Introduction
If you’ve ever searched for the best Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, you’ve likely heard of Salesforce. But what exactly is Salesforce, what does it do, and how can businesses use it effectively? In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore everything from how Salesforce works, its products like Salesforce Marketing Cloud, CPQ, and Agentforce, to practical tutorials like creating reports, adding fields, and integrating Salesforce with WordPress or Outlook.
Business Solutions & Services (BSS) is a Certified Salesforce Partner, and you can get complete Salesforce services from BSS to help your business implement, customize, and optimize Salesforce for maximum performance.
Whether you’re a beginner wondering how to use Salesforce or a company evaluating whether Salesforce is an ERP, CRM, or both — this guide covers it all.
What is Salesforce?
Salesforce is a cloud-based CRM (Customer Relationship Management) platform designed to help businesses manage relationships with their customers, partners, and employees. Founded in 1999 by Marc Benioff, Salesforce revolutionized enterprise software by delivering it via the cloud instead of on-premises installations.
Today, Salesforce is the #1 CRM globally, empowering sales, marketing, commerce, and service teams through tools that improve collaboration, productivity, and customer satisfaction.
Is Salesforce a CRM or ERP?
Salesforce is primarily a CRM system, not a full ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning).
However, it can integrate with ERP platforms or mimic ERP functions through apps like Salesforce CPQ (Configure, Price, Quote) and Salesforce Billing, which help manage quotes, orders, and invoices.
What Does Salesforce Do?
Salesforce centralizes your business data to help teams:
- Track leads and opportunities.
- Manage accounts and contacts.
- Automate marketing and customer service.
- Create analytics dashboards for decision-making.
- Integrate with tools like Slack, Outlook, and WordPress.
In short, Salesforce helps you sell smarter, market better, and support faster — all in one platform.
What is Salesforce Used For?
Organizations use Salesforce for:
- Sales Management: Lead tracking, pipeline visualization, and forecasting.
- Marketing Automation: Using Salesforce Marketing Cloud to personalize campaigns.
- Customer Support: Managing tickets via Service Cloud.
- E-commerce: Through Salesforce Commerce Cloud.
- Analytics: Dashboards and AI insights via Einstein Analytics.
- Integration: Connecting data from other apps (ERP, CMS, etc.).
How Does Salesforce Work?
Salesforce operates entirely in the cloud, which means you can access it from anywhere via a browser or mobile app.
It’s built on the Salesforce Platform, which includes:
- Salesforce Lightning Experience (modern interface)
- AppExchange (app marketplace)
- Flow Builder (for automation)
- Apex and GraphQL APIs (for developers)
Everything is modular — meaning you can add or customize apps as your business grows.
What is Salesforce Lightning?
Salesforce Lightning is the modern, fast, and user-friendly interface that replaced Salesforce Classic. It includes visual components, app builders, and drag-and-drop tools to create dynamic experiences.
What is Salesforce Agentforce & AgentBlazer?
Agentforce is Salesforce’s AI-driven service hub, helping support agents deliver faster resolutions using data and automation.
AgentBlazer, a training and productivity toolkit within Agentforce, helps agents learn best practices inside Salesforce.
What is Salesforce Data Cloud?
The Salesforce Data Cloud (formerly known as Customer Data Platform or CDP) unifies customer data across all sources in real-time, enabling personalized marketing and AI-driven insights.
How Much Does Salesforce Cost?
Salesforce pricing varies by edition and product:
- Sales Cloud: Starts at around $25/user/month (Essentials) to $300/user/month (Unlimited).
- Marketing Cloud & CPQ: Custom pricing based on usage.
For small businesses, Salesforce Starter offers a simplified and affordable package.
What is Salesforce CPQ?
CPQ (Configure, Price, Quote) in Salesforce helps sales teams generate accurate quotes quickly. It automates complex pricing, discounts, and contract approvals — essential for enterprise sales processes.
What is Salesforce Agile Accelerator Tool?
The Agile Accelerator Tool is Salesforce’s in-platform project management app that helps teams plan, track, and deliver agile projects — particularly useful for development teams.
How to Host Odoo vs Salesforce
Both Odoo and Salesforce are cloud-based systems but differ in hosting:
- Salesforce: Fully managed SaaS (no hosting setup needed).
