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Marketing manager at Wowtickets
Real User
Top 5Leaderboard
Comes with automation and Einstein features which provides innovative ideas
Pros and Cons
  • "The tool's most valuable feature is its automation. We can integrate data with the Salesforce hub. Its Einstein feature tells us whether our campaigns are on the right track. It also helps with ideas."

    What is most valuable?

    The tool's most valuable feature is its automation. We can integrate data with the Salesforce hub. Its Einstein feature tells us whether our campaigns are on the right track. It also helps with ideas. 

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using the product for seven years. 

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    I rate the solution's stability an eight out of ten. 

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    Salesforce Marketing Cloud is scalable. I rate it seven out of ten. 

    Buyer's Guide
    Salesforce Marketing Cloud
    October 2024
    Learn what your peers think about Salesforce Marketing Cloud. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: October 2024.
    816,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    How are customer service and support?

    Salesforce Marketing Cloud's tech support is responsive. There is a platform called Trailblazer where you can put in your queries. 

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    I used HubSpot before Salesforce Marketing Cloud. I switched the platform since I changed the company. In terms of data management, Salesforce outshines HubSpot. It provides robust data handling and excels in generating innovative ideas and feedback. Specifically, tools like Einstein contribute significantly by offering insights on enhancing EDR.

    One standout feature is the 360-degree view in Salesforce, a capability absent in HubSpot.

    How was the initial setup?

    The tool's deployment was straightforward. Deployment can be completed in two weeks. 

    What other advice do I have?

    I rate the product a nine out of ten. 

    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    reviewer2191812 - PeerSpot reviewer
    Head of Information Technology at a non-profit with 10,001+ employees
    Real User
    Top 5Leaderboard
    Maps customer journeys and works for email campaigns but pricing is expensive
    Pros and Cons
    • "Salesforce Marketing Cloud's integrations are seamless since it is a native application. It helps us with B2B and B2C send-outs and can handle large columns."
    • "Salesforce Marketing Cloud is expensive. The email functionality should be more modern and user-friendly."

    What is our primary use case?

    We use the product for email campaigns. It also helps us to map customer journeys. 

    How has it helped my organization?

    The tool's report file creation functionality helps us with productivity. We can also use it to check CRM campaigns. The data is in one place. 

    What is most valuable?

    Salesforce Marketing Cloud's integrations are seamless since it is a native application. It helps us with B2B and B2C send-outs and can handle large columns. 

    What needs improvement?

    Salesforce Marketing Cloud is expensive. The email functionality should be more modern and user-friendly. 

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been working with the product for two years. 

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    The product is stable. 

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    My company has around 10 users for the product. It is scalable. However, you need to be mindful of the cost while scaling. 

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    We chose the product since it was a Salesforce native application. 

    How was the initial setup?

    The tool's deployment took six weeks to complete. We have a team managing the system: three in-house members and some external consultants. Our focus is not just on keeping things updated but also making sure they stay relevant.

    What about the implementation team?

    A Salesforce marketing consultant expert helped us with the deployment. 

    What was our ROI?

    We have seen ROI with the product's use. 

    What other advice do I have?

    I rate the product an eight out of ten. 

    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    Buyer's Guide
    Salesforce Marketing Cloud
    October 2024
    Learn what your peers think about Salesforce Marketing Cloud. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: October 2024.
    816,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.
    reviewer1438128 - PeerSpot reviewer
    Project Manager / Management Consultant at a computer software company with 10,001+ employees
    Real User
    Marketing and sales engagement platform that integrates and works well with other Salesforce solutions
    Pros and Cons
    • "Marketing Cloud offers a 360 customers experience as it integrates with Service Cloud and Sales Cloud, the CRM portion of Salesforce. The different platforms integrate easily which makes it easy to manage customer communication using a single point of truth."
    • "The quality of support for this solution has been decreasing over time and the support team are sometimes more focused on closing tickets that resolving issues. Often the support team is not well trained or aware of the new features or products released by Salesforce."

    What is our primary use case?

    We use this solution for customer communication and sales engagement.

    What is most valuable?

    Marketing Cloud offers a 360 customers experience as it integrates with Service Cloud and Sales Cloud, the CRM portion of Salesforce. The different platforms integrate easily which makes it easy to manage customer communication using a single point of truth. 

    What needs improvement?

    The quality of support for this solution has been decreasing over time and the support team are sometimes more focused on closing tickets that resolving issues. Often the support team is not well trained or aware of the new features or products released by Salesforce. 

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    The stability of this solution depends on the amount of data that you have contained in the system. 

