Top Salesforce Integrations to Prioritize for Driving ROI

Saleforce Integration Priorities

Not every integration delivers equal value. In Salesforce programs, a handful of connections consistently drive the most significant business outcomes. These high-value integrations should be first on the roadmap for leaders who want maximum ROI from Salesforce.

Table of Contents

    Introduction: Why the Right Salesforce Integrations Matter

    If you’ve read our first post in this series, Salesforce Integration: What It Is, Why It’s Critical, and Costly Mistakes to Avoid, you know Salesforce integration isn’t just a technical project; it’s a strategic growth decision. But once you recognize how essential integration is, the next question becomes clear: where do you start?

    In our experience, not every connection delivers equal value. Some Salesforce integrations drive incremental efficiency. Others transform how your teams sell, serve, and operate.

    After hundreds of implementations, we’ve seen that a handful of high-impact integrations consistently deliver the biggest business results. These are the connections that create true visibility, speed, and scalability across your organization—bringing order and alignment to diverse systems that power your business.

    In this post, we’ll walk through the strategic Salesforce integrations that matter most—from ERP and finance to marketing automation, customer service, operations, and analytics—and how prioritizing the right ones can multiply your Salesforce ROI.

    With that foundation in mind, let’s start where integration delivers the most immediate business impact—connecting Salesforce with your ERP and finance systems.


    1. Salesforce + ERP and Finance Integration: Unifying the Revenue Engine

    Integrating Salesforce with ERP systems connects the front office with the back office, creating a seamless flow from sales commitments to order fulfillment and revenue recognition.

    Pre-built connectors and APIs enable secure, real-time data exchange between Salesforce and ERP/finance platforms, such as SAP, JD Edwards, Plex, and Epicor, supporting complex business processes and eliminating integration bottlenecks.

    This integration eliminates manual handoffs, enhances accuracy, and provides leaders with real-time visibility into financial and operational performance.

    Benefits of Salesforce ERP Integration

    • Real-time Financial Visibility: Executive teams gain instant access to cash flow dynamics, profitability metrics, and pipeline-to-revenue conversion tracking.
    • Accelerated Quote-to-Cash: Automating the flow from opportunity → order → invoice reduces delays and manual errors.
    • Stakeholder Confidence: Investors, board members, and financial partners gain transparency into business performance through consistent and reliable reporting.
    • Simplified Compliance: Automated data sync reduces reconciliation errors and simplifies compliance preparation.

    Key ERP and Finance Integrations

    • SAP and Salesforce Integration: Streamlines order-to-cash processes and provides real-time customer and operational data.
    • NetSuite and Salesforce Integration: Aligns revenue and financial reporting across sales and accounting.
    • QuickBooks and Salesforce Integration: Gives SMBs unified visibility of invoices, payments, and customer records.
    • Stripe and Salesforce Integration: Synchronizes subscriptions and payment data directly with Salesforce for smoother cash flow management.

    Why Salesforce + ERP Integration Matters

    Without ERP integration, Salesforce operates primarily as a front-end CRM platform. With ERP connected, Salesforce evolves into the digital backbone of revenue operations, where every quote, order, invoice, and payment flows seamlessly across sales, finance, and operations.

    Example Salesforce + ERP Integration in Action

    A sales rep closes a new deal in Salesforce. Instantly, the ERP system (e.g., SAP or NetSuite) generates the order, syncs it with inventory and fulfillment, and pushes the details to finance for invoicing. Executives see updated forecasts, operations know exactly what to ship, and finance recognizes revenue without manual effort.

    The result? Faster cash collection, fewer errors, and a trusted view of business performance.


    2. Salesforce + Sales Enablement Integration: Empowering Revenue Teams

    Once financial operations are unified, the next opportunity lies in empowering the front lines—your sales teams. That’s where sales enablement integrations make a measurable difference.

    Integrating Salesforce with sales enablement tools removes friction from the selling process and provides reps with a measurable productivity boost. Modern tools allow users to easily integrate sales enablement platforms with Salesforce, enabling a seamless workflow.

