Blog

How to standardise address values in Salesforce: make your data consistent for AI

This blog post is an extension of the Salesforce Trailhead Trail: Prepare Your Data for AI, specifically the module Data Quality.

To follow along in an org, you will need to install a free trial of AddressTools Premium from the AppExchange. If you can’t do that right now, we invite you to read through the steps, check out the screenshots and watch the videos below!

If you’ve landed here from our previous article Why bad data is bad for AI – welcome! If you’ve arrived straight here, you’re welcome to jump right in and let’s learn how to standardise address data in Salesforce!

How to standardise your address data in Salesforce

Without further ado it’s time to dive into our step-by-step guide for making your address data consistent in preparation for AI. Helpfully, Salesforce has already laid out an address data inconsistency problem that we will work through below: 

Source: https://trailhead.salesforce.com/content/learn/modules/data_quality/data_quality_getting_started?trail_id=prepare-your-data-for-ai  

In this scenario, we see a chart of Accounts By State but when we scrutinise the bars, we can see that the data is very inconsistent. California is represented by a number of different values including “Surfin’, USA” “Calif” “California” and “Cali”.

Note: the following steps are completed using the 5* application AddressTools Premium from the Salesforce AppExchange.

So let’s get to work and standardise these inconsistent values!

Select a standardised state format 

There are two formats for us to choose from for this state standardisation task: 

  • Full name – California.
  • Sub-code value – CA.

For this scenario, we will standardise our inconsistent California values to the sub-code value i.e. CA.

  • Go to the Countries tab.
  • Choose All.
  • Select Edit next to the United States country record.
  • Check Use Sub Country Code in State field.
  • Select Save.

Now we have set up our United States state values to standardise to our desired format: the sub-code value.

Enable state standardisation for an address block 

It’s time to enable standardisation. Head to the address blocks section to enable the state standardisation for listed address blocks.

  • Navigate to App Launcher | AddressTools Administration. 
  • From the sidebar, navigate to Address Blocks. 
  • Select Edit next to the address block you want to modify.
  • Scroll to Global Settings. 
  • Check Standardize State. 
  • Select Save.

 

Turn on standardisation in the package

Yes, this is different to step #2! So far we’ve set our standardisation format and enabled our address blocks for state standardisation. Now, we need to enable the master setting for standardisation functionality within the AddressTools package. 

  • Go to App Launcher | AddressTools Administration. 
  • Select Settings from the sidebar.
  • Click the pencil next to Standardization Enabled.
  • Tick the Standardization Enabled box. 
  • Select Save. 

Add the alternative state names 

So far we’ve set up our solution so that state values in the US will be standardised to the sub country code e.g. CA, TX. But right now this will only work for recognised values I.e. “California” and “Texas”. 

What about these pesky state values like “Cali” and “Surfin’ USA” that we can see on our Accounts report? 

We need to add these values to our Alternative State Names object so that our solution will accept them and standardise them too. 

Video walkthrough: How to add alternative state values

This video walks through the steps below, showing how to add alternative state values
  • Go to the Countries Object. 
  • Select United States from the Countries List.
  • Select Related then select California. 
  • Select Related then add a New Alternative State Name. 
  • Add each value e.g. “Surfin’, USA”, “Calif”, “Cali”. 
  • Select Save.

Now when we enter any of these state values, they’ll all be accepted and standardised as CA. Hello consistent address data!

Video: The results of state standardisation

Add your alternative state values to the installed State object and see how these values are accepted and standardised to the preferred value – in this instance “CA”.

Enjoy consistent address data

And there you have it! In our previous blogpost, Why bad data is bad for AI, we learned about the impact of inaccurate, biased and inconsistent data on AI and then took a closer look at the particular pitfalls of poor address data. In this article, we walked through how to standardise address data with AddressTools, solving Salesforce’s own example of inconsistent “California” state values. 

As AI tools become more accessible, and Salesforce invests more resource in its own AI offerings, the importance of high quality data only grows. 

We hope this has inspired you to continue on your data journey and we’re always on hand to help you tackle your address data in Salesforce. 

Good luck!