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    This is a scalable solution. 

    How are customer service and support?

    The customer support for this solution are not great as they often make mistakes.

    How would you rate customer service and support?

    Neutral

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup for this solution is straightforward but this does depend on each business' architecture. Salesforce has a lot of native connectors that make it easy to connect with systems, but this can involve legacy and governance restrictions.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    This solution is priced in the medium to high price range. 

    What other advice do I have?

    Marketing Cloud is a more user-friendly solution compared to Adobe Marketing Cloud. Marketing Cloud can be used by users who are not technically inclined.  

    I would rate this solution a nine out of ten. 

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    Private Cloud
    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
    PeerSpot user
    Kees Koenen - PeerSpot reviewer
    Solution Professional at Red Hat
    Real User
    Top 20
    Useful AI integration, user-friendly interface, and performs well
    Pros and Cons
    • "The most valuable features of Salesforce Marketing Cloud are that it performs well and gives me what I need. It's the most friendly interface system for CRM I've worked with. Additionally, it integrates fairly well with different kinds of AI and ML to allow you to receive more out of your application."
    • "Salesforce Marketing Cloud could improve by having more graphical options because a lot of tables are now only numbers and percentages and data. I prefer graphs, lines, and pie charts. I know there are ways to receive this from Salesforce Marketing Cloud. It doesn't play a huge role in my daily work to invest the time to figure it out. I feel that it would be time wasted. They could make the graphical options easier to find and use in the future."

    What is our primary use case?

    The general use case of Salesforce Marketing Cloud is to manage marketing relationships with customers.

    What is most valuable?

    The most valuable features of Salesforce Marketing Cloud are that it performs well and gives me what I need. It's the most friendly interface system for CRM I've worked with. Additionally, it integrates fairly well with different kinds of AI and ML to allow you to receive more out of your application.

    What needs improvement?

    Salesforce Marketing Cloud could improve by having more graphical options because a lot of tables are now only numbers and percentages and data. I prefer graphs, lines, and pie charts.  I know there are ways to receive this from Salesforce Marketing Cloud. It doesn't play a huge role in my daily work to invest the time to figure it out. I feel that it would be time wasted. They could make the graphical options easier to find and use in the future.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using Salesforce Marketing Cloud for approximately two years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    Salesforce Marketing Cloud has been a stable solution.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    Salesforce Marketing Cloud is scalable because they have a lot of large customers. I'm not on that side of the technology to know exactly.

    How are customer service and support?

    I have not contacted the support of Salesforce Marketing Cloud.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    My company pays to use this solution.

    What other advice do I have?

    I would recommend Salesforce Marketing Cloud to others.

    I rate Salesforce Marketing Cloud a nine out of ten.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    Public Cloud
    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    Diganta Tah - PeerSpot reviewer
    Director - Customer Experience at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
    Real User
    Top 10Leaderboard
    Has great features and can be designed to fit requirements
    Pros and Cons
    • "Offers many great features and is intuitive."
    • "The data extension tools are not very user-friendly."

    What is our primary use case?

    I'm the director of customer experience and we are partners with Salesforce. 

    What is most valuable?

    The Journey Builder, which has been around for a while and follows the steps that customers use, is the greatest tool that Salesforce has. In terms of newer features, Einstein Analytics for marketing is in a very hot happening area. I also like the Interaction Studio and the Datorama marketing analytics.

    What needs improvement?

    The data extension tools are not very user-friendly. They've been working on the CDP capability for the last couple of years but it needs improvement in terms of it being within the tool and real-time activation of data. 

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I've been using this solution for seven years. 

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    The solution is very stable. 

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    The solution is scalable because it's got a multi-business unit architecture. It can be designed as required. We have multiple customers so it's hard to measure the number of users. If it's a deployment tool, for example, then there might be an average of 600-700 users that would require a team of five or six for support. 

    How are customer service and support?

    Customer service is quite responsive.

    How would you rate customer service and support?

    Positive

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup is very intuitive and straightforward. 

    What other advice do I have?

    This solution is absolutely on the top and I rate it 10 out of 10. 

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    Public Cloud
    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
    PeerSpot user
    reviewer1105335 - PeerSpot reviewer
    Solutions Architect at a consumer goods company with 5,001-10,000 employees
    Real User
    Great email solutions and automation with useful control over customer data
    Pros and Cons
    • "The Journey and CloudPages and automation are all great."
    • "The pricing is a bit high."

    What is our primary use case?

    We are using Salesforce Marketing Cloud in our beverage company. This company is in Costa Rica. We're using it to get all the information we need from potential prospects. It is not being used for B2B business. It's more being used for B2C, where we collect a lot of information with CloudPages about all the brands we have. 

