Salesforce Marketing Cloud Implementation: Key Features, Uses, and Best Practices
Are you tired of juggling multiple marketing platforms and the limited capabilities they offer? Salesforce Marketing Cloud can be your secret weapon to bridging all existing marketing gaps.
This all-in-one platform streamlines marketing efforts across various channels. It lets you create automated campaigns, personalize messages, and gain valuable customer insights - all in one place.
This blog will walk you through everything you need about Salesforce Marketing Cloud implementation, from understanding its core capabilities to setting up your first campaign.
What is Salesforce Marketing Cloud?
Salesforce Marketing Cloud is a cloud-based digital marketing platform designed to streamline and automate marketing efforts across various channels, such as email, social media, mobile, and more.
It consists of two types of modules: 1) Studios and 2) Builders:
Studios: For managing content and specific marketing channels
Builders: For managing data and campaign automation
What is Salesforce Marketing Cloud Used For?
Salesforce Marketing Cloud is the most crucial toolbox for new-age marketers. It lets users:
-🎨🖥️Design emails, landing pages, and eye-catching visuals
-✍️📧Write targeted emails that resonate with the audience.
-📱🔔Personalize engagements through SMS and Push messages
-⚙️📢Automated multi-channel campaigns
- 🎯💻Target online ads to find the right audience
-🌐🎯Personalize website interactions for every prospect
-📊🔍Import, transform, and analyze customer data
“As per Forrester, five organizations that embraced Salesforce Marketing Cloud yielded a return on investment (ROI) of 299% over three years.”
Core Capabilities of Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Salesforce Marketing Cloud assists marketers with its cutting-edge marketing features. Some of its core capabilities include:
#1 Segmentation: Marketing Cloud allows customer segmentation using demographics, behavior, and interests, enabling teams to deliver highly personalized messages that resonate with each subscriber.
#2 Automated Personalization: Tired of crafting emails that feel about as personal as a robot handshake? Marketing Cloud lets users craft dynamic email content that automatically adjusts based on customer data, adding a more personal touch to online engagements.
#3 Omnichannel Customer Journeys: Customers interact with brands across emails, social media, and mobile. SFMC allows you to design seamless customer journeys that map out ideal customer interactions with your brand across different touchpoints, creating a cohesive brand experience.
#4 Unified Platform: Juggling multiple marketing platforms is both inconvenient and time-consuming. The Unified Platform lets you manage and execute all your campaigns - email blasts, social media, and mobile marketing, from one place, ensuring better targeting and efficiency.
#5 Marketing Automation: Stop wasting time on repetitive tasks like lead nurturing campaigns or welcome emails. Put various tasks on autopilot, freeing you up to focus on what matters most - crafting brilliant marketing strategies that crush your goals.
#6 Seamless Integration: Marketing Cloud integrates seamlessly with other solutions, including Sales Cloud, third-party ERPs, and project management tools, preventing the need for switching tabs or logging in to different systems.
#7 Data-Driven Analytics: Marketing Cloud leverages customer data from different sources, giving a detailed view of customer’s behavior and patterns. Utilize SFMC’s data-driven analytics to track campaign performance and discover what resonates with your audience.
Prerequisites for Salesforce Marketing Cloud Implementation
#1 Define Objectives and Goals
Before you embark on your implementation journey, clearly define the objectives and goals of your Salesforce Marketing Cloud implementation. Ask yourself what you want to achieve.
-Do you want to increase policy sales from existing customers?
-Do you wish to improve customer engagement metrics?
- Do you intend to streamline marketing operations first?
#2 Assess Current Marketing Processes and Systems
Look for gaps or inefficiencies in your marketing processes, systems, and data sources. Data silos, manual workflows, limited personalization features, and less capable AI can be some gaps you may have currently.
#3 Select Appropriate Salesforce Marketing Cloud Edition
Choose the Salesforce Marketing Cloud edition that best aligns with your company's needs, budget, and goals. Consider factors such as the size of your customer base, desired features and functionalities, and integration requirements while identifying the perfect fit.
#4 Assigning Your Implementation Team
Who will carry out your SFMC implementation? Do you plan to do it in-house, or will you need the expertise of a Salesforce Marketing Cloud Implementation Partner? If you have the resources, it's best to assign a few dedicated resources such as:
-Executive Sponsor- An Executive such as a CMO or Marketing VP accountable for implementation.
-Project Manager- For overseeing the Marketing Cloud platform strategy. Usually, a PM coordinates the entire process.
- Administrator- An experienced digital marketer responsible for Marketing Cloud setup.
#5 Develop an Integration Strategy
If you plan to integrate Salesforce Marketing Cloud with other systems be it Salesforce or third-party ERP, plan the integration strategy, identifying the data flows and touchpoints between systems.
#6 Data Privacy Compliance
Salesforce Marketing Cloud offers deeper insights into prospects/customers, which must be handled responsibly. At Concretio, we suggest teams stay updated on the latest requirements for GDPR, CCPA, and any other relevant regulations to ensure the Marketing Cloud practices remain compliant.
Step-By-Step Guide to Salesforce Marketing Cloud Implementation
Now that you know the key prerequisites for Salesforce Marketing Cloud Implementation, it's time to understand how this implementation is carried out.
1. Establish Business Units
Marketing Cloud allows users to create business units, which are containers for managing marketing activities specific to different brands, regions, or departments within your organization. Doing this in the initial implementation stage will help simplify access control for your marketing team, ensuring clear ownership and accountability.
