Salesforce Selfservice Implementation Guide
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SelfService Portal
Implementation Guide
Salesforce Spring
salesforcedocs
Last updated November
Copyright Salesforce Inc All rights reserved Salesforce is a registered trademark of Salesforce Inc as are other
names and marks Other marks appearing herein may be trademarks of their respective owners
CONTENTS
SelfService Implementation
SelfService Preparation
SelfService Setup
SelfService Reporting
Example SelfService Implementation
SELFSERVICE IMPLEMENTATION
Note Starting with Spring the SelfService portal isnt available for new Salesforce orgs Existing orgs continue to have access
to the SelfService portal
This guide outlines the necessary steps to set up and use SelfService The guide is divided into the following major sections
SelfService Preparation
Make sure your organization is ready for a SelfService portal
SelfService Setup
Configure Salesforce to allow your customers to use SelfService by taking these steps
SelfService Reporting
Use SelfService reporting features to make the most of your SelfService portal
Example SelfService Implementation
Review a sample SelfService implementation
SELFSERVICE PREPARATION
We recommend you complete the following steps before you implement your organizations SelfService portal
Build Publish Public Solutions
Build your companys public solutions
Identify SelfService Users
Decide which customers will be able to use the SelfService portal
Determine the Information Your Users Need
Identify the fields necessary for customers to log and view cases
Customize Case Fields
Create values for case fields so SelfService users can close their own cases
Customize Email Templates
Create standard SelfService email templates
Customize and Distribute the SelfService Tip Sheet
Edit the SelfService tip sheet and distribute it to customers
Build Publish Public Solutions
Using your SelfService portal your customers will be able to search your organizations knowledge base to find answers to their questions
and problems Public solutions will consist entirely of solutions that your Customer Support team has created in Salesforce
We recommend you complete these steps to build public solutions
Formalize a standard structure for all solutions in Salesforce
Use a consistent format when creating your organizations solutions Every Customer Support representative should be familiar with
and able to create solutions using this format
Please refer to the Tips Hints for Solutions document for recommendations on structuring solutions available in the Tips section of
the Salesforce online help
Translate solutions into multiple languages
Enable multilingual solutions so that users can create and translate solutions into multiple languages Then when your customers
log into your SelfService portal they can view solutions in their preferred language Customers can also choose to view solution
search results in a specific language or all supported languages via a language dropdown list
Create solutions to answer the most commonly asked questions
Since your customers will be using the SelfService portal to find answers to common issues it is a good idea to create a solution
for each of your organizations FAQs
Any standard user of Salesforce has access to create solutions although you may decide to assign this initial task to a select group
of Customer Support representatives
SelfService Preparation
Finalize the solution review process
To maintain a high level of quality for your solutions it is a good idea to standardize the review process for solutions We recommend
that you use three Solution Status values as follows
Recommended Solution Status Values
Status
Meaning
Draft
Default status for all new solutions
Review Level
Solution Managers review all Draft solutions to
Check for duplicates
Make the solution complete
Review the solution structure
Remove references to any specific customer
Add content if necessary
Status should then be changed to Review Level
Review Level
Senior Solution Managers review all Review Level solutions to
determine whether the solution should be published to the
SelfService portal
Status should then be changed to Review Level and the
Visible in SelfService Portal checkbox
selected
We also recommend that you decide which Solution Managers will be responsible for publishing solutions
Categorize approved solutions
Use solution categories to group similar solutions together enabling customers to browse through and search relevant categories
for solutions that answer their questions
We recommend that you limit the number of categories to which a solution belongs If you put solutions into only the most relevant
categories they will be easier for users and customers to find
If your organization uses multilingual solutions we recommend that you use the Translation Workbench to translate categories into
multiple languages Translated solutions inherit the categories of their master solution
See the Salesforce online help for more information about defining your categories categorizing individual solutions and translating
categories
Track the history of solution fields
Select which standard and custom fields to track on the Solution History related list to see when and how users modified any solution
