96% of business leaders acknowledge that data and analytics significantly enhance decision-making capabilities. However, 94% believe they could derive even more value from their data, indicating a substantial opportunity for improvement and optimisation.
Data is the new currency; businesses are striving to capitalise on the large amounts of information they accumulate. Salesforce Data Cloud presents itself as a transformative solution, reshaping how organisations view and utilise customer data.
What is a Customer Data Platform (CDP)?
In essence, a CDP is a software platform that acts as a central hub for all your customer data. It gathers data from diverse sources, cleans and unifies it, and creates a single, unified customer profile for each individual. This profile encompasses a customer’s demographics, purchase history, website activity, app usage, support interactions, and any other relevant data points you collect.
This complex, omnichannel experience generates a vast amount of data, but its true value lies in unifying and analysing it to gain a comprehensive understanding of your customer base.
Why Do You Need a CDP?
Imagine the difference between trying to understand a customer based on fragmented bits of information scattered across different departments and systems, versus having a 360-degree view presented in one place. A CDP empowers you to do just that, offering several compelling benefits:
1. Enhanced Customer Understanding: By unifying customer data, you gain a deeper understanding of individual preferences, needs, and behaviours. This allows you to segment your audience and target them more effectively.
2. Personalised Customer Experiences: With a comprehensive customer profile in hand, you can deliver personalised experiences that resonate with each individual.
3. Improved Decision-Making Saves Time: CDPs provide valuable data insights that can inform strategic decision-making across the organisation.
4. Increased Operational Efficiency: By breaking down a huge amount of data and centralising customer information, CDPs streamline operations and improve internal communication.
5. Enhanced Regulatory Compliance: Complying with regulations like GDPR and CCPA is crucial. CDPs often come equipped with built-in features for managing customer consent and data privacy, helping businesses meet these regulatory requirements more effectively.
In simpler terms, a CDP acts as your data translator. Following the release of the 2024 Gartner Magic Quadrant for CDPs, Salesforce gained a leader position based on the evaluation of Data Cloud, which has left people wondering, what is Salesforce Data Cloud? There are many CDPs available but choosing the right one will transform your fragmented customer information into a unified language that empowers you to understand, engage with, and ultimately, delight your customers.
What is Salesforce Data Cloud?
Salesforce Data Cloud goes beyond the traditional CDP by providing a comprehensive solution built on the Salesforce Customer 360 Platform and powered by the Einstein 1 Platform. This interconnected ecosystem empowers businesses to unify their customer data across diverse sources, departments, and functionalities.
Here’s how Data Cloud works:
1. Connecting and Unifying Data:
Data Cloud acts as a central hub, seamlessly integrating with a wide range of data sources, including:
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Marketing automation platforms
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Sales CRMs
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Customer service software
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E-commerce platforms
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Social media channels
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Legacy systems
Once ingested, Data Cloud employs sophisticated techniques to transform it into usable insights by eliminating inconsistencies arising from different data formats and entry methods, ensuring accurate and cohesive customer profiles. It then collects data points from diverse sources that are brought together, creating a comprehensive customer profile encompassing demographics, purchase history, website activity, app usage, support interactions, and more.
2. Real-Time Data Activation:
Data Cloud operates in real-time, meaning any new data point is instantly reflected in the unified customer profile. This capability enables:
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Highly targeted and personalised marketing campaigns across email, social media, and other channels.
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Personalised sales interactions with real-time customer information and insights.
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Proactive customer service by identifying potential issues and addressing them preemptively.
3. Data Management and Governance:
Data Cloud empowers businesses to take control of their valuable customer information within the Salesforce ecosystem. It provides data management and governance features, including:
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Access controls: Define who has access to specific data sets, ensuring responsible data management.
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Data retention policies: Establish clear guidelines for data retention, complying with relevant regulations and best practices.
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Data security measures: Data security is prioritised through encryption and audit trails to build trust with customers.
