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Salesforce has become a definitive leader in the customer relationship management (CRM) platform space, taking up 22.9% of the market share in 2022, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC). Countless sales teams rely on this software for their daily operations, but that doesn't mean it's easy to use.
Field mapping is an essential aspect of effective data management, enabling you to sync field data across each Salesforce object you're using for consistent customer records. This lays the foundation for everything that follows, including generating your sales maps, designing your territories, and planning your reps' routes. However, many teams struggle to map their fields in the first place.
So what is field mapping, what are the best practices, and how can a simple Salesforce integration help you streamline the process with added benefits? Let's take a look…
What is field mapping?
You can think of a Salesforce field as representing a column of data in a spreadsheet. These values are often required for certain "objects," or data tables, in a given record because they fill in crucial information, such as contact details, location, and more.
Salesforce fields come in two different types
Standard fields: This field type covers who created it, who last modified it, who the owner is, and the specific field generated at the time of instantiation (when the object was created). Standard fields include things like:
- Account name
- Attached files
- Case and case comments
- Contact name
- Lead information
- Opportunity stage
- Product name
Custom fields: These fields are added by an administrator to meet certain requirements set out by the organization. For instance, some common custom field data include:
- Date and time
- Phone number
- Geolocation
- Picklist
- Currency
The goal of field mapping is to help you map different field types to various Salesforce and custom objects. By enabling data movement from an opportunity object to a quote, then to an order, and finally to an asset object, you can easily migrate account information from lead to conversion. And as you update records for prospects and customers, this data automatically syncs for all shared records.
Best practices for Salesforce field mapping
To help you map Salesforce field data more effectively and efficiently, here are some of the best practices for field mapping:
- Keep everyone in the loop: When publishing new fields, send your business partners information about them to create a mapping strategy that works for your goals.
- Translate custom field information: Translate your published custom field name into the languages that your business partners will understand.
- Auto-map your fields: Select "Auto-Map Fields" to automatically map your business partner's fields to yours.
- Don't worry about standard fields: Standard fields, such as account name and opportunity stage are automatically mapped from object to object.
- Map the right field types: Don't map a person's account field to a business account field. Only map them with the same field type.
Following these best practices can help your team streamline the field mapping process. However, sometimes you might come across a Salesforce field that isn't supported, such as demographic information. In these cases, you won't be able to create a sales map using the desired field. So what's the solution?
Connect your Salesforce CRM with eSpatial
eSpatial for Salesforce is a powerful integration tool that enables you to unlock your sales potential with advanced data visualizations. By connecting to your Salesforce CRM and other disparate data sources, eSpatial allows you to import and map all the information you need. No matter what Salesforce or custom object you're using, eSpatial will use the data to generate a vibrant sales map that delivers actionable insights into your prospects, customers, and opportunities.
One of the best features of eSpatial's integration is the ability to take actions in Salesforce from a single platform. Keep records up to date by logging various sales calls, tasks, and activities, or by bulk updating and reassigning them. You can even create new Salesforce records and add them to a marketing campaign.