Community Spotlight Archives - The Spot

Introducing the 2024 Salesforce Marketing Champions: Sercante Edition

Erin Duncan — Thu, 03 Oct 2024 20:04:04 +0000

Congratulations to the 2024 Salesforce Marketing Champions! We are honored and excited that some of our own Sercante dragons were selected as part of this prestigious group. Let’s get to know our new Marketing Champions.

What is a Marketing Champion?

Before we meet our new Champions, what exactly is a Salesforce Marketing Champion? Marketing Champions are nominated by the Trailblazer community for their expertise in the marketing industry, their wealth of knowledge with Marketing Cloud, and for actively helping other members of the Trailblazer Community grow and thrive.

We also want to send a BIG congratulations to the entire Salesforce Marketing Champion class of 2024! See the complete list here.

Meet our new Marketing Champions

Aaron Stayman

The Spot Author page
Linkedin
Location: New York, NY
Why are you excited about joining the Marketing Champions Program?
- I am honored and excited to join my peers in this year’s class, and I am eager to learn from the expertise of others. I hope that my presence shines a spotlight on the incredible capabilities of Marketing Cloud Intelligence as a tool for marketers looking to utilize data for decision making.
Favorite Salesforce Tool:
- Marketing Cloud Intelligence (f.k.a. Datorama), it’s how I entered the Salesforce ecosystem and still the tool I love to dive into in new and exciting ways every day.
Something Fun:
- I am a board game fanatic-my favorite games are Star Realms, Splendor, Business Walrus, and Monikers (depending on the crowd). When I want a lively evening out, I enjoy concerts and Broadway shows (Guternberg! The Musical! is a somewhat recent favorite).

Ambre Juryea-Amole

The Spot Author page
Linkedin
Location: Reading, PA
Why are you excited about joining the Marketing Champions Program?
- Content is in everything marketers touch. I’m excited meet other content marketers through the program and create a better understanding of what works and what doesn’t when it comes to the marketing tools we use.
Favorite Salesforce Tool:
- Engagement Studio Programs (Account Engagement/Pardot) – I love all the creative use cases beyond standard prospect nurtures. At the same time, it’s got that user-friendly aspect that makes it easy to turn nurture strategies into Engagement Studio Programs.
Something Fun:
- My happy place is skanking in circle pits at ska and punk shows. A couple of my faves in 2024 were Voodoo Glow Skulls, Folly, The Interrupters, NOFX, The Bouncing Souls, Lagwagon, Catbite, and We Are the Union.

Cara Clanton Pope

The Spot Author page
Linkedin
Location: Atlanta, GA
Why are you excited about joining the Marketing Champions Program?
- I have been following and learning from my fellow Marketing Champions for years. When I first got started in the ecosystem I remember reading their blogs, being amazed by their knowledge, and just wanting to be part of this esteemed group. I am excited to continue to learn but to also give back to the community. I hope to continue to bring analytics and reporting for marketers to the forefront.
Favorite Salesforce Tool:
- I am a CRM Analytics/ B2B Marketing Analytics girly all the way . I love being able to help customers analyze their marketing efforts. This sounds dorky, but genuinely being able to make a really awesome dashboard that shows how hard the marketing team has been working legitimately makes me excited.
Something Fun:
- I sang in an a cappella group in Atlanta for 10 years! Even though I am retired now, they are still some of my closest friends! I even sang for President Barack Obama in college!

Heather Rinke

The Spot Author page
Linkedin
Location: Peterborough, Ontario
Why are you excited about joining the Marketing Champions Program?
- I have learned from and admired this group of awesome people for a long time. Not just their knowledge, but their willingness to help support others in the community. I’m thrilled to join this group, to continue to learn, and also to give back and pay it forward to help others learn.
Favorite Salesforce Tool:
- Salesforce Flow! I’ve been a #flownatic for years and love to build cool solutions for marketing teams. I have been so excited about how this tool has evolved and enjoy digging in and trying out what’s possible.
Something Fun:
- I took up pottery a few years ago and it’s become my favourite way to get away from the computer, chill out, and get my hands dirty.

Theron Troxel

The Spot Author page
Linkedin
Location: Adams, Nebraska
Why are you excited about joining the Marketing Champions Program?
- I’m excited about joining the Marketing Champions Program because it offers an incredible opportunity to network with and learn from some of the best minds in the Salesforce marketing ecosystem.
Favorite Salesforce Tool:
- There are so many, but I find myself using Sercante’s HTML to Email Text Converter daily.
Something Fun:
- I’m a huge fan of arcade and pinball machine restoration. You can find me elbow-deep in wiring, schematics, and bringing vintage games back to life!

Repeat Sercante Marketing Champions

We’re super proud of our new Marketing Champions. But let’s all take a moment to recognize members of the Sercante team who were named Marketing Champions in the past (once you’re in, you’re in for good) and are already seasoned pros when it comes to championing marketing for Salesforce.

Connect with the Salesforce Marketing Champion Community

One of the qualities of a Salesforce Marketing Champion is that they put themselves out there to be helpful to the greater Salesforce community. Champions frequently write blog posts, speak at Salesforce events, lead user groups, answer questions in Slack and trailblazer communities, etc. Consider this your invitation to connect with Marketing Champions!

Follow Marketing Champions on Twitter and Linkedin with #MarketingChampions
Connect with Champions in the Trailblazer Community or in Slack in the Pardashians Community
Check for Trailblazer Community Groups in your area
Attend a Community Conference or World Tour event

Learn from Marketing Champions during MarDreamin 2024

Original article: Introducing the 2024 Salesforce Marketing Champions: Sercante Edition

The post Introducing the 2024 Salesforce Marketing Champions: Sercante Edition appeared first on The Spot.

MarDreamin’ Recap: MarDreamies 2023 Award Winners

Christina Anderson — Fri, 10 Nov 2023 16:13:42 +0000

The 2023 MarDreamies Awards inspired the marketing community and wowed the judges as they announced this year’s winners at the fourth MarDreamin’ conference that took place from October 31 to November 3.

The MarDreamies presented five award winners in addition to some honorable mentions across the award categories as each team was featured for their innovative solution implemented with Salesforce marketing tools.

MarDreamies Award Categories: A quick recap

If you remember from previous years, the MarDreamies categories include Personalization Perfection, Social Impact, Grassroots Innovation, Extending Salesforce, and Best in Show.

Personalization Perfection: Right-time, right-message marketing
Social Impact: Creating positive change through Salesforce
Grassroots Innovation: Scaling small business with Salesforce
Extending Salesforce: API and AI-driven solutions
Best in Show: Best all-around solution

Marketing teams submitted their entries selecting which category they wanted to be recognized for and shared the goal they worked to achieve, the details of the solution, and the results post implementation. There were many great submissions this year which made the selection process for the judges very challenging, but after much consideration, they were able to narrow it down to one winner per category.

