How to Connect Salesforce to Looker Studio (Google Data Studio)

Salesforce is a popular cloud-based software for customer relationship management. It offers tools to help manage sales, service, marketing, digital experiences, and more. This means that Salesforce contains a ton of data that needs to be analyzed or visualized for deeper analytics. With Looker Studio, you can explore big data, measure important metrics, and create visual reports or dashboards for reporting purposes. In this article, we’ll explore ways to connect data from Salesforce to Looker Studio and how to set up the integration with a couple of clicks. 

Benefits of automating Salesforce to Looker Studio

Automation helps to save time, increase efficiency, and amplify your efforts. Rather than stick to manual processes, consider automating Salesforce to Looker Studio. Let’s highlight a few good reasons for using automation to connect both apps. 

First, manual data exports are time-consuming and can slow down your reporting process. Secondly, real-time reporting allows you to spot issues quickly, take proactive action, save costs, and analyze daily processes and systems effectively. Lastly, there will be no risk of human error if you’ve configured everything properly, and you also get to have your reports ready on time. 

Now, let’s discuss some benefits of automating Salesforce to Looker Studio. 

• Faster data integration

Salesforce is a great platform for managing some business functions but it has limited capabilities when it comes to exporting data. Manual data exports are very time-consuming and can slow down your reporting process. Exporting bulk data when you need it is also far from straightforward. To avoid stress and human error, you should automate Salesforce data to Looker Studio. It helps to boost efficiency, free up time, and ensure that recent data is available for reporting purposes.

• Real-time data analytics

Real-time analytics allows you to monitor business performance as soon as the data comes in. The updates can be hourly or even more frequent – for example, every 15 minutes, if a company runs an extensive outreach campaign, the manager may want to monitor different metrics, such as calls made, responses to emails, conversions, revenues, etc. in real-time. It allows them to make adjustments on the go if needed. With real-time reporting, you can also spot issues quickly, take proactive action, save costs, and analyze daily processes and systems effectively. 

• Stress-free reporting

If you choose to automate Salesforce to Looker Studio, you can create great visual reports as often as necessary. This is because you can just open Looker Studio and meet refreshed Salesforce data waiting and ready for reporting. Automated reporting can be stress-free because you don’t need to worry about whether your data is up-to-date. There will be no risk of human error if you’ve configured everything properly, and you also get to have your reports ready on time. 

How to connect Salesforce to Looker Studio (Google Data Studio)

Looker Studio is a self-service platform that you can use to visualize Salesforce data however you like. Unfortunately, there is no native connector for Salesforce but here are a few working options for connecting Salesforce to Looker Studio:

• Coupler.io Partner Connector

Coupler.io is an all-in-one data analytics and automation platform that allows you to connect and easily set up automatic data integrations between business apps, including Salesforce and Looker Studio. It supports more Looker Studio connectors – over 70+ apps like Airtable, Facebook Ads, HubSpot, Shopify, and QuickBooks, and allows you to blend your Salesforce data with other apps so you can get the full picture of your business imported into Looker Studio.

Coupler.io has a partner connector in Looker Studio that you can use to connect Salesforce data directly to Looker Studio. Coupler.io automatically pulls your data from Salesforce at the chosen frequency – be it daily, hourly, or even every 15 minutes. What’s more, you can preview and transform the data before it’s imported into Looker Studio, which helps with the performance of your dashboard and makes data easier to process in the visualization tool. All of this, with no coding required and just a few clicks to set up.

• Extract data to intermediary apps like Google Sheets or BigQuery and then to Looker Studio

Google Sheets and BigQuery allow users to prepare, process, and transform data before exporting to another destination. With this approach, you can use the rich data processing capabilities of both apps to calculate metrics, transform Salesforce data into a more meaningful form, and collect the key information from all data sources into a single spreadsheet or table. 

You can use the same Coupler.io connector to extract data from Salesforce to Google Sheets or BigQuery. Then, you connect the processed dataset into Looker Studio via a native connector. 

• Query Salesforce API

Salesforce allows users to extract data using its REST API and sends it using JSON or XML data formats. You can either use ETL scripts or a JSON importer within Coupler.io to extract the desired data. Then, you may proceed to connect your Salesforce data to Looker Studio with the available connectors, e.g. export Salesforce API data into Google Sheets or BigQuery and then connect via native connectors to Looker Studio.

• CSV import using Salesforce Data Loader

Data Loader is a client application for importing and exporting Salesforce data. It’s available for a few Salesforce editions, such as Enterprise, Performance, Developer, and Unlimited. It can be accessed through the user interface and the command line (Windows only). You can export data as CSV files and then upload to Looker Studio. Note that you’ll have to repeat this process every time you want to fetch the fresh data.

Salesforce Looker Studio connector – case study

If you’d like to automate Salesforce to Looker Studio, arguably the most straightforward method is with the Coupler.io partner connector. You can use it in two ways – to connect Salesforce directly to Looker Studio or send the data through an intermediary app – here, Google Sheets.

The direct connection is faster to set up, and the data will start flowing into Looker Studio within minutes. The indirect setup, on the other hand, may be preferred if you plan to do some heavy processing to the data before it’s connected to Looker Studio. In the next chapters, we’ll show how you can use both methods to connect Salesforce to Looker Studio.

Salesforce to Looker Studio using the Coupler.io partner connector

The first method of automating Salesforce data to Looker Studio involves the Coupler.io partner connector that directly links both apps. 