Resources 

When it comes to AI, it all starts with the data. If you need a place to start your AI journey, we recommend the Salesforce Trailhead Trail this example was taken from: https://trailhead.salesforce.com/content/learn/trails/prepare-your-data-for-ai  

If you’re looking to skill up, Salesforce offers a certification called AI Associate which is designed for individuals already familiar with Salesforce CRM. You can learn more about it here: https://trailhead.salesforce.com/en/credentials/associate  

If you like the look of how we easily standardised our address data in this article, you can check out AddressTools Premium on the Salesforce AppExchange and get started with a free 2-week trial: https://appexchange.salesforce.com/appxListingDetail?listingId=a0N30000002zt9uEAA 

PS. This post was not written by AI 😉

Prepare your data for AI: why bad data is bad for AI

This blog post is an extension of the Salesforce Trailhead Trail: Prepare Your Data for AI, specifically the module Data Quality.

In this article we’re going to take a look at data quality in relation to AI – why bad data affects AI and where to begin when it comes to preparing your data for using AI in the future.

Salesforce Trailhead’s module lays out the landscape clearly: “Data quality plays a major role in shaping the outcomes and reliability of AI systems.” An article in Forbes from February 2023 puts this even more seriously: “Getting highly accurate AI model outputs relies on one thing—good quality data as the input.” 

So, data quality is not simply beneficial for the successful use of AI, it’s fundamental.

Why does bad data affect AI?

Let’s take a look at three factors contributing to poor data quality, and how these examples of bad data affect AI. At ProvenWorks, we’re experts in address data, so we’ll keep our case studies address related! Then we’ll spend the rest of this article diving into the third factor – inconsistent data.

Inaccurate data 

One obvious statement we’ll tackle first is that inaccurate data negatively affects the resulting accuracy of AI. AI models and machine learning models are dependent on high quality data if they are to perform well. If poor data is used to train AI, this will inevitably lead to inaccurate analysis and unreliable decisions. 

Case study: how inaccurate address data affects AI 

Let’s consider a practical example in the world of deliveries. For a package delivery company relying heavily on AI for optimising routes and delivery time estimates, the impact of inaccurate data is evident. Outdated or poor-quality address information within their database can lead to highly inefficient delivery routes, resulting in wasted time and fuel for drivers. Customers may experience delays or even non-delivery due to incorrect addresses, affecting the company’s reputation and potentially causing the loss of future business.

On top of this, inaccurate data also skews estimated delivery times, leading to customer dissatisfaction and damaging the delivery company’s own trust in AI technologies.

This case underscores the critical importance of prioritising data quality in AI projects, as it not only affects performance but also trust and adoption of these valuable technologies.

Biased data 

Consider the breadth of data from studies and research that is available for an AI system. What happens when this research used to train an AI system is not representative of the real world? If that sounds dramatic, consider recruitment firms that train AI with historical data that has an imbalanced ratio towards a particular sex, race, religion or sexual orientation. Data that is based off, or comes from, one majority group will inevitably affect machine learning.

Case study: how biased address data affects AI

Imagine an e-commerce company leveraging AI to make decisions on marketing strategies and product recommendations. If the company’s address data is collected predominantly from affluent neighborhoods, the AI system might recommend specific luxury products to all its customers, assuming that everyone has similar buying habits to those in affluent areas. This biased data leads to a biased representation of inaccurate and out-of-touch perceptions of customer preferences. 

Again, we see how poor data quality not only results in the business losing possible revenue but also how it damages trust in the company by alienating entire segments of its customer base.

Inconsistent data 

In general, consistency is crucial for data quality. With consistency comes patterns and with patterns come predictions. When an AI model is trained using inconsistent data, the model might be unable to identify patterns or generate precise predictions. O’Reilly’s The State of Data Quality in 2020 survey found that the most common reason AI and ML fail in the marketing sector is due to too many data sources and inconsistent data. The importance of creating greater consistency across data values, taxonomies, data structures and meta tags is clear if AI is to succeed. 

Case study: how inconsistent address data affects AI

Helpfully, Salesforce lays out its own example of inconsistent address data in the Trailhead Trail: Prepare Your Data for AI, specifically the module Data Quality.

 

In this scenario, we see a chart of Accounts By State but when we scrutinise the bars, we can see that the data is very inconsistent. California is represented by a number of different values including “Surfin’, USA”, “Calif”, “California” and “Cali”. 