And the MarDreamies 2023 Award Winners Are…

On November 2, 2023, the MarDreamies presenters who included Marcos Duran, Chris Zullo, Bill Fetter, Julie Rasco, and Jen Kazin announced the award winners.

Personalization Perfection: Grupo Xcaret
Social Impact: Veterans Guardian
Grassroots Innovation: TSI Incorporated
Extending Salesforce: Cypress Learning Solutions
Best in Show: Close Brothers Asset Finance and Leasing

Watch the session on demand to relive the MarDreamies experience and get all the details!

2023 MarDreamies Award Personalization Perfection Category Winner: Grupo Xcaret

Grupo Xcaret submitted the solution, Personalized Shopping Cart Coupon at the Last Step of the Purchase, to win the MarDreamies 2023 award for the Personalization Perfection category, which celebrates teams for delivering right-time, right message marketing.

The Grupo Xcaret team shared more about their solution in the below video that was featured during the MarDreamies session.

What does Grupo Xcaret do?

In the travel and hospitality industry, Grupo Xcaret is on a mission to make the planet happier by sharing their love of Mexico. Putting on amazing shows and breathtaking attractions across their parks, tours, and hotels, they aim to create “unique, magical, and memorable experiences” for their guests and visitors.

How does Grupo Xcaret use Salesforce tools to create personalized experiences?

The team noticed that customers would start the purchase process for their parks and tours, but would get to the last step of the purchase, see the final price, and then abandon their cart.

To encourage more customers to complete their purchase, Grupo Xcaret used Salesforce Marketing Cloud Personalization to create trackable and customized coupons for each of their products in English and Spanish. They configured this solution with the website so it would display the correct coupon for the purchase after time has passed and the purchase has not been completed.

The solution required the cooperation of their web team, marketing automation team, and a third-party team to create the configurations necessary for successful execution. Their hard work paid off as the solution contributed to increasing their revenue by 77% and improved the conversion rate on the last step of the purchase process by 55%.

Grupo Xcaret’s solution is a great example to the marketing community of what can be achieved when we use Salesforce marketing tools to deliver personalized experiences. If you have been inspired by their solution, be sure to give Grupo Xcaret a shout-out on social media!

2023 MarDreamies Award Grassroots Innovation Category Winner: TSI Incorporated

TSI Incorporated submitted the solution, Optimizing The Lead Management Process to Better Serve Prospects & Customers, to win the MarDreamies 2023 award for the Grassroots Innovation category, which recognizes teams for using Salesforce marketing tools to scale their businesses.

What does TSI Incorporated do?

Serving a global market, TSI Incorporated engineers and manufactures measurement instruments to help make the job easier for aerosol science, and evaluating air flow, indoor air quality, fluid dynamics, and biohazard detection.

Founded in 1961 with headquarters based in the U.S. and field offices across Europe and Asia, TSI has grown as a large organization and established a worldwide presence in the markets they serve.

How does TSI Incorporated use Salesforce tools to scale their business?

The TSI team wanted to make sure that their lead handover process was streamlined so qualified leads could be routed to the right salesperson quickly for a timely response to prospects and to prevent deals from falling through the cracks.

They set out to build a completely new sales user experience. Their custom ‘Sales Inquiries’ object, which is what sales was using to take action on product inquiries, was reconfigured to provide a single interface to track the next step when interest is expressed in one of their products. The team used Salesforce Flows to execute the automations needed to handle inquiries and processing, which are all triggered from a Marketing Cloud Account Engagement form submission.

TSI’s SAP system contained their territory assignment and routing rules. They designed and refactored all the automations that were happening between their SAP system and Salesforce that handled the sales inquiry creation and processing.

As a result of refactoring and redesigning the automation between the SAP system and Salesforce and creating a streamlined sales user interface with the Sales Inquiry object, sales’ ability to act on the right leads at the right time increased by 35%!

TSI’s solution is a great example to the community of what’s possible when we leverage the foundational functionality of the Salesforce platform. If you have been inspired by their solution, be sure to give TSI Incorporated a shout-out on social media!

2023 MarDreamies Award Extending Salesforce Category Winner: Cypress Learning Solutions

Cypress Learning Solutions submitted the solution, Reply Intelligence, to win the MarDreamies 2023 award for the Extending Salesforce category which highlights teams for creating API and AI-driven solutions. Brandon Walton, the president, owner & principal consultant of Cypress Learning Solutions, shared more about Reply Intelligence in the below video that was featured during the MarDreamies session.

What does Cypress Learning Solutions do?

Cypress Learning Solutions is a Salesforce implementation and training solutions provider, designing customized workshops and implementation services for organizations transitioning to Salesforce and Marketing Cloud Account Engagement.

Tell me more about Reply Intelligence…

Reply Intelligence is an AI & algorithmic solution that gives marketers greater insight into the replies to marketing and inbound emails and allows them to trigger automations from them.

It has become increasingly more difficult for marketers to rely on clicks and open rates to track engagement, and at the same time, their “reply-to” inboxes become filled with the marketing email Out of Office replies and other autoresponders.

Reply Intelligence is an email integration solution that helps marketers to better manage the reply-to inboxes and trigger Marketing Cloud Account Engagement Completion Actions from inbound emails and email replies. The solution was developed from integrating several technical components including ESPs, Salesforce, the development of Cypress Learning Solutions’ internal Large Language Model (LLM), and connections into AI platforms.

Brandon Walton added, “We have processed > 1mm email replies and are continuously evolving our LLM to detect intent from emails, including purchasing intent and requests to be removed/unsubscribed from databases.”

Cypress Learning Solutions’ Reply Intelligence is a great example of innovation from an API and AI-driven solution. If you have been inspired by their story, be sure to give Cypress Learning Solutions a shout-out on social media!

2023 MarDreamies Award Social Impact Category Winner: Veterans Guardian

Veterans Guardian submitted the solution, Successfully Segmenting an Audience, to win the MarDreamies 2023 award for the Social Impact category, which honors teams for creating positive change with Salesforce tools. Avery McKenzie, marketing coordinator at Veterans Guardian, shared more about the solution in the below video that was featured during the MarDreamies session.

What does Veterans Guardian do?

Veterans Guardian, is a private consulting company partnering with veterans to help them attain the VA benefits they have earned from their honorable service to the nation. The veterans disability claim process can be complicated and overwhelming, which is where Veterans Guardian comes in. They support veterans through the claims process helping them build their claim strategy and providing education and information needed to help them get the benefits they are entitled to.

How does Veterans Guardian use Salesforce for social impact?

