Boston born and bred sports geek with a twist. Unabashed sports nut and technology enthusiast. Living in the cloud literally and figuratively as a SaaS (Software as a Service) advocate that wants to see as much of the world in person as manageable.
Here are a few resources to help you on your way to Marketing Success Source: Disney Pixar via Giphy
Thank you for joining Karmel James and me for our session at London’s Calling, thank you. We hope you enjoyed the workshop and its content. Below are resources we compiled for your reference as you shape or reshape your marketing operations.
Marketing journeys will have various stops along the way. Sometimes one emotion will weigh in more than another. It’s an important balance we all need to learn and maintain. As we mentioned in our session, set it and forget is not a recipe for success. Revisiting your documentation with your expected results and assumptions outlined goes a long way to reaching ParDomination.
Process/Journey Mapping
Processes sometimes require abstract thinking Source: Disney Pixar via Giphy
While there are many questions, it just takes one decision to get you started. Your steps do not need to be big but in the right direction.
Automation
Automation can reduce how much your team is juggling Source: Disney Pixar via Giphy
Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should automate everything. Automation should be leveraged to free up your amazing team from highly stable and repeatable processes so that they can focus on important tasks that cannot or should not be automated.
Testing
Pressing buttons is fun. Just make sure you know what happens before you need to Source: Disney Pixar via Giphy
While it may seem self-explanatory to you, your customers see your marketing with rose colored glasses. So testing will illuminate where you have made assumptions and get you closer to understanding your market.
Analytics
Show me, don’t tell me what’s working Source: Disney Pixar via Giphy
Everyone would love to jump straight to amazing ROI and validation of our KPIs. However, that rarely falls into place perfectly from the start. That’s why it’s important to take the first step in setting your goals early so that they can be evaluated and determine whether they are reliable benchmarks and identify your KPIs.
Documentation
Show me, don’t tell me what’s working Source: Anonymous MakeaGif via Giphy
Often forgotten, this will be your saving grace to see the forest when you have been in the trees. Taking time to transcribe the who, what, when, where, why, and how can save you pain & heartache when your memories go to long term storage.
Summary
Don’t you love it when a plan comes together? Source: Disney Pixar via Giphy
The take away here is that, like the plot of the movie, the 5 emotions of email marketing are most effective as a collaborative team. Sure, there are moments when one must step up for a moment, but overall, it’s teamwork that makes the dream work.
Resources
There are plenty of resources to help you on your way to ParDomination Source: Disney Pixar via Giphy
In order to engage and support people at the center of whatever service, product, or program you are offering, it’s important to create and maintain a connected and consistent view of them in order to deliver a successful experience.
People engage with people
Throughout my career, conversations around an organizations CRM (aka Customer Relationship Management system) have referred to it as the system of record (SOR) or source of truth (SOT). These terms are not always interchangeable. For the purpose of this post, I will consider them one in the same, SOR/T for short. Next, I will define what is a system of engagement and how it relates to CRM.
For all intents and purposes, The Salesforce Marketing Cloud is a communication and engagement platform used to share information through various channels to engage with your audience (customers, constituents, students, patients, donors, and . . . you get the picture that this list can go on for a while). What it is NOT, is the single source of truth for any one individual. It can, however, be the single source of digital engagement. It can even support traditional offline communications, but that is conversation for another day.
Regardless of the channel of communication, people expect a consistent experience and at minimum for you to get their name right, should you choose to personalize your messages. Email, mobile, or any communication channel for that matter, should leverage the same view of the person to whom they are delivering messages.
Your system of engagement isn’t just for marketing. For more on this topic, refer to my post titled End the Marketing Cloud. Just like channels shouldn’t matter, the stage that each person chooses to engage with you should not prevent you from delivering consistent communications where, different parts of your organization are aware of what has happen so far and should be able to make informed decisions when responding to or initiating a conversation. For example, if a person has requested support with a product/service, it would make sense not cross/up-sell something else before you have resolved their concern. Similarly, if I just bought something, I hope I’m not immediately bombarded with ads everywhere I go to buy the thing I just bought! In cases where I just donated to a cause, does it really makes sense to hit me up immediately after with another a request for more money?
The point is your CRM and SOE should be connected with each other, and connected with other systems, as needed, to ensure the best possible view of the people who have chosen your organization. They are not obligated to choose you and you should not assume they always will. Do what you can to connect the fragments of their profile so that you can thoughtfully utilize it to deliver and respond with timely messages for any and all relevant occasions.
Even if you have all your systems mapped and documented with respect to how your systems are connected, have you mapped out the various touch points between you and those who have engaged with you? Are these reflected in your overall architecture? Are there any gaps or areas of opportunity to improve profile accuracy? As automated as society has become, people still expect people to be on the other end. That is why it’s important to put as much care and thought into your system of engagement as your system of record or source truth.
It’s time for the Salesforce Marketing Cloud (product) to end.
