Item: Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Rating: 8
Author: Verified User

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We leverage Salesforce Marketing Cloud, previous Pardot, as the marketing extension of our existing CRM. We are a Salesforce shop and we initially pass our leads to Salesforce Marketing Cloud for the first step in the SQL process. It is a valuable tool for collecting and aggregating leads, qualifying them, segmenting users into groups, and optionally targeting them with content.

Pros and Cons

Automation Tool/Journey Builder
Support and Documentation
Managing Leads and Outreach Initiatives

Outdated UI/UX
Tiered Pricing/Hidden Fees
Complex Legacy System that Requires Heightened Levels of Onboarding and Training

Return on Investment

Streamlined and Condensed SQL Process
Direct Feed into Salesforce CRM
Improved Visibility in Marketing Initiatives
Enhanced Reporting and Analytics

Scalability

Salesforce Marketing Cloud does a great job at what it is designed to do. There are several SaaS products in the Marketing Automation arena and SFMC is one of the top providers. There are several things it does well, such as email marketing and automation, leads generation/segmentation/qualification, and reporting/analytics. There are a few areas of improvement when it comes to the product and they surround legacy systems and architecture, outdated UI/UX, as well as targeting data in the activity logs for reporting and segmentation.

Campaign Performance

With the introduction of AI in the product, there are several benefits to administrators who might need a nudge in the right direction. It removes the uncertainty of not knowing exactly how to segment, craft a compelling marketing campaign, develop a user journey, and track the efficacy of said campaign.

Alternatives Considered

Adobe Marketo Engage, Mailchimp, HubSpot CRM and HubSpot Marketing Hub

I think that all of the marketing platforms I have evaluated and used in the past serve different markets and purposes. Salesforce Marketing Cloud was more palatable to our team because of our existing tech stack where we had Salesforce CRM already deployed and in use. Compared to Marketo and Hubspot, Salesforce Marketing Cloud is a bit dated in terms of the UI/UX and the overall experience but still meets the needs of our organization. Mailchimp, however, isn't even playing in the same arena and is meant for small organizations and companies that don't have a need for a full fledged offering that SFMC brings to the table.

Key Insights

Do you think Salesforce Marketing Cloud delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Salesforce Marketing Cloud's feature set?

Yes

Did Salesforce Marketing Cloud live up to sales and marketing promises?

I wasn't involved with the selection/purchase process

Did implementation of Salesforce Marketing Cloud go as expected?

I wasn't involved with the implementation phase

Would you buy Salesforce Marketing Cloud again?

Yes

Other Software Used

HubSpot CRM, HubSpot Marketing Hub, Mailchimp

Likelihood to Recommend

Salesforce Marketing Cloud does an excellent job at collecting and storing leads. Once the leads are qualified by workflows and automations established against your qualifiers, you can begin to segment, target, send communication, and track the efficacy of your campaigns. Being that Salesforce Marketing Cloud is an extension of Salesforce CRM, there is little work that needs to be done to ensure that your SQL are migrated to your CRM once they are ready to do so. The seamlessness between the two systems is paramount to the success of our organization.

Great Tool for Marketing Automation for Existing SFDC Users

Modules Used

Overall Satisfaction with Salesforce Marketing Cloud