    Instead of switching between apps, sales reps access content, communications, and customer data in one place—directly within the Salesforce user interface. This makes it easier to focus on customers, move deals forward faster, and win more business.

    Sales Enablement

    Benefits of Salesforce Sales Enablement Integrations

    • Streamlined Sales Processes: Representatives access content, communication tools, and customer data from inside Salesforce.
    • Guided Selling Experiences: Sales teams follow optimized playbooks and access just-in-time training based on opportunity stage and customer type to help them win more deals.
    • AI-Driven Opportunity Management: Insights from Salesforce and integrated tools surface the best opportunities and recommended actions.
    • Collaborative Selling: Inside reps, field reps, and partners coordinate activities around the same data.

    Key Sales Enablement Integrations with Salesforce

    • Outreach and Salesforce Integration: Aligns prospecting sequences with CRM activity for coordinated engagement.
    • DocuSign and Salesforce Integration: Automates proposal, contract, and signature processes without leaving Salesforce.
    • LinkedIn Sales Navigator and Salesforce Integration: Enriches accounts and opportunities with LinkedIn data and social insight for more effective outreach.
    • Gong and Salesforce Integration: Adds conversation intelligence and coaching insights directly to Salesforce records.
    • Slack and Salesforce Integration: Keeps deal teams aligned with automated pipeline alerts, opportunity updates, and shared channels. Reps, managers, and partners collaborate in real time around accounts, accelerating deal velocity.

    Why Salesforce + Sales Enablement Integration Matters

    Without enablement tools connected, Salesforce functions mainly as a system of record. With integration, Salesforce becomes the center of the sales workflow, where content, communication, and deal insights come together to help reps focus on selling.

    Example Salesforce + Sales Enablement Integration in Action

    A rep opens an opportunity in Salesforce. From the same screen, they launch an Outreach sequence, use LinkedIn Sales Navigator to personalize outreach, and review Gong insights from the last call. Once the deal is ready, they send the DocuSign agreement and track the signature status in real-time.

    The result: faster deal cycles, stronger coaching, and sales reps who can spend more time selling instead of chasing down information.


    3. Salesforce Marketing Automation Integration: Powering Campaigns That Resonate

    Strong sales performance depends on a healthy pipeline—and that’s where marketing comes in. Integrating Salesforce with your marketing automation platform ensures every lead is visible, nurtured, and measured across systems.

    When Salesforce connects with marketing automation platforms (MAPs), campaigns stop operating in isolation. Instead, data flows seamlessly between marketing and sales, giving teams a unified view of leads, accounts, and engagement from first touch to closed deal.

    Organizations can integrate Salesforce with marketing automation tools to enable unified lead management and campaign tracking.

    Marketing automation platforms can also extract data from Salesforce, enabling more precise targeting, personalized campaigns, and accurate performance reporting.

    Batch data synchronization can reflect updates from marketing automation platforms back into Salesforce, ensuring both systems are aligned with the latest information.

    The outcome: campaigns that resonate, leads that convert faster, smoother handoffs, and marketing spend that can be tied directly to growth.

    Benefits of Salesforce Marketing Automation Integrations

    • Complete Lead Lifecycle Visibility: Track prospects from first touch through closed deal and renewal, with clear attribution to channels and campaigns.
    • Faster Speed-to-Lead: Sync qualified leads to Salesforce instantly so sales can follow up while interest is high.
    • Sales and Marketing Alignment: Give both teams the same engagement history, lists, and insights for coordinated outreach.
    • Personalization at Scale: Trigger targeted nurture campaigns based on role, behavior, and buying stage using Salesforce data.
    • Closed-Loop Reporting: Tie campaign investments directly to pipeline and revenue impact.
    • Segmentation and Account-Based Marketing (ABM) Support: Build precise account lists and audience segments across Salesforce and MAPs for more effective targeting.