If only I could get Luke Skywalker himself to utter these words the same way he delivered a similar line in the Last Jedi, “It’s time for the Salesforce Marketing Cloud (product) to end.” Especially, after the recent renaming for the Community Cloud (product) as the Experience Cloud (blog). That name change was made to include various enhancements and product additions.
The term marketing does not encompass all that the cloud it represents is capable of doing. It hasn’t for a while. I’ve had countless conversations with friends, colleagues, and customers who share a similar point of view. Sure, you can market with it, but not everyone that uses it, markets, at least that not all they do. The Marketing Cloud platform, which is what it truly is, does so much more than just market.
The Marketing Cloud support multiple channels, and when combined provide a omni-channel engagement and communication solution for many industries and organizations. For example, many higher education institutions use Marketing Cloud’s email, mobile, and social tools to engage with its students and their families on a number of topics. Add in former and prospective students to the mix and you’re looking at marketing, service, fundraising to name a few.
A few years ago, after delivering a session focused on Marketing Cloud, I referenced an old analogy that organizations are either looking to increase revenue or decrease costs. This analogy fell flat with the higher education portion of the audience. A good friend of mine, who is a career member of the higher ed community and present at the time, gently corrected me. That’s when I realized the Marketing Cloud is all wrong. It’s not inclusive enough. It’s far too limiting, and does not project to current and potential users what its true nature is.
The Salesforce CRM (Sales/Service Clouds) in many cases is considered the source of truth (SOT) or system of record (SOR). This is very common when integrated with the Marketing Cloud, which I like to refer to as the system of engagement (SOE). That is why Salesforce should “end” the Marketing Cloud as we know it. It’s time for the rise of the Engagement Cloud!
The latest edition of the Technical Marketers Monthly Meeting was all about email deliverability. Kevin Ryan, Product Manager at Salesforce for SMS took us through three product areas he and his team are responsible for: Mobile Connect, Journey Builder SMS Activity, and SMS APIs. You can catch the session in its entirety via this recording link. Below are five key points from the session as outlined in Guilda’s post on Twitter.
📲💬 Here is your six-digit code: 062520
Join the MobileConnect Product team + live Q+A on June 25 to dive deep into SMS 👉 https://t.co/OfZQCt6LKS
1️⃣ Technical Overview 2️⃣ Subscription Management 3️⃣ Delivery Receipts 4️⃣ Best Practices 5️⃣ Tokenized Sending Do's and Don't's pic.twitter.com/EspiJ9Lgo1
You can access the recording by using the registration link in the Tweet above
One thing I learned from this session is that content is not shared between Mobile Connect and SMS Activities in Journey Builder. Each app has its own content store. Mobile Connect manages its content while SMS Activities relies on Content Builder for its content.
QRG = Quick Reference Guide for Mobile terminology Short Message Service (SMS) is the most common form of text messaging Multimedia Messaging Service Mobile Terminated (MT) are outbound mobile messages sent to your customers/subscribers Mobile Originated (MO) are inbound mobile messages sent by customers/subscribers Delivery Receipts (DLR) only let you know whether a message was delivered, it does not confirm that it was read Application-to-Person (A2P) messaging is where a person receives messages from an application – IN scope in this post Person-to-Person (P2P) messaging is where a person receives messages from another person – Out of scope in this post
SMS Messaging and Value Chain Process – Image from presentation
What’s required to send SMS from Marketing Cloud?
There are three attributes the are required to deliver SMS messages from Marketing, they are:
1. Subscriber Key 2. Mobile number 3. Locale (Country)
The Locale value is inferred when using the contact model. You can use a Data Extension (DE) too, but you must include the appropriate, 5 alphanumeric locale (country code) in order to send from the DE, said Kevin. I’ve reference a number of resources for this topic in the Resources section at the bottom.
Do I Have Permission?
May I vs. Can I? Just because you (technically) can, doesn’t mean you should send SMS without explicit opt-in (permission) from the recipient. Otherwise, you come off looking like this…
Source: Gifer
Subscriptions live at a code and keyword level. What this means is that when inbound mobile messages sent by customers/subscribers are received, Marketing Cloud will first match to account (MID) that is associated with that code. Second, it will route to the keyword owner, which is at the Business Unit level. Several more checks and validations are applied to ensure that wishes of the person sending the SMS are respected and handled appropriately. For a deeper look at this process, you should look slides 21-22 and/or watch the recording around the 21 minute mark.
Inbound Messaging Outline as shown on slide 22
Summary
Kevin included a lot of good, easy to digest examples and use cases for leveraging MobileConnect, including many tips, tricks, and sample code. In addition to the excellent information shared in this session, I’ve added a few more to supplement it, below. Hope you enjoy(ed) the session as much as I did. Additional resources, including the recording and slides, as well as a number of other SMS related resources, are linked below.