How are humans, let alone AI, able to determine the true record count, and therefore business value, of California accounts when the data is so inconsistent?! 

Let’s dive deeper into this idea of data consistency. 

Consistency is key, but what actually is it?

Data consistency is a crucial attribute of data quality so it’s important we understand this dimension before we go about fixing it. 

Salesforce introduces the idea of consistent data in its Data Quality module: 

Source: https://trailhead.salesforce.com/content/learn/modules/data_quality/data_quality_assess_your_data  

As Salesforce implies above, consistency covers a range of ideas from formatting and spelling to language and taxonomy. For the rest of this article, we’re going to examine data consistency by focusing on the process of standardisation. Below we will look specifically at an example of standardisation – standardisation of address data.

What is standardisation?

Standardisation is the process of making something conform to a standard. Address standardisation therefore is the process of converting multiple known values to a single predetermined format. For example, “United States”, “USA”, “US”, and “United States of America” can each be standardised to “US”. As a result of standardisation, our data becomes consistent! 

So, standardisation is a crucial piece of functionality for organisations who want to use AI in relation to their country and state data. Afterall, we know by now that data consistency is key! 

But how do we standardise this data? 

Standardise your address data for AI 

 

How do we turn this report into something clean, consistent and useful for our business and for AI? 

There’s no doubt that consistent data is key for successfully leveraging AI. In our next article, we’ll take Salesforce’s own case study of inconsistent state data and walk through step-by-step how you can use AddressTools to solve the problem of these inconsistent California values.

Resources

When it comes to AI, it all starts with the data. If you need a place to start your AI journey, we recommend the Salesforce Trailhead Trail that the above example was taken from: https://trailhead.salesforce.com/content/learn/trails/prepare-your-data-for-ai  

If you’re looking to skill up, Salesforce offers a certification called AI Associate which is designed for individuals already familiar with Salesforce CRM. You can learn more about it here: https://trailhead.salesforce.com/en/credentials/associate  

Now you know that bad data affects AI, it’s time to consider your own data. If you like the look of how we easily we might standardise our address data in this article, you can check out AddressTools Premium on the Salesforce AppExchange and get started with a free 2-week trial: https://appexchange.salesforce.com/appxListingDetail?listingId=a0N30000002zt9uEAA 

PS. This post was not written by AI 😉

Join ProvenWorks at World Tour London

We’re excited to share that ProvenWorks is attending World Tour London on Thursday 29th June! Whatever your role in the Salesforce ecosystem, we know there will be something here for everyone.

What is World Tour London?

Salesforce describes World Tour London:

“World Tours are flagship Salesforce events around the world that help people connect, learn and be inspired. Expect to hear not only about technology, but also what is possible for your company and your career.

At the full day in-person event there’ll be over 70 sessions of content geared towards helping everyone succeed, you’ll have the chance to explore demo booths, industry specific content, and hear from Trailblazers from across the UK and Ireland. Friends for life have been made at World Tours!

There’s always a surprise element to World Tours, and this year will be no different, with special guests and entertainment.”

As usual, this year’s World Tour London will be taking place at the ExCeL, London all day on Thursday 29th June.

Join ProvenWorks at World Tour London

We’re always excited to meet up with other trailblazers in the Salesforce ecosystem. Whether you want to learn more about the role ISV Partners like us play in the ecosystem, learn more about how our solutions empower users to become data heroes, or chat about Salesforce more generally, we’d love to see you at World Tour London!

Why not schedule in some time in advance using our contact form? Just reference “World Tour” in your message and one of us will get in touch to schedule some time!

 

About ProvenWorks

We mean it when we say we’re Salesforce experts. We work exclusively in the Salesforce ecosystem and our products are built 100% for Salesforce.

ProvenWorks’ very own Beth Clements takes the stage at London’s Calling

London’s Calling, Europe’s largest community-led event for Salesforce professionals, is just around the corner, and the excitement is palpable! As ever, members of the ProvenWorks team will be attending and we’d love to meet up with you in person if you are planning on attending. This year in particular we have more reason to want you there…

ProvenWorks’ very own Operations Director, Beth Clements, will be taking to the stage to share invaluable insights in her session “Productivity Hacks: A Toolkit for All Trailblazers!”

