Industry News Archives - The Spot https://thespotforpardot.com/category/community/industry-news/ A home for marketers on Salesforce to shape the future together Mon, 17 Feb 2025 21:59:52 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.1 https://thespotforpardot.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/circle-150x150.png Industry News Archives - The Spot https://thespotforpardot.com/category/community/industry-news/ 32 32 238606145 Cracking the Code: How Opportunity Influence Connects Marketing to Revenue https://thespotforpardot.com/2025/02/17/cracking-the-code-how-opportunity-influence-connects-marketing-to-revenue/ https://thespotforpardot.com/2025/02/17/cracking-the-code-how-opportunity-influence-connects-marketing-to-revenue/#respond Mon, 17 Feb 2025 21:59:49 +0000 https://thespotforpardot.com/?p=7802

Marketing Cloud on Core (also known as Marketing Cloud Growth or Advanced Edition) can now track how marketing efforts contribute to revenue! With the Spring ‘25 release, Salesforce introduced Opportunity Influence, helping businesses connect marketing engagement to pipeline and revenue. But how does it work, and what’s the difference between Opportunity Influence and Campaign Influence? […]

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Marketing Cloud on Core (also known as Marketing Cloud Growth or Advanced Edition) can now track how marketing efforts contribute to revenue! With the Spring ‘25 release, Salesforce introduced Opportunity Influence, helping businesses connect marketing engagement to pipeline and revenue. But how does it work, and what’s the difference between Opportunity Influence and Campaign Influence? Let’s dive in!

Opportunity Influence vs. Campaign Influence: What’s the Real Deal?

Before we break down how to customize and report on Opportunity Influence, let’s clarify how it differs from Marketing Cloud Account Engagement’s Customizable Campaign Influence. While both models aim to connect marketing efforts to revenue, they function in distinct ways and serve different use cases. 

FeatureOpportunity InfluenceCampaign Influence
Data SourceMarketing Cloud Engagement (emails, ads, automation, etc.)Salesforce Campaign Membership
Influence ScopeTracks engagement across multiple touchpointsTracks Leads/Contacts who are Salesforce Campaign Members
IntegrationSyncs Marketing Cloud engagement data to Salesforce OpportunitiesWorks within Salesforce CRM using Campaigns and Opportunities
Attribution ModelsMulti-touch attribution (first-touch, last-touch, even-distribution)Campaign Influence and Customized Models
Reporting & InsightsMeasures marketing-driven revenue impactMeasure campaign-driven revenue impact

🚨 Important Note for Account Engagement Users 🚨

You cannot use Opportunity Influence alongside Customizable Campaign Influence. If your team already relies on Account Engagement’s Campaign Influence Models, keep this in mind when deciding which model to use.

Additionally, Account Engagement users cannot activate Opportunity Influence as it does not currently integrate with Account Engagement’s Campaign Influence model. If your organization currently tracks marketing-driven revenue using Campaign Influence reports, you’ll need to continue using that model. However, if you’re considering a shift to Marketing Cloud on Core, Opportunity Influence could offer enhanced multi-touch attribution and engagement tracking.

Battle of Influences: Campaign vs. Opportunity – Which One Wins?

Let’s say you’re running a B2B software company and you’ve executed multiple marketing campaigns using a variety of platforms, including ads, email, an e-book, and a webinar, to engage your prospects.

  • Campaign Influence: A prospect attends the webinar, clicks on an email, and downloads the e-book before being transitioned to sales as a marketing-qualified lead. These interactions are recorded under a Salesforce Campaign and can be manually associated with the Opportunity when created based on the Opportunity Contact Role and Campaign Member. You can assign influence weight based on your customized rules.
  • Opportunity Influence: Marketing Cloud on Core automatically tracks all marketing engagement, including the ad view and click, webinar attendance, and e-book download. These touchpoints are automatically associated to attribute influence based on the predefined model and associated to the Opportunity upon creation.

If Campaign Influence were a fine-dining experience, it would be a chef-curated meal—meticulously crafted with manual customization to fit your exact taste. You decide which interactions get the most credit, but it requires hands-on effort. On the other hand, Opportunity Influence is like an all-you-can-eat buffet with an expert chef behind the scenes. It automatically dishes out credit across touchpoints, giving you a full spread of marketing influence with minimal effort. If you love precision and control, Campaign Influence is for you. But if you want a seamless, automated view of your entire marketing impact, Opportunity Influence takes the crown.

How to Set Up Opportunity Influence

Setting up Opportunity Influence requires configuration in Sales Cloud to ensure marketing engagement is properly attributed to revenue-generating activities. To fully connect marketing efforts with sales outcomes, ensure that contacts engaging with marketing campaigns are linked to Opportunities. This allows for accurate tracking of marketing interactions that influence deals.

Enabling Opportunity Influence

  1. Navigate to Salesforce Setup > Opportunity Influence
  2. Enable Opportunity Influence
  3. Select an Attribution Model
    1. First-Touch: Gives full credit to the first marketing engagement that led to the opportunity. It’s ideal for understanding which top-of-funnel efforts drive initial interest.
    2. Last-Touch: Assigns full credit to the last marketing interaction before the opportunity was created. It helps measure the final push that converted a lead into an opportunity.
    3. Even-Distribution: Spreads credit evenly across all marketing interactions that occurred before opportunity creation, giving a balanced view of multi-touch engagement. This approach is ideal for businesses with long sales cycles and/or multiple high-value touchpoints.

Going Beyond Activation

Customization is key to maximizing Opportunity Influence. Marketers should align influence models with their sales cycle, ensuring critical marketing touchpoints, such as email engagements, paid ads, and automation journeys, are correctly captured. Because Opportunity Influence consumes Data Credits, it’s essential to be strategic when enabling multiple models to avoid unnecessary credit usage.

Making Sense of Your Data: Reporting on Opportunity Influence

Once Opportunity Influence is enabled and tracking data, you can start reporting on marketing’s impact. The key to unlocking valuable insights is leveraging Salesforce’s Reports & Dashboards to tell a clear story about how marketing drives revenue.

Your Treasure Map to Salesforce Reports & Dashboards

  • Head over to Salesforce Reports and search for Opportunity Influence Reports. This is your go-to hub for seeing which marketing touchpoints are helping close deals.
  • Get specific with your insights! Use filters to refine reports by timeframe, campaign, or opportunity. Want to know which emails led to the most revenue? Adjust your filters to see the impact.
  • Create Salesforce Dashboards to visualize Opportunity Influence. Need a quick snapshot for your leadership team? Build an easy-to-read chart that shows exactly how marketing is fueling revenue.

The Ultimate Guide to Opportunity Influence Report Types

Salesforce provides several built-in report types to help you analyze how marketing efforts contribute to revenue. Here are the key report types you can use:

  • Opportunity Influence Summary Report – This high-level report shows how marketing engagements are influencing revenue across all opportunities. Use it to track overall marketing impact.
  • Opportunity Influence Detail Report – A more granular report that breaks down individual touchpoints per opportunity, allowing you to analyze which specific marketing interactions played a role in closing deals.
  • Influence Attribution Model Comparison Chart – Compare first-touch, last-touch, and even-distribution models side by side to see which one provides the best insights for your marketing strategy.
  • Marketing Touchpoint Analysis Report – Identifies which marketing channels (email, ads, website visits, etc.) are contributing the most to opportunity creation and pipeline growth.

