Salesforce Data Migration Best Practices

Whether you’re a Salesforce newbie or a long-time loyalist, centralizing your data within the platform is critical for executing a transition, integrating with other applications, or implementing system updates. 

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The right data migration strategies preserve your organization’s most essential processes while ensuring you can access the data you need when you need it. 

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However, most organizations need more regarding data migration practices, with over half of their projects exceeding their projected budgets and timelines. You must plan your Salesforce data migration carefully to avoid expensive project costs, CRM inefficiencies, and long-term data integrity issues.

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Fortunately, there’s a solution—by anticipating these challenges and adhering to Salesforce data migration best practices, you can establish a functional data system that fully supports Salesforce’s capabilities.

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Planning Your Salesforce Data Migration

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An effective data migration project starts with realistic forecasting and planning. Carefully assess your current data landscape to determine the scope of your project and establish a realistic budget and timeline. 

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Then, consider the quality of your data, the size of the transfer, and the relationships between your data-driven processes to develop a holistic view of your data migration.

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Because business data informs a wide range of functions, it’s also important to seek feedback from the various departments that leverage your data differently. 

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During your initial strategy sessions, engage key stakeholders to develop a resource allocation plan and migration schedule that supports their needs without disrupting your interconnected business processes. 

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Data Cleaning and Preparation

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53% of data professionals rank data quality issues as a significant factor in data integration, highlighting the importance of implementing data cleaning processes before you begin migration. 

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Importing relevant, well-organized data into Salesforce can speed up the process and facilitate smooth CRM data integration. 

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To that end, consider employing these data cleaning and preparation best practices to ensure that the data you’re importing into Salesforce provides you with a strong foundation for your CRM:

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• Preserve your current databases to support data backup and restoration
• Utilize database search tools to identify and remove duplicates
• Standardize data fields across the databases you want to migrate
• Use data quality tools or review data reports to locate missing records to update or delete
• Review legacy records to ensure their information is still accurate

Data Mapping and Customization

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Data mapping in Salesforce involves aligning multiple databases by linking different systems' fields. The data mapping process identifies the destination in Salesforce for each piece of data in your legacy systems, allowing you to successfully move your data from its original database to its new home in Salesforce. 

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Salesforce also allows you to customize your records and databases fully. You can create custom fields, layouts, record types, and workflow rules to accommodate your unique business processes and data requirements.

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Testing and Validation

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Meticulous data testing ensures that your interconnected systems remain functional after transitioning or updating your CRM. 

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Consult your core stakeholders to develop a data migration test case document that outlines the criteria for a successful migration. This should include the successful deployment of your tools and processes and an assessment of the data’s formatting and accuracy. 

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You can more easily identify errors and malfunctions by involving employees who regularly utilize your core CRM functions in the validation process.

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Developing a Deployment Communication Plan

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The actual deployment of your data transfer is a significant event that can ripple throughout your organization. Even the most seamless transfers can involve short periods where data is inaccessible or certain processes aren’t available. 

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This is why it’s important to design a Salesforce implementation and migration plan that prioritizes communication with your end users about potential downtime and disruptions. Based on their feedback, you can develop a rollout plan that minimizes the impact of any database downtime.

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Post-Migration Best Practices

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Once your data migration is complete, make optimization your new focus with the following tips:

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• Invest in up-front end-user training to encourage widespread adoption of your upgraded Salesforce CRM and fully transition away from your legacy systems
• Introduce standardized data entry practices to uphold data integrity and organization as your Salesforce utilization increases
• Use real-time data monitoring tools to conduct regular data audits and quality checks

You can expect to complete additional data migration projects as your organization grows. So, carefully document any challenges you encountered during this initial migration to refine your Salesforce data migration practices within the context of your specific organization. 

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Seeking feedback from end users and the implementation team can also be invaluable to removing pain points and becoming more efficient with your data management. 

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Leveraging Operatus for Salesforce Data Migration

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Operatus facilitates successful data migrations by building a bridge between a company’s existing data systems and its long-term goals—and we have the case studies to prove it. 

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From consolidating data from multiple sources for Exclaimer to cleaning Bloomfire’s databases, the Operatus team has consistently leveraged Salesforce data migration best practices to foster streamlined revenue operations systems. You can also rely on the team’s expertise from initial discovery and strategic planning to post-migration troubleshooting and optimization. 

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Ensure the success of your data migration by connecting with our Salesforce implementation specialists today.