The latest edition of the Technical Marketers Monthly Meeting was all about email deliverability. Al Iverson from the Salesforce Marketing Cloud Deliverability team took us through the various building blocks of creating a successful deliverability strategy. You can catch the session in its entirety via this recording link. Below is a brief summary of the key points from the session.
🔥Mark your calendars 🔥 the Technical Marketers Monthly Meeting on May 14th at 10am EST is all about deliverability. @SalesforceDeliv will deep dive into the wonderful world of:
You can access the recording by using the registration link in the Tweet above
QRG = Quick Reference Guide of common deliverability terms SAP = Sender Authentication Package (Salesforce service offering) SPF = Sender Policy Framework DKIM = DomainKeys Identified Mail DMARC = Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance IP Address = Internet Protocol Address
Why do these terms matter? The Sender Policy Framework (SPF) contains a list of IP addresses allowed to send mail on behalf of your domain name. Complexity: Simple DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM) Cryptographic based signature is added to messages. Translation, it makes it more difficult to spoof and impersonate your domain. Complexity: Medium Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance (DMARC) is one of the best defenses against phishing attacks and spoofing. It looks at either or both the SPF and DKIM records. It can be tricky to set up correctly. Complexity: Advanced
Everybody emails because it’s “cheap and easy” to do. However, being successful at it requires some effort. There’s a reason we all get junk mail. If you want to arrive in and stay in the inbox of the people you’re looking to engage with, then it’s important to invest the time up front to configure your email solution AND monitor it as the world of spammers is constantly looking for ways to game the system and get you to click on their nefarious links. I highly recommend you watch the recording of this session and review the slides for a deeper dive into creating and maintaining a strong and successful deliverability strategy.
I am happy to share that I was included, with many talented and passionate individuals in the inaugural cohort of Salesforce Marketing Champions. The first class was announced on its blog on April 20, 2020. Congratulations to everyone!
Fortunately for me, I have had the pleasure of working with or at least getting to know, many of the newly minted champions. It’s even more exciting to see a great number of people I haven’t interacted with, meaning I have the opportunity to meet and learn from others I might have otherwise not crossed paths with. In my experience, the marketing circle is far smaller than some of its sibling (sometimes rival) departments, so it’s nice to see my circle expand!
On May 16 at 10 am EST, I am co-presenting Customer Service is Social with my friend, Karisa Booth during Virtual Dreamin‘s inaugural, completely virtual, 24-hour marathon event taking place May 16-17. Karisa and I worked together for more than 2 years and have both spoken on this topic in the past. For the first time, we’ll share the stage to cover this topic and how you can leverage it for your organization’s benefit.
You will learn how and why combining the power of Social Studio’s listening capabilities with Service Cloud’s case management capabilities to create a unified and consistent customer experience. Social compliments service, it doesn’t replace it. Learn how you can optimize and efficiently automate your social customer service.
You have your Marketing Cloud licenses and you are ready to use them to get closer to your audience. But where do you start? I’ll share my tips to implement Marketing Cloud right the first time and give your organisation the tools they need to engage with your audience.
The following tips will be explored during this session:
Technology
Stakeholders
Deliverability
Data
Plan
For more information about London’s Calling Virtual Experience, please visit their FAQ page.
I recently sat for and passed the Salesforce Marketing Cloud Administrator certification. As someone with multiple years experience with the Salesforce Marketing Cloud (the MAP formerly known as ExactTarget), I felt good going into the exam. My learning style relies heavily on practical experience, which is the primary reason I was confident going into the exam. However, I still prepared with some insights and tips from the community. The following is a outline of how I prepared and does not refer to all of the possible resources you could use in your own preparation. You know your learning style best so use your judgement in where you choose to spend your time studying.
I started with official Exam Guide provided by Salesforce. Here you while find links and references to recommended trails and modules on Trailhead, an outline of the of key sections with each weighted percentage of the exam, as well as a description of what a Marketing Cloud Administrator is expected to know.
The other thing I did, for which I’m very fortunate to have access to, was I went into system itself and refreshed myself on the various aspects of the Administrator area found in Settings. If you have access to a Marketing Cloud environment, I strongly recommend reviewing it as there have been a number of changes to its organization in the last year as the user interface (UI) has been remodeled to more closely resemble your “typical” Salesforce setup navigation.
Lastly, I completed several badges on Trailhead. If you don’t have access to a Marketing Cloud environment, this is where you can and should spend some time getting familiar with the responsibilities of a Marketing Cloud Administrator. It both narrates the practical execution of navigating and updating the configuration as well as provide visual images of much of the corresponding area in the UI for reference. If you can’t DO, then REVIEW what you can via Trailhead. The Exam Guide mentioned at the top will point to you several modules contained within the Administer Marketing Cloud Trail and Google Analytics 360 Integration for Marketing Cloud Module. Other modules you may want to review are:
Chris Zullo 