Congrats to The Salesforce MVP Class of 2023

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

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

Background of the program

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

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

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

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

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

How Salesforce MVPs are Selected

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

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

The 2023 Salesforce MVP Class

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

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

©2023 The Spot. All Rights Reserved.

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

By |2023-03-18T14:50:56+00:00March 18th, 2023|Categories: Career Development, Community, Community Spotlight, Industry News|

TrailblazerDX: 2023 Conference Preview for Marketers

We’re getting ready for TrailblazerDX 2023 (formerly TrailheadDX) — which was previously known as the big Salesforce community conference event for anyone who builds on the Salesforce platform using developer or declarative solutions. However, we’re finding that people who fill roles from all corners of the Salesforce ecosystem are traveling to TDX in recent years. That can include Salesforce admins and general users, consultants, and analysts in addition to developers and architects.

In this post, we’ll cover all the things our marketing friends should know about the 2023 TrailblazerDX conference.

2023 TrailblazerDX Details

TrailblazerDX is taking place March 7-8, 2023, in San Francisco as well as virtually through Salesforce+ live streams and on demand after the event ends. Salesforce is expecting around 25,000 attendees who can choose from 200+ technical sessions, product demos, workshops, and hands-on learning.

Go here to check out the official Salesforce description for the event.

If you’re a marketer or support a marketing team from any one of those roles and nerd out about the backend of Salesforce, then there’s a good chance you’ll want to catch a few TrailblazerDX sessions this year. 

Sercante Team TDX Sessions

Team Sercante will be out in full force at TrailblazerDX. If you’re going to be there in person, let us know so we can meet up to chat. 

You can find our dragons dropping knowledge during these sessions:

Account Engagement Extensibility: Automation to the Extreme

Tuesday, March 7 | 12 PM PT | Learn More

Learn how to expand communication channels and expand the event experience with marketing app extensions. Discover how to reduce manual efforts with API V5 for Flow.

Speakers:

Discover How Data Cloud for Marketing Unifies Customer Data

Tuesday, March 7 | 1:30 PM PT | Learn More

Customers are constantly changing and your data needs to evolve with them. Learn how to make every digital moment smarter using the power of unified data within Data Cloud for Marketing.

Speakers:

  • Adam Erstelle, VP of Technology, Sercante
  • Heather Rinke, Salesforce Product Director, Sercante

Evaluate and Make Critical Design Decisions 

Wednesday, March 8 | 12 PM PT | Learn More

Learn how an admin, architect, consultant, and developer approach critical design decisions. See how each role evaluates challenges when solving for specific user needs.

Panelists:

  • Skye Tyler, Solution Architect, Exponent Partners
  • Adam Erstelle, VP of Technology, Sercante
  • Karmel James, Senior Salesforce Administrator , Viz.ai
  • Hayley Tuller, Founding Partner & Head of Services, Navigators
  • Michelle Hansen, Principal, Slalom

Marketing-focused TrailblazerDX sessions

We’re always on the lookout for sessions our fellow marketers should catch. 

You’ll want to attend these sessions if you’re attending TrailblazerDX in real life this year. But if you’re not gonna be there in person, then check out the full schedule of sessions you can watch virtually on Salesforce+.

Dive into Data: CRMA vs. Salesforce Reports and Dashboards

Tuesday, March 7 | 1 PM PT | Learn More

Review Salesforce reports and dashboards and introduce learners to the world of CRM Analytics. Compare product features, uncover nuances, and take your analytics insights to the next level.

Speakers:

  • Rahul Shah, Manager, APAC Delivery, Salesforce
  • Mari Greenburg, Principal Instructor , Salesforce

Best Practices for Implementing Data Cloud

Tuesday, March 7 | 12 PM PT | Learn More

Learn to unlock value across the implementation journey for Data Cloud, Salesforce’s customer data platform, from use case discovery to data ingestion, unification, segmentation, and activation.

Speakers:

  • Arvind Raman, Director, Cloud Solution Alliances , Salesforce
  • Andrew Lee, Product Marketing Manager, Salesforce

Find Your Community in the Cloud

Tuesday, March 7 | 12 PM PT | Learn More

New to the Salesforce ecosystem? Building professional connections and strong relationships requires work. Learn how to forge your own path and create your community with Salesforce.

Speakers:

Marketer Networking Knowledge Hour

Tuesday, March 7 | 12:30 PM PT | Learn More

Marketing is as hot as a firecracker, but how do you ignite that spark? Marketers need to constantly be plugged in. Learn about the power of brand advocacy and nurturing community to achieve success.