By setting up and analyzing Opportunity Influence reports, marketing teams can gain deeper insights into which touchpoints matter most, optimize their strategies accordingly, and confidently demonstrate their return on investment.

Why Opportunity Influence is a Game-Changer

Opportunity Influence is a must-have tool for any marketing team looking to measure true revenue impact. No more guessing which emails, ads, or landing pages are driving pipeline – Opportunity Influence connects the dots, giving you a clear picture of how marketing fuels business growth. With built-in attribution models, you can customize insights based on what matters most to your strategy.

Whether you’re aiming to prove marketing ROI, optimize your campaigns, or align better with sales, Opportunity Influence provides automated, data-driven attribution that simplifies reporting and enhances decision-making. If you want better visibility into marketing’s role in revenue generation, this feature is your new best friend!

💡Next Steps:

  1. Check your org to see if the new update is available.
  2. Test Opportunity Influence tracking before rolling it out company-wide.
  3. Monitor data service credit usage if you’re using multiple attribution models.

📣 Want to learn more? Check out the full Spring ‘25 release highlights or dive into the official release notes.

🚀 What are your thoughts on Opportunity Influence? Drop a comment below, and let’s discuss!

Original article: Cracking the Code: How Opportunity Influence Connects Marketing to Revenue

©2025 The Spot. All Rights Reserved.

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All the FAQs on Marketing Cloud Growth Edition https://thespotforpardot.com/2024/03/18/all-the-faqs-on-marketing-cloud-growth-edition/ https://thespotforpardot.com/2024/03/18/all-the-faqs-on-marketing-cloud-growth-edition/#respond Mon, 18 Mar 2024 12:00:00 +0000 https://thespotforpardot.com/?p=7209

Since the announcement of Marketing Cloud Growth Edition on February 20th, we’ve been digging into the features of this new product as well as listening closely to the community’s questions about Growth. We’ve compiled the most common questions from Salesforce webinars, Slack communities, our internal team, and our clients. Use this Marketing Cloud Growth FAQ […]

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Since the announcement of Marketing Cloud Growth Edition on February 20th, we’ve been digging into the features of this new product as well as listening closely to the community’s questions about Growth. We’ve compiled the most common questions from Salesforce webinars, Slack communities, our internal team, and our clients. Use this Marketing Cloud Growth FAQ list to get answers to all your questions in one place. 

NOTE: This blog post was updated in September 2024 to reflect Salesforce Summer and Winter ’24 release features.

Answers to all of your Marketing Cloud Growth questions

Here’s a list of the most common questions about Marketing Cloud Growth Edition that we’ve seen.

What is Marketing Cloud Growth Edition?

Marketing Cloud Growth Edition is a new marketing automation platform from Salesforce. Built on the Einstein 1 platform (also known as “Core”), Growth allows you to build multi-channel campaigns with Data Cloud, personalize marketing assets with Experience Cloud, and automate journeys with Flow. Growth also includes AI and out-of-the-box content approval processes. 

Is Marketing Cloud Account Engagement and/or Engagement being retired?

This is the most common question we’ve heard so far and the resounding answer is No, Engagement and Account Engagement are not being retired. Marketing Cloud Growth Edition is another option for organizations that want to bring their marketing operations into Salesforce. If you’re a current Engagement or Account Engagement user, you’ll eventually have the option to use Growth alongside your current platform, but Engagement and Account Engagement will continue to have their own robust product roadmaps. 

Who is Marketing Cloud Growth’s target customer?

Currently, Salesforce is recommending Marketing Cloud Growth Edition for B2B SMB customers. This is based on the functionality now, which is more focused on B2B SMB use cases (such as capturing leads, sending leads on journeys with email and SMS, automating notifications sales and service). In future releases, Growth’s features will expand to support B2C and larger organizations.

What Salesforce Edition does Marketing Cloud Growth Edition work with?

Marketing Cloud Growth Edition works with Salesforce Enterprise Edition (EE) and Unlimited Edition (UE).

Is this the direction the Marketing Cloud platform is going? All bundled within Core?

Salesforce is absolutely working to build Marketing Cloud services and applications that are near/in the Einstein 1 platform (Core). This path allows marketers to get fluid access to customer data across the CRM, and other clouds connected to Einstein 1 can access marketing data, experiences, and services.

Is Marketing Cloud Growth Edition an add-on to Data Cloud? Can customers purchase it without Data Cloud?

Marketing Cloud Growth Edition requires Data Cloud, and Marketing Profiles in Growth include the credits necessary to market to them.

What volume of sends does Growth include?

Marketing Cloud Growth Edition includes 180K emails/yr. Additional email sends can be purchased at $10 per 1k messages.

Does MC Growth consume super messages for email and SMS?

Growth has different entitlements, emails and SMS do not consume super messages.

Can clients with their own data warehouses use Marketing Cloud Growth? 

Yes, Growth and the Einstein 1 platform are built on top of Data Cloud, which means they can connect to your data wherever it lives.

What is the setup of Marketing Cloud Growth like?

Setup for Marketing Cloud Growth is being streamlined with each new release. Users with the Marketing Cloud Admin permission set can access the setup assistant for easier implementation of Marketing Cloud Growth. Use the setup assistance to install or update all the required data marketing kits.

Is the intention to have customers install and do everything themselves?

The intention is to reduce the amount of energy spent on behalf of the customer to get to where they need consultants. Simply put, Marketing Cloud Growth has very good defaults and a streamlined setup process, but there is still value to be added by consultants. If you’d like support setting up or optimizing Marketing Cloud Growth, send us a message.

Can you configure marketing asset branding/brand standards within Marketing Cloud Growth?

Yes! Growth currently includes a Brand Center that lets you specify brand colors, typography, button styling, margins, and borders that can be applied to your marketing assets. If your brand standards are later updated, any marketing assets using that brand will also be updated. 

The Brand Guidelines you create in the Brand Center also include Brand Identity and Brand Tone. These brand details help Agentforce (f.k.a. Einstein Co-Pilot/ to better generate content that matches your unique brand and allows you to quickly revise content using a different tone when needed.

Are any Marketing Cloud Growth features available in Account Engagement?

Yes, the first Growth feature available for Account Engagement is the new Lightning Email editing experience released in Spring ‘24. With the Winter ‘25 release, you can share content between your Marketing Cloud Growth and Marketing Cloud Account Engagement CMS Workspaces (read more on that in this blog post – Big News! Account Engagement Users Can Access Marketing Cloud Growth Edition).

How do I use Salesforce Flow with Marketing Cloud Growth?

Users can now create Marketing Consent records directly from form fills, set criteria for when records should exit a Flow, and check for and manage duplicates. Data Graph attributes can also be pulled in, allowing Marketers to work with related objects within their Flow logic. 

What scoring model does Marketing Cloud Growth use? And how does it work?

Marketing Cloud Growth Edition uses Engagement Scoring and Fit Scoring.  Engagement Scoring can be customized to fit your company’s needs. Create simple or conditional/complex rules (up to 30) to add or subtract points when a record meets a rule.  Fit Scoring, similar to Account Engagement Grading, tells Marketing and Sales how closely the prospect and their company aligns with the ideal client personal. Fit Scoring Rules can be added for the individual and/or their Account.

