Every year, Salesforce releases three important updates about its exciting new features and enhancements to improve user experience. As the world’s most popular and innovative cloud-based CRM platform, Salesforce continuously evolves and improves its features to provide optimal performance to its users. The Winter 2023 release notes were made available on October 7, 2022 and are packed with exciting new features that Salesforce customers can use, most of them at no extra charge.
Salesforce CRM’s newly released Winter 2023 features have already hit production. With these new features, Salesforce will help enterprises automate complex business processes, personalize customer experiences, and scale operations. The introduction of the Service Cloud for Slack, for example, can help sales teams manage both Slack and Salesforce directly from the Service Cloud for Slack application in order to update contacts, share accounts, and manage leads. With this feature, businesses can make use of digital channels like self-service, and to broadcast status updates their customers. Companies can also convert fields and sections on page layouts into other components on the page. Salesforce admins will get many more exciting tools to manage user access in their respective environments.
Another important update is that Salesforce will enable compulsory multi-factor authentication in the first half of 2023. All users need to use MFA for direct logins and single sign-ons, which is why it is important to set up multi-factor authentications on your platform.
The main highlights from the Winter 2023 release include broadcasting communication, enhancements to dynamics forms, CRM analytics updates, and even a TikTok integration for Salesforce Commerce Cloud! Here are the top 10 important new features from the Salesforce Winter 2023 Release.
1. Process Builder Will now be Salesforce Flow
One of the big announcements in the Salesforce Winter 2023 release notes is that Process Builder is now Salesforce Flow and toward the end of 2022, Salesforce will be retiring both Workflow Rules and Process Builder. What does this mean for your existing workflow and process builder work? They will keep working because this change will not affect current projects, which will continue to run, but you will have to create new automations using only Salesforce Flow.
Flow will have some distinct advantages over Process Builder and Workflow Rules. It will run faster and have the ability to perform more intricate actions on different objects. Salesforce Flow will come with add-on tools to enable the Flow to run “before save,” unlike Process Builders, which ran “after save.”
Why is this important for your system performance?
With the “after save” function, which is when you used Process Builder or Workflow Rule to save an updated stage or any other field on an opportunity record, the Process Builder or Workflow Rule updates the field all over again, replicating the record and storing it again, triggering automations with each save. With Salesforce Flow, the field is updated before saving the opportunity. This is why record-triggered before save flows save so much time and increases performance significantly.
Salesforce Flow will also have the capability to carry out more complex actions across different objects, delete records, and work beyond system limits by processing numerous records.
The Salesforce shift from Workflow Rules and Process Builder has been happening gradually. The Summer 2022 release notes saw Salesforce announcing the migration, along with entry conditions that can support the formula editor. The Winter 2023 release has specified that Salesforce Flow will see enhanced records, updates, and will also initiate the auto migration of Process Builder to Flow. The Flow Builder canvas also has many new features in the Winter 2023 update. For example, you can use the formula builder and checker in the formula resources and Collection Filter elements, apart from selecting operators from dropdown lists and using the ‘check syntax’ button to identify your formula easily and quickly.
You can cut and paste Flow elements, delete original elements, use the new collapsible Toolbox to have more space and a better interface on the canvas, and use the new ‘Select Elements’ button to work on different elements all at the same time. Flow Builder is also useful to take actions in Slack channels based on specific actions that you want to take on the Salesforce platform.
2. Sales Cloud for Slack
The Sales Cloud for Slack is a much-awaited update for Slack and Salesforce users. Salesforce acquired team communication platform Slack in July 2021 and Sales Cloud for Slack, with the Winter 2023 updates, is now generally available.
With the Sales Cloud for Slack app, companies can manage their communication and marketing pipelines by sharing records, leads, contacts, getting crucial updates and notifications, and helping teams collaborate more effectively, especially on the Account and Opportunity channels on Slack. You can also build record views for custom as well as standard objects.