Community Cove Networking Event

Maximize Mobile Engagement

Tuesday, March 7 | 3 PM PT | Learn More

Learn how to increase user engagement with your mobile app by taking advantage of event-driven journeys, in-app experiences, and push messages.

Speakers:

  • Caitlin Dwyer, Senior Product Manager, Salesforce
  • Monica Marathe, Product Manager, Salesforce

An Architect’s Guide to Cross-Cloud with Data Cloud

Tuesday, March 7 | 3:30 PM PT | Learn More

Learn the foundations of successful cross-cloud architecture across the Lightning Platform, Commerce Cloud, Marketing Cloud, and Data Cloud from data mapping to integration to environment management.

Speakers:

  • Craig Poirier, Sr. Director, Slalom
  • Mike King, Sr. Director, Global Salesforce Commerce, Slalom
  • Gillian Reynolds, Slalom

Deep Dive into Marketing App Extensions for MCAE (Pardot)

Tuesday, March 7 | 3:30 PM PT | Learn More

In this session, we will examine the different use cases for MCAE External Actions & Activities and demonstrate how to leverage external actions within Engagement Studio to send a webhook.

Speakers:

  • Brandon Walton, Consultant, Cypress Learning Solutions
  • Tasha Rucker, Founder, Principal Consultant, ReadyCRM

Architect the Ultimate ABM Experience

Wednesday, March 8 | 11 AM PT | Learn More

Learn how Copado leverages Sales Cloud to connect and power ABM journeys across digital ads, BDR outreach, automated nurtures, sales engagement, and field programs.

Speakers:

  • Cameron Tyler, Senior Director, Demand Generation, Copado
  • Halie Vining, Sr. Director of Field Marketing, Copado

Explore the Marketing Cloud Programming Languages

Wednesday, March 8 | 11:30 AM PT | Learn More

In this session we will cover the programming languages available on the Marketing Cloud Platform and how to use them. We will explore AMPscript, SSJS, GTL, SQL, and more.

Speakers:

  • Danielle Larregui, Marketing Cloud Developer Advocate, Salesforce

5 Tips to Optimize Your Data Lifecycle

Wednesday, March 8 | 12:30 PM PT | Learn More

During this session you will learn the five stages of the data lifecycle, common mistakes, how Salesforce can support your data lifecycle  and actionable advice for optimizing the data lifecycle.

Speakers:

  • Andrew Fragias, Product Manager, Validity

Activate Customer Data in Journey Builder

Wednesday, March 8 | 1 PM PT | Learn More

Data is the key to personalizing customer journeys. Learn how to activate data from the Customer Data Platform to inform, activate, and alter journeys in Marketing Cloud Engagement.

Speakers:

  • Abbe Spaans, Senior Director, Product Management, Salesforce
  • Miku Konsolas, Principal Architect, Salesforce
  • Tyler Staley, Director of Product Management, Salesforce

Dynamic Content: Personalization Taken to the Next Level

Wednesday, March 8 | 1 PM PT | Learn More

In this session you’ll learn how dynamic content and personalization can reduce unneeded friction points in the buyer’s journey. Powered by Marketing Cloud Account Engagement (Pardot).

Speakers:

Personalize Customer Journeys with Vonage Communication APIs

Wednesday, March 8 | 1:30 PM PT | Learn More

Businesses need to streamline customer journeys across channels. Learn to create customized conversations with Salesforce CRM and Vonage communications APIs and bring together data, systems and users.

Speakers:

  • Oscar Rodriguez, Senior Director Global Solutions Engineering, Vonage

Increase Productivity: Customizing the Marketing Cloud

Wednesday, March 8 | 3:30 PM PT | Learn More

Learn how to leverage Package Manager and custom activities to supercharge your customer engagement with Marketing Cloud and empower your marketing teams to do more.

Speakers:

  • Mark Rosato, Senior Solution Engineer, Salesforce

TrailblazerDX 2023 Musical Guest: Fallout Boy

Did we mention Fallout Boy is the TDX musical guest this year? 

Those of us who aren’t attending IRL are fighting the FOMO in hopes that the show will be broadcasted live on Salesforce+.


Image: Salesforce

See you at TDX 2023!

So, TrailheaDX was known as the developer conference, but TrailblazerDX opens the doors for everyone on the Salesforce platform to learn how it works. 