- Odoo: Can be self-hosted (on-premise) or cloud-hosted.
If you need more control and customization, Odoo suits better; if you want scalability and zero maintenance, Salesforce wins.
How to Learn and Use Salesforce
To learn Salesforce, start with Trailhead, Salesforce’s free learning platform.
You can also get hands-on with a Salesforce Developer Edition Account, which is free to create.
To use Salesforce effectively:
- Customize your objects and fields.
- Create dashboards and reports.
- Automate workflows using Flows.
- Integrate Salesforce with third-party tools like Slack, RingCentral, or WordPress.
How to Create Reports and Dashboards in Salesforce
- Reports: Go to the Reports tab → click New Report → select report type → add filters and fields.
- Dashboards: In Analytics Studio or Dashboard Builder, use components (charts, metrics, tables) to visualize KPIs.
You can also share reports via links or folders to collaborate with your team.
How to Merge Accounts and Contacts in Salesforce
To merge accounts or contacts:
- Navigate to the record type (Accounts or Contacts).
- Click Merge.
- Choose duplicate records → confirm master record → merge data.
Merging helps maintain clean, accurate customer information.
How to Customize and Add Fields in Salesforce
Go to Setup → Object Manager → [Object Name] → Fields & Relationships → New Field.
Choose field type (Text, Picklist, Formula, etc.).
Formula fields can be used in lookup filters, but with limitations on cross-object references.
How to Sync Salesforce Products or Data with WordPress
You can sync Salesforce to WordPress using:
- Salesforce REST API
- Zapier or Make (Integromat)
- WP Fusion or WordPress Salesforce plugins
This allows you to display Salesforce data on your WordPress site, such as products, leads, or forms.
How to Upload Product Images in Salesforce
In Salesforce Lightning, go to the Product Record → Related Files → Upload Files.
You can also store them in Salesforce Files or Content Libraries.
What is the DX Project in Salesforce?
Salesforce DX (Developer Experience) is a set of tools for modern development, enabling version control, continuous integration, and efficient app deployment using VS Code.
What is a Salesforce Administrator?
A Salesforce Administrator configures the platform, manages users, maintains data quality, and ensures business processes run smoothly.
They are the bridge between business needs and technical implementation.
How to Become a Salesforce Administrator & Get Certified
Steps:
- Learn via Trailhead Admin Beginner Path.
- Practice in Developer Edition.
- Take the Salesforce Administrator Certification Exam (pass percentage: ~65%).
- Continue learning advanced modules.
Can We Restrict Records for a Role in Salesforce?
Yes — through Role Hierarchies and Sharing Settings, you can restrict data visibility by user role, ensuring compliance and privacy.
Does Salesforce Own Slack and Tableau?
Yes. Salesforce acquired Slack in 2021 and Tableau in 2019, expanding its collaboration and analytics capabilities.
Salesforce Tower Facts
- Headquarters: San Francisco, California.
- Height: 1,070 feet (326 m).
- Floors: 61.
- You can’t visit the top floor publicly, but it’s used for executive offices and events.
What Does Salesforce Shield Include?
Salesforce Shield provides enhanced security, audit trails, and field-level encryption for compliance-heavy industries like finance or healthcare.
Was Salesforce Affected by CrowdStrike?
In the 2024 global outage linked to CrowdStrike, Salesforce services were not directly affected, though some integrations experienced latency due to third-party dependencies.
How Much Is Salesforce Worth & How Many Employees Does It Have?
As of 2025, Salesforce is valued at over $250 billion, employing more than 75,000 people worldwide.
Conclusion
Salesforce is more than just a CRM — it’s a complete business ecosystem that empowers organizations to manage relationships, automate processes, and make data-driven decisions. Whether you’re integrating Salesforce with WordPress, learning how to create dashboards, or exploring AI tools like Agentforce, Salesforce offers unmatched flexibility and scalability.
If your business wants to boost efficiency, sales, and customer satisfaction, adopting Salesforce is a proven path to success. Business Solutions & Services (BSS) is a certified Salesforce partner, offering end-to-end Salesforce consulting, implementation, and support to help your organization get the most out of Salesforce.