As Veterans Guardian supports veterans through the disability claims process, it is critical that their communication is delivered to the right person at the right time. Their team wanted to advance how they engage veterans with personalized communication to provide them with the best experience possible.

The Veterans Guardian team evaluated their audience segmentation in conjunction with their customer experience process and came up with 74 Marketing Cloud journeys. Using features such as Einstein Send Time Optimization, decision splits, and Salesforce Flows to trigger the journeys, Veterans Guardian was able to create customized communication for each veteran based on where they were in their process. As a result, Veterans Guardian experienced improved engagement results and client satisfaction.

Through Veterans Guardian’s dedication to delivering the best client experience for veterans with personalized communication through Salesforce marketing tools, they have been able to create positive change. If you have been inspired by their solution, be sure to give Veterans Guardian a shout-out on social media!

2023 MarDreamies Award Best in Show Category Winner: Close Brothers Asset Finance and Leasing

Close Brothers Asset Finance and Leasing submitted the solution, Salesforce Digital Customer Cycle, to win the MarDreamies 2023 award for the Best in Show category, which recognizes teams for building the best all-around solution. Jonathan Dytor, Head of Digital Marketing at Close Brothers Asset Finance and Leasing, shared more about the solution in the below video that was featured during the MarDreamies session.

What does Close Brothers Asset Finance and Leasing do?

A member of the Close Brothers Group, Close Brothers Asset Finance and Leasing is a UK-based company founded in 1987 that provides finance for businesses offering practical solutions that empower them for success.

Tell me more about the Salesforce Digital Customer Cycle solution…

The Close Brothers Asset Finance and Leasing team constructed a complete digital customer journey within their Salesforce Org. To execute this, they rebuilt their seven websites and portal using Experience Cloud, Marketing Cloud Account Engagement, Sales Cloud, and Analytics Studio.

The breakdown of the solution from their submission is included below:

Experience Builder – Used to rebuild the websites and the Portal
Account Engagement – Captures UTM parameters for all Leads
Sales Cloud – Auto-manages Lead assignment rules and tracks Opportunities
Analytics Studio – Tracks real-time ROI

Their team was using a third party for website development and was not getting the functionality and insights they desired from their websites. They wanted to have full autonomy over their digital platforms and researched what they could do if they were to rebuild them with Experience Builder. They also evaluated how they could use Marketing Cloud Account Engagement to trigger automated communications to customers at critical points throughout their journey.

They decided to move forward, and in just one month they launched three of the seven sites and built the other four and their customer portal, all completed in house. Their team now has full control over their websites and their customer portal. Close Brothers Asset Finance and Leasing can get the insights they need from their digital platforms without any reliance on third parties and they can build new sites all in house with extreme speed!

Close Brothers Asset Finance and Leasing creating the Salesforce Digital Customer Cycle is a great example of the creative solutions that can be built on the Salesforce platform to achieve business goals. If you have been inspired by their story, be sure to give Close Brothers Asset Finance and Leasing a shout-out on social media!

2023 MarDreamies Award Honorable Mentions

There were so many outstanding solutions submitted for the 2023 MarDreamies Awards that it made the selection process very challenging. As the award presenters expressed during the session, they did not want to conclude it without giving a few honorable mentions to the following teams that shared some incredible solutions!

The Brain Tumour Charity: Inspires Optimized Donations, Customer Journeys with DESelect Engage
AdventHealth: Leveraging Real-time Data to Power Next Best Actions
Cezium: Tik Tok Adz for Marketing Cloud
California Association of Realtors: Localized Housing Market Data
J.R. Simplot Company: Welcome Series to Engaged Audience
Hilton Supply Management: Making the Connection

Get more ideas to bring back to your team

The MarDreamies 2023 awards are a great way to be in the know about the latest innovations that are being developed in the marketing community. If any of these award winner stories have sparked an idea, we encourage you to share it with your team to see what new advancement you can create next to achieve your goals.

In addition to the MarDreamies, there were so many amazing creative solutions presented at the MarDreamin conference this year. To learn and get more ideas to bring back to your team, watch the sessions on demand!

Original article: MarDreamin’ Recap: MarDreamies 2023 Award Winners

The post MarDreamin’ Recap: MarDreamies 2023 Award Winners appeared first on The Spot.

The Art of Delivering Empathetic and Joyful User Experiences

Catherine Williams — Thu, 02 Nov 2023 14:23:48 +0000

Living in a fast-paced world of technology, it’s easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of innovation and lose sight of the human element. We can occasionally prioritize the tools and systems we use over the people who rely on them.

I had the honor of attending Florida Dreamin’ in October 2023. I was especially inspired by one session in particular.

Here’s a summary of that session.

Insights from Daniel Gorton’s Florida Dreamin’ Presentation

Daniel Gorton, a Salesforce architect with a unique background in social work and psychology, recently delivered a thought-provoking presentation at Florida Dreamin’ that reminded us of the importance of centering people within our technology discussions.

Here are the insights he shared.

Asking The Right Questions

Gorton, who defines himself as an “empathetic and multi-centered Salesforce architect,” captivated the audience with his perspective at the intersection of technology and social work. He posed essential questions that challenge our approach to change and user experiences, asking, “What are some ways we can be inclusive and intentional with change?” and “How do we make sure everyone has their needs met?”

Consider Learning Styles and Needs

One of the key takeaways from his presentation was the emphasis on inclusivity, considering diverse learning styles and needs. Gorton reminded us that individuals have varying comfort and experience levels with technology. This message couldn’t be more relevant as we continue to integrate artificial intelligence into our daily lives. In a separate presentation during Florida Dreamin where the A.I. Lay’s campaign “Messi Messages” came up and an audience member asked, “Just because we can, does it mean we should?” which reflects the unease many feel when confronted with different and evolving types of technology.

Change management was also a focus of Gorton’s presentation. He stressed the importance of not just looking at systems but also focusing on the people behind it — those who build, test, approve, and use it. Gorton encouraged us to add value and create experiences that anticipate users’ needs, ultimately leading to joy and delight. He reminded us that even small gestures, like adding emojis, can brighten someone’s mood. Additionally, he underlined the fact that users teach us valuable lessons in the process.

Where Empathy and Strategy Meet

Combining our empathetic sides with strategic approaches, such as focus groups, road mapping, and well-defined processes, can help bridge the gap between technology, those who work in it, and the end users.

Gorton urged the audience to “consider organizational context, system performance, & Salesforce well-architected best practices.” He provided several examples of how Sales Cloud does this today, citing Path as one of the easiest-to-offer UI features.

Gorton also provided insights into best practices for training, emphasizing the importance of feedback and requests, encouraging feedback loops, and breaking down silos. He encouraged us not to be afraid to iterate and build slowly, ensuring that we can fine-tune our solutions over time.