    We have an average of 50 brands here in the company. We used to work with partners on the marketing side, however, we never got all the data we wanted and we didn't have the centralized data from our end-users. 

    The aim of this project, from the beginning, was to get all the information and have it as our own, to be collected on our systems and our databases. We're using it for marketing in that way. We're still working with partners, however, now the partners needs to use our solution, instead of using any solution they have.

    What is most valuable?

    The solution has a lot of great aspects. We have the Social Studio. We have, DMP and Audience Studio. We're using the email solution as well. The Journey and CloudPages and automation are all great. We use all of them for the most part.

    What needs improvement?

    The pricing is a bit high. In our country our company is one of the biggest, however, the price is really high even for us sometimes. 

    We are looking for CDP solutions. Salesforce was offering that to be ready and this year, however, it seems it's not ready yet. It could be in January. On the other hand, SAP has the solution already implemented, which makes them a more appealing solution for us right now. The business is pushing us to move to another solution due to the fact that they need the CDP solution ASAP. 

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I've been using the solution for three years at this point. 

    Which other solutions did I evaluate?

    We were comparing also this solution with the SAP Marketing Cloud.

    What other advice do I have?

    We are customers and end-users. We don't have a business relationship with Salesforce. 

    We have the complete suite for marketing on Salesforce here. It is an enterprise-level product.

    I'd rate the solution at a nine out of ten. 

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    Public Cloud
    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    PeerSpot user
    Senior Marketing Automation Consultant at CloudShift Group
    Consultant
    Allows organisations to engage customers with one integrated platform to unify sales, service, and marketing.

    What is our primary use case?

    The need to build a single, comprehensive view of each consumer to power 1-to-1 journeys. Integrate every touchpoint and experience with your brand across advertising, marketing, commerce, sales, service, and apps.

    How has it helped my organization?

    • Allows organisations to engage customers with one integrated platform to unify sales, service, and marketing.
    • Allows organisations to connect with leads and customers across every channel, on any device.
    • Allows organisations to implement automated solutions, saving time and money.

    What is most valuable?

    Content Builder: Content Builder is a cross-channel content management tool that allows you to consolidate images, documents, and content in a single location for use in the Marketing Cloud. With an easy-to-use, drag and drop interface, Content Builder allows you to create re-usable templates for emails and landing pages.

    Advertising Studio: Advertising Studio uses existing customer data from email, mobile push interactions and conversions on your site to securely sync with the contact's Facebook, Twitter, Google AdWords and Social Studio accounts. Engage customers with relevant, timely messages and find new customers with similar attributes by combining the functionality of Advertising Audiences and Advertising Campaigns.

    Social Studio: Social Studio is a one stop solution allowing you to manage, schedule, create and monitor posts organized by brand, region or multiple teams and individuals in a unified interface. Social Studio offers powerful real-time publishing and engagement platform for content marketers, plus the comprehensive content performance by social network and time frame.

    Journey Builder: Journey Builder is used for creating responsive, automated, multi-channel campaigns. Use Journey Builder to design a communication plan that reaches customers at every stage of their journey with your brand.

    What needs improvement?

    Marketing Cloud releases product updates every three months. With each update, users have to adapt to the product changes and new interfaces.

    To improve user experience, there should be clear workflows to assist the user through the setup processes. The help documentation also needs to reflect product updates more accurately. Being at the front of innovation is difficult if you are playing a guessing game.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    Three to five years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    Marketing Cloud provide a live feed of any product issues, and users are notified in advance of any stability issues. As a side note, this product is cloud based and I would recommend using a Chrome browser to limit issues.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    There are no issues with scalability as long as you have a well-defined solution prior to account configuration.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    Customer Service:

    This is dependent on the license you purchase.

    • I would rate Standard Support 8/10.
    • I would rate Premium Support 10/10.

    Technical Support:

    This is dependent on the license you purchase. If you have a standard support agreement and need a quick fix, I would recommend escalating your cases as soon as the option appears in your case log.

    • I would rate Standard Support 5/10.
    • I would rate Premium Support 9/10.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    No.

    How was the initial setup?

    This is dependent on what your business is trying to achieve.

    An integrated approach is always recommended. If you are using Salesforce Sales and Service Cloud, the initial set up is medium complexity. If you are integrating with other CRM systems, websites and apps, you will need an experienced developer to implement your solution.

    A non-integrated approach, such as manual imports and file drops is a straightforward setup. However, you will not reap all the benefits of Marketing Cloud.