Publish approved solutions
Only published solutions will be available on the SelfService portal You will need to identify the solutions you want to make available
edit the solutions individually and select the Visible in SelfService Portal checkbox to publish each solution
Identify the Top Solutions for the SelfService Portal
SelfService Preparation
In the SelfService portal you can choose to list up to five solutions of your choice on the Home page that users see when they first
log in
Identify SelfService Users
The customers who will be using the SelfService portal are referred to as SelfService users You should decide whether you want to
offer SelfService access to all customers or only to a select group of customers eg customers with Gold Support
Identify the customers to whom you will grant SelfService access
You can create a report in Salesforce or use other customer lists to identify which customers should have access to the SelfService
portal
For each company you can also identify one or more SelfService super users who will be able to access all cases submitted by
anyone in their company
Create a contact record for each SelfService user
Make sure that each contact contains a valid email address
Determine the Information Your Users Need
Identify the fields SelfService users will see when viewing cases
You can choose to allow SelfService users to see any standard or custom case fields when they are viewing their open and closed
cases online You may want to hide any internal or customersensitive fields
Identify the fields SelfService users will see when logging cases
You can choose to allow SelfService users to see any standard or custom case fields when they are submitting cases online Decide
which fields should be required when SelfService users submit a case online
Customize Case Fields
If you plan to enable suggested solutions create field values that can be used on cases when SelfService users close their own cases in
the SelfService portal
Create values for the Case Status field
Customize values for the Case Status field so that a specific status can be automatically assigned to cases that are closed by
SelfService users
Create values for the Case Reason field
Customize values for the Case Reason field so that SelfService users can choose the specific reasons as to why they closed
their own cases
For details on customizing field values see Modifying Picklists in the Salesforce online help
SelfService Preparation
Customize Email Templates
Email templates help you standardize communication with your SelfService users Salesforce provides three basic email templates
which you can customize
Initial introduction email for SelfService users
This email is sent to new users and contains their SelfService username and password Salesforce adds the following text at the end
of each email sent with this template
Username namecompanycom
Password xxxxxx
Reset password email for SelfService users
This email is sent to SelfService users when you reset their SelfService passwords
Autoresponse email with suggested solutions
This email is automatically sent to help users solve their own cases submitted via email WebtoCase or from the SelfService portal
In the autoresponse email template include the suggested solutions mail merge field CaseSuggestedSolutions which provides
outbound emails with direct links to the subject and description of each solution that may help customers answer their inquiries
For details see Setting Up AutoResponse Rules in the Salesforce online help
Customize and Distribute the SelfService Tip Sheet
If you want to provide your customers with information about how they can answer their own inquiries using your SelfService portal
Download and edit the tip sheet provided by Salesforce
Download the Using the SelfService Portal tip sheet and edit it to match your SelfService portals branding and features such as
suggested solutions and the ability to attach files to submitted cases
Distribute the tip sheet to customers
Email or post the tip sheet to your website so that customers who want to learn how to answer their own inquiries can do so
SELFSERVICE SETUP
Follow the steps below to set up and configure your organizations SelfService portal
SelfService Jump Start
Express setup allows you to enable your portal with a few clicks
Create a SelfService Web Portal
Determine the location of the SelfService portal and generate the login page
Define SelfService Settings
Customize your organizations SelfService Settings
Customize the Style Sheet
Customize the style sheet to control the branding of your organizations SelfService pages
Customize Fonts and Colors
Customize the fonts and colors of your organizations SelfService pages
Customize Headers and Footers
Standardize your page headers or footers and keep the branding of your SelfService pages consistent
Customize Content of SelfService Pages
Enable the SelfService portal pages and customize the content
Enable SelfService Users
Enable your customers as SelfService users and provide them with a SelfService username and password
Note You must have the Manage SelfService Portal permission to set up the SelfService portal In addition you need the
Customize Application permission to modify the SelfService page layouts
