Learn About Salesforce Administrator Roles in Five Different Industries

Every successful Salesforce Administrator knows how important it is to have a good understanding of the business and industry in which they operate. One of the many hats you wear in your role as a Salesforce Admin is to ensure the day-to-day success of business operations. However, the industry in which you work will without a doubt influence the specific types of activities and business processes that you implement. For example, think about how differently a university operates from a bank. One is in the educational services industry, and the other is in the financial services industry. Both operate under very different rules and regulations, have very different business goals, and serve very different customers. These types of industry factors heavily influence not only the way a business operates but also the way Salesforce is used and administered.

To give you a better idea of what the day-to-day lives of #AwesomeAdmins look like from industry to industry, take a look at five different industries as they relate to the role of a Salesforce Admin. We’ll also introduce you to an #AwesomeAdmin working in each industry, so you can get to know your community members!

Nonprofits

In the nonprofit sector, fundraising is important. But most important is delivering impact. Salesforce Admins at nonprofits often have limited time and resources to successfully implement Salesforce, and they may juggle multiple roles at their organization. Despite these constraints, nonprofit Admins still manage to achieve incredible things with the Salesforce Platform. Salesforce provides the Nonprofit Cloud to help nonprofits track their fundraising efforts, manage programs to track their impact, and engage with their constituents. Having Salesforce at the center of a nonprofit enables a 360-degree real-time view of their mission. At the heart of the Nonprofit Cloud is an application called the Nonprofit Success Pack, or NPSP. The NPSP is a highly-customized version of Salesforce (technically, several installed packages) that customizes the native behavior of Salesforce to more accurately reflect nonprofit business processes, like fundraising and grants management.

Meet Alimali Stephen
Alimali Stephen is a Salesforce Admin from Nairobi, Kenya. He works for the Karibu Centre, an organization that focuses on empowering the current and future generations of Kenya through early education, community programs, and social enterprise. You can read about Alimali’s story here.

If you’re interested in learning more about using Salesforce from a nonprofit perspective, you can find more information here.

Financial Services

In the financial services industry, three things are of utmost importance: business growth, advisor productivity, and client satisfaction. Salesforce Admins in this industry are often tasked with setting up processes that allow a business to adapt and grow as the business and industry evolve. Using Financial Services Cloud, Admins customize Salesforce to help connect lines of business, geographies, and channels. They are also very much centered on supercharging user productivity to allow users to focus on meeting client needs. From banking to wealth management to insurance, Admins use Salesforce to give their users 360-degree visibility into their clients’ financial profiles, seeing information such as financial accounts, relationship networks, previous interactions, and financial life goals. This allows users to service clients better and faster, resulting in client satisfaction. Another important focus area for Admins in this industry is data security, so an Admin will put measures in place to protect client data as well as ensure user permissions are carefully monitored.

Meet Jennifer Lee
Jennifer Lee is the Lead Solution Designer at John Hancock, a financial services company with products and services that include life insurance solutions, financial planning and advice, and retirement planning. You can read about Jennifer’s story here.

If you’re interested in learning more about using Salesforce in the financial services industry, you can find more information here.

Manufacturing

In the modern age of manufacturing, optimizing supply chain operations and delivering personalized service at scale are important to an organization’s growth and resilience. Manufacturers are using Salesforce to move beyond the product and connect to their customers on a deeper level, meaning Salesforce Admins have the opportunity to help their company deliver smart and more personalized experiences at every touchpoint. For example, a company may seek to understand the potential lifetime value of each customer. To do this, an Admin may lead a project that aims to improve the process to collect and analyze customer data—including sales interactions, service history, marketing touchpoints, product usage data, and more. Since supply chain management is very important in the manufacturing industry, an Admin may also be involved in a cross-functional project that aims to increase the quality and efficiency of the supply chain and lower overall costs. This would involve meeting with stakeholders to audit existing processes, making recommendations based on findings, and then working with a number of teams to implement new processes. Since Admins in the manufacturing industry often work across various departments—including sales, service, and IT—there are many opportunities to be creative and innovative with the Salesforce Platform.

Meet Jessica Rector
Jessica Rector is the Salesforce Administrator at Card-Monroe Corp, an Industrial equipment supplier in Chattanooga, Tennessee. You can read about Jessica’s story here.

If you’re interested in learning more about using Salesforce in the manufacturing industry, you can find more information here.

Retail

In retail, personalization is changing everything. The lines between sales, service, and marketing are blurring as experiences become more one-to-one. Salesforce Admins working in the retail industry help their sales users identify customer needs and preferences so they can respond at the right time, in the right place, and with the right message. Admins in this industry are often involved in sales and marketing projects. For example, they may lead a project to help users gain a more unified view of their customer or to allow them to automate marketing activities easily. An Admin in the retail industry may also work on improving internal processes; for example, customizing Salesforce to better connect sales associates, partners, and employees with the information they need to provide the right products and the kind of service that builds loyalty.

Meet Scott Luikart
Scott Luikart is a Senior Salesforce Administrator at Whole Foods Market, an American supermarket chain. You can read about Scott’s story here.

If you’re interested in learning more about using Salesforce in the retail industry, you can find more information here.

Higher Education

Higher education consists of institutions that provide instruction and training on a wide variety of subjects, including schools, colleges and universities, and training centers. Being a Salesforce Admin at an educational institution is both challenging and rewarding. Admins can create a seamless and personalized student experience using Salesforce’s Education Cloud for Higher Ed. With many out-of-the-box features, Education Cloud can help Admins drive student success across the entire life cycle, from prospect to alum. For example, you may be tasked with creating a more effective solution for student recruitment and admissions. You may also be asked to lead a project that aims to increase student success by managing student issues more efficiently.

Meet Mariel Espinal
Mariel Espinal is a Salesforce Administrator at Columbia University, a private research university in New York City. You can read about Mariel’s story here.

If you’re interested in learning more about using Salesforce in the educational services industry, you can find more information here and at Salesforce.org: https://www.salesforce.org/highered/.

No matter what industry you work in, as a Salesforce Administrator, you have a huge opportunity to create a positive and lasting impact. Whether creating new ways for your users and execs to be more productive or delivering the latest technological innovations, you are a center of excellence for all things Salesforce.