London’s Calling: Europe’s largest community-led event for Salesforce professionals

London’s Calling has established itself as a premier event in the Salesforce community, attracting professionals, enthusiasts, and industry leaders from around the world. The conference offers a unique platform for networking, knowledge sharing, and staying up-to-date with the latest trends and developments in the Salesforce ecosystem. For the past couple of years, London’s Calling has been held at The Brewery, 52 Chiswell St in London.
 
London’s Calling differs from Salesforce World Tour as it’s tailored to users, developers and administrators of all levels as opposed to prospective customers. All sessions are geared to audiences who are already developing, using or managing the Salesforce platform.

💡 This year’s London’s Calling is currently sold out. You can join the waitlist in case more tickets become available.

Productivity Hacks: A Toolkit for all Trailblazers

We’re thrilled to share that ProvenWorks’ very own Beth Clements joins the list of speakers at London’s Calling 2023! Beth’s session is called Productivity Hacks: A Toolkit for all Trailblazers where she will share 5 productivity hacks that actually work, featuring many other voices from the Salesforce ecosystem.

Room: James Watt

Time: 11.20-11.45am

“You’ll be surprised to see how a few habitual changes can have a very positive impact. From admin to architect, join me as I take you through 5 productivity hacks that actually work!”

Beth has been researching and testing a number of different ways to be more productive in her home and work life. In her session, Beth will unveil productivity hacks, tips, and best practices that empower Salesforce professionals to streamline their workflows, enhance efficiency, and maximise their impact. Attendees can expect to gain practical insights and discover actionable strategies that they can implement immediately within their own organisations.

Say hello to ProvenWorks at London’s Calling

We’d love for you to come hear Beth’s talk, and we’re suggesting that we have a ProvenWorks meetup at 11.45am, directly after the session, with as many familiar faces as possible. We’ll aim to do this outside but keep an eye out for the ProvenWorks t-shirts!

Don’t miss the chance to hear Beth share her expertise on productivity hacks that can transform your Salesforce experience. Join ProvenWorks at London’s Calling, and discover a wealth of knowledge, networking opportunities, and cutting-edge solutions that will elevate your Salesforce journey.

So mark your calendars, pack your bags, and get ready for an unforgettable experience at London’s Calling. We’ll see you there!

 

About ProvenWorks

We mean it when we say we’re Salesforce experts. We work exclusively in the Salesforce ecosystem and our products are built 100% for Salesforce.

The 2023 events season kicked off in style with AppExchange Live!

 

Events season is well and truly under way thanks to AppExchange Live! The first UK event of its kind, this in-person conference was packed with informative keynotes, customer-centric breakout sessions, and a bustling expo hall. The ProvenWorks team was thrilled to be a part of it all, and we’re looking ahead to more events this summer!

One of the standout moments of AppExchange Live was the keynote speech from Salesforce VP, ISV Sales EMEA & APAC, Virginia Matassa and Senior Director, ISV Technology Solutions, Marco Kuster. They share some startling statistics from Capgemini:

75% of companies think they are customer-centric. 30% of customers actually agree.

This data proves that the customer success gap is very real, and experienced by most customers.

With 91% of Salesforce customers having installed an app from the AppExchange, the importance of putting customers at the centre of business could not be clearer. This message resonated with us here at ProvenWorks, where we believe our value that customer success is everything. When you purchase one of our solutions, you’re not just buying software, you’re buying years of experience and expertise in solving your problem.

We also enjoyed attending some of the industry breakout sessions, where we heard from inspiring Salesforce customers like Clarins, NHS Professionals and Jaguar Land Rover about how they leverage the power of the AppExchange. It was inspiring to see how much innovation is happening in the Salesforce ecosystem, and we can’t wait to bring some of these ideas back to our own team!

At our ProvenWorks sponsorship booth, we loved connecting with attendees, including plenty of our own customers, and sharing the latest about our suite of products. We were thrilled to receive such positive feedback about our solutions and to answer questions from people looking to enhance their Salesforce experience and empower their users to be data heroes.

What events are coming up?

Looking ahead, we’re excited to be a part of several upcoming events in the Salesforce ecosystem. We’ll be attending London’s Calling on 9th June and World Tour London on 29th June.

We can’t wait to see familiar faces and meet new friends at these events!