    Key Marketing Automation Integrations with Salesforce

    • HubSpot and Salesforce Integration: Synchronizes contacts, leads, and account data for coordinated sales and marketing activities.
    • Marketo Engage and Salesforce Integration: Enables advanced lead scoring, nurture flows, and multi-touch attribution.
    • Pardot (Account Engagement) and Salesforce Integration: Salesforce-native B2B automation with strong lead scoring and routing.
    • Marketing Cloud (Engagement) and Salesforce Integration: Orchestrates multi-channel journeys across email, SMS, ads, and web using Salesforce data.
    • Mailchimp and Salesforce Integration: Connects email campaigns and contact lists with Salesforce, ideal for SMBs.
    • Eloqua and Salesforce Integration: Enterprise-grade lead nurture and ABM orchestration tightly integrated with Salesforce records.

    There are several Salesforce integration options for connecting these marketing automation platforms, such as APIs, connectors, and middleware.

    Why Salesforce + Marketing Automation Integration Matters

    Without integration, Salesforce shows what leads, opportunities, and accounts exist, but not how they got there. With MAPs connected, Salesforce becomes the system of record for the entire marketing-to-sales journey.

    Example Salesforce + Marketing Automation Integration in Action

    A prospect engages with a campaign by downloading content, attending a webinar, or responding to an email. The marketing automation platform scores and nurtures the lead, then syncs it into Salesforce with engagement history attached.

    Once qualified, the sales team receives it in real time with full context: which campaign sparked interest, what content they consumed, and where they are in the journey. As opportunities progress, marketing can see exactly which campaigns influenced pipeline and revenue.

    The result: faster speed-to-lead, more relevant outreach, and campaigns that consistently drive measurable growth.

    Marketing Team and Automation

     

    4. Salesforce Customer Service Integration: Delivering Seamless Support Experiences

    While marketing and sales focus on driving revenue, long-term growth depends on retaining and delighting customers. Integrating Salesforce with customer service and support platforms closes the loop on the customer journey.

    When Salesforce integrates with customer service and support platforms, agents gain a complete 360° view of every customer and can deliver faster, more consistent support across all channels.

    Salesforce connects with external applications such as ticketing and telephony systems, centralizing customer interactions into a unified workflow.

    Instead of switching between disconnected tools, service teams work from a single hub that links every interaction to the broader customer relationship.

    Integration with a remote system or systems also allows Salesforce to receive and update support data in real time, ensuring that information stays current, accurate, and accessible to everyone who needs it.

    Benefits of Salesforce Customer Service Integrations

    • Comprehensive Customer Context: Agents can instantly view purchase history, service records, and account details in Salesforce while resolving cases.
    • Streamlined Case Resolution: Ticketing, telephony, and knowledge base data flow into Salesforce, reducing manual steps and eliminating repetitive questions.
    • Cross-Channel Continuity: Integrations with chat, phone, and email systems allow customers to switch channels without losing context.
    • Relationship Growth Opportunities: With the full picture in Salesforce, reps can identify renewals, upsells, and cross-sell opportunities while supporting customers.

    Key Customer Service Integrations with Salesforce

    • Zendesk and Salesforce Integration: Connects support tickets and customer records so sales and service share a unified history.
    • ServiceNow and Salesforce Integration: Links IT service management with customer accounts, making enterprise service issues visible to front-line teams.
    • Freshdesk and Salesforce Integration: Brings ticketing and communication data into Salesforce for coordinated service workflows.
    • Salesforce Service Cloud + Amazon Connect (Service Cloud Voice): Enables advanced telephony with call routing, click-to-dial, and call logging tied directly to Salesforce records.
    • Five9 and Salesforce Integration: Embeds contact center controls into Salesforce, with screen pops, call logging, and activity tracking.
    • Slack and Salesforce Integration: Allows service teams to collaborate in real time with engineering or product teams. Escalations and case updates flow into Slack channels, so everyone stays aligned.

    Why Salesforce Customer Service Integration Matters

    Without integration, service teams waste valuable time switching between platforms and asking customers to repeat themselves. With integration, Salesforce becomes the single pane of glass for service interactions, where every ticket, call, and escalation is connected.

    Example Salesforce Customer Service Integration in Action

    A customer submits a ticket through chat. The record syncs into Salesforce (via Zendesk or Freshdesk), so the agent can see account history and past cases alongside the new issue. Later, when the customer calls, Five9 or Amazon Connect routes the call and triggers a Salesforce screen pop with the same case record. If the issue requires IT escalation, a ServiceNow request can be created and linked to the account, keeping all teams aligned.

