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What is salesforce marketing cloud and the benefits of using it?

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Digiphi
What is salesforce marketing cloud and the benefits of using it?

Salesforce Marketing Cloud (SFMC) is Salesforce's platform (or "Cloud") in the area of marketing automation and customer engagement. It is a SaaS platform made up of four "base versions," each with different levels of functionality and multiple additional at-cost components that further increase functionality.

Salesforce Marketing Cloud Netherlands is a marketing platform that can support many facets of marketing, including multi-channel campaign execution, dynamic customer journeys, pre-and post-campaign analytics, including audience building and segmentation, social media engagement and advertising, and a data management platform. SFMC does this using component they call "Studios" and "Builders:

  • "Studios" are used to manage and engage with channels of communication. In SFMC, this includes Email Studio, Social Studio, and Mobile Studio.
  • "Builders" are used to manage data, content, and customer journeys in the Salesforce Marketing Cloud platform. The Studios often use them but don't have to be (e.g., Analytics Builder).

Here are some benefits of Salesforce Marketing Cloud:

Data Management

Data management in Marketing Cloud is done using data extensions to form a relational database supported with SQL.

This, coupled with SFMC's ability to store various data types and create your specific data model, is an advantage compared to some competitive platforms that support a limited data model restricted by the data they can import and manage.

One of the reasons this is important is that it allows for more complex audience building and segmentation within SFMC.

Integration Capabilities

Salesforce Marketing Cloud Netherlands has extensive integration capabilities that can provide data from various sources.

In addition to the expected connection to Salesforce's Sales Cloud and Service Cloud (via Marketing Cloud Connect), SFMC also has various APIs, including a REST API and a SOAP API.

Common use cases for these APIs include the following: augmenting your existing contact information in SFMC, importing content, and initiating triggered sends.

Third-Party Applications

Salesforce Marketing Cloud Netherlands has an extensive set of third-party applications available, including those from the Salesforce AppExchange, to increase its capabilities and customize it to your specific business goals.

Beyond the AppExchange, numerous third-party products from Salesforce partners integrate with SFMC to increase its functionality and value.

Application of Artificial Intelligence

Salesforce's artificial intelligence technology, which has been branded "Einstein," features some interesting applications within SFMC, including:

  • Engagement scoring to predict who will interact with messaging
  • Sent time optimization to predict the best time to send a message to each individual, so it's most likely to be opened
  • Engagement frequency to understand how many messages to send each individual.

All of these serve to increase the engagement that consumers have with your brand while at the same time providing a personalized experience.


As previously mentioned, Salesforce Marketing Cloud was designed mainly as a B2C platform, but that does not mean B2B companies do not use it. SFMC's use in B2B is increasing as customers, especially decision-makers, expect to be provided with customer journeys like those of B2C customers. While SFMC is not the least expensive product in its space, it is an extensible platform that can evolve with your company. Still, it can deliver an improved customer experience while driving your desired business outcomes.

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