What unique Campaign features can I find with Marketing Cloud Growth?

Users can add templated flows to campaigns, easily preview and test campaign content, and quickly send communications to Campaign members. A new Campaign template is coming to MCG that will enable Marketers to easily send event-based email messages to their audience. This new campaign can be used when a prospect or contact performs an action and then receives an email personalized with event data.

How does Agentforce (f.k.a. Einstein Co-Pilot) work with Marketing Cloud Growth?

Agentforce is generally available for Marketing Cloud Growth with the Winter ‘25 release and can assist in generating campaigns and copy.

What is Opportunity Influence? Is it different from Campaign Influence?

Yes, while Opportunity Influence is similar to Campaign Influence, it is a different feature.  Opportunity Influence will assist marketers in identifying which campaigns were impactful for opportunities.  First-touch and last-touch attribution models will allow marketers to report on which campaigns are most effective during the different stages of the customer’s journey.

Can Growth personalize messages based upon the individual record? 

Yes, merge fields connected to the Unified Individual can be used for personalization. Users can also build a Data Graph to employ cross-object personalization. Dynamic Content is now available for use in email subject lines, email preheaders, and email components.  You can even use Agentforce to help with the copy.

 

Does Data Cloud segment creation mean that SQL Query in Marketing Cloud will become a thing of the past?

Yes, clicks-not-code is the idea. Growth includes prompts to help marketers build the appropriate filters in the segmentation builder, but you can also start from scratch within the builder. 

What are some ways to generate segments?

Add leads and contacts as campaign members individually or in bulk, and then send messages to them from the campaign record. When you send a message to campaign members, a segment is created for you based on campaign membership. Einstein Data Prism is enabled when you turn on Einstein Segment Creation, Data Prism generates more accurate and relevant Einstein segments.

Does SMS support emojis?

Yes 😃

Will SMS have the same process around provisioning and approvals as MC Engagement?

There are two SMS code options available in Marketing Cloud Growth Edition. The short code option follows the same provisioning process that exists today for Marketing Cloud Engagement. There is also a self-serve option called a 10 Digital Long Code.

How does SMS Opt In work?

Use the Preference Manager merge field in your message that links to a default SMS preference page.  This allows people to opt in or out of your SMS communication subscriptions.

What was Sercante’s involvement in the launch of Marketing Cloud Growth Edition?

Two of Sercante’s product directors participated in the Marketing Cloud Growth Pilot. We were also the first partner to be provisioned a Growth Edition Partner Org. We used it to provide feedback, documentation help, and FAQs to the development team.

Add to the Marketing Cloud Growth Edition FAQ list

Want to learn more about Marketing Cloud Growth Edition? Check out some of our previous blog posts and subscribe to The Spot so you stay in the loop as we dive deeper into this new product.

Send us a message if you still have questions that aren’t on the Marketing Cloud Growth Edition FAQ list.

Original article: All the FAQs on Marketing Cloud Growth Edition

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TrailblazerDX 2024: The Salesforce Conference Recap You Need https://thespotforpardot.com/2024/03/08/trailblazerdx-2024-the-salesforce-conference-recap-you-need/ https://thespotforpardot.com/2024/03/08/trailblazerdx-2024-the-salesforce-conference-recap-you-need/#respond Fri, 08 Mar 2024 17:17:14 +0000 https://thespotforpardot.com/?p=7191

Well, we’ve got another TrailblazerDX completed and in the history books, and boy was it a good one. While it seemed like a smaller crowd this year compared to 2023, the vibe and excitement of what’s on the horizon for Salesforce was off the charts!  I’ve never been more excited to be a part of […]

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Well, we’ve got another TrailblazerDX completed and in the history books, and boy was it a good one. While it seemed like a smaller crowd this year compared to 2023, the vibe and excitement of what’s on the horizon for Salesforce was off the charts! 

I’ve never been more excited to be a part of this community. Keep on reading for my top takeaways from this year’s event and what this means for technologists. 

#TDX24: Get your sunglasses, cuz the future is looking bright!

We headed to San Francisco along with several thousand of our Salesforce friends for the annual Salesforce developer-focused conference. The conference took place March 6-7, 2024, and it included more than 300 technical sessions and hands-on workshops. The focus for the conference was the Einstein 1 Platform and the era of AI.

This year, Heather Rinke and I had the pleasure of presenting a session at TrailblazerDX along with our friend Arvind Raman, who is a director of partner product success, at Salesforce. The session is called 5 Tips for Getting Started with Data Cloud, and you can check out the recording on Salesforce+ here.

My top 2024 TrailblazerDX takeaways

These are the biggest takeaways I have from the 2024 TrailblazerDX conference.

Smart AI for smarter decisions

TrailblazerDX 2024 showcased Salesforce’s cool AI updates all made possible through the Einstein 1 Platform, making data work harder for businesses. Think better insights, smarter analytics — it’s like having a crystal ball for making savvy decisions. And bonus points for now supporting unstructured data! That’s going to truly be a game-changer.

Keeping it simple, keeping customers happy

Salesforce — the Customer Company — is about making life easier for businesses. They’re focused and committed to simplifying the complexity of connecting the dots between customer data via Data Cloud — across the entire tech stack and more recently multi-org, so you can give your customers that “wow” experience every time. No more guessing games — just happy customers.

Coding made easy

Forget the days of complex code. At TrailblazerDX 2024, Salesforce rolled out tools like Einstein 1 Studio that make coding a breeze. It’s like giving developers and administrators superpowers to create awesome stuff without breaking a sweat. And to be clear this goes beyond the clicks, not code theme in past years. We’ve gone from a click-based GUI to a conversational experience. 

Locking down security

Cybersecurity’s a big deal, and Salesforce knows it. They’ve beefed up security features to keep your data safe from prying eyes both externally and internally (check out data spaces). It’s like having a digital security guard on duty 24/7. 

Learning and growing together

TrailblazerDX 2024 wasn’t just about tech — it was about community — a community that broke the Guinness Book World Record for Einsteins. It’s a place where people come together to share ideas, learn new things, occasionally color, and grow together. Because when we collaborate, amazing things happen.

Why we techies should get excited

  1. Innovation at Your Fingertips: With Salesforce’s AI goodies, we tech nerds can get creative and drive innovation like never before. It’s like having a toolbox full of cool gadgets to play with.
  2. No more spreadsheets: Unified customer data means less hassle. No more manual list pulls, digging through endless spreadsheets, or joining multiple tables together using SQL — we can now spend our efforts actually using the data versus trying to get the data. One of my favorite sayings: Work smarter not harder!!
  3. Coding, Simplified: Low-code tools mean less time coding and more time creating awesome stuff. It’s like having a shortcut to building cool features without all the headaches.

What this means at Sercante 

As a trusted Salesforce partner, we’ve been keeping a pulse on the latest platform innovations and future planned roadmap developments and as a result, have refocused too. ICYMI you might have noticed we had a bit of a glow-up!  

“Our rebranded mission, the statement that guides us through our day-to-day, is to use Salesforce to create seamless digital experiences with radical impact. Looking toward our long-term goals, our vision is a tech-driven future where real connections thrive.”