Finally, Daniel Gorton’s presentation was a reminder that technology should enhance human experiences, not overshadow them. By being more inclusive, empathetic, and thoughtful in our approach, we can create solutions that bring not only use but also delight users. Let’s reflect on Gorton’s insights and let them serve as a valuable guide for how each of us can navigate through the intersection of technology and the people behind those systems.

Get More Highlights from Florida Dreamin’

Be sure to check out these other posts from my fellow dragons who attended Florida Dreamin’ with me and shared details about their favorite sessions there.

Florida Dreamin’: A Conference Where Soft Skills Shine | Abbey Freund
How to Write like a Marketer: Intro to AMPscript for Salesforce Marketing Cloud | Kayla Border

Original article: The Art of Delivering Empathetic and Joyful User Experiences

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Andrea Tarrell Talks Marketing and AI Trends at the Qualified Pipeline Summit

Ambre Juryea-Amole — Wed, 11 Oct 2023 12:59:36 +0000

Sercante and Qualified both went big at Dreamforce 2023. And then they made it even more interesting by teaming up. Qualified joined Sercante at the Home for Marketers at Dreamforce, and Sercante joined Qualified for the Pipeline Summit at Dreamforce.

The result was a whole lot of sales + marketer happy vibes along with a live recording of Sercante Founder & CEO Andrea Tarell on the Qualified Pipeline Visionaries podcast.

Here’s a quick preview of the podcast recording along with all the info you need to listen for yourself. Or you can click here to watch the full podcast or listen using your favorite streaming service.

Tasty morsels Andrea Tarrell shared with Qualified at Dreamforce 2023

Andrea Tarrell met with Ian Faison at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art at the Qualified B2B Marketer’s Lounge on September 13, 2023. Here are the big things the pair talked about during the podcast session.

Key trend in automation: Conquering personalization and finding the right use cases for AI

When asked the question “What do you feel is next for marketing automation? What are the trends you see coming?” Andrea said:

“I still think personalization is a frontier that we haven’t quite conquered yet. You see some of the use cases on stage at Dreamforce about some of the ways big brands are using personalization, and I look at much of the market who’s still struggling to even do first name, company name, much less more sophisticated use cases than that.

But I think things like serving up the next best piece of content, the next big action for somebody to take, related products, I think there’s a lot of potential there that continues to be untapped. And I think this is also kinda going back to the AI piece that we were talking about. This is gonna be a big separation of humans in the robots.

I’ve been on the receiving end of a few emails lately that were very clearly written by AI. Yep. And it’s like they just scraped random facts off the internet to stuff a new email. It’s like, okay, that’s not personalization. Like, I know what press release you grabbed that from, and like that third fact is completely unrelated to my business.

So, that’s where I think the human element will still be preserved. Maybe we can get AI to make the first draft for us, but we still need people to make the magic happen.”

Maybe we can get AI to make the first draft for us, but we still need people to make the magic happen.

What are the main reasons people reach out to Sercante for guidance?

Ian asked the question “What is the burning desire customers come to Sercante with?”

Andrea listed these three things that are usually top of mind for customers when they contact us. Here they are:

Marketing ROI
“Being able to report on what they’re doing that’s actually contributing to revenue.”
Helping sales teams prioritize
“Marketing’s working really hard to generate leads, but how does sales know who’s qualified, and who should they call first?”

What’s next? AI, automation, industry trends, using generative AI for things like lead routing, segmentation, and content.
“What is the non-value part that we can start having the machine do for us so that humans have the role of finessing, spending time on the highest potential items, and really doing what they’d be best at?”

How a marketing-focused Salesforce consulting firm approaches its own marketing strategy

When Ian asked the question “How do you think about your marketing strategy and how you acquire customers?” Andrea listed three marketing strategy areas. They are:

Email marketing
Event marketing
Content marketing

She said, “We’ve created a huge culture around information sharing. One of our core values is generosity. It’s the idea that, if you’re getting something or achieving something, how do you share that with other people and bring other people along for the journey?”

How do you think about speed as a currency?

Andrea said, “Speed is huge. We know that as individual customers are bopping around online, looking for something, attention spans are so short. Like, what if you don’t find what you’re looking for? You don’t get the answer you need? You’re on to the next thing.

So, trying to help people find what they’re looking for is challenge number one. And then challenge number two is if they don’t get the answer, making sure that they get pushed to a human as quickly as possible.”

What is the Qualified Pipeline Summit Podcast?

Every quarter, Qualified brings together the best and brightest in B2B sales, marketing, and operations to share the tactics and strategies helping them drive growth in their business.

Learn more and watch all the episodes here.

Cheekiest social ads ever and we’re here for it

We’re in love with these social graphics the Qualified team posted to promote the Pipeline Summit at Dreamforce. Sharing here cuz they’re friggin amazing.

Watch the Pipeline Visionaries Podcast – The AI Conversation: What Marketers Should Be Thinking About

Lucky for you, these were just a few highlights from the podcast episode. You can watch the full video here and get all the juicy details Andrea and Ian shared during their conversation.

And remember to reach out to Sercante when you’re ready to take your sales and marketing efforts further.

Original article: Andrea Tarrell Talks Marketing and AI Trends at the Qualified Pipeline Summit

The post Andrea Tarrell Talks Marketing and AI Trends at the Qualified Pipeline Summit appeared first on The Spot.

Winner Spotlight: Sercante Dreamforce 2023 Ticket Giveaway

Ambre Juryea-Amole — Thu, 28 Sep 2023 18:59:08 +0000

Going to Dreamforce can completely change the course of someone’s career. Whether it’s while soaking in the session content and learning how to take on bigger responsibilities at work. Or through the parties where they meet new people and then stay in touch on Slack and LinkedIn. Or by leading sessions and getting a confidence boost that makes them reach for bigger goals.

That was the whole idea behind the 2023 Dreamforce ticket giveaway contest. We wanted to give that opportunity to one lucky person. And that’s exactly what we did.

After receiving an overwhelming response from the Salesforce community that included entries from people living in 19 countries, we were pleased to announce the winner of the contest.

Our 2023 Dreamforce ticket giveaway contest winner was Amanda Martini, digital marketing manager at ISSA.

Amanda got the full works for Dreamforce. She traveled from her home state of New York to San Francisco for the conference. Sercante covered the cost of her airfare as well as her hotel stay and coveted Dreamforce conference pass. She was also the official queen of The Home for Marketers at Dreamforce, which is where the Sercante team hosted events all week.

Trip Reflection from Dreamforce Ticket Giveaway Winner, Amanda Martini

We asked Amanda to tell us about her trip in her own words. Here’s what she had to say about the whole thing.

