Creating nice looking documents from data within Salesforce CRM is attainable however the options are aplenty. Currently, your mail merge options include: 1) native Salesforce mail merge button, 2) Salesforce extended mail merge, 3) Salesforce bulk mail merge, 4) Conga Composer, and 5) Drawloop. This post is dedicated to explaining the different options available and the pros and cons of each.
1) The native Salesforce Mail Merge button
- Pros: Good for single mail merges, included for all Salesforce CRM editions, Connect for Office app is available to help with merge fields in Word & Excel
- Cons: Only works with Internet Explorer and Office 2007 or older files. It can’t be used for mass mail merges. Only works on Windows XP & Vista (32-bit only). Only current object accessible fields are available for merging. Requires some setup.
2) Salesforce Extended Mail Merge
- Pros: Good for mass mail merges, available on all Salesforce CRM editions, merges up to 1000 records and sends the results to your email as a zip archive.
- Cons: Must be activated by Salesforce support upon request. Only current object accessible fields are available for merging. Requires some setup.
- Pros: A good option for MS Word power users, doesn’t require any admin setup in Salesforce
- Cons: Requires many steps within MS Word. Only report data is available for merging.
As you’ve probably guessed the above options are somewhat outdated and the functionality is lacking. Thankfully there are a couple strong options (albeit paid ones starting at $12/user/month) that can get the job done and are available from the Salesforce AppExchange.
- Pros: Single and mass merges, available on Salesforce Professional version and above, current object and related object fields are available for merging, Word/Excel/Powerpoint/HTML templates, automation/workflow
- Cons: Takes some admin know-how to set up merge buttons as syntax is specific
httpv://youtu.be/7Aojps6N0aQ
5) Drawloop
- Pros: Uses a DDP (Dynamic Document Package) record to reduce some of the admin know-how, current object and related object fields are available for merging, Word/Excel/Powerpoint/HTML templates, automation/workflow
- Cons: Only for Salesforce Enterprise version and above
Perpetual West is a Salesforce Silver Cloud Alliance Partner and a Certified Salesforce Consultant. For more information about how you can leverage Salesforce CRM to grow your business, download our eBook today.