By using important, real-time Salesforce data to leverage the Account and Opportunity channels, sales and marketing teams in companies can now easily search for and access specific group chats. Another interesting feature in Sales Cloud for Slack is a feed channel. You can use feed channel to automatically inform and announce deals that have a high conversion rate and keep your teams in the loop.
You can also make it easy to search chats and sales channels by linking Account and Opportunity channels. You can collaborate better and sell smarter by using Slack to work with partners across functions, using channels to inform sales teams and clients about important updates and reminders.
Channel members get notified in Slack when records are updated. Teams can easily find sales channels from a related list on their Salesforce records.
3. Dynamic Forms for Standard Objects
One of the most exciting Winter 2023 Salesforce updates is the improvement of dynamic forms. Dynamic Forms for custom objects and select standard objects are now available for Accounts, Contacts, Person Accounts, and Opportunities. Just as you create and automate Opportunity and Account channels on Slack, you can actually create flexible records pages for contacts, opportunities, and accounts, and configure them with Dynamic Forms.
What exactly are Dynamic Forms and why are they the most sought-after feature in the Salesforce department? Traditionally, these pages were created in such a way that a lot of fields were lumped together, with the Details section in the Lightning pages leading to unnecessary clutter and to longer load times. The problem was that the fields were necessary and made accessible at different times to different users. A solution would be to create multiple page layouts with different profiles but this takes time and effort.
Enter Dynamic Forms, which help you create impactful, user-driven intuitive page layouts that are critical in displaying the right information. You can use Dynamic Forms to place fields anywhere on the layout instead of using traditional page layouts and you do not have to rely on multiple page layouts. You can now declutter your Account, Contact, and Opportunity pages, only displaying information that is relevant to your users.
With enhancements to Dynamic Forms, you can use the Lightning App Builder to move fields and sections from page layouts as individual components. You can also render them with custom visibility rules and configure the fields that you have migrated as you would configure other components on the page. With visibility rules, you can define criteria to make components appear and disappear.
You can also increase team efficiency by using Dynamic related list filters. Originally released in Summer 2022, Dynamic related list filters helped sort out more relevant list items on a record instead of seeing all opportunities listed under a particular account. What is special about the Winter 2023 update is that you have more filter options and enhancements, helping you to filter lists in the account page based on account priority, not just the won opportunities.
4. Broadcast Communication for Incident Management
Available in Service Cloud, this new feature is perfect for keeping external and internal stakeholders up-to-date. You can also use this feature to proactively share incident updates with all customers by sending information to a large group of users all at once across many digital channels. With this feature, you can broadcast status updates and even progress reports through self-service and email sites or directly from the incident records. You can also use Broadcast site banners to notify customers about specific cases.
With Broadcast Communication for Incident Management, you can customize broadcast messages for all or specific authenticated users. You can broadcast directly from the incident, using a pre-populated list of contacts.
5. CRM Analytics Updates
The Winter 2023 updates include many enhancements to Salesforce Analytics, Marketing Cloud, and Commerce Cloud. You can use the Salesforce CRM Analytics app, for instance, to subscribe directly to Slack Lightning reports and dashboards, enabling weekly updates for your teams. Another major addition to CRM Analytics is that you can mine data and insights faster with external Snowflake data. With Snowflake data, you can mine Einstein Discovery models and access analytics easily, also enhancing UI features using these insights. CRM Analytics Home now allows you to combine all your analytics in one place. It also comes with the Model Inspector, which has new tools and metrics to make the best of your data.
The addition of data templates is also a great feature that will save time and improve data analytics. The data template’s input widget can analyze outcomes, impacts, and show real-time results.
6. Live Prediction with Snowflake
One of the very exciting features of the Winter 2023 release is the Live Prediction with Snowflake, which helps you make more informed real-time predictions and to deploy models that run on predictive analytics.You can use CRM Analytics to mine real-time Snowflake data for this purpose. The best part about integrating CRM Analytics and Einstein Discovery is that this combination allows you to make real-time predictions and actually bring in live datasets outside of Salesforce, combining this with Salesforce Customer 360 data to take your business analytics to the next level. With the data template feature, you can also add Snowflake’s data directly to the process of building data models.
