Unleashing The Power Of Salesforce Cdp: Genie Vs Data Cloud

Amit Arora
sfdcmastery
Published in
4 min readJun 7, 2023
Photo by Manuel Geissinger: https://www.pexels.com/photo/fingerprint-v2-12540603/

If you’re looking for a way to build a unified customer profile and generate insights from your engagement data, then Salesforce CDP is the perfect solution for you. With two options to choose from, Genie and Data Cloud, you’ll be able to find the right fit for your business needs.

In this article, we’ll explore the differences between these two platforms and provide insights into how you can unleash the power of Salesforce CDP to improve your marketing efforts.

Salesforce Genie offers a zero-data copy architecture, meaning you won’t need to move your data to a different location to use it. This makes it easy to use and more flexible, allowing you to customize it to fit your business needs.

On the other hand, Data Cloud is directly linked to Marketing Cloud, making it a great option for businesses that want to use Enhanced Segmentation and Segment Activation features. With both options, you can build a unified customer profile and generate insights from your engagement data, but choosing the right one will depend on your specific business needs.

So let’s dive in and explore the features of each platform to help you make an informed decision.

CDP Overview

Photo by Christina Morillo: https://www.pexels.com/photo/software-engineer-standing-beside-server-racks-1181354/

Now let’s dive deeper into the CDP overview, where you’ll learn about the differences between Salesforce Genie and Data Cloud.

Both platforms have the common goal of unifying customer data from multiple touchpoints to create a single source of truth. This data unification allows for accurate customer insights to inform personalized marketing campaigns and enhance overall customer experiences.

However, there are some differences between Genie and Data Cloud.

Genie offers a zero-data copy architecture, meaning data can be fetched on-demand without duplicating it on the Salesforce platform. This allows for more flexibility and scalability when handling large amounts of customer data. Genie has more extensibility capabilities and can integrate with Snowflake and other third-party AI engines.

On the other hand, Data Cloud has been around longer and offers enhanced segmentation and segment activation features. It also directly links to Marketing Cloud, which can streamline marketing campaigns.

Data Cloud Features

Explore the vast capabilities of enhancing customer profiles and generating valuable insights with Data Cloud’s integrated features. With Data Cloud Features, you can build a single source of truth for a unified customer profile across all touchpoints. This allows you to unify data from anywhere, creating a complete customer view that can be used across all Salesforce products.

Understanding Segmentation is made easy with Data Cloud’s Enhanced Segmentation and Segment Activation features. These features allow you to enhance, replicate, and share previous segments easily. Data Cloud suggests values that surface new attributes, helping you surface new insights from your customer data. Plus, the integration with MuleSoft and Tableau allows marketers to securely connect to external apps and data sources, visualizing customer data at a deeper level.

With Data Cloud, you can generate insightful data from engagement data, such as won revenue, purchase intent, and privacy management. This allows you to make informed decisions and take action that drives results.

Genie Features

Easily manage, activate, and analyze customer data from any source with the new addition to Salesforce’s suite of CDPs: Genie. With its zero-data copy architecture and native connectors, Genie allows real-time data processing and direct access to information without duplicating it on the Salesforce platform.

This means you can access data from anywhere with third-party plug-ins, MuleSoft, or native connectors and build segments with abandoned shopping carts, license utilization, and more. Genie can activate segments on websites, email, chat, and paid media and send Slack alerts to employees.

With deep analytics on data provided by Tableau, you can trigger Flow automation or inform the Einstein Next Best Action engine. Hyperforce provides data residency, security, privacy, and regulatory compliance controls, ensuring strong architecture and minimal delay in executing customer needs.

Genie requires Hyperforce availability and usage as a prerequisite, but it promises to be worth it with its data activation and real-time processing capabilities.

Comparison and Use Cases

If you’re a marketer looking to improve your customer segmentation and activation capabilities, consider using Salesforce’s suite of customer data platforms. The Data Cloud and Genie can help you achieve a unified customer profile and generate insights from engagement data, such as purchase intent and won revenue.

For instance, a retail company increased its email open rates by 20% after implementing Data Cloud’s Enhanced Segmentation feature.

While both platforms offer similar benefits, there are some differences to consider when choosing which one to implement. Data Cloud has a direct link to Marketing Cloud and offers integrations with MuleSoft and Tableau, while Genie works with all Salesforce Customer 360 products and has more extensibility capabilities. However, seamless connectivity between Salesforce products may be a challenge.

Use case scenarios and implementation challenges should be carefully considered before deciding which platform to use.

--

--

Amit Arora
sfdcmastery

6X Salesforce ☁️ Certified | Certified Sales Cloud Consultant | Service Cloud Consultant | Community Cloud Consultant | Platform App Builder