If you have Enterprise Unlimited or Performance Edition you can create a complete single copy of your organization in a separate
environment to test your customizations to make sure they function the way you expect before implementing them in your
Salesforce organization For details see Creating a Salesforce Sandbox in the online help
SelfService Jump Start
Jump Start is the fastest way to get your SelfService portal running With the click of a few buttons you can create your custom pages
and accept a few default settings
Administrators and users with the Manage SelfService Portal permission can launch the SelfService Jump Start from the Cases or
Solutions home page or follow the steps below
SelfService Jump Start
Step
Action
From Setup enter SelfService Portal in the Quick Find box then select Settings
SelfService Setup
SelfService Jump Start
Step
Action
Click the Jump Start button
Review the jump start process and click Continue
Choose a color theme
Edit the default settings as needed and click Save
Test your SelfService portal by
Clicking Generate to retrieve a test username and password
Clicking Access SelfService Portal to preview pages
Optionally click Invite to allow other users to preview pages
Enable your SelfService portal by inserting the link provided to an appropriate place on your website
Click Done when finished
Note Follow the tasks below to further customize your SelfService portal
Create a SelfService Web Portal
The SelfService portal can be hosted on your corporate website or you can have Salesforce host the portal for you with your companys
logo and branding If you host the portal yourself you will want to use at least two HTML frames The outer frame can contain your
corporate logo website navigation or other branding content and the inner frame should be reserved for the SelfService content from
Salesforce
Creating the SelfService Web Portal
Step
Action
Determine the location of the SelfService login page
This is the page to which SelfService users will go to log in to the SelfService portal You can place this page anywhere on
your corporate website or you can simply insert a link to the page hosted by Salesforce
If hosting the portal yourself create the HTML frames for your organizations SelfService login page Put your companys
content in the outer frame
Generate the HTML code for the SelfService login page
From Setup enter SelfService Portal in the Quick Find box then select Settings
Click Generate Login HTML
On your website create a link to the URL provided to have Salesforce host your SelfService portal for you Alternatively
to host the portal yourself copy the HTML code provided into the inner frame of your login page
Click Finished
SelfService Setup
Define SelfService Settings
SelfService settings allow you to customize the SelfService portal for your organization
Defining SelfService Settings
Step
Action
From Setup enter SelfService Portal in the Quick Find box then select Settings
Click SelfService Setup
On the SelfService feature selection page customize the SelfService settings See SelfService Settings on page for
descriptions of each setting
Save your settings
SelfService Settings
Setting
Description
Login Enabled
When checkbox is checked allows users to log into the SelfService
portal
Edit SelfService Users
Displays the Enable SelfService button on contact detail pages
For contacts in which SelfService is already enabled the View
SelfService button displays
Logout URL
The URL of the web page that will be displayed when users log
out of the SelfService portal for example httpwwwacmecom
If a logout URL is not specified the Logout button will not display
to users
Default Case Origin
The default origin assigned to all cases submitted via the
SelfService portal Available values are taken from your
organizations Case Origin picklist You can assign different
default origins for cases submitted via SelfService EmailtoCase
and WebtoCase
New Cases Visible in SelfService Portal
Automatically selects the Visible in SelfService Portal checkbox
for all new cases including cases created via EmailtoCase and
WebtoCase
Regardless of this default users creating new cases can manually
set the Visible in SelfService Portal checkbox
Enables solution categories in the SelfService portal so that
customers can browse solutions by category
Enable Solution Browsing
If multilingual solutions is enabled you can translate solution
categories via the Translation Workbench For more information
see the Salesforce online help
SelfService Setup
SelfService Settings
Setting
Description
TopLevel Category for Customer
SelfService
The toplevel category accessible by customers in the SelfService
portal Customers can view all published solutions in this category
and its subcategories
If you do not specify this customers can view all published solutions
in all categories
Case Record Type
The record type to assign to any case submitted via the SelfService
portal
From Email Address
The email address from which all new user and new password
emails will be sent for example supportacmecom
From Email Name
The name that will be associated with the From Email Address
for example Acme Customer Support
New User Template
The email template used to send a username and initial password
to all newly enabled SelfService users Salesforce automatically
selects a sample template for you You can create your own