Dreamforce Ticket Giveaway Winner Amanda Martini with Sercante Founder & CEO Andrea Tarrell

“Winning the Dreamforce ticket giveaway was an absolute honor. Working for a smaller organization, it can be difficult to budget for larger conferences, as pricing can often be an issue. Winning the ticket, and therefore being able to experience Dreamforce in person, has given me so much.

Our organization is what I would call ‘Salesforce lite’ for the moment, but being surrounded by so many people who live and breathe the ecosystem really rejuvenated me; not only for my role but for where our organization can go when we are fully on the system.”

Amanda’s Dreamforce Takeaways

“One of my big takeaways, that I am sharing with everyone in our organization, is simply to jump right into the ecosystem and immerse yourself.

There are so many resources and so many like minded people who are more than willing to share their knowledge, to troubleshoot, to just chat about anything Salesforce related. Becoming a part of that community, while not a requirement for using a piece of technology, does seem like it benefits the user and the company a great deal.

I think seeing that firsthand was one of the more surprising things that I experienced. When you’re on the periphery, you SEE the interaction and you know the big names, but being surrounded by it was really something else. It makes you want to get more involved.”

Finding your people is a great feeling

“For a while now, I’ve felt like I am on an island as I am the person most involved in the Salesforce ecosystem due to my daily use of Pardot, with the rest of the organization still to get onto our Salesforce instance.

Attending Dreamforce allowed me to see that you’re only as alone as you allow yourself to be. The community is vast, and really quite welcoming. Even just one week removed from the event, I have RSVP’d for two Trailblazer community group sessions to keep my learning and understanding going. They’re virtual, but that doesn’t matter! It’s just as valuable to listen to other folks ask their questions (until you’re ready to ask your own!).”

Attending Dreamforce allowed me to see that you’re only as alone as you allow yourself to be.

All questions are good questions

“I also got a really good piece of advice: I tend to be a self-deprecating person, always prefacing a question by acknowledging it might be stupid. But I was told to stop that!

As the admin/leader for my system in my organization, I have to be confident with what I present. If I don’t seem to trust myself, my stakeholders are not necessarily going to trust or listen to what I am suggesting. And in the end, I’m the one that really knows what’s best for my system. I need to own my place in this space and project confidence (even if there’s still that little voice inside that says you’re gonna sound stupid). Fake it ‘til you make it really does work most of the time.”

Go see Salesforce releases in action

“Honestly, all of the sessions I managed to attend were so informative. And while I pay attention to release notes and the releases, I felt like having that information right at my fingertips, so to speak, really hit home the ways Salesforce is heading into the future and the ways in which my organization can utilize that future.

Seeing demos of the new releases at work was so helpful and it got me immediately thinking about ways that our marketing managers (MMs) will be able to have their hands in the systems more, and how to help us work smarter.

As a department that “reports to” many stakeholders as well as our members, it’s important that our MMs have the tools to help them work more efficiently. Being able to check in with technologies that we don’t use but I’ve wondered about was an incredible opportunity as well. From the conversations I had at Dreamforce, I now have a better understanding of how to help our organization increase efficiency.

I learned I have a lot of work to do going into 2024 to get our Pardot instance cleaned up and ready for the new year and when we’re truly connected with our Salesforce org in production. But I am looking forward to that challenge because I’ve felt there was work to do, Dreamforce just reinforced what needs to be done. It’s all for the good of the organization.

Dreamforce also has had me looking at our marketing and tech stack and asking the hard questions: Are we using the correct technology? Are we using it correctly or to the best of its ability? Stay tuned!”

Final thoughts about the Dreamforce ticket giveaway

“As for the coolest thing that happened to me… there were so many, but I have to say that learning last minute about the first-ever Dreamforce Comedy Hour was a dream come true.

Seth Meyers is MY FAVORITE and to have the opportunity to see him perform in person… pretty much took the cake. Of course, the entire event was at the top of the list of the coolest things that has EVER happened to me, but Seth takes a close second place.”

Thank you so much to everyone who entered the Sercante 2023 Dreamforce Ticket Giveaway Contest and to Amanda for sharing her thoughts about the experience. Stay tuned next year to see what we have in store for Dreamforce 2024.

Original article: Winner Spotlight: Sercante Dreamforce 2023 Ticket Giveaway

The post Winner Spotlight: Sercante Dreamforce 2023 Ticket Giveaway appeared first on The Spot.

Introducing the 2023 Salesforce Marketing Champions: Dragon Edition

Kelly Ryan — Sat, 10 Jun 2023 12:50:18 +0000

Congratulations to the 2023 class of Salesforce Marketing Champions! We are honored that some of our own Sercante dragons were selected as part of this prestigious group this year.

Let’s get to know them.

The Program: Salesforce Marketing Champions

First! What even is a Salesforce Marketing Champion?

Salesforce knows a career as a marketer can be a hectic, fire-emergency-filled job. You are communicating across departments, across the globe, and in large amounts of acronyms.

We truly enjoy our work, but sometimes it can be thankless. Salesforce provides this program as a way to recognize champions in the Salesforce marketing space and help amplify the marketing voice, both in and outside the Trailblazer Community.

Champions are nominated through the community and have a wealth of knowledge in marketing and the Salesforce platform. Each champion is a #MomentMarketer, Googling their way to success, always learning and improving their skills through certifications, and truly demonstrating their strategic love through training sessions, speaking events, and content creation.

We want to send another big congratulations to the entire Salesforce Marketing Champion class of 2023! See the complete list here.

Don’t forget to check out the 2023 Salesforce MVPs, too — Congrats to The Salesforce MVP Class of 2023!

MVPs are similar to the marketing champions. 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!”

The People: Meet The New Sercante Marketing Champions

Let’s meet the Sercante dragons who worked hard in their communities and made it into the Salesforce Marketing Champions class of 2023.

New Marketing Champion #1. Cara Weese

The Spot author page
LinkedIn
Location – Lincoln, NE

Thoughts about joining the program

“It is an honor to be named among such an esteemed group of professionals. I have been working in the Salesforce community for 10 years now, and I am excited to combine my passions for Salesforce and Marketing to help drive growth for organizations and fellow community members who are learning the Marketing Cloud platforms or looking to up their marketing game to the next level by providing advice, best practices, and through networking events.”

Fav tool!

“I don’t know that I can choose just one. I guess I would have to go with Salesforce Analytics and bucket all of the reports, dashboards, Intelligence, and B2BMA in one umbrella. I have a great passion for analytics!”

Something fun!

“I love books! Whenever I have downtime, whether that be traveling, sitting outside, or even working at my desk, I have to be listening to an audiobook. I also pick up books from time to time, but as a busy working mom, it’s often easier to listen. I love Fantasy, Mystery, YA Fiction, and Historical Fiction, but honestly, I could read just about anything.”