Note: Business units are unavailable in the following Salesforce tiers: Enterprise 1.0, Agency, and Core Tenants.
2. Define User Roles and Permissions
There are several out-of-the-box roles in Salesforce Marketing Cloud: Administrator, Viewer, Channel Manager, Security Administrator, and Content Publisher/Editor. Define these roles in the beginning stages of SFMC implementation. This will help determine the level of access and actions each user can perform (e.g., creating email campaigns, managing data extensions, or accessing reports).
3. Configure Email-Sending Domains
Before you send emails to prospects and customers, you want to establish how your emails will appear to recipients. For this, you need to configure your Email-sending Domains and set up Sender Profiles.
This includes specifying the "From" name and email address that will be displayed in your marketing emails. Additionally, configure authentication protocols like SPF to improve email deliverability and prevent your emails from landing in spam folders.
Note: Email-sending domains are usually configured within 24 hours.
Configuring Domains Before Sending Emails in Marketing Cloud Engagement (Source: Salesforce.com)
4. Design Email Templates and Content
Once you’ve configured email-sending domains, you can create visually appealing and responsive email templates that align with your brand identity. Salesforce Marketing Cloud offers several templates that can be customized with your logo, colors, and fonts.
5. Integrate with Salesforce CRM
Integrating Salesforce Marketing Cloud with other Salesforce or third-party solutions is crucial to syncing customer data and gaining visibility across departments for better customer targeting. There are 4 different ways to integrate solutions or data in Salesforce Marketing Cloud.
The below image showcases the different ways you can integrate Salesforce Marketing Cloud with business solutions and data.
4 Ways to Bring Data into Salesforce Marketing Cloud (Source: MAInCognita)
6. Data Model Setup
Business data must be organized to carry out successful campaigns. In Salesforce Marketing This requires setting up a data model, giving a structure to your data using objects, fields, and relationships.
You can choose any data model and determine the data fields needed (e.g., name, email, preferences) and establish relationships between different data extensions, offering a comprehensive view of your customers.
Note: There are 2 Data models to organize data in Salesforce Marketing Cloud i.e. Lists and Data Extensions. Read more here: Design Your Data Model.
7. Automation and Journey Building
To move customers toward the purchase, it's crucial to nurture them with personalized communication consistently. Marketing Cloud’s powerful tools give users the power to create automated workflows (called journeys) using the platform’s drag-and-drop interface.
8. Content Creation
Before you test out campaigns, you’ve to create content first.
Utilize the Content Builder tool to create and manage digital content for various marketing channels. Once you’ve designed email templates, landing pages, social media posts, and other marketing assets, those can be easily reused across your campaigns.
9. Testing and Quality Assurance
Before launching your campaigns, rigorously test all aspects of your marketing automation and journeys. This includes testing email rendering across different devices, confirming personalization elements are working correctly, and verifying that automation workflows execute as planned.
10. Training and Documentation
Provide comprehensive training for your marketing team and other relevant users on how to effectively utilize Salesforce Marketing Cloud. This can involve in-person workshops, online training modules, or creating user guides and documentation for easy reference.
11. Launch and Monitor
Once everything is tested and approved, launch your marketing campaigns and customer journeys. Leverage Marketing Cloud's built-in analytics and reporting features to monitor campaign performance. Track key metrics like email open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates to measure campaign effectiveness.
12. Ongoing Optimization
Don't stop after the launch! Regularly analyze campaign performance and customer engagement data. Use insights gained to identify areas for improvement and continuously optimize your marketing strategies to achieve the best possible results.
Conclusion
To thrive in today’s competitive environment, businesses have to be on their top game. Salesforce Marketing Cloud equips teams with the tools to automate tasks, personalize experiences, and gain valuable customer insights – all from a single platform, giving them a necessary edge.
While the road to marketing success may seem complex, you don't have to walk it alone. Salesforce Marketing Cloud implementation partners can provide the expertise and guidance to ensure a smooth and successful implementation, allowing you to unlock the full potential of the platform.
Follow our step-by-step guide to plan your Salesforce Marketing Cloud Implementation and take your marketing to the next level. Even if you choose to go the DIY route, this guide will be a valuable resource.
Need help in implementing Salesforce Marketing Cloud? Concretio is just a step away. We're a Salesforce Marketing Cloud implementation partner ready to assist you.
References
1. Organizations See Nearly 300% Return on Investment with Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Research Reveals
2. Configure an Email Sending Domain | Marketing Cloud Account Engagement
FAQs
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Salesforce Marketing Cloud uses a tiered pricing model. The exact cost depends on the features you need and the size of your contact list. Generally, plans start around $400 per month.
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There are several editions of Salesforce Marketing Cloud, each with its own set of features. The basic edition focuses on email marketing, while higher tiers offer additional features like social media marketing, mobile marketing, and advanced analytics.
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While it's possible to set up Salesforce Marketing Cloud yourself, having an experienced partner can be helpful. They can advise you on the best edition for your needs, help you with the implementation process, and train your team on how to use the platform effectively.
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Salesforce Marketing Cloud takes data security seriously. They offer a variety of features to help you keep your customer data safe, including encryption, access controls, and compliance with data privacy regulations.
Need help in setting up Salesforce Marketing Cloud? Drop a note with your queries 👇🏻