template or modify the sample
New Password Template
The email template used to send a new password to existing
SelfService users when you reset their passwords Salesforce
automatically selects a sample template for you You can create
your own template or modify the sample
Enable Notification on New Case Comment
When selected indicates that the Send Customer
Notification option on a case comment is displayed
Even if this checkbox is not selected note that the Send
Customer Notification option still displays on cases if
you have enabled email notification to contacts who are not
members of your SelfService portal
New Comment Template
The email template used to send a notification to SelfService users
when a public comment is added to one of their cases Salesforce
automatically selects a sample template for you You can create
your own template or modify the sample
Enable Case AutoResponse Rules for
SelfService Cases
Indicates if cases submitted through your SelfService portal will
trigger your autoresponse rules
Case Creation Template
The email template to use when cases submitted through your
SelfService portal do not match any autoresponse rules
Maximum Page Width
The maximum pixel width of the SelfService pages from Salesforce
If hosting the portal yourself this is the width of the inner HTML
frame on your SelfService login page
Minimum Page Height
The minimum pixel height of the SelfService pages from Salesforce
SelfService Setup
SelfService Settings
Setting
Description
Style Sheet URL
The complete publicly accessible URL of your organizations
SelfService style sheet for example
httpwwwacmecomstylesselfservicecss See Customize the
Style Sheet on page for information on creating a customized
style sheet
Color Theme
Use one of the Salesforce predefined color themes if you do not
have a style sheet URL to use Click the View link to see the
available color themes See Customize Fonts and Colors on page
for more information on customizing color themes
Case Single Term
Term used on the SelfService portal instead of the term case
singular form
Case Plural Term
Term used on the SelfService portal instead of the term cases
plural form
Solution Single Term
Term used on the SelfService portal instead of the term solution
singular form
Solution Plural Term
Term used on the SelfService portal instead of the term solutions
plural form
Customize the Style Sheet
You can customize the SelfService style sheet to control the branding of your organizations SelfService pages Alternatively you can
select one of several predefined color themes
Customizing the Style Sheet
Step
Action
Select a predefined color theme or download a style sheet to customize
From Setup enter SelfService Portal in the Quick Find box then select Settings
Click the SelfService Setup button
Click the View Color Theme Options link next to the Color Theme field
Find a set of fonts and colors you like and click Download This Color Theme To use a predefined color theme without
customizing it simply click Select This Color Theme
Save the color theme you downloaded and give it to your webmaster if it needs more customization The downloaded
color theme is a CSS style sheet that your webmaster can edit
Modify the style sheet as needed
Save the style sheet in a publicly accessible location on your corporate website
Enter the URL of the style sheet in the SelfService settings see Define SelfService Settings on page
SelfService Setup
Customizing the Style Sheet
Step
Action
Preview each SelfService page with the customized style sheet
From Setup enter SelfService Portal in the Quick Find box then select Settings
In the SelfService Portal Pages related list select the Preview links to view a sample of each SelfService page with the
style sheet
Customize Fonts and Colors
You can customize the fonts and colors for all your SelfService pages by selecting a predefined color theme and customizing it manually
or with a pointandclick editor
Customizing the fonts and colors
Step
Action
From Setup enter Fonts and Colors in the Quick Find box then select Fonts and Colors
Select the color theme you want to customize
Choose a portal page to customize
Click Edit next to the visual element you want to customize Some elements are visible only on the selected portal page
and some are shared across multiple portal pages Changes you make to shared elements affect all pages
If using the pointandclick editor select a basic or advanced attribute to customize and click Edit If you do not see the
advanced attributes select the Show advanced attributes box See the Salesforce online help for descriptions
of the page attributes you can customize
In the popup window change the attribute as needed
Depending on the attribute you edit click either OK or Save
Click Save to save all changes to the visual element and its attributes Customizations are not visible to your SelfService
users until you set the color theme as active
Repeat these steps to customize all visual elements and their attributes as necessary
Click Fonts and Colors from the setup menu
Click Set Active Theme
Select the theme to activate for your portal live and in realtime Your organization can only have one active theme
Click Save
Customize Headers and Footers
You can customize the headers and footers for all your SelfService pages