New Marketing Champion #2. Cate Godley

The Spot author page
LinkedIn
Location – Marietta, GA

Thoughts about joining the program

“I’m excited to join the Marketing Champions program and connect with other marketers in the Salesforce community. I’m passionate about education and can’t wait to help more people learn how to effectively use and manage Account Engagement.”

Fav tool!

“Salesforce Reports/Dashboards. I love data and getting to create my own reports and dashboards to display that data is one of my favorite things.”

Something fun!

“I love going to concerts, house plants, dogs, and playing board games. If I’m not doing something related to Salesforce I’m most likely doing something related to one of those things.”

New Marketing Champion #3. Jacob Catalano

LinkedIn
Location – Dallas, TX

Thoughts about joining the program

“I’m extremely excited to be a part of the 2023 class of Marketing Champions with so many of my colleagues in the Salesforce community. Being included in such a brilliant group of marketers is a dream come true and I can not wait to learn and grow alongside some of the brightest minds in the Salesforce community.”

Fav tool!

“Flows is one of the most powerful automation tools out there and I love when I can just take an hour or two and find new ways to use Flow.”

Something fun!

“I spend most of my time performing in musicals locally and playing golf. These two things are totally different but give me the most joy and let me step away from things going on and relax.”

New Marketing Champion #4. Julian Janssen

The Spot author page
LinkedIn
Location – Fort Worth, TX

Thoughts about joining the program

“I’m really excited to be named to the 2023 class of #MarketingChampions alongside some of my amazing colleagues at Sercante, and be more involved in the community around Salesforce’s amazing marketing automation tools! This ecosystem has provided me amazing opportunities in my own career, so I am excited to give back and guide others in this space.”

Fav tool!

“Campaign Influence: I love the Campaign Influence reporting models available in Salesforce. It’s an amazing tool to help marketing departments recognize and validate the value of how their campaigns help affect pipeline and realize revenue — a massive impact on most businesses that often goes overlooked.”

Something fun!

“I spend most of my time not working being a music nerd — going to concerts, browsing through records, playing guitar, or running to carefully curated playlists I have put together.”

New Marketing Champion #5. Kelly Ryan

The Spot author page
LinkedIn
Location – Denver, CO

Thoughts about joining the program

“I am so excited to be here! I have relied on this marketing community since day one in my digital marketing role, trying to connect all the backend dots across channels and platforms. I am honored to be a part of the Marketing Champions and share my knowledge with the next round of accidental admins and one-person teams!”

Fav tool!

“Creuz Your Data! Long lists of data are the daily pain of Pardot and Salesforce admins. So why not make your life easier? Just copy paste the data, select if you need a comma or semicolon, and you are good to go!”

Something fun!

“I really enjoy reading, especially historical fiction because I also love facts. I love getting literally lost in all the little local bookshops when I travel, too. I’ve been known to just sit on the floor and sift through huge stacks of old books until I found the ones with the most ridiculous titles.”

New Marketing Champion #6. Mike Morris

The Spot author page
LinkedIn
Location – Apex, NC

Thoughts about joining the program

“Since joining the Salesforce ecosystem, I’ve learned so much from members of the community, the team at Sercante, and the Marketing Champions. I’m looking forward to the opportunity to share my knowledge and help inspire the next class of Marketing Champions.”

Fav tool!

“I’ve got to go with Kelly on this one. Creuz Your Data is an awesome little app and has saved me countless hours. If you are building dynamic lists in Account Engagement or reports in Salesforce, check it out! I’m also very partial to the Protected Campaign Member Statuses app as a way to manage campaign members’ statuses in Salesforce.”

Something fun!

“I spend a lot of time in my office, so when I’m not working, I prefer to be outside. I enjoy hiking, kayaking, and running. I’m not very good at relaxing and prefer to be active.”

New Marketing Champion #7. Rich Feist

The Spot author page
LinkedIn
Location – Brighton, United Kingdom

Thoughts about joining the program

“I can’t wait to continue my learning about all things Salesforce. I’m really looking forward to attending more events! I honestly still can’t believe I get to be a part of this amazing program!”

Fav tool!

“My favourite Salesforce tool is Flows, I love what you can do with them. My favourite other tool is Pomodoro Marinara which is a great time-keeping app to keep you focused.”

Something fun!

“Favourite holiday location is a tie between Oaxaca and Sicily, the food and drink is insane!”

New Marketing Champion #8. Kirsten Schlau

The Spot author page
LinkedIn
Location – Atlanta, GA

New Marketing Champion #9. Laura Curtis

The Spot author page
LinkedIn
Location – Northampton, UK

Thoughts about joining the program

“I’m so excited and honored to be part of this program. I’m excited to meet so many passionate and like-minded marketers. I’ve been part of the Salesforce community for almost 5 years and being recognised as a Marketing Champion is amazing. I’m looking forward to using the platform to build upon my knowledge and experience, and continuing to share my passion for Marketing Cloud with the world!”

Fav tool!

“Oh this is tough! First off, another vote for Creuz Your Data! I’ve spent far too many hours in the past formatting long lists of data for Marketing Cloud. This tool is an absolute MUST for everyone in the Salesforce ecosystem. Secondly, I love any tool around personalisation, whether that’s Marketing Cloud Personalization or dynamic content, the results you get from often simple personalisation tactics are awesome and every marketer should be maximizing their use of personalisation tools! Finally, creating different Chrome profiles is a great tip for testing and keeping data separate!”

Something fun!

“When I’m not in the Salesforce world having fun, I hate to say it but, I’m a fan of TikTok (I always said I wouldn’t download it, but as soon as I did I was hooked!). There’s something about switching off and scrolling relatable content for hours! I also love taking holidays, my fav destination would have to be either Bruges or somewhere hot where cocktails are readily available! I also love getting creative with my nail designs. No one gets to see them working from home, but having a nice set makes me smile :)”

Repeat Sercante Marketing Champions

We’re super proud of our new Salesforce Marketing Champions. But let’s all take a moment to recognize members of the Sercante team who were named Marketing Champions in the past (once you’re in, you’re in for good) and are already seasoned pros when it comes to championing marketing for Salesforce.

Connect with the Marketing Champion Community

So what should you do with all this information? Definitely connect with this group so they can help you out!

Salesforce Marketing Champions put themselves out there so they can be helpful to people in the community like you. They all write blogs, present sessions at Salesforce events, lead user groups, or answer questions online.

Consider this your invitation to hit them up!

Follow Marketing Cloud on Twitter and LinkedIn and the terms Marketing Champions (Twitter) #MarketingChampions (LinkedIn) and #MomentMarketer (Twitter) #MomentMarketer (LinkedIn)
Marketing Champions answer questions, share resources, and updates, and provide strategic insights in the Trailblazer Community and in the Pardashians community on Slack
Check for Trailblazer Community Groups in your area (many run virtual events, too) and Community Conferences, like the Dreamin’ events.
Save the date for MarDreamin’ 2023!
Take advantage of free tools people from this group helped to build.