At ProvenWorks, we believe that events like AppExchange Live are essential for staying up to date with the latest trends and building connections in the Salesforce community. We’re committed to being a part of these events and helping people get the most out of their Salesforce experience.

AppExchange Live was a fantastic way to kick off the 2023 events season. We’re grateful for the opportunity to connect with so many amazing people and learn more about the exciting things happening in the Salesforce ecosystem. We look forward to seeing you at the upcoming events!

Connect with the Salesforce ecosystem

Sign up to London’s Calling
 
Register for World Tour London

 

 

About ProvenWorks

We mean it when we say we’re Salesforce experts. We work exclusively in the Salesforce ecosystem and our products are built 100% for Salesforce.

Join ProvenWorks at AppExchange Live

We’re excited to share that ProvenWorks is an official sponsor of the upcoming AppExchange Live! Whether you’re a Salesforce administrator, developer, or business leader, there’s something for everyone.

What is AppExchange Live?

AppExchange Live is the in-person conference for Salesforce users who want to make the most out of their Salesforce org by leveraging the power of the Salesforce AppExchange. The event is taking place all day on Thursday 11th May at etc venues, 133 Houndsditch, London EC3A 7BX, and we can’t wait to meet you there!

With over 30 ISV partners (including us!) attending, and 19 customers sharing stories of how they accelerated their digital transformation journey, the day is guaranteed to be full of opportunities to discover how you can maximise your Salesforce investment. And did we mention that the event wraps up with a keynote from former rugby player, Maggie Alphonsi MBE followed by some live music during the networking session!

The best part? It’s totally free to attend! All you need to do is register and get access to the full event, including keynote sessions, industry breakout sessions, and the expo hall (where you can find us!). Trust us, you don’t want to miss out on this fantastic opportunity to connect with others in the industry and learn more about the latest trends in Salesforce and its AppExchange marketplace.

And while you’re there, don’t forget to swing by the ProvenWorks sponsorship booth. We’re excited to share our latest product news with you, answer any questions you have and most importantly… get hands-on with live demos! Our team of experts is always happy to chat and help you find the best solutions for your business needs.

So, what are you waiting for? Register for AppExchange Live today and join us for a day of inspiration, education, and fun. We can’t wait to see you there!

Need more convincing?

Don’t just take it from us! Check out Salesforce Ben’s blogpost: 5 reasons to attend AppExchange Live.

About ProvenWorks

We mean it when we say we’re Salesforce experts. We work exclusively in the Salesforce ecosystem and our products are built 100% for Salesforce.

AddressTools v Google Maps API

Our solution AddressTools is an award-winning suite of functionality that is native to Salesforce CRM. Off-the-shelf, verify global address data, standardise your addresses for integrations and use native functionality including validation rules and lookup fields to make the most out of your CRM address data. 

If you’re deciding between AddressTools v Google Maps API that Salesforce offers out of the box, this article is for you. We hope it sheds light on when it’s the right option for you to buy AddressTools versus the right option for you to use the Google Maps API that Salesforce offers.

First off let’s have a quick glance at some broader reasons you might choose to buy AddressTools or to use the Google Maps API. 

3 reasons to choose AddressTools 

  • Verify address data at the point of entry and in batch jobs 
  • Includes an address status field so you can see and report on cleanliness of data 
  • Populates a County field and ZIP+4 Code* as default 

💡 *We have a whole blogpost about ZIP+4 Codes: why you need them and how to get them 

3 reasons to choose Google Maps API 

  • Free and included with Salesforce 
  • You don’t require or rely on any address and/or accurate address data 
  • You don’t need to understand, report on or act upon the quality of your address data

Let’s dive deeper into a few key factors we’ve introduced here, starting with arguably the most important. 

Need answers quickly? We provide a bitesize summary at the bottom of each section. 

Quality of address data 

Google Maps API does not provide verified address data. Google Maps API makes it easy to enter addresses, but it does not provide any guarantee of ensuring proper addresses are captured. 

As ServiceObjects explains, “The Google Maps API uses spatial interpolation to return results for an address that may or may not be valid, or even exist.” 

Let’s take a look at a US example: 9011 Marymount Way in Goleta, California

Google Maps API data quality 

In Salesforce, the Google Maps API returns the address for the user to select. 