And while marketers don’t always get the attention they deserve, we see lots of exciting things on the horizon for our pals. It’s especially evident at this year’s TrailblazerDX conference.

Attending TrailblazerDX in person?

If you’re lucky enough to catch TrailblazerDX in person this year, then we should meet up! 

Visit this page to let us know you’re going. We’ll reach out to find the perfect time to talk. And remember to say “hi” to our dragons who are part of the following TDX sessions:

  • Discover How Data Cloud for Marketing Unifies Customer Data | Learn More
  • Account Engagement Extensibility: Automation to the Extreme | Learn More
  • Evaluate and Make Critical Design Decisions | Learn More

Have a favorite memory from last year’s TrailblazerDX conference? Tell us about it in the comments.

Original article: TrailblazerDX: 2023 Conference Preview for Marketers

©2023 The Spot. All Rights Reserved.

The post TrailblazerDX: 2023 Conference Preview for Marketers appeared first on The Spot.

By |2023-02-19T00:32:56+00:00February 19th, 2023|Categories: Career Development, Community, Events|

The Spot & Jenna Molby: An Iconic Duo

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

Top 5 blog posts in the collection

Wondering what’s included in the collection that’s moving to The Spot? Here are the top 5 blog posts from jennamolby.com, which are all posts that now live on The Spot website. 

1. Ultimate Guide to Capturing UTM Parameters in Pardot

UTM parameters are tags you add to a URL. Use this guide when you’re ready to implement them to use in Pardot.

Read Blog Post

2. How to Use Pardot Form Handlers

Pardot form handlers allow you to use forms to post your data to Pardot. We’ll give you the lowdown on how they work and when to use them.

Read Blog Post

3. Salesforce Pardot Specialist Certification Practice Exam

Ace your Salesforce Certified Pardot Specialist exam by using this practice exam to test your Pardot knowledge

Read Blog Post

4. 6 Ways to Use JavaScript to Enhance Your Pardot Forms

Want to do something with your Pardot form that is not available in the editor? Try using JavaScript! Here’s a guide to get you started.

Read Blog Post

5. MQL Reporting in Salesforce: Tips, Tricks and Examples

In this post, we’ll share example MQL reports and some tips and tricks for creating reports in Salesforce.

Read Blog Post

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

©2023 The Spot. All Rights Reserved.

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

By |2023-01-12T16:00:00+00:00January 12th, 2023|Categories: Community, Community Spotlight, Industry News|

Explore the Journey to Salesforce Certified

It’s been a few weeks since Andrea Tarrell and I spoke at Salesforce World Tour NYC about the journey to getting Salesforce certified. As someone with five years of experience in the ecosystem, I have been able to earn many Salesforce certifications along the way and have always wanted to help others achieve their certification goals as they have helped me. 

That’s why I am still so happy I was able to join Andrea as a co-presenter. Our team was excited to share our certification journeys and knowledge with the community, and we hope this post that recaps our World Tour presentation is helpful as you work toward earning Salesforce certified designations.

Jordyn Jaffer and Andrea Tarrell presenting at Salesforce World Tour New York in December 2022.

Salesforce Certified 101

If you’ve been in the ecosystem for a little bit, then you’re probably familiar with the process of becoming Salesforce certified and what certifications are available. But, you should still pay attention. 

The Salesforce certification program is constantly evolving. What used to be a collection of a handful of certifications has expanded to over 40 certifications across Salesforce roles over the years. The certifications are typically connected to a specific role customer and partner role persona that Salesforce has defined.

Salesforce Certified Persona Roles

 Salesforce certified personas are spread across six roles:

  • Admin
  • Developer
  • Marketer
  • Designer
  • Consultant
  • Architect

These certifications are globally recognized achievements that Trailblazers can earn to highlight their expertise and skills in a specific topic or product. Varying in skill level from the initial Salesforce Administrator exam up to the Technical Architect board review, there are plenty of certifications for you to consider in your journey. 

Check out the amazing visual on this page, which our friends at SalesforceBen put together to highlight the different certification pathways available to you.

Certification Exam Details

Each exam typically consists of 60-65 multiple choice questions. You’ll notice that each exam provides a specific percentage of questions you need to answer correctly to successfully pass the exam. 

These passing percentages are important to pay attention to as you prepare for your exam date. For example, you may be able to pass the Data Architect exam with only 58% of the questions correct, but the newer Business Analyst certification needs 72% correct for you to pass. 