Based upon the key takeaways mentioned earlier related to AI, keeping it simple, and less code — we see a future where it will be less about the how and more about the why. The why is strategy.  

Of course, you’ll still find Salesforce consultants performing hands-on keyboard work on our team, but we’re so much more than that and will continue to lean into it. We’re focused on the human side of technology with strategies that get to the heart of impactful growth. As I stated at the beginning, there has never been more of an exciting time to be part of the Salesforce ecosystem and Sercante. 

So, in closing, I hope you enjoyed my top takeaways from TrailblazerDX 2024, served up with a side of Sercante expertise. Send us a message and let’s make some magic happen together!

Dragons Out! 🐉

Original article: TrailblazerDX 2024: The Salesforce Conference Recap You Need

©2025 The Spot. All Rights Reserved.

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Recap: The Big Things Marketers Did at Dreamforce ‘23 https://thespotforpardot.com/2023/09/28/recap-the-big-things-marketers-did-at-dreamforce-23/ https://thespotforpardot.com/2023/09/28/recap-the-big-things-marketers-did-at-dreamforce-23/#respond Thu, 28 Sep 2023 17:16:21 +0000 https://thespotforpardot.com/?p=6926 san franciso crosswalk

I’ve been to Dreamforce twice. Once as an attendee. Another time as a Campfire speaker. And both times as a marketer.  Going to Dreamforce as a marketer is probably a different experience than, say, attending as an IT professional. I got so excited at Dreamforce whenever I saw a session geared toward marketers. Or when […]

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san franciso crosswalk

I’ve been to Dreamforce twice. Once as an attendee. Another time as a Campfire speaker. And both times as a marketer. 

Going to Dreamforce as a marketer is probably a different experience than, say, attending as an IT professional. I got so excited at Dreamforce whenever I saw a session geared toward marketers. Or when I randomly met other marketing people.

That’s actually how I found out about Sercante. I was watching my colleague present a session and saw that the next person presenting had a marketing-focused session. So, I stuck around to watch the presentation. The next presenter happened to be Sercante Founder & CEO Andrea Tarrell, and the rest is history.

Sercante team at Dreamforce 2023
Sercante team at Dreamforce 2023

The Sercante Home for Marketers at Dreamforce

Being a marketer herself, Andrea knows what it’s like to be a marketer at Salesforce conferences. So, she created the Sercante Home for Marketers with that idea in mind. The goal was to build a space where marketers could go and find their people at Dreamforce while supplementing all the things they’re learning at Dreamforce with even more marketing insights and strategies. And it has been super successful.

Now in its second year, The Home for Marketers welcomed more than 2,700 people across 16 events in 2023. Visitors represented a range of marketing hats, which included marketing managers, CMOs, marketing operations professionals, content marketers, and marketing consultants, among others. 

Here’s a few things that went on there:

Dreamforce 2023 Session Highlights 

It’s awesome that all the marketers at Dreamforce had a place to hang out in between sessions and find their people. After all of the marketers filled up on grub and made new friends, they went down to Moscone to catch a few sessions. 

Here are a few that our friends were there to see:

The Future of Trusted AI with Marc Benioff and Sam Altman

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff had a candid conversation with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman about the future of business and how AI is affecting it. 

The biggest takeaway from the conversation was the idea that in the coming years, every new product will incorporate AI in some way. It may even become unthinkable to use technology that doesn’t use AI to complete tasks. The pair also talked about the process OpenAI went through to develop ChatGPT and the direction the company is taking to make sure it continues to be a revolutionary product moving forward.

Watch the replay here.

Marketing Keynote: Marketing in Generation AI

The Marketing Keynote at Dreamforce ’23, titled “Marketing in Generation AI,” unveiled innovations from the Marketing Cloud engineering teams. Salesforce Marketing Cloud GM Steve Hammond emphasized efficiency and the role of AI in scaling personalization. The session introduced prompt engineering and grounding, emphasizing that AI’s effectiveness depends on data quality.

Watch the replay here.

Winter ‘24 Marketing Cloud Release Highlights

This was a big one for all the marketers who attended Dreamforce 2023. That’s because it highlighted all the major enhancements coming to Marketing Cloud this winter.

Sercante Salesforce Product Director Heather Rinke had the honor of co-presenting the Marketing Cloud Release Highlights session with two members of the Salesforce product team: Ruth Bolster, product marketing manager, and Whitni Freeman, lead solution engineer. 

Read the recap here.

Empowering Nonprofits in Times of Change with Data + AI + CRM + Trust

This session introduced Einstein, Salesforce’s proprietary AI, for Nonprofit Cloud, promising nonprofits the ability to leverage predictive and generative AI to enhance donor engagement and data management. It focused on how these tools can simplify the creation of annual reports, segment and standardize donor data, and craft compelling donation appeals.

Overall, the combination of Einstein for Nonprofit Cloud and Data Cloud is seen as a potential game-changer, offering nonprofits automation and insights to better communicate with donors and fulfill their core missions.

Read the recap here.

Biggest Dreamforce 2023 Takeaway: AI is the Future of Business

As we saw in the sessions highlighted in this blog post, AI truly is infiltrating all aspects of business. And Salesforce is investing deeply in the tools. 

Have any other big takeaways from the conference? Tell us about them in the comments. And make sure to sign up for MarDreamin’ 2023, a marketing-focused Salesforce community conference held virtually in November, to keep the AI conversation going.

Original article: Recap: The Big Things Marketers Did at Dreamforce ‘23

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Dreamforce 2023 Recap: Salesforce Leans in to AI + Data Cloud as the Future of Nonprofit Success https://thespotforpardot.com/2023/09/28/dreamforce-2023-recap-salesforce-leans-in-to-ai-data-cloud-as-the-future-of-nonprofit-success/ https://thespotforpardot.com/2023/09/28/dreamforce-2023-recap-salesforce-leans-in-to-ai-data-cloud-as-the-future-of-nonprofit-success/#respond Thu, 28 Sep 2023 14:59:12 +0000 https://thespotforpardot.com/?p=6921

At 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday 9/13, the second full day of Dreamforce, I was sitting in front of my computer curious and a little anxious. I was using my usual evening streaming service catch up hour to tune into the live Salesforce+ broadcast of Dreamforce session, Empowering Nonprofits in Times of Change with Data […]

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At 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday 9/13, the second full day of Dreamforce, I was sitting in front of my computer curious and a little anxious. I was using my usual evening streaming service catch up hour to tune into the live Salesforce+ broadcast of Dreamforce session, Empowering Nonprofits in Times of Change with Data + AI + CRM + Trust

As a former boots-on-the-ground nonprofit employee and current consultant primarily working with nonprofit clients, I am acutely aware of the ever-increasing demands on nonprofits. I understand and empathize with the daunting task nonprofits face to tell their story and convey their impact in novel ways and through a multichannel approach. 

I also am acutely aware that nonprofits are frequently hindered by low ROI on donor dollars due to the immense staff effort needed to cultivate donations. I was especially eager to hear what Salesforce has to say about the future of nonprofits on their platform and how they might help solve some of these big issues for the sector.

graphic from empowering nonprofits in times of change dreamforce session

A Year of Change for Nonprofits on Salesforce

This has been a year of big changes for nonprofits and Salesforce. A few headlines were the sunset of Elevate and the rollout of the new Nonprofit Cloud platform

This session added a few more items to the list of highlights, namely the announcement of Einstein, Salesforce’s proprietary AI, for Nonprofit Cloud*. This promises to allow nonprofits to tap into predictive and generative AI to go further and dive deeper with their donor data, with their programmatic metrics and outcomes, and with their tenacious and often time-strapped staff. 