Looking up this address in Google Maps even gives us a pin and directions for this location. 

The problem is that 9011 Marymount Way does not exist. 

It is not a real address and, as you can see by the fact there is no house there, it cannot be delivered to. However, Google Maps API presents it as an actual address, allowing the user to input incorrect data. 

As we can see, there is a big difference between Google data and verified data. This is not the only example.

Why don’t we take a look at a UK address: 27 Albion Terrace, Reading RG1 5BG

The Google Maps API in Salesforce presents plenty of Albion Terraces… 

…but doesn’t have 27 Albion Terrace, Reading in the UK at all (see below). Google Maps data would have you believe that this very real address does not exist. For a user, this means they need to manually type additional keystrokes, increasing the risk of human error and leading to a frustrating user experience. 

AddressTools data quality

Unlike the Google Maps API, AddressTools uses global postal authority data such as Royal Mail, USPS and Canada Post for truly verified data, reducing failed delivery rates by up to 70%. 

Let’s run the same address searches using AddressTools. 

When we look for 9011 Marymount Way in Goleta, California, we can see that Marymount Way exists in Goleta but number 9011 is not even presented as an option and we are only offered verified alternative addresses (including ZIP+4 Code). 

Furthermore, upon selection and population of a verified address, we are shown an Address Status value so that we can be certain of the address quality. 

When we search for 27 Albion Terrace, Reading, UK we are presented with this address as a verified result, sourced from the Royal Mail database. 

In short: There is a clear distinction between the address data quality offered by Google Maps API and by AddressTools. It’s up to you to decide how important good address data quality is for you and your organisation. 

Address status field 

One important feature of AddressTools that Google Maps API does not offer is an address status field. 

What does this field look like? With AddressTools, every address is assigned a status such as Verified, Corrected, Ambiguous, Parsed but not Found, Not matched, Not checked. 

This address status is important because now you can clearly see and even more importantly, clearly report on the quality of your address data. 

Working with address data, knowing that an address is bad can be just as valuable as knowing an address exists. With an address status field in place, you are able to develop recovery processes for unverified addresses. 

Out-of-the-box, the Google Maps API does not offer an address status. This means that you cannot determine if an address was delivered by Google Maps API or manually entered by a user or imported by an integration. 

💡 If you’re interested in learning more, we’ve got a two-minute clip of Callum Hurry, our Director of Product Engineering, explaining the value of an address status field. 

Why an address status field is important | Address verification | Salesforce CRM 

In short: An address status field is a vital tool for reporting on and understanding the quality of your address data. It’s up to you to decide how important understanding and reporting on your address data quality is for you and your organisation. 

Address data management 

The most important difference when considering AddressTools v Google Maps API, aside from address data quality, is how AddressTools helps you make the most out of your address data. We’ve already started to see this with the address status field, however there’s much more to consider. 

AddressTools is not just a postal address verification tool. It’s a powerful dataset that, when used strategically, can optimise your business processes. With AddressTools, you gain a bundle of objects for Country, State, US ZIP Code data and more. By customising these objects and using our Lookup field functionality, you can enrich, tidy up, and simplify your records to enhance your territory management and make the most out of your CRM address data. 

What does this mean in practice? How about adding a Field Rep to relevant regions? Maybe you have a preferred regional service provider? What about using AddressTools’ Country ISO values alongside the full country name to work with an integration? You can harness the AddressTools dataset however you want to use it. 

💡 We’ve written a blog describing 3 ways you can enhance your territory management using AddressTools  

In short: AddressTools offers a suite of functionality around address data and address data management. It’s up to you to decide whether you’re just looking to populate an address (great – the Google Maps API sounds perfect for you!) or give yourself a way to manage, verify and harness the power of your address data. 

AddressTools v Google Maps API – it’s your decision 

Thanks for sticking with us this far! We’ve examined three key factors that you need to consider whilst considering AddressTools v Google Maps API: 

  1. address data quality 
  1. an address status value 
  1. broader address data management requirements 

We hope this provides the necessary information and some food for thought on which you can make the right decision for you and your organisation’s needs. 

If you’ve still got questions about AddressTools, we’re always happy to chat! If you’ve made up your mind, congratulations! Now it’s time to implement and continue your data journey!