    What about the implementation team?

    As consultants, we will always implement Marketing Cloud for our clients. This requires working collaboratively with key stakeholders to discover, plan, build, test and deploy the correct solution.

    What was our ROI?

    We have have a dedicated Customer Intelligence Manager who works closely to define our clients' measures of success. We find it challenging to measure ROI directly through Marketing Cloud, often this is a wider conversation.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    We make educated recommendations about which features would be used to implement our clients' solutions. Our clients engage directly with Marketing Cloud to negotiate licensing costs. In general, the costs are high.

    Which other solutions did I evaluate?

    Initially my previous company Davanti Consulting chose Marketo as an alternative Marketing Automation tool, however we did not see this as a good fit for the business.

    My current company CloudShift Group stay ahead of the game by solely offering Marketing Cloud (B2C) and Pardot (B2B) as our preferred marketing automation tools.

    What other advice do I have?

    Consider your options and stay true to what is best for your business.

    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Current - CloudShift Group are a leading Salesforce Partner in the UK. They are believed to be the fastest partner to reach Platinum status. We provide a suite of Salesforce services across all Salesforce clouds - Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, CPQ, Einstein Analytics, Field Lightning Services, Marketing Cloud, Pardot. Previous - Davanti Consulting are the Go-To-Market Partner in New Zealand for Salesforce Marketing Cloud and a global Platinum Partner for Salesforce.com
    PeerSpot user
    reviewer1686366 - PeerSpot reviewer
    Head of Digital Consulting Team at a mining and metals company with 1,001-5,000 employees
    Real User
    Top 20
    User-friendly, stable, and scalable
    Pros and Cons
    • "The solution is user-friendly."
    • "The customization of Salesforce, a generic CRM software, has room for improvement."

    What is our primary use case?

    We use the solution as our organization's CRM.

    How has it helped my organization?

    Previously, demand was fragmented and varied depending on the line of business, such as plate mail, pipe mail, and calls. This made it difficult to track metrics, such as the order book, conversion from leads to opportunities, etc. However, since Salesforce was implemented, the tracking has improved significantly, as all leads, opportunities, and conversions are captured. This has improved visibility for both end users and salespeople, as well as higher-ups.

    The solution has improved the efficiency of our entire organization.

    What is most valuable?

    The solution is user-friendly.

    What needs improvement?

    The customization of Salesforce, a generic CRM software, has room for improvement. It is not very customizable, which is often required for a particular industry, and building those customizations can take a lot of time. For example, in the steel industry, there are thousands of SKUs that need to be configured depending on the mill parameters. Salesforce does not do this out of the box, so we must consider these factors and configure it on the due date and time.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using the solution for over one year.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    I give the stability a nine out of ten.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    I give the scalability a ten out of ten. We have around 50 people using the solution currently in our organization.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    We previously used custom developer software in-house before switching to Salesforce Marketing Cloud.

    How was the initial setup?

    I give the initial setup an eight out of ten. Our deployment took one year. We created a dedicated team consisting of the digitalization team, sales team, and top management to monitor the overall progress. We then onboarded an implementation partner to accompany us on the journey from start to finish. The deployment was originally planned to be completed in nine to ten months, but it took more than twelve months.

    What about the implementation team?

    The implementation was completed in-house with the help of an implementation partner.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    The solution is a bit expensive. I give the cost of the solution a six out of ten.

    We need to invest a lot of money upfront for implementation, and there are certain modules, such as Einstein Analytics, which are sold by Salesforce and require extra payment. I am not familiar with all the components of Salesforce, but there is an optional component that requires additional investment.

    What other advice do I have?

    I give the solution an eight out of ten. Salesforce is reliable and once configured, it can capture as much customer information as desired. The solution is also highly scalable, allowing many users to be added without issue. The only downside is the cost, which has a recurring expenditure component that can add up over time. Additionally, once everyone is trained in a particular software, it can be difficult to switch, making it difficult to break away from the software. Salesforce is a great tool, but it can be addictive and can lead to a feeling of being locked in.

    Depending on our ability to develop in-house CRM software, I would advise staying in-house. If we opt for Salesforce, we will likely be tied to it for five to ten years, depending on the size and complexity of our organization. For larger and more complex organizations, Salesforce may be the best solution; however, if the organization is of medium size, they should consider developing custom software in-house, which would be more cost-effective.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    Public Cloud
    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    Buyer's Guide
    Download our free Salesforce Marketing Cloud Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
    Updated: October 2024
    Buyer's Guide
    Download our free Salesforce Marketing Cloud Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.