Let’s see what the Salesforce to Looker Studio setup looks like. If you don’t have a Coupler.io account yet, sign up for one now. A free 14-day trial is available, no credit card is needed.

• Click Add new importer. We’ll create a new importer and then choose Salesforce as the source app and Looker Studio as the destination. 

• Connect your Salesforce account, and select the preferred data type and the exact data entity you want.

You can choose a Data entity to select any of the predefined data types such as Account, Opportunity, Account Feed, Account History, Asset Feed, Business Hours, Calendar, Campaign, Cart Item, Change Request, Lead, etc. Another option is to write a Custom SOQL to fetch precise data or unlock the ability to export two or more data types simultaneously. 

• Connect your Looker Studio account by following the steps outlined in the Destination setup. You’ll first need to generate an access token if it’s the first time you use Coupler.io’s partner connector. Then, follow the link to create a data source in Looker Studio and import your data.

• Once you’re finished, jump back to Coupler.io and set up a schedule for your imports – having one will ensure the data in Looker Studio is up-to-date.

• Finally, click the Save and Run button. The importer will run immediately and also refresh data based on the set schedule. 

And here’s the list of fields imported into Looker Studio:

Presently, the Coupler.io data source in Looker Studio checks for fresh data every 12 hours, but you can prompt a data refresh at any time using the Refresh data button in the menu. You can now proceed to explore or create a report with this new data source. 

Here’s a clearer view of the imported Salesforce leads data. 

Salesforce to Looker Studio via Google Sheets Integration

Now, let’s go through an alternative method that involves exporting data into Google Sheets and then connecting it to Looker Studio via a native connector. 

You may prefer this method if you plan to apply heavy transformations to the data and only then connect it to Looker Studio. Although Coupler.io itself offers plenty of transformation capabilities, nothing beats a good ol’ spreadsheet, right?

To set up this integration, we’ll use Coupler.io once again.

If you’re a new user, sign up to Coupler.io using a 14-day free trial – no credit card required. Otherwise, log in to your account and proceed by following the steps below:

• On your Coupler.io dashboard, click Add New Importer to create a new importer. 

Select the Source app and the Destination app. We’ll use Salesforce and Google Sheets here. 

• Connect your Salesforce account and choose the preferred Data type. 

For the data type, you can choose Data Entity if you want to select a predefined data type like Contact, Account, Lead, Opportunity, etc. 

You can also select Custom SOQL if you want to make a custom request in SOQL language or export various data types simultaneously. 

• If you chose Data Entity, search for a data category to export.

There are many options to pick a data category from. Some include: Account Feed, Account History, Asset Feed, Business Hours, Calendar, Campaign, Cart Item, Change Request, Lead, Content Delivery, and much more. 

• You can edit the basic settings for the data entity. But this is optional. 

• Next, connect your Google account, then select a spreadsheet and a sheet. 

• You can simply run the importer. But to automate data imports from Salesforce to Google Sheets, you’d have to enable Automatic data refresh and set up a custom schedule. 

The data refresh schedule would determine how often Google Sheets will be populated with your Salesforce data. The interval can be as frequent as you’d like. For example, it can be every 15 minutes, every night, 3 times a week, weekly, monthly, etc.

• Here’s the Salesforce lead data in a Google Sheets spreadsheet. Process it to your liking, and when you’re ready, connect the chosen sheet (or sheets) to Looker Studio as we describe next.

• Log in to your Looker Studio account. On the homepage, click Create and select Data Source from the drop-down to set up a new source. 

• Search for Google Sheets from the list of native connectors in Looker Studio.

• Pick the right spreadsheet and sheet that holds your Salesforce data and click Connect. 

• Voila! Our Salesforce lead data is now available in Looker Studio. 

You can proceed to explore or create reports with your Salesforce data. The Google Sheets connector refreshes data every 15 minutes. 

Visualize and Analyze Your Data with the Salesforce Looker Studio integration

Salesforce is arguably the most popular CRM in the market. It helps companies effectively manage sales, marketing, service, and a few other business functions. You can connect Salesforce to Looker Studio by using a few available Looker Studio integrations.

Arguably the most convenient way to automate Salesforce data to Looker Studio is to utilize a data analytics and automation platform like Coupler.io. You can choose to extract data to an intermediary app or import it into Looker Studio directly.

Last but not least – if you need help with business analytics or would like customized dashboards for your reporting, don’t hesitate to reach out to the Coupler.io data expert team. 

Streamline your data analytics & reporting with Coupler.io!

Coupler.io is an all-in-one data analytics and automation platform designed to close the gap between getting data and using its full potential. Gather, transform, understand, and act on data to make better decisions and drive your business forward!

• Save hours of your time on data analytics by integrating business applications with data warehouses, data visualization tools, or spreadsheets. Enjoy 200+ available integrations!
• Preview, transform, and filter your data before sending it to the destination. Get excited about how easy data analytics can be.
• Access data that is always up to date by enabling refreshing data on a schedule as often as every 15 minutes.
• Visualize your data by loading it to BI tools or exporting it directly to Looker Studio. Making data-driven decisions has never been easier.
• Easily track and improve your business metrics by creating live dashboards on your own or with the help of our experts.

Try Coupler.io today at no cost with a 14-day free trial (no credit card required), and join 700,000+ happy users to accelerate growth with data-driven decisions.

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