Having the ability to leverage data more robustly than ever before is further extended by the offerings of Data Cloud — Salesforce’s data management and harmonization tool. At the core of Salesforce’s Einstein for Nonprofit Cloud + Data Cloud message, they vow to help you do more with less.

* Currently, the Einstein AI features advertised in the session Empowering Nonprofits in Times of Change with Data + AI + CRM + Trust are only available as a part of the Nonprofit Cloud curated solution package.

Einstein for Nonprofit Cloud + Data Cloud Promise to Make Annual Reports Easier and Better than Ever

I am going to use the example of building an annual report (a thought that may give former or current nonprofit employees shudders of anxiety) to illustrate the key promises of Einstein for Nonprofit Cloud + Data Cloud. 

First let’s start with a short overview of what an annual report is from a nonprofit standpoint. An annual report usually serves as a physically manifested summation of the prior year for a nonprofit. They typically contain programmatic impact data (frequently with fancy charts), thank yous and recognitions of various groups from the highest dollar donors to volunteers, financial data for the year, and a call to action. They are intended to be compelling, illustrate transparency, and highlight mission, vision and outcomes. They are also an absolute BEAST to create.

Here are some of the ways Einstein for Nonprofit Cloud + Data Cloud can help nonprofits complete the daunting task of creating an annual report:

Compiling Programmatic Data and Communicating Meaning

Einstein for Nonprofit Cloud offers the ability to summarize programmatic data over a specific amount of time with consideration to the intended audience. In the case of an annual report this would look like a summary of your programmatic data for the prior year, intended for an external audience. 

Einstein for Nonprofit Cloud also allows you to choose if this summary should be long form (more detailed) or short form (less detailed) increasing flexibility to help you meet the needs of your specific annual report requirements with less manual work.

Segmenting and Standardizing People Data for Acknowledgement Lists

Data Cloud shines in its potential ability to solve the problem of disjointed data for Nonprofits. We all know the pain of manually sleuthing through and deduplicating your database and external systems of that one historical volunteer record for one of your major donors who is also an event attendee and auction lot buyer. This hypothetical generous philanthropist could have upwards of 4 records in your Salesforce CRM and connected systems! Data Cloud to the rescue! 

Through the power of the unified profile you can see all of that disorganized and disconnected data in one place. This is especially helpful in the annual report example as it allows you to be absolutely sure you are thanking and acknowledging your kind supporters for ALL the ways they support, financial contributions, event support, volunteerism through a single 360 view.

Crafting a Compelling Donation Appeal

Admit it or not, a key function of an annual report is to compel folks to donate. Einstein for Nonprofit Cloud + Data Cloud have your back in your daunting donor segmentation and compelling storytelling efforts. 

Through use of the 360 Constituent view made possible by Data Cloud, you can use Einstein for Nonprofit Cloud to segment your donors and its predictive AI capabilities to draw conclusions based on historical data. 

You could put together a segment of those donors identified as having high propensity to give, high affinity for your organization and high capacity and really hit them in the feels with your call to action. Generative AI can then help you craft an irresistible donation appeal and from there the dollars are sure to roll in to support your important work.

Einstein for Nonprofit Cloud + Data Cloud: Getting Nonprofits Closer to their Core Missions

Overall, I am cautiously optimistic that, together, Einstein for Nonprofit Cloud + Data Cloud have the potential to improve the way nonprofits communicate with their donors and the public. By automating time-consuming tasks and providing insights that were previously unavailable, or extremely time or resource-intensive to procure, these tools can help nonprofits focus on their core mission of making a difference in the world. 

I encourage nonprofit leadership to explore and invest in these powerful tools. I think they can help support and extend the capabilities and impact of a nonprofit’s greatest strength, its team.

Need help navigating these new announcements and ever growing suite of Salesforce products? Sercante is here to guide you through and help you achieve your nonprofit’s mission by leveraging the power of the Salesforce platform. Reach out!

Original article: Dreamforce 2023 Recap: Salesforce Leans in to AI + Data Cloud as the Future of Nonprofit Success

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Top Takeaways from the Panel: Modern-Day Trends in Higher Education https://thespotforpardot.com/2023/09/26/top-takeaways-from-the-panel-modern-day-trends-in-higher-education/ https://thespotforpardot.com/2023/09/26/top-takeaways-from-the-panel-modern-day-trends-in-higher-education/#respond Tue, 26 Sep 2023 20:09:48 +0000 https://thespotforpardot.com/?p=6915

Today’s trailblazers in the higher education industry are facing trends and challenges that they have not had to before. Navigating a recent global pandemic, the rise of artificial intelligence, marketing to Gen Z, and shifting enrollment levels.  Dreamforce 2023 – Out of the Home for Marketers Vault To help trailblazers gain insights into how to […]

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Today’s trailblazers in the higher education industry are facing trends and challenges that they have not had to before. Navigating a recent global pandemic, the rise of artificial intelligence, marketing to Gen Z, and shifting enrollment levels. 

Dreamforce 2023 – Out of the Home for Marketers Vault

To help trailblazers gain insights into how to deal with these modern-day higher education trends and challenges in the digital age, we held an event at the Home for Marketers during Dreamforce with industry thought leaders. The top takeaways from their panel discussion are below.

Panel: Modern Day Trends in Higher Education

education panel at Dreamforce Home for Marketers

Moderator: Adam Berry, Senior Account Director, Sercante

Panelists (from left to right in photo):

  • Clark Burk, Chief Client Officer, Red Van Workshop
  • Jordyn Jaffer, Senior Salesforce Solution Engineer, Serante
  • Michelle Bates, Assistant Vice President for IT, CRM and Data Analytics, Purdue for Life Foundation
  • Brent Wege, VP Sales, Engagement Solutions, Salesforce

Data Silos Are Still a Major Challenge for Higher Education Institutions

Across universities there are different owners of separate subsets of data making it difficult for teams to collaborate, share insights about their constituents, and have an overall view of the organization’s performance. 

Each panelist emphasized that if universities are going to provide that personalized 1:1 experience that so many of their diversified audience, in particular Gen Z, is desiring then they are going to have to make breaking down their data siloes a priority.

Centers of Excellence Are Being Leveraged to Increase Adoption

As more higher education teams are acquiring systems to their tech stack for a digital transformation many roles and responsibilities are changing. Team members are having to learn new platforms and think through their data in a different manner and getting them to adjust to the change can be difficult.

The panel shared how they have seen teams use Centers of Excellence where education and training on the technology systems are provided to empower users to be more efficient on the platforms

Assigning champions such as administrators or power users in each department can be helpful as they support and help team members in their day-to-day to navigate and leverage the technology to achieve their goals.

It was noted that some teams may not be able to form an organized Center of Excellence in their institution, but making sure training is provided and identifying the champions in each department can be a huge first step towards increasing adoption.

Personalization is a Must in Higher Education

As people are experiencing personalized engagements across their retail, entertainment and content consumption journeys, they expect the same out of their alma mater or the university they are attending or applying for. 

