Blockchain, if somehow you didn’t get a chance to hop on it, is a technology game-changer that dazzled the world with cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. Though I can’t really comment on the future of cryptocurrency at this juncture, the underlying technology (Blockchain) looks very promising to me for the long-haul. That I could say because Blockchain provides what today’s generation expect from the digital world - an open, decentralized system which is super secure, efficient, and transparent.
How is Salesforce using Hyperledger’s Blockchain to improve business?
But first, what is Hyperledger? Launched in December 2015 as a project of the Linux Foundation, Hyperledger is one great example that has risen over the Bitcoin hype and has actually blazed the trail to solve different real-world problems using Blockchain. Hyperledger’s major focus is on the enterprise application of Blockchain and creating tools for public Blockchain. Enterprise grade, distributed ledger technologies by Hyperledger have already started to strengthen healthcare, slave labor eradication missions, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), transparency and accountability in financial markets, to name a few.
The top reason why more and more established companies are now talking about Blockchain enterprise deployments is increasing concerns over centralization. Many of them fear an operational risk that comes from centralizing all the data into one cloud provider. There’s no guarantee that you will always be able to extract your data, whereas it’s often a challenge to migrate from one cloud provider to another.
Hyperledger is using Blockchain technology to solve some of these concerns via enterprise applications that are decentralized, eliminating the risk by removing dependency on a central party. Distributed ledger technology is actually that tool for cloud providers they need to make cloud platforms highly trustable. Google, Amazon, Kashr, IBM Cloud, SAP Cloud and Oracle Cloud are some of the many companies using Hyperledger nodes to meet different requirements of their clients.
You may click here if you want to go deep into the details of how Blockchain functions and its potential across industries apart from cryptocurrencies.
Specifically talking about the possibility of Blockchain running CRMs, it’s not too far as the next three to five years will likely bring the bright sunlight in the field of Blockchain-powered CRM systems. In fact, Salesforce, an American cloud-based software company, has already started leveraging the benefits of Blockchain technology by joining hands with Hyperledger.
The reigning CRM-powerhouse, as we know Salesforce is, has introduced its own Blockchain platform coined as Salesforce Blockchain. The platform supports the firm’s own application builder Salesforce Lightning. Salesforce customers can now use distributed ledger technology-powered Lightning to build smart contracts, app and networks. There are several benefits that businesses can draw using Salesforce Blockchain. Let’s discuss them!
How Blockchain changes Salesforce for the Better
- Facilitates a 360-degree view of the customer: What are you most likely to hear if you get a chance to speak to a Salesforce user about the major issue they faced? Well, what I have learnt from my own experience of speaking with some Salesforce users, it’s the duplication of their customer information in the CRM database. The top reason behind that is the existence of multiple copies of a customer’s details across numerous systems. It’s also obvious as the marketing department’s view of a customer interaction is more often than not a far cry from the view of the customer service department. This brings the devil in the detail.
How Blockchain solves the problem
When Blockchain technology combines with Salesforce, each customer is assigned just one single block. Since one particular block is all that a customer owns, data silos break down and all applications have just one single touchpoint to get the details of that customer. This removes redundancy and duplicity from the CRM system.
Also that Blockchain works on a distributed network architecture, it becomes easier to wipe off inaccurate data and feed richer data to the CRM system. What this brings up is a unified and more appropriate view of a customer’s personal details, purchase history, and other crucial information. And, as the saying goes “Time is money”, Blockchain helps expedite the CRM processes that throttle up your revenue-generating engine.
- Enhanced Security: Data security is one of the biggest concerns of today as we all come to hear about data scandals happening every now and then (Even big tech giants like Facebook and Google have faced the music for data-security issues). Now this is where Blockchain is a lifesaver. Reversing a transaction, or any sort of data tampering for that matter is next to impossible on a Blockchain network. Every bit of information on a Blockchain network is cryptographically secured and there is no way to reverse or erase a block of transaction/transactions.
So, there is no need to worry over the reliability of customer information you get through your Blockchain-powered CRM system. Actually, security protocols of Blockchain technology are a little too strong to circumvent.
- Richer Insights: The quality of data insights into customer activities improves as more information is added to the blocks of customers. As the system scales, all businesses get deep insights into what their customers prefer and expect from a business. Since each block contains factual and verifiable record of each customer, it becomes easier for a business to get actionable insights. Each and every transaction ever made by a customer is verified and stored securely and transparently into the blockchain network, therefore businesses can establish if a particular customer or lead is worth chasing.
- More Customized Offers: Selective information of customers is what businesses look for to customize their offerings and add value to overall customer experience. But privacy concerns often act as a bottleneck. Blockchain is the technology that will likely make customers more confident to add more of their selective information to their digital wallet as security is one of the main pillars of Blockchain and data sharing is not much of a concern. Thus, businesses can customize their products and services to serve customers their preferred plate of food.
- Efficient Loyalty Programs: Additionally, Blockchain can help companies make the most of their loyalty programs. Since customers can have all the collected points in a single decentralized wallet, their experience would not be confined by the rules and limitations of individual brands. With Blockchain combined with Salesforce, customers are more likely to rule by having far greater control over the whole experience. This paves the way for businesses to run loyalty programs that encourage engagement and increase ROI.
Wrapping up,
Keeping all the above benefits in view, it’s easy to say that Blockchain is well capable of not just changing how users approached Salesforce till now, but rejigging business operating models as a whole. However, the challenge comes with the Blockchain Salesforce trailhead.
With the technology still in its initial stage, the adoption rate of Blockchain has not been very convincing yet for most businesses (especially small and medium-sized ones) to make the big move. But, considering what all Blockchain can offer not just to a CRM system but various other verticals, we believe things are highly likely to change in the near future. The benefits are justifiable enough to claim that Blockchain has a great potential to add that force to Salesforce it requires to build business value to the hilt.
What Evon brings on the table for tech needs of your business
Salesforce, without a doubt, has long been helping businesses to reach out to customers and turning them into revenue generating machines but with constant new innovation and an ever-growing ecosystem, there’s always something to do more to stay in the race. This is exactly where Evon comes into the picture, to help you stay on top of your Salesforce game.
To give you a little background,
Evon, an offshore software development company based in India, has been catering to a wide range of technology needs of numerous clients world over for over 10 years now. We also act as a Salesforce consulting company to help our clients navigate through Salesforce CRM.
Coming Back,
With over a decade of consulting and implementation excellence, Evon offers businesses Salesforce development services in India to help drive new growth. Evon also has the knowledge and resources to help you build interoperable, decentralized, secure, transparent and scalable CRM solutions by using Blockchain technology. If that sounds like something you need help with, get in touch with us today.