Salesforce In-App Guidance: An In-Depth Review of + A Better Alternative
What is Salesforce in-app guidance?
Salesforce in-app guidance is a functionality designed to provide contextual guidance to platform users and help them perform various tasks efficiently.
You can use this tool to onboard new Salesforce users, communicate new feature updates, and enhance user adoption.
Pros of Salesforce in-app guidance builder
Designed to aid the onboarding of new users and employees, the in-app guidance system from Salesforce boasts two main advantages:
- No-code builder: The in-app guidance builder doesn’t require any coding knowledge. This means non-technical team members can build interactive product experiences without further installing any scripts or waiting for developer help.
- Personalization: Salesforce allows you to segment users based on profiles and permissions before triggering flows, allowing for some basic personalization.
Cons of Salesforce in-app guidance builder
The in-app guidance system is not without its disadvantages. Most of these stem from limitations to the…
- Limited UI patterns: Salesforce lacks in-app message types present in other tools such as banners, modals, and hotspots.
- Lack of advanced segmentation: Although we mentioned Salesforce allows basic segmentation, you still can’t create sophisticated segments based on the user’s role, location, or in-app behavior.
- Walkthrough limitations: Walkthroughs can have a maximum of ten steps. While this may be great for most occasions, you can’t add extra prompts if needed.
Types of Salesforce in-app guidance prompts
Salesforce allows you to create two types of in-app guidance – a single prompt or a walkthrough.
Whichever one you choose, though, you’ll have to select from 3 types of prompts: floating, docked, or targeted.
- Floating prompt: A floating prompt appears as a small pop-up window that can be positioned as an informative box anywhere on the screen. It floats over the app’s UI and is ideal for providing quick tips, reminders, or notifications without interrupting the user’s workflow.
- Targeted prompt: A targeted prompt also floats over the screen but is tied to a specific element and is positioned relative to that element. This makes it an excellent choice for context-sensitive information, such as a prompt explaining how a button/feature works.
- Docked prompt: The docked prompt is a larger-sized prompt that typically appears at the bottom corner of the page. It allows you to embed images and videos, and to provide longer step-by-step directions to guide users through more complicated tasks.
How to create in-app guidance with Salesforce? A closer look at its in-app guidance settings
To enable in-app guidance in Salesforce, navigate to Setup > User Engagement > In-App Guidance Settings and toggle it on.
To create a prompt or walkthrough, go to the App Manager tab, select the app where you want to add the prompt, then click Add. Alternatively, you can select in-app guidance from the Settings page and click “New” to add a prompt.
After clicking the Create Prompt button, you’ll be able to select one of the different prompt types, choose a specific page where it appears, and adjust its position, size, color, and font on the setup page on the right sidebar.
Click Next to edit the contents of the prompt, including the title and body. You’ll also be able to add or embed images and videos for the prompt on this page.
For a walkthrough, you’ll need to add more prompts to form steps. If you selected walkthrough instead of prompt, you’ll be able to add prompts as steps. After adding each prompt, select Add Step to add a new one. You’ll also be able to re-order the steps on the left sidebar.
Note that the first prompt in your walkthrough is your branding and customization environment. Choose from various colors, fonts, and other design elements to create a walkthrough that matches your brand.
Finally, once you’re done, click Save at the top right corner and customize the profiles, permissions, triggers, and call to action for your new prompt.
Salesforce in-app guidance pricing
With a standard Salesforce subscription, you’ll be able to create and view up to three custom walkthroughs at a time.
In addition to the standard Salesforce license cost, you’ll have to pay an additional $25 per user per month for every user who you want to see or create a walkthrough.
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