Now more than ever it is critical for higher education teams to have access to all the data touchpoints that happen throughout the prospect, student, and alumni journey. Without accurate data, personalizations will not seem as relevant or authentic. 

As digital natives, Gen Z can easily spot inauthentic marketing, and, according to 2021 Forrester Technographics data, “nearly a third of Gen Z say that they unfollow, hide, or block brands on social media — at least weekly.” This means that universities need to make sure the customized communication and engagements they are crafting accurately align to each stage of the individual’s journey to provide an authentic experience.

For example, if you are starting a fundraising campaign and want to target alumni, using the clubs and organizations they were a part of during their time as a student to share where they are now and where they hope to be is a great way to make your communication to that individual relevant. Having access to this data and managing it in a way that makes it easy to execute personalizations like this is key.

University Teams Are Navigating Their Journey With Artificial Intelligence

Some higher education organizations are already using AI in their day-to-day with chatbots and smart searching in their IT knowledgebase. The biggest concern here is trust and security. Like many, trailblazers in higher education want to ensure that constituent data is secure when leveraging AI-powered tools to ensure a high level of trust.

There are so many exciting new developments happening such as conversations around how AI could track student performance and predict when they are trending towards an at-risk status to alert advisors, so they can better guide students and be more proactive to battle against dropout rates. 

However, these developments will only truly be able to be taken advantage of if all departments are accurately capturing data and have it architected in a way to be centralized and easily accessible across the organization.

A Word of Advice for Your Digital Strategy

A lasting piece of advice from our panelists was don’t just throw technology at your challenges. Consider how you are going to use it to truly deepen relationships with your audience, how it will better help you to manage your data, and who will be the champion for that system. 

There may already be solutions that you have access to that can provide a solution, so have a strategy in place for how it will be used and managed before purchasing new technology.

Reach out to the team at Sercante for help making the right decisions when you’re ready to shake things up with your digital marketing strategy.

Original article: Top Takeaways from the Panel: Modern-Day Trends in Higher Education

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Salesforce Starter: The Perfect Solution for Small Businesses https://thespotforpardot.com/2023/09/20/salesforce-starter-the-perfect-solution-for-small-businesses/ https://thespotforpardot.com/2023/09/20/salesforce-starter-the-perfect-solution-for-small-businesses/#respond Wed, 20 Sep 2023 20:47:36 +0000 https://thespotforpardot.com/?p=6892

Are you a small business owner who is interested in using Salesforce for your business all the way up until you saw the pricing? If so, Salesforce Starter was created just for you! I know what you’re thinking: Salesforce is a big, expensive CRM platform. But Salesforce Starter is different. It’s a low-cost, lightweight version […]

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Are you a small business owner who is interested in using Salesforce for your business all the way up until you saw the pricing? If so, Salesforce Starter was created just for you!

I know what you’re thinking: Salesforce is a big, expensive CRM platform. But Salesforce Starter is different. It’s a low-cost, lightweight version of Salesforce that’s designed specifically for small businesses. Coming in at $25 USD per month/per user, it’s a downright smoking deal to be honest.

There’s even a 30-day free trial to test it out and see if it’s right for you and your team! 

Salesforce Starter Capabilities

Here’s a quick rundown of some of the stuff you can do with Salesforce Starter RIGHT OUT OF THE BOX!

  • Track your leads and customers
  • Manage your sales pipeline
  • Automate your marketing campaigns
  • Manage customer cases
  • Write knowledge articles for your support reps  

Ease of Use is key to Salesforce Starter

What do I mean by that? I mean, it literally guides you through accessing objects (types of records) based on a picklist (dropdown) menu right after you log in (via your homepage)! 

Also featured on the home page are premade dashboard components that display your leads, contacts, opportunities, tasks, and any recommended actions! You can also see any recent records.

If your team’s focus is centered around Sales (Revenue), Marketing (Hello, Sercante) or Service (Support), choose those in the Quick Look picklist and your options change. 

Salesforce Starter for Sales

First up is Sales, the lifeblood of your business. If Sales is your focus, then Salesforce is built for you! Choosing Sales as your focus brings up Contacts (people), Leads (prospects), Opportunities (deals), To Do list (Tasks) along with Tutorials and Setup. 

Salesforce Starter for Marketing

Selecting Marketing as your focus gives you the option to import your Contacts (people), create Campaigns (think email or direct mail campaigns), and has links directly to tutorials and setup. 

Salesforce Starter for Service

Choosing Service opens up access to Cases (customer support requests), Connecting Support Channels (think email or web forms), Knowledge (think help articles), Reports (probably the most important part of Salesforce!), along with links to tutorials and setup.  

Clicking on any of these will take you directly to a list of records of that type (List View) that you have in your organization, and allow you to view, edit, or delete them as you desire. 

Connect Salesforce Starter to email accounts for Einstein Activity Insights

Salesforce Starter even prompts you to connect your Microsoft or Google email accounts so you can sync your calendars and get Einstein Activity Insights (AI recommendations) on your incoming emails. 

The data science and machine learning from Einstein is built to analyze external new sources and your account data to help build a data model that provides relevant updates to help you win more deals. Sounds like a win-win!

Go for all three

One last thought here, you aren’t limited to one or the other, you have access to Sales, Service, AND Marketing!

OK Jason, that’s great. But what if we grow out of Salesforce Starter? 

Salesforce Starter is built on the same foundation as Salesforce Professional, Enterprise, and Unlimited. So as your CRM needs grow, Salesforce can grow with you. All you have to do is contact your Account Executive (AE) to upgrade your edition and I’m pretty sure they just hit a magic button* and BOOM you’ve upgraded! 

(*This is unverified, but I imagine that they have a big red upgrade button they smack when a client wants to upgrade followed by a confetti explosion and 30-second dance party.)

Alright, I’m kind of convinced. Where do I start? 

Well any good SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) has a trial and that’s where you begin with the Salesforce Starter package. 

Sign up for 30-day Salesforce Starter trial

Click this link and you’ll head over to the Salesforce Starter site, where you can sign up for your own 30-day trial, check out a demo, or read some customer stories. 

Then, what’s next?

If you want to know more about how it works, I would recommend taking a look at the Salesforce Starter Quick Look Module on Trailhead. 

If you’re not familiar with Trailhead, it’s where all of us Salesforce nerds go to learn about our favorite CRM in a fun, gameified way! It’s free to sign up, and use and can lead to some awesome new skills. 

Please feel free to leave any questions in the comments below.

Original article: Salesforce Starter: The Perfect Solution for Small Businesses

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Salesforce Automation Game-Changer: Einstein GPT and Data Cloud Capabilities for Flow https://thespotforpardot.com/2023/04/19/salesforce-automation-game-changer-einstein-gpt-and-data-cloud-capabilities-for-flow/ https://thespotforpardot.com/2023/04/19/salesforce-automation-game-changer-einstein-gpt-and-data-cloud-capabilities-for-flow/#respond Wed, 19 Apr 2023 21:08:10 +0000 https://thespotforpardot.com/?p=6644

In a move that extends beyond the chatbots used to formulate interview questions or write email subject lines, Salesforce is expanding automation capabilities by integrating Einstein GPT and Data Cloud with Salesforce Flow. So, what does the announcement from Salesforce mean for marketers?  Bringing Einstein GPT and Data Cloud capabilities into Salesforce Flow means marketers […]

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In a move that extends beyond the chatbots used to formulate interview questions or write email subject lines, Salesforce is expanding automation capabilities by integrating Einstein GPT and Data Cloud with Salesforce Flow.