    The result: faster resolutions, consistent service across channels, and a complete interaction history that builds trust and loyalty.

    Customer Service Call Center

    5. Salesforce Operations and Supply Chain Integration: Delivering on Customer Promises

    Beyond service, companies that manufacture or distribute products need full visibility from order to delivery. That’s where operational and supply chain integrations come into play.

    For companies that manufacture, distribute, or sell products, the customer experience doesn’t end when a deal closes. It’s only complete when orders are fulfilled on time, inventory is managed efficiently, and customers are kept informed along the way.

    Integrating Salesforce with operations and supply chain systems ensures that what sales and service promise can be delivered accurately, efficiently, and transparently.

    By managing data related to orders, inventory, and fulfillment, Salesforce provides every team with accurate, up-to-date information they can rely on.

    That’s why supply chain integration has become a top priority for product-based and e-commerce businesses seeking to maximize their Salesforce ROI.

    Benefits of Salesforce Supply Chain Integrations

    • Transparent Order Fulfillment: Provide account teams and customers with real-time visibility into product availability, shipping status, and delivery timelines.
    • Proactive Issue Management: Flag fulfillment or inventory challenges inside Salesforce so customer-facing teams can manage expectations early.
    • Optimized Inventory Planning: Leverage Salesforce demand data to inform production schedules and inventory allocation.
    • Enhanced Customer Communications: Trigger automated updates through Salesforce to keep customers informed throughout the fulfillment cycle.

    Key Operations Integrations with Salesforce

    • Oracle SCM and Salesforce Integration: Connects customer demand in Salesforce with supply chain execution to streamline order-to-delivery.
    • Shopify and Salesforce Integration: Syncs ecommerce transactions with Salesforce CRM data for a complete view of customer behavior and purchase history.
    • Microsoft Dynamics 365 Supply Chain and Salesforce Integration: Aligns manufacturing, distribution, and Salesforce opportunities.
    • Manhattan Associates and Salesforce Integration: Integrates warehouse management with Salesforce to prioritize fulfillment by customer or account.

    Why Salesforce Supply Chain Integration Matters

    Without supply chain integration, Salesforce shows what was sold but not whether it was fulfilled. With ERP and SCM systems connected, Salesforce becomes the single pane of glass for the order lifecycle, linking demand, inventory, and delivery so sales, service, and operations always have the full picture.

    Example Salesforce and Supply Chain Integration in Action

    A customer places a large order. Salesforce captures the opportunity, which syncs to Oracle SCM for fulfillment. Inventory levels and shipping status flow back into Salesforce, giving the account manager real-time visibility. If a delay occurs, Salesforce automatically notifies the customer and alerts the service team, avoiding last-minute surprises.

    The result: promises kept, stronger customer trust, and a clear link between Salesforce sales data and operational execution.


    Viewing Dashboards and Business Intelligence in Salesforce

    6. Salesforce and Business Intelligence Integration: Turning Data Into Insights

    With front- and back-office processes connected, the next step is turning that data into insight. Integrating Salesforce with business intelligence platforms brings clarity and foresight to decision-making.

    Business leaders don’t just need more data; they need trusted insights that drive faster, smarter decisions. While Salesforce provides strong native reporting, its real power emerges when connected with advanced business intelligence (BI) platforms. These integrations turn Salesforce into the hub for enterprise-wide analytics and forecasting.

    Benefits of Salesforce BI Integrations

    • Interactive Visualization: Build dynamic, real-time dashboards that highlight trends, risks, and opportunities in your Salesforce data.
    • Cross-Functional Analytics: Blend Salesforce with finance, operations, and marketing data for a holistic view of business performance. Data virtualization and APIs allow Salesforce to access and analyze information from multiple sources in real time—without physically moving or duplicating the data—making analytics more efficient, scalable, and cost-effective. BI tools can also aggregate and analyze data from multiple Salesforce orgs, enabling enterprise-wide insights across different business units or regions.
    • Predictive Insights: Apply AI and machine learning models to Salesforce data to forecast pipeline health, churn risk, and growth opportunities.
    • Data Democratization: Empower teams with self-service analytics, so insights aren’t locked in IT reports but available at every level.