Check out AddressTools for yourself

Let’s discuss how you can use AddressTools to leverage the power of verified address data in Salesforce! Book a demo to see AddressTools in action on a live demo with our team.

ProvenWorks graduates from Salesforce Accelerate Grow

In 2022, we were delighted that our application to join Salesforce Accelerate Grow program was accepted. Following four-months of a curriculum involving lectures, seminars and online learning, we are graduates of the program and we’re ready to take ProvenWorks to the next level!

What is Salesforce Accelerate Grow?

The Salesforce Accelerate program has two distinct offerings: 

  • Salesforce Accelerate Build is a more typical incubator offering, supporting startups as well as established software companies develop apps from scratch for the AppExchange marketplace.
  • Salesforce Accelerate Grow is Salesforce’s offering for more experienced ISV Partners who are hitting certain metrics and therefore recognised as in their growth stage. This program helps them accelerate their expansion in the AppExchange marketplace

Our Salesforce Accelerate Grow cohort was the 13th iteration of the program and we were delighted to share our journey with a global group of ISV partners that comprised over 250 individuals from the ecosystem.

The virtual four-month program was primarily built around weekly lecture-style sessions run by various mentors from the ecosystem. These sessions covered four main units:

  1. Strategic alignment
  1. Positioning and marketing
  1. Operational excellence
  1. Go to market

Additionally, fortnightly mentor pods offered seminar-style groups intended to be more conversational and a chance to discuss our experiences, homework and learnings. For us as a British ISV Partner, it provided a fantastic opportunity to meet and build relationships with more EMEA ISV Partners.

Finally, ongoing homework complimented these lectures and seminars, set via the Salesforce Partner Learning Camp.

What’s next for ProvenWorks?

Salesforce Accelerate Grow provided an intensive, purpose-built program for us as an ISV partner to step back, align strategically and identify where we should focus our time. Now it’s time to implement. We can’t wait to see what’s next for ProvenWorks, but we know where we’re headed… upwards! 🚀

About ProvenWorks

We mean it when we say we’re Salesforce experts. We work exclusively in the Salesforce ecosystem and our products are built 100% for Salesforce.

InnovMetric standardises their Salesforce address data with AddressTools

AddressTools is easy to use, robust and has great support, so there is no reason not to use it!

Stéphane Houle, Web Operations Supervisor, InnovMetric Software Inc

Standardising their Salesforce address data means that InnovMetric can effectively leverage their CRM

The history of InnovMetric is one of technological innovations and passion for 3D measurement in which a talented software development firm headquartered in Quebec City, Canada, leverages its key partnerships with industrial manufacturing giants to become a multinational with a direct presence in 17 countries. During the first 25 years of their business journey, they’ve pioneered point-cloud-based inspection, invented the concept of a universal 3D metrology software platform, and introduced the most user-friendly CMM sequencing workflow ever designed. 

InnovMetric are now massively investing in creating the next-generation digital data and process management technologies that will bring 3D measurement data at the heart of enterprise processes to significantly reduce time-to-market and fabrication costs. 

As an international company handling multiple languages, InnovMetric faced issues with their address data that prevented them from leveraging the full power of their Salesforce CRM.

The challenge: standardising address data for reporting and assignment

Salesforce users at InnovMetric were entering address data in different languages, scripts and formats. This resulted in unstandardised data, particularly around state and country values. All of this inconsistent data meant that InnovMetric couldn’t fully leverage functionality in Salesforce that depended on address data – such as filtering reports and assigning accounts.

The solution: implementing AddressTools with zero onboarding time

Web Operations Supervisor, Stéphane Houle described InnovMetric’s AddressTools implementation: 

Very easy! Once set up, we only need to keep our ‘Alternative Country/State Names’ lists up to date every time a new name variation comes up, which takes 5 seconds.”

The AddressTools package includes customisable Alternative State and Country Names.

When asked how long it took to train users, Stéphane added: 

0 minutes – everything is automated and they’re only aware that State and Country names may be automatically corrected after they have entered them.” 

Since AddressTools is native to Salesforce CRM, InnovMetric users are not even aware that a solution is at work!