So, what does the announcement from Salesforce mean for marketers? 

Bringing Einstein GPT and Data Cloud capabilities into Salesforce Flow means marketers can use the automations to create impressive real-time experiences for customers. And they’ll accomplish that using clicks rather than coding skills.

It’s something that will make the tools easily scalable for Salesforce customers at every growth stage.

How and when can Salesforce customers access it?

The announcement actually involves two initiatives Salesforce is launching. The first is a tighter integration between Salesforce Data Cloud and Flow. And the second is the integration of Einstein GPT and Flow. 

According to John Kucera, senior vice president of product management at Salesforce, customers can use Flow currently with Salesforce database data. The integration updates between Data Cloud and Salesforce Flow are opening up the possibilities, and incorporating Einstein GPT is adding an efficiency edge to the technology. 

Kucera said the Einstein GPT capabilities will be available on an early adopter basis in early fall as part of the Salesforce Winter ‘24 release. He went on to say that the Data Cloud integration will probably be offered as part of a standard Salesforce subscription, and Einstein GPT for Flow may carry an additional charge once those details are worked out.

Einstein GPT and Data Cloud Capabilities

Salesforce introduced Einstein GPT in March 2023 as the world’s first generative AI CRM technology, which infuses proprietary Salesforce AI models with generative AI models from OpenAI and other large AI models. And Data Cloud takes customer data from any source inside or outside the Salesforce platform and harmonizes it in real time.

So what in the world does that mean for marketers?

That means marketers can use information from Data Cloud to generate content and build workflows via Einstein GPT. Since Data Cloud reacts to data changes in real time,  marketers can serve content that adapts dynamically and creates personalized experiences every time.

For example, a marketer could use Einstein GPT to generate an email with dynamic content blocks that update in real time when a Data Cloud field updates based on customer activity.

John Kucera said to SiliconANGLE, “You can give it a prompt such as ‘I want to create a guided workflow for a new customer or create a rule to follow up with an email to customers who haven’t responded in five days.”

Infusing Einstein GPT and Data Cloud with Salesforce Flow

The new integrations are going to turn things up a notch for marketers. Here’s what happens when we incorporate Salesforce Flow into the Einstein GPT and Data Cloud mix. 

What is Salesforce Flow?

Salesforce Flow is a declarative automation tool. It allows you to create complex automations inside the platform using clicks rather than code, so users can get in there without the need for developer skills.  

Marketers use Salesforce Flow for things like managing campaign activations, automating customer onboarding steps, or creating a custom task series for sales teams. 

How can marketers use Salesforce Flow with Einstein GPT and Data Cloud?

Using the Einstein GPT and Data Cloud integration alongside Salesforce Flow is changing the game for marketers who use the platform. That’s because marketers will be able to use conversational chatbots to automate complex workflows and trigger actions in real time.

Users and admins can describe the type of flow they want to build, and then they’ll sit back and watch the chatbot complete the tasks. Or, it can be used to build formulas or search for functions. It removes much of the manual and tedious work that goes into creating complex flows and automations.

Source: Salesforce

For example, a field in Marketing Cloud Engagement detects that a customer added items to their shopping cart, but they left the page without completing the purchase. That triggers an immediate email notification, created via generative AI, that goes to the customer and offers a discount code for them to complete the purchase.

In summary, the three benefits to marketers include: 

  • Reduced flow build time
  • Access to more options to automate with flow
  • Improved real-time personalization for customer interactions  

Get ready for generative AI inside your Salesforce org

We’re on the edge of our seats with anticipation for combining Einstein GPT with Salesforce Flow and Data Cloud capabilities. 

These technologies make us feel like we have a front row to the future of CRM and marketing automation. So, in the meantime, we’ll be thinking about all the ways we can use conversational AI to do all the things us busy marketers do. 

Have any aha use cases you’d like to share? How do you think Einstein GPT, Data Cloud, and Flow are going to work together in your org? Let us know in the comments! 

You can also drop us a line if you’re wondering how you can incorporate these tools into your marketing operations strategy.

Original article: Salesforce Automation Game-Changer: Einstein GPT and Data Cloud Capabilities for Flow

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Congrats to The Salesforce MVP Class of 2023 https://thespotforpardot.com/2023/03/18/congrats-to-the-salesforce-mvp-class-of-2023/ https://thespotforpardot.com/2023/03/18/congrats-to-the-salesforce-mvp-class-of-2023/#respond Sat, 18 Mar 2023 14:50:56 +0000 https://thespotforpardot.com/?p=6584

Like many big software companies, Salesforce has an honor they bestow to most influential supporters. They call this the Salesforce MVP program. The Trailblazer Community team recently announced the 2023 Salesforce MVP program inductees, and we were thrilled to see many of our favorite marketing voices on the list. Marketers don’t always get the recognition […]

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Like many big software companies, Salesforce has an honor they bestow to most influential supporters. They call this the Salesforce MVP program. The Trailblazer Community team recently announced the 2023 Salesforce MVP program inductees, and we were thrilled to see many of our favorite marketing voices on the list.

Marketers don’t always get the recognition they deserve, which is why we’re on a mission to showcase all of the amazing things marketers do. We’re especially excited to highlight the people who are shining the limelight on Salesforce marketing tools for a change.

Background of the program

If you haven’t already noticed, there’s a whole lot to learn about using marketing automation and CRM tools. Salesforce does everything they can to make resources available to customers so the tools are easier to use and customize, but everyone learns in their own way. 

Sometimes we need real people who have been working closely with these tools to teach us what’s possible with them. (You know, like, other customers and people with an outsider’s perspective)

That’s where the Salesforce MVP program comes in. These are all people who share what they know about the platform and personally connect with others who are still learning. 

According to the Salesforce MVP Code of Conduct, MVPs are “lifelong learners who go above and beyond to share their expertise and help the entire community succeed… [and] leaders in the Trailblazer Community who encourage each other, celebrate others’ successes, work collaboratively to make our community and the world a better place, and have a lot of fun along the way!”

Here’s the MVP Hall of Fame and Member Directory, which goes into complete detail about the program.

How Salesforce MVPs are Selected

Wondering how people get a spot in the program? Here’s how the process works:

  1. Salesforce opens nominations for MVPs around November each year.
  2. Community members either self nominate or can share stories to nominate others.
    • Current MVPs do not need to take action, they are automatically reviewed for renewal.
  3. The Trailblazer Community team completes the first round of nomination reviews. 
  4. Then, the nominations go through a second round of reviews from a team of Salesforce employees who are active in the Trailblazer Community
  5. After that, current Salesforce MVPs provide feedback to new nominations and nomination renewals. 
  6. The Trailblazer Community team completes a final review before the Salesforce leadership team makes final calls and approvals.

The 2023 Salesforce MVP Class

Congratulations to everyone who was selected to join the 2023 Salesforce MVP Class! 