    Key BI & Analytics Integrations with Salesforce

    • Tableau and Salesforce Integration: Creates interactive dashboards with deep customer insights and streamlines reporting for smarter decisions
    • Power BI and Salesforce Integration: Combines Microsoft’s BI capabilities with Salesforce data for comprehensive business intelligence.
    • Looker and Salesforce Integration: Provides powerful modeling and visualization, enabling consistent metrics across Salesforce and other systems.
    • Einstein Analytics (CRM Analytics) and Salesforce Integration: Leverages Salesforce’s native analytics platform for AI-powered insights and predictive recommendations.

    Why Salesforce BI Integration Matters

    Without BI integration, Salesforce reports focus on what happened but rarely explain why it happened or what’s next. With BI platforms connected, Salesforce becomes the lens through which leaders track current performance and predict future growth, risks, and opportunities.

    Example Salesforce BI Integration in Action

    A leadership team connects Salesforce with a BI platform such as Tableau, Power BI, or Looker. Instead of relying only on Salesforce reports, they now combine sales pipeline data with marketing spend, service performance, and financial results. The result is a unified view that shows where revenue is coming from, which campaigns are working, and where risks are emerging.

    The result: leaders move from isolated reports to connected, actionable insights, making faster, data-driven decisions with greater confidence.


    7. Other High-Value Salesforce Integrations

    Once your core systems are connected and insights are flowing, additional integrations can extend that value even further—supporting specialized business functions and future scalability.

    Not every critical integration falls neatly into ERP, Marketing, Sales, Service, Operations, or Analytics. Some systems strengthen collaboration, workforce management, and productivity. While they may not directly generate revenue, these integrations help teams execute better and protect ROI from your Salesforce investment.

    • Workday and Salesforce Integration: Often classified as HCM (Human Capital Management) rather than ERP, Workday integrations with Salesforce are especially valuable in services-driven businesses. They align workforce planning and staffing with Salesforce project demand and revenue forecasts.
    • Asana and Salesforce Integration: Connects Salesforce records (campaigns, opportunities, projects) with Asana task management, ensuring cross-functional teams stay aligned and customer-facing initiatives run smoothly.

    Furthermore, an enterprise service bus (ESB) can be used as part of your integration architecture to connect Salesforce with multiple systems. By leveraging an ESB, organizations can implement a scalable and adaptable middleware solution that uses adapters to link various enterprise applications. This approach improves connectivity, supports remote process invocation, and addresses the limitations of point-to-point or less flexible integration methods.

    Each of these integrations contributes to a more connected, efficient, and intelligent organization. Together, they transform Salesforce into the central hub of business performance.


    Conclusion: Building a Connected Foundation for Growth

    When Salesforce is properly connected, everything works better.

    Sales runs faster. Finance gains real-time accuracy. Marketing can prove ROI. Customer service teams resolve issues with context. Leaders make decisions with confidence.

    These results don’t happen by chance; they come from connecting Salesforce to the systems that matter most.

    Our team has helped organizations link Salesforce with ERP platforms like SAP and NetSuite, marketing tools like HubSpot and Marketo, customer service systems such as Zendesk and ServiceNow, and analytics platforms like Tableau and Power BI.

    Whether your goal is to improve forecasting, automate quote-to-cash, or align sales and marketing around the same data, ourSalesforce integration servicesare built to deliver measurable business outcomes, not just technical connections.

    Contact us to explore how Summit’s Salesforce expertise and integration platform experience can unify your diverse systems, streamline operations, and accelerate growth.

    When Salesforce becomes the single source of truth for your business, the difference is unmistakable: faster growth, smarter decisions, and stronger customer relationships.

    In the next post in this series, we’ll walk through a proven approach to design, execute, and scale Salesforce integrations that deliver sustainable business impact.

