4 Things to Consider When Integrating a Marketing Platform with Salesforce
Change can be challenging. And deciding to make a change can be just as difficult as implementing it. Taking the plunge requires more than just a simple yes/no decision — especially when it comes to technology. The impact of a digital change can reach much further than the internal world you are making it for. Rather, it can profoundly impact both internal departments of your organization and external clients or customers you wish to benefit from implementing the change.
Marketing technology, commonly referred to as martech, continues to dominate the world we live in. Businesses of all shapes and sizes are continually improving their efforts to adopt or further implement such technologies to enhance their position in their related markets. And, as marketers continue to focus on smarter efficiency and more refined ROI in an ever-changing marketplace, marketing automation platforms are growing. Integrating a marketing platform within your Salesforce org, and utilizing the AppExchange to extend that platform, can drive measurable results.
Here are four crucial considerations before integrating a marketing platform with Salesforce.
#1: The Subtle Differences: Old vs. New
Every marketing platform has three types of features:
1) Those unique to the platform
2) Those with similarities across systems
3) Those missing or need improvement
The ones with value-added benefits and unique selling features draw potential customers in that allow the tool to sell itself, but be sure when exploring tools to take a deeper dive into all sides of the platform. Does your tool have a native integration with Salesforce? How does that integration differ from your existing one? How often does the platform provide new releases or updates that will help you grow alongside the tool?
The features and functionality of the Salesforce Marketing Cloud make it the perfect example of a marketing platform that can be extended in Salesforce with AppExchange solutions. Integrating Salesforce, Marketing Cloud, and AppExchange apps can help you engage and personalize every interaction with your consumers across email, mobile, social, advertising, and web.
#2: Capability vs. Capacity: What resources will the new tool demand?
Any new tool will require both internal support and external support. Who comprises that support may differ based on your team’s makeup, relationship with other internal teams, company decision-makers, existing external support, and your available budget to bring in additional assistance such as a consultant. Those involved will need to understand the level of effort required of them and what that means for their existing roles and responsibilities. This can range from being available for a question or two as a resource or signing off on the project budget, to being the principal SME or the project manager of the entire project. With martech tools, there are many potential involvement levels — ranging from graphic designers and marketing specialists and strategists to developers and technical support. Implementing a marketing tool never involves only marketing, so ensure that your other resources (especially IT) are aware of your new venture and have some level of buy-in to assist if needed during the process.
Understanding where each individual fits within the project ecosystem and if they have the time to support the change is fundamentally important. In some cases, the great idea of implementing the tool may outweigh the actual availability for the company to support it; the excitement and value-add of the tool’s potential capabilities may overshadow the logistics of enabling it. This may be a capability or capacity gap — or both. A key question to consider is, what are the new or different skills required to operate and sustain this platform?
#3: Existing Integrity: What are the data points, assets, and habits that the team has acquired thus far?
Another consideration when changing or adopting a marketing platform is recognizing what already exists. The change to a new platform is an ideal time to make changes to existing marketing that might otherwise have been a larger lift to handle. Take this time to re-evaluate your brand — what messaging and CTAs succeeded in the past, and what should still integrate into future marketing efforts? Look at existing marketing assets and determine what performed well and should be kept, what can be archived, and where there is room for improvement. A potentially time-consuming area during implementation can be creating new assets, messaging, and branding needed for a brand new engagement as a result of expanded, additional platform capabilities.
Furthermore, what data points are currently being collected and how does that impact the team positively and negatively? Data consistency is key. It is common to find that a specific field and data point is not required across all forms or validated for consistency so that when it is referenced, there is an accurate value in the field. It is not ideal to wait until implementation to begin data cleanup. Start prior so that you have as much of a clean slate going in. Understand what data is essential to moving forward, what is superfluous, and what you can phase in later. You will have enough pieces to consider during implementation, and data cleanup can be one less task on your already full plate.
#4: The Roadmap: What are your short-term and long-term goals?
It can be challenging to claim victory for a platform change (or addition) unless you establish measurements and goals to benchmark against. Before beginning down the path to changing or adopting a marketing platform, your team must discuss and understand what success looks like. In addition to your implementation timeline, develop a roadmap for where you see this tool taking you. Is it the ability to save a certain number of dollars with automated processes? Is it improving conversions by a specific percentage? Is it becoming more cost-effective with your budget as a whole? What matters to your team, and how will this tool aid with accomplishing that? Furthermore, how will success by each participant and stakeholder be measured? Is the project manager delivering on time? Is the marketing platform administrator managing the platform in alignment with pre-determined goals? Are new hires being on-boarded and appropriately trained to learn the new system? Where are there gaps in success?
Conclusion
Depending on the considerations mentioned above, a company’s milestones may be different and at different points in time. For some, an initial measurement of change marketing technology may mean completing the migration with existing assets and tools. For others, it may mean kicking-off the use of a multi-channel marketing front by adopting mobile and social advertising. But for all, it should mean a higher return on investment and overall value-add to the team’s success and efficiency. Your company, department/team, and individual work should all be better off with the tool than without it. Once you’re ready to integrate a new platform with Salesforce, AppExchange solutions will ensure that the transition will go smoothly, and that the benefits are long-lasting.
Discover apps that can extend Salesforce Marketing Cloud, or solutions that can help you integrate any marketing platform within your Salesforce org on the AppExchange.
