints and determining the shape for the v1 of the project, specifically how to integrate with the existing Salesforce microservice for automations. To achieve this, the data workflow needed to be carefully planned to ensure seamless and effective data transfer between the two platforms. As such, the data flow was mapped out as follows:
To ensure that the project met the needs of our users, I worked closely with the product manager to define the user stories based on the user pain points. These user stories included:
"As a CX Admin, the user should be able to create accounts and contacts in the feedback tool from Salesforce. This would enable the user to associate the feedback with specific customers and utilize the customer data for distribution in the feedback tool."
"As a CX Admin, the user should be able to synchronize contact data from Salesforce, with the correct mapping of fields and objects, to achieve full parity between the two platforms."
"As a CX Admin, the user should be able to map response data to be synced with their contacts in Salesforce, ensuring that data is consistent across both applications."
More detailed screens for prototype
Salesforce connection
Salesforce connection
Salesforce mapping
Salesforce mapping
Salesforce mapping
Salesforce mapping
Summary
Summary
Testing with Users
Once we had defined the initial concept, we tested it with five customers to gauge their perceptions and identify any usability issues. The testing yielded several findings, including:
• Users appreciated the ability to sync with Salesforce, given that most participants were Salesforce users. However, they were uncertain about how often the list would be refreshed.
• Many users desired the ability to add contacts based on custom objects on Salesforce, beyond the standard Contacts or Accounts. In some cases, the list of contacts they wished to survey was based on the criteria of multiple fields from multiple objects.
• Given that most users utilized the Salesforce integration, they hoped that Lists could help them pull appropriate lists from Salesforce.
• Mapping was a little confusing for some users. They were not quite clear where the Getfeedback fields were coming from. They also wanted more clarity on which objects the Salesforce fields were coming from.
Empty state for connections
Empty state for connections
Salesforce connections
Salesforce connections
Salesforce objects
Salesforce objects
Salesforce mappings
Salesforce mappings
Second flow 
Following the research, we refined the mapping flow and collaborated with the engineering team to identify any technical constraints. Additionally, our research revealed the need for a second flow to sync response data back to Salesforce. While we had anticipated this need, the research confirmed it.
Creating a simple, easy-to-use mapping flow for the sync-back posed a challenge, given that we did not want to overwhelm users or overburden the engineering team with complex requirements. Therefore, we decided to create the second flow as an optional feature accessible via the settings page of the contact hub. This approach allowed us to deliver V1 while providing users with a clear path to additional functionality in the future.
Settings page
Settings page
Mappings overview
Mappings overview
Mappings wizard
Mappings wizard
Mappings wizard
Mappings wizard
Mappings wizard
Mappings wizard
Mappings wizard
Mappings wizard
Final Designs
Upload wizard set up
Upload wizard set up
Salesforce connections
Salesforce connections
Salesforce objects
Salesforce objects
Mappings
Mappings
Summary
Summary
Results 
The most valuable takeaway from this project is that simplicity is key when it comes to technical data mappings. We aimed to increase new sales deals closed with USB Salesforce integration and improve the NPS for Salesforce customers, but we were unable to complete the project due to a shift in company focus. However, through testing, we discovered that simplifying the data mapping process can lead to a more effective and rewarding user experience. It's important not to overload the user with unnecessary details and instead focus on creating a streamlined flow.
Back to Top