What is the Einstein 1 Platform?
The Einstein 1 Platform is the foundation for AI and machine learning capabilities within the Salesforce ecosystem. It provides a single platform for various AI-powered tools and services, including:
Salesforce Einstein: A suite of AI tools for sales automation, forecasting, and opportunity scoring.
Marketing Cloud Einstein: AI-powered features for marketing automation, personalisation, and campaign optimisation.
Service Cloud Einstein: AI-powered tools for case classification, sentiment analysis, and agent recommendations.
How is SF Data Cloud different from other CDPs?
While Data Cloud shares many core functionalities with other CDPs, it sets itself apart in several key aspects:
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Real-Time Data Activation: Unlike many CDPs that operate on batch processing, Data Cloud operates in real-time, allowing businesses to leverage the most up-to-date information for immediate action.
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Deep Integration with Salesforce Ecosystem: Data Cloud seamlessly integrates with various Salesforce Clouds and applications, fostering a more cohesive customer experience across different departments.
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Focus goes Beyond Marketing: While many CDPs primarily cater to marketing teams, Data Cloud extends its functionalities to empower sales, service, and other departments, enabling a more holistic customer-centric approach.
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AI and Machine Learning Integration: Data Cloud leverages the power of AI and machine learning to identify patterns, predict behaviour, and recommend actions for personalised experiences and optimised campaigns.
These unique features empower businesses to not only gain the basic benefit of unifying data, but also leverage actionable insights to drive personalised experiences, optimise operations, and achieve sustainable growth.
How Organisations Are Using Salesforce Data Cloud
Salesforce Data Cloud enables organisations to deliver exceptional and personalised experiences. Here are a few examples of how organisations in the travel & aviation sector are leveraging this technology:
Enhancing Customer Support at Southwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines leveraged Salesforce Data Cloud to expand their customer support channels beyond traditional phone and email, introducing in-app chat to align with customer expectations. By piloting this initiative with a select customer group, they gained valuable insights into user interactions and employee feedback, refining the chat service before a full rollout. This approach highlighted their commitment to rapid innovation and customer-centric enhancements using Salesforce’s capabilities.
Transforming Customer Engagement at Heathrow Airport
Heathrow Airport utilised Salesforce Data Cloud to revolutionise passenger experiences. By integrating this technology to gain a comprehensive up-to-date profile, Heathrow could offer personalised services that cater to the unique needs of each traveller, significantly enhancing customer satisfaction. The Director of Marketing and Digital at Heathrow Airport stated “With Salesforce, we can provide personalised experiences that meet passenger needs – even if they are one in 70 million.”
This shift towards a more tailored approach not only improved passenger interactions but also boosted the efficiency of the customer service team. As a result, staff could allocate more time to assist a greater number of passengers, demonstrating the profound impact of Salesforce Data Cloud in optimising customer support and engagement within the aviation sector.
Implementing Salesforce Data Cloud
Salesforce Data Cloud provides a wealth of possibilities for businesses seeking to unify customer data, personalise experiences, and drive growth. However, implementing and maximising its potential requires expertise and a deep understanding of your unique business needs.
This is where Unify steps in. As a leading Salesforce agency, we have the knowledge and experience to guide you through every step of the Data Cloud journey. From strategic planning and seamless integration to ongoing optimisation, our team of certified experts ensures a smooth and successful implementation.
We understand that every organisation’s goals and processes are unique. We don’t offer a “one-size-fits-all” approach. Instead, we collaborate closely with you to develop a customised Data Cloud strategy that aligns perfectly with your business goals. Salesforce’s comprehensive CRM solutions, combined with the expertise of partners like Unify, present a powerful suite of services.
Contact us to find out how Unify experts support enterprise-level organisations in customer data platform implementation. As a Salesforce agency, we work with ambitious companies on their digital transformations, through our advisory, integration and acceleration services. Contact us today to find out how we can assist you.