For those who have attempted exams but might not have passed, some exams are moving toward just 3 multiple choice answers for each question and could make the experience easier for those who have a hard time picking the best answer for each question.

Why Should You Get Salesforce Certified?

So now you have some knowledge of what Salesforce certifications are, but you might be wondering “why should I bother getting certified?” 

Boost Your Career

As mentioned earlier, Salesforce certifications are widely recognized and can even potentially help when transitioning into other careers. That’s because they showcase transferable industry skills. They are also considered a resume-worthy accomplishment that will definitely help you stand out in the job market. 

According to a survey from the 2022-23 Mason Frank Careers and Hiring Guide, 86% of respondents said Salesforce certifications help professionals stand out in a competitive job market, and 90% of Salesforce certified respondents said their certifications make them more marketable. 

Source: Mason Frank

Prove it to Yourself

For myself and many others, certifications have become a source of personal gratification. If you are doubting yourself when it comes to a specific topic, it’s amazing when you’re able to prove to yourself and to others that you have the knowledge of that Salesforce topic. 

It is worth noting that going after a Salesforce certification with minimal experience is not usually advised as a certification can never stand in the way of actual experience of a Salesforce product/feature. Finally, certifications showcase your commitment to your personal and professional development and can ultimately provide you an opportunity to boost your earning potential.

Story Time! How We Got Our Salesforce Certifications

Andrea and I have had very different experiences when it came to our Salesforce journeys, as with everyone else. But I love that our journeys have slightly connected as we both strive to provide the best experience to our clients at Sercante. 

I knew who Andrea was, especially since we were both based in Atlanta for two years. But I never imagined working for her company or speaking next to her at a Salesforce event. 

This is why I love when trailblazers share their journeys; people realize that they can have similar experiences as long as they show a willingness to learn and lean on the community. Who knows, maybe you’ll join us at Sercante in the future as well… (we’re hiring!)

Andrea’s Certification Journey

Andrea Tarrell, CEO and founder of Sercante and The Spot, began her Salesforce career as most of us have: as an accidental admin. 

Working as the one-woman marketing department for an insurance brokerage, Andrea was tasked with learning Salesforce at HNI Risk as the company didn’t have a Salesforce administrator at the time.

Andrea wasn’t interested in getting a certification during this time because she didn’t see the value in them. But, she started to appreciate the Salesforce ecosystem when she caught the Salesforce bug at Dreamforce in 2011. “Without exaggeration, attending Dreamforce was truly a pivotal moment in my career trajectory,” Andrea said. This was also her first introduction to Marketing Cloud Account Engagement (Pardot), and the experience led her to implementing Pardot at HNI shortly after.

Joining the Salesforce Partner Community

During the Summer of 2016, Andrea decided to leave the Wisconsin area to head down to Atlanta, Georgia without any jobs or friends in place. She later joined the Salesforce partner, Configuro, as the Pardot practice lead and director of marketing and suddenly had a reason to get certified. 

Salesforce consultancies usually request their employees get certain certifications to determine their tier ranking in the Salesforce AppExchange. So, Andrea knew she had to make up for lost time. 

Over the course of a year at Configuro, she achieved six Salesforce certifications, including the retired Marketing Cloud Social Specialist certification. During this time, she also leaned on the Trailblazer Community heavily to network as much as she could.

Founding a Salesforce Consulting Firm

After starting The Spot for Pardot (now officially The Spot) in September 2017, Andrea started to consider opening up her own consultancy as well. Sercante was born and has grown into a nearly 70-employee consultancy with expertise in Salesforce, Marketing Cloud Account Engagement (Pardot), Marketing Cloud Engagement (OG Marketing Cloud/Exact Target), and various other services such as analytics and digital services. 

Andrea noticed a new fire to continue learning things relevant to her clients early on and achieved an additional six certifications over the course of a few months. She has also been named a Salesforce MVP as well as a Salesforce Marketing Champion and serves on a few Partner Advisory Boards as she continues to strive to make marketers successful on the Salesforce platform.

Still not sure about getting Salesforce certified? Read Andrea’s hot take on the value of certifications in this blog post.

My Certification Journey

Similar to Andrea, my Salesforce career began right out of college when I moved down to Atlanta, Georgia to join the Atlanta Braves as a CRM and Analytics Trainee. 

The Braves were using Microsoft Dynamics at the time, and they were beginning their migration to Salesforce. While completing data analysis tasks, I started to learn Salesforce on my own when I saw a need within the organization. 

