Salesforce helps organizations digitally capture their org data in a streamlined manner. But that’s not all it does! With Salesforce’s dynamic dashboards, the platform also offers the means to analyze that data and generate reports to represent it visually.
Not only are dynamic dashboards useful in interpreting your data, but they also allow you to allocate access based on roles. This means the C-suite executive, sales manager, and head account will each see information based on their access levels.
In this article, we’ll discuss what dynamic dashboards are and how to use them in Salesforce.
What Are Dynamic Dashboards?
Dynamic Dashboards is a feature offered by Salesforce that takes data visualization to the next level for its users. You can create and display real-time data reports through components, including charts, tables, and metrics.
Not just that, these dashboards are personalized based on a user’s profile, role, or other specific criteria. You can tailor them based on the specific needs of each user or choose only to display data relevant to their jobs and responsibilities.
Let’s take a real-world example. Say, a retail chain has multiple stores spread across different regions, and each store has its own sales teams and targets. In this case, this is how the dynamic dashboard for different roles may look like:
- The regional manager will have a dashboard that displays metrics such as total sales revenue, sales growth percentage, inventory level for each store, etc. This will help them get an overview of all the stores within their region and drill down into specific dashboards when they need more detailed information for their forecasts or strategies.
- The dashboard for each store manager will focus on their store’s performance. So, it’ll display metrics such as daily sales, conversion rate, top-selling products, employee performance, etc. Moreover, the store manager can use this dynamic dashboard to set targets for their team and track their progress in real-time.
- Each sales rep will have their personalized dynamic dashboard providing a snapshot of their individual sales performance. They’ll be able to see metrics such as the number of leads, closed deals, sales pipeline status, etc. This way, they can track their progress toward a target and prioritize activities based on the data.
- The operations analyst will be able to see the most important KPIs for the tasks they’re currently working on, so they can analyze productivity, tool usage, and other factors.
Why Do You Need Dynamic Dashboards?
Using dynamic dashboards in Salesforce can level up your and your team’s productivity in many ways.
Firstly, dynamic dashboards in Salesforce will provide you with real-time visibility into the KPIs and metrics, helping you make timely and data-backed decisions for the business.
With personalized dashboards, you can customize the data to be displayed based on a user’s role and preferences. This allows for enhanced data security while saving significant time for users as they have the most relevant information right at their fingertips.
You can explore the data you need from your dashboard by applying filters, drilling down the details, and performing ad-hoc analysis. This helps in identifying trends and uncovering new insights.
Finally, dynamic dashboards in Salesforce serve as a centralized hub for data, enabling collaboration and communication among team members. Users can share dashboards with their teams to work together towards shared goals.
Standard Vs. Dynamic Dashboards In Salesforce
Standard dashboards appear the same to all Salesforce users, irrespective of their roles and responsibilities. Here, access levels don’t have much significance, as every user sees the same dashboard, and nothing is personalized or can be customized.
These dashboards are more suitable when you want to offer company-wide access to every employee to deliver common information. For example, if you were to share a top performers leaderboard with your entire vertical, it’s best to make it a standard dashboard that everyone can access.
On the other hand, if you can role-specific data to share with specific Salesforce users, dynamic dashboards are the best choice. They offer a higher level of flexibility and personalization. Every data on a dynamic dashboard can be customized to a user’s preference or role.
How to Set Up A Dynamic Dashboard In Salesforce
- Provide security settings for your dashboard by setting your user as “run as logged-in user” instead of “run as the specified user.”
- Identify the components you want to include in your dynamic dashboard, such as charts, tables, metrics, and other visual elements.
- Create a dashboard folder where you can store and control every access-related information. Go to the “dashboards” tab and create a new folder by assigning it a name.
- Once you’ve created the folder, go to the dropdown next to it and click “share.” You can share that folder with different users and define their access levels and roles here.
- Click “new dashboard” and enter the name of your dynamic dashboard. Store the dashboard in the folder you created earlier. Click “create.”
- Select the gear icon on the screen and select the dashboard viewer as the logged-in user. Click “save.”
- You now have your dynamic dashboard ready. Click the “+” icon to add more components to it.
???? In the enterprise edition of Salesforce, you can create five dynamic dashboards, while in the unlimited edition, you can create ten.
Best Practices to Use Dynamic Dashboards In Salesforce
Dynamic dashboards can significantly uplift your data management system, provided you know how to use them to your advantage. We’re about to share our team’s favorite best practices:
Define KPIs and Objectives
Define KPIs for each user and access level and understand why those metrics are important for that user. And besides setting roles and KPIs for users, understand what they need from the dashboard that can help them perform better at their jobs. Use this information to tailor the dashboard as per their needs.
Design Your Dashboards for Success
Plan the layout of the dashboard in a logical and intuitive manner while keeping the hierarchy and flow of information in mind.
For example, for a retail sales performance dashboard, you can start with an overview of high-level information such as the overall sales performance and include metrics like total sales revenue, average order value, etc. Next up, you can categorize sales performance into different products, campaigns, and more!
Technical Optimization of Dynamic Dashboards in Salesforce
Refresh your dashboard so you always have up-to-date data. Remember, Salesforce limits the number of times a user can refresh a dashboard to one time per minute. This ensures the same report isn’t refreshed multiple times, hampering the run-time of other processes.
Optimize the performance of your dynamic dashboard so it loads quickly and provides a smooth user experience. Use query optimization techniques, make sure the filters are properly indexed, and review the configurations of individual dashboard components.
Salesforce Dynamic Dashboards – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- Why use dynamic dashboards in Salesforce?
Dynamic dashboards allow you to assign data access based on the roles and seniority of different users. They’re more secure than standard dashboards and are more personalized. - Can we refresh the dynamic dashboards in Salesforce?
Yes, simply open the dashboard and click the refresh button. Remember, you must manually refresh your dynamic dashboard, as it doesn’t refresh automatically. - What are the limitations of dynamic dashboards?
While dynamic dashboards are a great way to allocate access and visually represent the data, their maximum usage depends on your Salesforce Edition. - Can you schedule a dynamic dashboard in Salesforce?
Yes, you can schedule a dynamic dashboard in Salesforce by checking a checkbox in the scheduled dashboard column. It will automatically email you and others (with access) a copy of it periodically.
Make Data-Driven Decisions With Dynamic Dashboards
Dynamic dashboards are powerful tools that make data visualization and reporting interactive and fun. You can personalize your dashboard based on your specific needs and only access the information that matters to you.
Go on, embrace the capabilities of dynamic dashboards to unlock the potential of data, and leverage this data to reach new heights in your job.
And make informed choices that drive business growth and success.
