As a self confessed map geek, adding a map to any data feels me with enormous joy! I first came across Salesforce Maps when it was named “Mapanything”, at the time i remember thinking, “how can a product have such a bold statement”. Having struggled for around 12 months with exporting data to google maps I had to find an alternative. I was very new to Salesforce and literally just saw it in the App Exchange and thought “this sounds so easy”. Queue a number of over the phone guided help session with the guys at Map Anything, but once I had it set up the results were amazing! Within a couple of clicks I had created my first map! Originally we were using the mapping to see the locations of our clients but soon we were using the radius to send targeted campaign emails to members within an hours drive time of an event. The trustee board loved mapanything and how the map is updated automatically, so the need to spend hour preparing is alleviated. 

So what is Salesforce Maps?

Salesforce Maps is a third party app which enables you to see your data. Whilst it is designed for organisations who have field agents to plan the best route for them, I think it would be a fantastic asset to a charity to see at a glance the intensity of their work. They can easily spot location trends. 

How easy is it to use?

One you have completed the install and initial set up of the product it is very easy to use. Users are assigned licences and without a licence they are unable to use the product. You build a map in a very similar way to the way you would build a standard Salesforce report. Obviously each data point must have an address which can then be turned into a geographical marker (longitude and latitude) which may mean that some data cleansing is needed before you can roll it out. 

Maps is also now mobile compatible!