The results: running operations with clean address data

I can say with confidence that not having AddressTools would make our processes much less efficient, since all Account/Lead assignment is based on the Country field and could not be managed automatically if those names had not been standardized.

With AddressTools in place, InnovMetric can clean up and maintain consistency in their address data, helping them grow trust in their Salesforce CRM as their single source of truth.

Pulling clean, trustworthy reports

InnovMetric has in place a solution that automatically cleans up and standardises their address data in Salesforce. When filtering by state and country data, their reports are consistent, easy to create and trustworthy.

Account and Lead assignment success

By determining a singular state and country value format, InnovMetric removed inconsistent variables that prevented their account and lead assignment automation from running. With standardised address data, InnovMetric can ensure their assignment processes that are dependent on address data work consistently.

Trust in their CRM

InnovMetric don’t waste time thinking about all the possible exceptions that might disrupt their reporting and assignment processes.

Why InnovMetric recommends ProvenWorks

Stéphane shares why InnovMetric has worked with ProvenWorks since 2010:

“I always receive great support whenever I reach out. ProvenWorks is definitely top tier in response time. AddressTools is easy to use, robust and has great support, so there is no reason to not use it!”


AddressTools

AddressTools is our award-winning package for Salesforce to help you standardise, validate and verify your address data.

Standardise your data with AddressTools

Let’s discuss how you can use AddressTools to standardise your address data in Salesforce! Book a demo to see AddressTools in action on a live demo with our team.

Beyond equality: why gender equity is essential for a thriving tech industry 

Let’s talk about why gender equity matters in the tech industry. #EmbraceEquity is the theme of International Women’s Day 2023, and for good reason. As a tech industry, we need to prioritise both gender equity and gender equality if we want to create a more diverse, inclusive and successful workplace. More on that later. 

Gender equality is all about providing equal opportunities for people of all genders. It’s a great start, but it doesn’t take into account the unique challenges that women and other individuals from minority groups may face in the workplace. That’s where equity comes in. 

So, what’s the difference between gender equality and gender equity? 

International Women’s Day lays out two clear definitions

“Equality means each individual or group of people is given the same resources or opportunities. 

Equity recognises that each person has different circumstances, and allocates the exact resources and opportunities needed to reach an equal outcome.” 

Source: https://www.internationalwomensday.com/EquityEquality 

How equity empowers 

According to a recent study by McKinsey & Company, companies with diverse workforces are more likely to outperform their less diverse competitors. In fact, companies in the top quartile for gender diversity in their leadership were found to be 25% more likely to have above-average profitability. That’s a compelling reason to make gender equity a priority in our industry.

As Melinda Gates, co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, once said, “When we invest in women and girls, we are investing in the people who invest in everyone else.” By prioritising gender equity, we can create a more inclusive industry that benefits everyone.

What can equity in the workplace look like? 

Gender equity initiatives might include mentorship programmes for women, flexible work arrangements to accommodate caregiving responsibilities, and policies to address gender-based harassment and discrimination. These measures can help to create a workplace where everyone has an equal opportunity to succeed and contribute to our industry’s success.

As a tech industry, we have a responsibility to build products and services that work for everyone. By prioritising gender equity and gender equality, we can tap into the full range of talents and perspectives that our employees have to offer, driving innovation and growth. That’s what we’re all about!

So, let’s work together to build a more inclusive tech industry. By prioritising gender equity, we can create a better future for all of us.

#EmbraceEquity ProvenWorks honours International Women’s Day 

Women are critical to ProvenWorks’ success. Whether it’s in our development team, marketing team or front-facing in sales, we wouldn’t be who or where we are without the women among us.

We aim to ensure that women are fairly represented at all levels and given equal opportunities to participate and grow in ProvenWorks life as well as our decision-making processes.

In keeping with our value of transparency, we’re taking this opportunity to reflect on where we are today. Currently, women represent nearly 40% of the ProvenWorks team, and 30% at the leadership level.

Whilst it’s vital to honour the achievements of the women we work with, these celebrations are not some sort of ‘conclusion’ or a goal that we’ve reached. We recognise that gender bias exists across the software industry. Therefore this moment must serve as an inspiring reminder of how much further we must go to reach gender equality and how much more we will accomplish when we do.

ProvenWorks is proud to offer its support to International Women’s Day, and we commit to #EmbraceEquity.