In the rapidly evolving realm of digital marketing, companies are continually seeking innovative solutions to elevate their customer engagement and streamline their marketing practices.
Salesforce Marketing Cloud, the world’s leading marketing automation platform, according to the latest Forrester Wave Research, offers a range of modules designed to cater to specific marketing needs.
Before diving into this powerful platform, it is essential to assess the modules available and their relevance to your company’s current marketing practices.
In this page, we will highlight the significance of understanding different Salesforce Marketing Cloud modules and how they can complement your marketing efforts.
Analyzing Your Company’s Current Marketing Practice
To embark on the journey of implementing Salesforce Marketing Cloud effectively, companies must first conduct an in-depth analysis of their existing marketing practices. This entails evaluating current strategies, identifying pain points, and recognizing areas that require improvement where that improvement would contribute significantly, i.e. move the needle when it comes to ROI.
A comprehensive understanding of your marketing landscape provides the foundation for selecting the most appropriate modules that align with your short-term and long-term objectives.
Exploring the Different Salesforce Marketing Cloud Modules
Salesforce Marketing Cloud is modular. It offers a suite of modules that cater to various marketing functions. Each module comes equipped with distinct features and capabilities that can enhance your marketing campaigns and drive better results.
Here are some of the key modules and their potential impact on your marketing practice:
1. Email Studio
The core of Marketing Cloud and the best channel to begin with. Email is not dead, quite the opposite.
Email marketing remains a cornerstone of customer communication, and Email Studio empowers companies to create, automate, and personalize email campaigns at scale with 1-to-1 personalization.
With advanced segmentation and targeting capabilities, this module allows for more personalized and relevant content delivery, leading to increased engagement and conversion rates.
We consider the Email channel as the “crawl” in our “crawl-walk-run” plan.
2. Marketing Cloud Intelligence (Datorama)
Marketing Cloud Intelligence, formerly known as Datorama, empowers companies with comprehensive marketing analytics and insights. By seamlessly integrating data from various marketing channels, the platform centralizes and visualizes the information through customizable dashboards and reports. With AI-driven intelligence and automated reporting, Marketing Cloud Intelligence enables marketers to make data-driven decisions, optimize campaigns, identify trends, and uncover hidden opportunities, ultimately driving better results and enhancing marketing performance across the board.
3. Advertising Studio
Advertising Studio is our favorite in the “Quick Win” category.
In addition to being standalone, it is easy to setup, and brings immediate value to any company that uses paid advertising like Google or Social.
Ad studio integrates with various advertising platforms, enabling companies to create targeted and data-driven advertising campaigns. Leveraging customer data from Salesforce Marketing Cloud, this module ensures that your ads reach the right audience, resulting in optimized ad spend and improved ROI.
Combine Ad Studio it with your first-party (CRM) data, and you have yourself both a money saver (excluding your base of customers, those who already converted, from receiving paid-advertising) and a money maker (create look-alike audiences to target from what you define as your “best” customers).
4. Journey Builder
Journey Builder is a game-changer when it comes to creating customer journeys. This module enables businesses to design personalized, multi-channel (Email, SMS, Push Norifications) journeys based on customer behavior and interactions.
By mapping out customer journeys, companies can deliver cohesive and consistent experiences, nurturing leads and fostering brand loyalty.
5. Mobile Studio
Mobile Studio caters to the mobile-first era by providing tools to create, send, and track SMS and push notifications. With mobile being a critical touchpoint for many consumers, this module enables companies to engage users in real-time, enhancing customer experience and driving conversions.
6. Web Studio
Web Studio empowers businesses to build and optimize personalized web pages, allowing for a seamless user experience across various devices. By delivering tailored content to website visitors, companies can boost engagement and conversions, ultimately improving their website’s performance.
Web Studio is usually included with any license. It can create Landing Pages with forms or a custom preference center to manage your clients’ subscriptions.
Selecting the Right Modules for Your Company
Once you have explored the diverse Salesforce Marketing Cloud modules, the next step is to carefully select the ones that align with your company’s marketing objectives and complement your current practices. Consider the following steps to ensure a successful module selection:
1. Define Your Objectives
Clearly articulate your marketing objectives and identify the areas where your current practices may be falling short. This will guide you in choosing modules that address your specific needs.
2. Evaluate Integration Possibilities
Assess how the selected modules will integrate with your existing systems, such as CRM platforms, e-commerce tools, and customer support software. Seamless integration ensures streamlined data flow and a unified view of customer interactions.
A Marketing Cloud expert can help design the correct data flow, that will save you tens of thousands of dollars if done right – to avoid later data migrations.
3. Assess Resource and Expertise Requirements
Consider the resources and expertise required to implement and manage each module effectively.
Determine if your internal team has the skills to handle the implementation or if external expert consultants are needed to provide guidance.
SQL is a core skill that if you don’t have in-house, you’ll have to hire externally. No matter what sugar-coated sales pitch you may hear, or what other modules or add-ons one might suggest to bypass it, if you want to be efficient and successful with Marketing Cloud – there is no way around having a SQL-skilled resource.
4. Calculate ROI Potential
Perform a thorough cost analysis, factoring in the investment required for each module, ongoing maintenance, and training. Evaluate the potential ROI that each module can deliver to justify the expenses (What’s the increase in sales / reduce in overhead that needs to happen to justify SFMC costs?).
If you don’t have the numbers to allow you to win, you might want to opt to a cheaper solution like Marketing Cloud Account Engagement (formerly known as Pardot).
5. Pilot Programs
Consider starting with pilot programs for selected modules to assess their impact on your marketing efforts before committing to a full-scale implementation.
Leveraging External Expertise for Optimal Results
Implementing Salesforce Marketing Cloud modules requires expertise and a deep understanding of the platform’s capabilities. Partnering with external expert consultants can be a game-changer, as they bring valuable insights from previous implementations and industry best practices. These consultants can help you customize modules to suit your unique needs, provide comprehensive training for your team, and ensure a smoother and more efficient implementation.
Don’t get blinded by shiny “Salesforce Certifications”, make sure to dig into the real project experience an external consultant brings to the table!
Conclusion
Salesforce Marketing Cloud offers a wide array of modules that can revolutionize your marketing efforts and drive exceptional results.
By carefully analyzing your company’s current marketing practices and understanding the capabilities of different modules, you can select the ones that align with your objectives and deliver a substantial return on investment.
Remember to consider the advantages of external expert consultants who can guide you through the implementation process, maximizing the potential of Salesforce Marketing Cloud and elevating your marketing excellence in today’s competitive landscape.