MVP NameMVP Name
Aaron CrosmanMichael A. Grandel
Andy Engin UtkanMihoko Yamashita
Ankit TanejaOleh Mykytyn
Asterisk LoftisPatricio Sapir
Ben LaMothePhaneendra Arigachetta
Gian Piere Vallejos BardalesRachel Park Brayboy
Johann FurmannSamantha Shain
Kannan NarayananSkye Tyler
Kristi BrownSwati Taunk
Kristin HubbardThomas Theunen
Lilith Van BiesenVicki Moritz-Henry
Maham HassanWarren Walters

Marketers Who Made the New 2023 Salesforce MVP List

We were thrilled to see two people we know from the Salesforce marketing community who made the list. Special congratulations to Ben Lamothe and Vicki Moritz-Henry and thanks for all the work you do for the community!

In fact, we know these two MVPs thanks to their work with the MarDreamin’ conference. Both have presented at MarDreamin’ in past years and have contributed in other ways. 

Our team reached out to them to get their thoughts on their new Salesforce MVP honors. Here’s what they had to say:

Ben Lamothe

“Being selected as a Salesforce MVP is an honor and is truly humbling. Giving back to the Salesforce and Account Engagement (Pardot) Trailblazer community that has changed my life and given me so much, is so important to me.”

Vicki Moritz-Henry

“When I transitioned careers into Salesforce, I was astounded by how supportive the community was. There were so many people who encouraged, mentored and taught me over the years. I honestly wouldn’t be where I am now if it wasn’t for them. My motivation is to spread that impact and be that same person for others.”

Andrea Tarrell Added to the Salesforce MVP Hall of Fame

Last but most certainly not least, we wanna send a huge congratulations to the person who started this whole blog (and Sercante) in the first place. Andrea Tarrell has been an influential voice in the Salesforce community for close to a decade, and she’s served as a Salesforce MVP enough years for Salesforce to add her to the MVP Hall of Fame in 2023.

Launching The Spot for Pardot blog is only a small fraction of everything Andrea has contributed to Salesforce Trailblazer Community through the years. She’s spoken at countless events including Dreamforce, Connections, Dreamin’ conferences and user group meetings. Andrea even launched the first virtual conference for marketers on Salesforce in 2020 — MarDreamin’ (formerly ParDreamin’).

Keep being helpful and the rest will fall into place

The Trailblazer Community team received over 2,400 MVP nominations in 2023, so of course some people were disappointed to learn they weren’t among the 24 new MVPs who were selected. The most important takeaway though is to keep going! While the MVP program brings inherent benefits along with it (i.e. free entry to conferences, getting asked to participate in high-profile marketing content), the true benefit is that helping others helps you, too.

When the community grows, we all grow together. And there’s room for us all to be successful in the community. So, keep sharing what you know. Start a Salesforce blog (or you can write for this one!). Apply to speak at community events. Volunteer with a Salesforce mentorship program, like Merivis, for instance.

The possibilities to give back are endless. Tell us how giving back to the tech community has enriched your life in the comments section.

Original article: Congrats to The Salesforce MVP Class of 2023

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New Product Alert: Nonprofit Cloud and Education Cloud https://thespotforpardot.com/2023/03/14/new-product-alert-nonprofit-cloud-and-education-cloud/ https://thespotforpardot.com/2023/03/14/new-product-alert-nonprofit-cloud-and-education-cloud/#respond Tue, 14 Mar 2023 17:51:20 +0000 https://thespotforpardot.com/?p=6564

Guess what? Big changes are coming to two Salesforce industry clouds. Salesforce is launching massive revamps this spring to target users working in the nonprofit and education sectors. The new Nonprofit Cloud and Education Cloud are a reimagining of the data model for these industries.  What’s even better is that they are now inclusive of […]

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Guess what? Big changes are coming to two Salesforce industry clouds. Salesforce is launching massive revamps this spring to target users working in the nonprofit and education sectors. The new Nonprofit Cloud and Education Cloud are a reimagining of the data model for these industries. 

What’s even better is that they are now inclusive of tools and features that you won’t find in the existing managed packages for those products.

Wait, didn’t Salesforce already offer Nonprofit Cloud and Education Cloud?

You may have seen mentions of these products before, but here’s how they’re different now. 

In the past, Nonprofit Cloud and Education Cloud were a set of solutions Salesforce packaged under an umbrella with those names. Or, many nonprofits relied on the managed package Nonprofit Success Pack (NPSP) in combination with Sales Cloud. Additional managed packages and services were stacked to build custom and highly individual solutions. 

For example, a university marketing department may have used Marketing Cloud Account Engagement (Pardot) while other divisions on campus are using Sales Cloud and third-party CRM for student admissions.

While the new offerings do not include customized marketing solutions like Pardot and Marketing Cloud, they do offer a single license solution that can take the place of Sales Cloud and third-party tools. 

Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud

The new Nonprofit Cloud takes the learnings from this industry and creates a single, unified product that is truly tailored to nonprofit needs. Get the full scoop from the Salesforce Spring ’23 Release Notes.

Say hello to a new product based on your feedback, and that is all about YOU, not adapting an existing product to fit. 

Salesforce Education Cloud

Education is also stepping into the spotlight at long last. You can take a closer look in the Salesforce Spring ’23 Release Notes.

To replace Salesforce Education Data Architecture (EDA) + Sales Cloud, the all new Education Cloud rolls out a single product for student recruitment and admissions.

Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud and Education Cloud Launch Dates & Product Details

So, when can you get your hands on the all-new Nonprofit Cloud and Education Cloud offerings? 

Today! New clients can evaluate these new products starting March 14, 2023.

Read more about the new Nonprofit Cloud and pricing here.

Who should consider Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud?

Here are questions you can ask yourself if you’re considering a move to the new Nonprofit Cloud:

  • Are you looking for a unified approach to program and case management that leverages the newest industry cloud tools like the Actionable Relationship Center? 
  • Is your team at a good place to go through a new implementation? 

Who should consider Salesforce Education Cloud?

You can ask yourself these questions if you’re thinking about moving to the new Education Cloud:

  • Are you looking for a unified solution to recruitment and admissions that leverages the newest industry cloud tools? 
  • Do you have the resources to complete a new implementation? 

Help! What if I already have NPSP or EDA as part of my solution?

Sit back, relax and enjoy new product demos (only if it doesn’t stress you out). Hopefully the demos will get you thinking about the possibilities the new offerings can bring.

Nonprofit Success Pack (NPSP), Education Data Architecture (EDA), and other existing products that currently support these industries will continue to be supported with no sunset on the horizon. 

Wait a minute — something’s missing here! 

More features will continue to be added to the impressive roster for Nonprofit and Education Clouds. 

For Nonprofit Cloud, you can expect to see fundraising, outcomes and engagement coming soon. And for Education Cloud, next up is Student Success. 

Learn more at the upcoming Salesforce.org Education Summit.

Get help figuring out your next steps

So, we may know where you can get help understanding these tools and how they fit into your team’s overall marketing and operational strategy. 

Whether you’re already using a set of Salesforce solutions and products or thinking about implementing one of the new ones, you can reach out to team Sercante for help understanding what’s best for your long-term vision.

Are you already using NPSP or other Salesforce solutions at a nonprofit or school? Tell us about your experiences with the tools in the comments!

Original article: New Product Alert: Nonprofit Cloud and Education Cloud

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