     


     

    Salesforce Integration Frequently Asked Questions

    Does Salesforce support both traditional and modern integration methods?

    Yes. The Salesforce Platform supports both traditional (like APIs and ESBs) and modern integration approaches ) (such as event-driven architecture), enabling seamless data exchange and real-time updates.

    This versatility allows organizations to design integration architectures that meet both current needs and future scalability—empowering the development of web and mobile applications that interact with Salesforce data seamlessly.

    What are the drawbacks of point-to-point integrations with Salesforce?

    What is event-driven architecture, and how does it enhance Salesforce integration?

    What is an Application Programming Interface (API)?

    What is Salesforce Data Integration?

    What are Salesforce integration patterns?

    What is an Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) in Salesforce integration?

    How does an ESB improve Salesforce integrations?

    Ready to Chat?

    Get a jumpstart by connecting with one of Summit's Salesforce Certified Experts today.

    "Easy to Work With"
    Angie W.

    Northwoods worked with Summit to help migrate our Microsoft Dynamics CRM system to Salesforce.  Summit was extremely knowledgeable, thorough, and easy to work with.  They were able to help us configure the system to handle complex business processes while making the system easy for end users.  They were also able to migrate all our legacy Dynamics data to the new Salesforce system.  Summit helped train our technical team on Salesforce administration while keeping the project on time and under budget.  I highly recommend Summit for any Salesforce-related project.

    "Mind Blowing!"
    Rachael H.

    As a leader of a small non-profit aimed to scale rapidly and efficiently, I knew it was critical to transition from antiquated spreadsheets to a sophisticated CRM. We dabbled in Salesforce on our own the year prior. To put it mildly, I was terrified to go there again. Summit met my apprehension with confidence and reassurance. They were timely, efficient and positioned us to utilize Salesforce in ways we hadn’t imagined. Every day I’m in awe of what Salesforce can do; to the team’s credit for imparting their wisdom. Summit has positioned us for unprecedented opportunities at Walk with a Doc. Thank you!

    "BEST Salesforce Consultant Available"
    Catherine Z.

    We went through 3 consultants before finding Summit. The difference was night and day, and the cost was very reasonable. They helped us get our Communities up and running in less than a week (after 2 other teams essentially dragged their feet for 9 months - yes, 9 months!). We are ecstatic! We also have Managed Services with them, for a few hundred bucks a month they are our go-to for anything Salesforce. The team is INSTANTLY responsive - like within 2 minutes. I have experienced other consultants and can tell you, there is no comparison. Hire Summit!

    "Did a Wonderful Job"
    Paige B.

    We have primarily been using Salesforce for our sales team. Recently we decided to bring our support team on and Summit did an awesome job helping us get everything set up the way we needed.

    "Great Learning and Implementation"
    Annette H.

    Great experience with Summit. They are very knowledgeable about Salesforce and their turn around is outstanding. I am looking forward to working Part 2 of our plan with them.

    "Transformation Data w/ Excellent Service"
    Kay W.

    The skill set and knowledge that Summit has brought to this project far surpasses our initial expectation- especially since our initial contact with Salesforce corp. was challenged in regards to utilizing training videos to suit our scope and need. Summit and team has been helpful in supporting our team with a custom solution in order for us to be able to serve our community better. They are timely and professional, and eager to learn about the why before telling us the what.

    "Made our Dream CRM a Reality!"
    Matt S.

    Summit made our Salesforce dream a reality. As a small non-profit on a limited budget with very specific CRM needs we were challenged to find a suitable Salesforce partner. Fortunately we were introduced to Summit, and from day one they made the formidable task of implementing Salesforce doable (and even enjoyable!). The Summit team are pros, from their accessibility and communication to industry knowledge and attitude, they never said 'no' to a request. When we encountered hiccups along the way they took the time to trouble shoot and make fixes, even when it was outside the original scope of the project. We didn't deviate from the project timeline or budget, which says a lot considering our custom needs for data collection/reporting, donor communication, and third party plug-ins. If you are considering implementing Salesforce or have any Salesforce needs, I highly recommend Summit and their team.

    Let's Get Started

    This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
    Name(Required)