Do you need help from a marketing champion? Are you the next champion?

Ready to become the next Salesforce Marketing Champion? Keep an eye out for the call for nominations and applications here.

And as always, leave us a comment with your favorite tools and apps! Or let us know when you need help with something only a marketing champion can solve.

Original article: Introducing the 2023 Salesforce Marketing Champions: Dragon Edition

The post Introducing the 2023 Salesforce Marketing Champions: Dragon Edition appeared first on The Spot.

Congrats to The Salesforce MVP Class of 2023

Ambre Juryea-Amole — Sat, 18 Mar 2023 14:50:56 +0000

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:

Salesforce opens nominations for MVPs around November each year.
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.
The Trailblazer Community team completes the first round of nomination reviews.
Then, the nominations go through a second round of reviews from a team of Salesforce employees who are active in the Trailblazer Community
After that, current Salesforce MVPs provide feedback to new nominations and nomination renewals.
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 Name	MVP Name
Aaron Crosman	Michael A. Grandel
Andy Engin Utkan	Mihoko Yamashita
Ankit Taneja	Oleh Mykytyn
Asterisk Loftis	Patricio Sapir
Ben LaMothe	Phaneendra Arigachetta
Gian Piere Vallejos Bardales	Rachel Park Brayboy
Johann Furmann	Samantha Shain
Kannan Narayanan	Skye Tyler
Kristi Brown	Swati Taunk
Kristin Hubbard	Thomas Theunen
Lilith Van Biesen	Vicki Moritz-Henry
Maham Hassan	Warren 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

The post Congrats to The Salesforce MVP Class of 2023 appeared first on The Spot.

The Spot & Jenna Molby: An Iconic Duo

Ambre Juryea-Amole — Thu, 12 Jan 2023 16:00:00 +0000

You thought putting tea and honey together was good? Well, we’re pleased to announce Jenna Molby’s whole library of Salesforce blog posts and tools now live on The Spot with insights from 50+ marketing pros.

The same way André 3000 pairs perfectly with Big Boi, or Brie with Champagne, Jenna Molby and The Spot are the Yin to each other’s Yang.

This is gonna be super helpful next time you’re trying to create a fancy landing page. Or finally earn the certification you’ve been eyeing. With one place to go for all the guidance you’re looking for, the sky’s the limit to what you can do.

Jenna Molby and The Spot are together at last

So what exactly does this partnership mean? Here’s what to expect:

New guest author on The Spot

Jenna Molby now has a HUGE bubble on The Spot. Seriously — her spot is almost the size of our OG blogger, Andrea Tarrell. Go see for yourself here!

Like Elsa and Anna, Jenna Molby and The Spot are the perfect compliment to one another. Don’t just take our word for it though. Jenna explains it all in this video.

You’ll find all of Jenna Molby’s Salesforce blog posts on The Spot from now on. You’ll also get redirected to The Spot when Salesforce posts on Jenna’s website come up in search results.

The reason all of my Salesforce content is moving to The Spot is that Andrea and her team at Sercante have always been great at supporting not only me, but the greater ecosystem. – Jenna Molby

All the tools in one place

Anyone who knows Jenna Molby’s name already has her tools bookmarked in their browsers. Now, you’ll find things like her calendar link, form style, and landing page style generators living in harmony with freebies from Sercante Labs.

You can find all of the free tools on this page.

Here’s a sampling:

Google Calendar Link Generator

Use this Google Calendar Link Generator to create calendar links that can be used on your web pages, landing pages and emails.

Try it Now

ICS Link Generator for Microsoft Outlook & Apple iCalendar

Use this ICS Link Generator to create calendar files that are compatible with Microsoft Outlook & Apple iCalendar.

Try it Now

Bulletproof Pardot Email Button Generator

Create beautiful buttons for your Pardot emails. Simply select your button style to generate HTML for a Pardot email or landing page template.

Try it Now

Pardot Form Style Generator

Use this tool to customize your Pardot forms in four easy steps.

Try it Now

2 Free Pardot Landing Page Templates For Events

Create beautiful responsive landing pages in Pardot by using one of these two free landing templates specifically built for use in event marketing campaigns.

Try it Now

Jenna claimed her spot — and so can you

No matter your goals, you can claim a spot among the community. Whether you’re here for guidance through new features, ongoing solutioning help, or resume-building criteria, The Spot has you covered.

Here are resources you can use that go beyond blog posts and free tools. Now, get in there and do all the ingenious marketing automation things you know are possible. And let us know when you need support that goes beyond what these resources can do.

Become a guest blogger

We’re looking for passionate marketing technology bloggers to share their knowledge and experiences with others in the community. Visit this page to learn more about contributing to The Spot.

Join the Pardashian community

The Pardashians Slack is a community where Marketing Cloud Account Engagement (formerly Pardot) and Marketing Cloud users can grow their skills together. Click here and complete the application to join.

Watch MarDreamin’ replays

Get ready for a 3-day virtual conference focused on all things marketing on the Salesforce platform. You can access session replays here and learn at your own pace.

Find or post a job

The Spot for Pardot Jobs is a place to find your next gig or team member when you use Salesforce marketing tools.

Original article: The Spot & Jenna Molby: An Iconic Duo

The post The Spot & Jenna Molby: An Iconic Duo appeared first on The Spot.

The Spot Wrapped: 2022 Edition

Ambre Juryea-Amole — Wed, 21 Dec 2022 22:01:58 +0000

As 2022 comes to an end, it’s time to reflect on all of the ways our dear readers interacted with The Spot over the past 12 months.

This was certainly the biggest year yet for The Spot since Andrea Tarrell started the blog in 2017. For one thing, we widened our focus to include all tools marketers touch when Salesforce is part of the tech stack. On top of that, the resource got a spankin’ new name, website, branding updates, and lots of new authors who contributed content. (You can read all about the updates in this blog post.)

However, we’ve always had one focus in mind that honors the spirit that inspired Andrea to start this blog in the first place: sharing knowledge so everyone can grow. And we did a whole lot of that in the past year.

Now for the good stuff. Read on to see all the stats that made 2022 wonderful for The Spot community.

The Spot Wrapped Stats

We’re sure you have that one post you always refer to while you’re knocking out a task. Or the one you pull up when you need a gut check along the way.

Better yet, you’ve hopefully uncovered a new gem or author in the past year that made you feel confident you could implement a new feature or strategy.

Here are the stats behind The Spot so you can see how everyone is using this resource.