Salesforce has also introduced Model Inspector with the Winter 2023 update, which helps you analyze machine learning models easily.
7. Marketing Cloud Account Management
When it comes to updates to Marketing Cloud, the Winter 2023 release has added a host of exciting new features, including Marketing Cloud Account Management, formerly known as Pardot. Another addition to Marketing Cloud is the External Actions feature, which streamlines marketing tech stacks and optimizes engagement channels. You can use External Actions to send messages to prospective customers, and broadcast surveys. With External Actions, you can use prospect clients, build a prospect database, sync it with the Engagement Studio programs, and use apps to launch targeted and automated marketing campaigns.
The Winter 2023 release also has promising updates to Salesforce Commerce Cloud, including a TikTok integration, improved Store Fulfilment, and enhancements to B2B and B2C Commerce. You can implement B2B and B2C marketing initiatives by using lead scoring, multichannel messaging, journeys, and other key Salesforce integrations. With the B2B and B2C sales processes and buyer personas, users can now benefit from multiple languages that can be added simultaneously, allowing them to set up taxes more efficiently. You can also migrate B2C’s store configuration from the UI to a new deployment environment.
8. Permission Sets Enhancements
An update that is sure to make Salesforce admins happy is the enhancements to Permission Sets, including the ability to assign field access based on Permission Sets instead of Profiles. When you now create a new field and set field-level security (FLS), you can set the FLS to a permission instead of profiles during field creation. You can also do this if you change the field type. You also get a new feature called User Access and Permissions Assistant, which is a reboot of the Permissions Helper feature. The app helps you manage permission set groups efficiently, manage permissions, and helps you analyze reports on permission assignments.
With the new Winter 2023 update, you can also set an expiration date to a Permission Set or Permission Set Group. This was an update that was announced in Summer 2022 but will be available in Winter 2023.
9. TikTok for Business Integration on Salesforce Commerce Cloud
Salesforce piloted a TikTok integration in July 2022 and with the Winter 2023 release, users will be able to use the Salesforce Commerce Cloud platform’s social media channels as TikTok sales channels, alongside Snapchat and Instagram. You can apply many of metrics and analytics systems to your TikTok integration, including ad performance, split testing, ad retargeting, and more.
With this integration, you can centralize product catalogs, optimize user engagements and purchases, install the most advanced TikTok pixel and make use of TikTok for Business and its extensive features. This means that you can identify and target high-value customers and increase traffic to your Commerce Cloud stores. You can also use TikTok pixels to retarget shoppers and gather shopper data.
The integration builds extra features to the table for Salesforce users, who can now run dynamic video ad campaigns and automated smart product feeds. Sellers can use the catalog-focused ad solutions to post and publish their products on TikTok. With social media forming such an integral part of our lives and taking us to interesting new demographics and markets, the TikTok integration is a welcome update for marketing teams!
10. Reports and Dashboards
Reports and Dashboards now have their own upgraded browsing features. You can now search for reports and manage them on dashboards by using Salesforce’s new filtering and browsing features in Analytics Home. You can also use Salesforce objects to filter report types and find custom report types using specific custom fields or standards.
Another new feature is the facility that enables users to review custom report types’ structure during report creation. With an app like CRM Analytics for Slack, you can mine data from reports and dashboards and derive actionable insight. You can use a feature like ‘Run Prediction’ using Einstein Discovery and collaborate on data reports and dashboards on Slack.
SUMMING UP
One of the updates announced for Winter 2023 is Salesforce NFT Cloud, a new non-fungible no-code token marketplace platform. Another visionary new feature is Einstein Search for Knowledge, which will help service agents share articles with customers when working on a case. This can help in speeding up case resolution time and increasing First Call Resolution rates for contact centers. Salesforce is scheduling two release windows for sandboxes, with most sandboxes slated to be upgraded on January 7, 2023. Salesforce users have a lot to be excited about the Winter 2023 release notes and the hundreds of new features they can now use to automate and scale their businesses.