With that in mind, here’s who has the biggest spots as of December 21, 2022:

Become a Guest Contributor for The Spot

See anyone you know? Picturing yourself among the crew? We welcome guest posts from the community, and we even have paid contributor opportunities available.

Learn all about becoming a guest blogger for The Spot on this page.

Top Contributors on The Spot in 2022

These top contributors poured their hearts into blog posts for The Spot in 2022, which means they wrote more posts than any other contributors. Click on their names to view their author biographies and a list of all the posts they’ve written for The Spot.

These are the top 10 blog contributors from 2022 in descending order:

I have an unfair advantage here because “content” is in my job title and I’m part of the marketing team at Sercante. But I am forever amazed by our top contributors who consistently deliver high-impact content on a regular basis while delighting our clients at the same time.

Way to go, team Sercante!

The Spot 2022 Audience Breakdown

So here’s a little information about you — our readers.

The Spot Readership Stats

Total unique website visitors in 2022 – 109,000
Top 5 countries (in descending order)
- United States
- India
- United Kingdom
- Canada
- Australia

Your Favorite Topics in 2022

These were the most popular blog posts by topic in 2022.

Top Analytics & Reporting Post
Pardot and Salesforce Marketing Reporting: A 101 Guide | Laura Curtis
Top Pardot Post
Everything to Know About the Pardot Lightning Email Builder | Erin Duncan
Top Marketing Cloud Post
Salesforce Marketing Cloud Email Specialist Exam: All the Things to Study | Jordyn Jaffer
Top Salesforce Platform Post
Salesforce Winter ‘23 Release: Platform Highlights for Marketers | Jordyn Jaffer
Top Third-Party Tool Post
Everything Marketers on Salesforce Need for Google Analytics 4 | Rich Feist
Top Community-Focused Post
A Hot Take on the Pardot Rebrand to Marketing Cloud Account Engagement | Andrea Tarrell

Looking Toward an Even Bigger Year in 2023

Thank you for being here and reflecting on the past 12 months with us. We’re busy cooking up our plans to grow this resource along with the Salesforce platform in 2023. And we can’t wait to connect with you and continue to deliver helpful content and connect with the community in the coming months.

Want to see more? Make sure you’re on our subscriber list by completing the form on this page. Or, drop a comment below to let us know what you want to see more of on The Spot.

Original article: The Spot Wrapped: 2022 Edition

The post The Spot Wrapped: 2022 Edition appeared first on The Spot.

Mardreamies 2022 Award Winner Story: Grassroots Innovation

Ambre Juryea-Amole — Thu, 01 Dec 2022 20:17:14 +0000

The MarDreamies awards celebrate solutions marketing and sales professionals built to reach their goals using Salesforce. These solutions are especially impressive because they each rose to solve a specific challenge while utilizing technology to automate their way to greatness.

Winners of the MarDreamin’ awards get bragging rights for their team and company, a sweet prize pack, and a fancy trophy to remind them how awesome they are every day. And the MarDreamin’ team announced the MarDreamies winners during the After-Party, which took place November 3, 2022.

Check out this blog post to get details about the full MarDreamin’ conference — including information about watching all session and keynote replay videos.

MarDreamies Award Categories

The MarDreamies awards are divided into five categories to honor the teams behind the magic:

Personalization Perfection: Right-time, right-message marketing
Social Impact: Creating positive change through Salesforce
Grassroots Innovation: Scaling small business with Salesforce
Extending Salesforce: API-driven solutions
Best in Show

You can find all the details about what went into choosing the award winners in this blog post.

2022 MarDreamies Award Grassroots Innovation Category Winner: FTD Disorders Registry

Here’s the solution that won the MarDreamies 2022 award for the Grassroots Innovation category, which recognizes teams that scale small businesses with Salesforce marketing tools. The MarDreamies Grassroots Innovation award went to FTD Disorders Registry, which was submitted by Sherry Harlass.

What does the FTD Disorders Registry do?

The FTD Disorders Registry (FTDDR) is designed to bring together the frontotemporal degeneration (FTD) community. This means persons diagnosed, their family members, caregivers, and friends as well as clinicians, scientists, patient advocacy groups, and the pharma/biotech industry.

Their goal is to advance the science and move faster toward finding treatments and cures for this spectrum of disorders, which includes:

behavioral variant FTD (bvFTD)
primary progressive aphasia (PPA)
progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP)
corticobasal degeneration (CBD) / corticobasal syndrome (CBS)
FTD with motor neuron disease (also called FTD-ALS)

A diagnosis of FTD can be isolating, so the registry was created to be a resource for patients, families, and caregivers. We provide one location to collect and share de-identified data, promote research studies, and notify potentially eligible research study candidates.

How does FTD Disorders Registry use Salesforce to reach their goals?

The team at FTD Disorders Registry is technologically savvy and uses the Salesforce platform in a unique way to support the company’s mission. Specifically, the marketing team uses Marketing Cloud Account Engagement (Pardot) to communicate with their audience while tracking campaign success so they can adjust their strategy when needed.

The FTD Disorders Registry collects data to help researchers and direct prospects to clinical trials in the search for treatments and a cure for a group of rare diseases, for which there currently are none. Maintaining data fields is critical for reporting on these diseases. When the team updated their enrollment forms, they added several new data points in Salesforce. An intricate Pardot campaign was built to collect this additional data from participants who joined prior to the update.

Turning to the Salesforce Community for Help

Marketing teams who have limited resources know the importance of relationship building within technical communities to solve challenges that go beyond their teams’ expertise.

As a small (3 people when campaign was initiated) nonprofit registry, FTD Disorders Registry lacked time, people, and knowledge to set it up. Thanks to a Spring of Salesforce opportunity, we learned by doing guided by a wonderful (volunteer) expert (in another state).

Assets the team built for this campaign included:

1 layout template
2 landing pages
2 forms
1 Thank You landing page on their website
6 email templates
12 Engagement Studio Programs
17 email lists
4 completion actions
6 operational emails
2 Thank you emails

Salesforce is the data collection tool from which enrollment and survey information is collected. The team then generated an NIH Globally Unique Identifier (GUID), which allows the sharing of data specific to a research participant without exposing personally identifiable information. They used Pardot to collect missing data fields, because they also use it to generate lists from these same Salesforce fields to send targeted emails about research opportunities.

Small Teams Use Grassroots Innovation to Accomplish Big Goals

The team at FTD Disorders Registry truly encompasses the spirit of the grassroots innovation category. The small team wears many hats and uses community resources to figure things out when necessary.
Check out this blog post to learn more about the MarDreamies awards. Or, share a few words to congratulate the winners using the comments section below.

Original article: Mardreamies 2022 Award Winner Story: Grassroots Innovation

The post Mardreamies 2022 Award Winner Story: Grassroots Innovation appeared first on The Spot.