Getting Promoted to an Accidental Admin Role

By the time we went live with the implementation in July 2018, I was promoted to CRM specialist and served as the Salesforce and Pardot admin while working closely with the newly hired Salesforce developer. I went for my first certification in December of that year. Then I tackled three more in an effort to prove to myself and my coworkers that I was worthy of the Salesforce and Pardot admin role. 

When I decided to move on from my role at the Atlanta Braves, I took three certifications in the same weekend (Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, and Advanced Admin) to bolster my resume for future roles right before I left Atlanta.

Focusing on Community

In December 2019, I moved back up to Boston, Massachusetts with no job prospects in place. Thankfully, I was able to find a job with my alma mater, Northeastern University. 

During this time, I took a step back from my focus on learning to focusing on getting more involved in the Salesforce community. I was happy to serve as a co-leader of the Boston Women in Tech community group. 

The community group leadership role inspired me to apply for a spot in the inaugural Salesforce Marketing Champion class, to which I was accepted. It was definitely a shock to me at the time since I was no longer in a marketing-related role when I worked at Northeastern. That’s why I worked to earn my Pardot Consultant certification.  I wanted to prove that I was worthy of being a Marketing Champion. 

After achieving the Pardot Consultant certification, I earned one more certification during two years at Northeastern: Education Cloud Consultant. I ended my time with Northeastern just one certification shy of my ultimate 10 certification goal.

Becoming a Salesforce Consultant

Now onto my third and current Salesforce job. I started my consulting career with Sercante in September 2021. I came in with certification goals in mind, but working at Sercante has provided me with a new perspective on certifications. 

My focus should not only be on my personal growth, but also on the company’s growth as we look to take on new clients with different needs. I went for three certifications in the first few months to reach my goal of 10 and display some of the more recent experience I had, such as Experience Cloud from Northeastern, and Nonprofit Cloud from my first major Salesforce implementation at Sercante.

Now as I have moved into a more technical role at Sercante and have failed exams that I was nowhere ready to take (looking at you CPQ Specialist), my career and certification goals have become more defined. I am now looking to move toward the Application Architect and B2B Solution Architect certifications over the next year while continuing to learn new features and products to serve my clients’ needs. 

If you want to learn more about my overall Salesforce journey and my answer to the commonly asked question: “Can someone have too many certifications?” stay tuned for more articles from me. You can also get my take on how to keep imposter syndrome at bay in this blog post.

Tips for Success

Now that you’ve learned about Andrea’s and my certification journey, you may be wondering what certification you should work toward. While I believe everyone’s journey is different and do not need to follow the same path, we wanted to highlight which certifications are best to start with depending on which role path makes the most sense for you.

Which Salesforce Certification to Earn First

Here’s where you should start on your Salesforce certification path depending on the type of role you currently hold or are looking to fill.

Which Salesforce Certification to Earn First

Everyone —> Salesforce Associate
Awesome Admin —> Salesforce Administrator
Daring Developers —> Platform Developer 1
Dream Designer —> User Experience Designer
Moment Marketer —> Marketing Cloud Administrator / Pardot Specialist
Confident Consultant —> Business Analyst
All-Star Architect —> Platform App Builder

Regardless of which role path you take, we also recommend that you start with the new Salesforce Associate certification as a great introduction to the Salesforce platform as a whole. Read a guide to earning that certification in this blog post.

How to Study for Salesforce Certification Exams

When if comes to studying for your exams, there are multiple places you can go to get the expertise and knowledge you need to take the exam:

  • Trailhead: This should be your first stop on any certification journey as you’ll be able to find the following for nearly every certification. View all Salesforce credential guides here.
    • Certification Exam Guides
    • Certification Trailmixes
    • Superbadges
  • Community User Groups: There are user groups all over the world that are run by members of the community, similar to myself. The discussion topic of the meetings vary by time of year and by group, but some might be specific to certain certifications. I helped develop an annual (virtual) certification camp amongst the Boston groups that have met two years now and already have plans to come back in Fall 2023 to tackle another certification. Find all Trailblazer Community Group listings here.
  • Training Courses: You will find many training courses out there, but I highly recommend you look at reviews and make sure the content in the course is accurate. If you are in the marketing space, I highly recommend you check out one of Sercante’s training courses in the new year. I’m taking the Salesforce Marketing Cloud Bootcamp Course starting in January and would love to see some of you there as well!
  • Salesforce Certification Days: These are half day webinars that Salesforce periodically runs for multiple certifications such as Admin, Sales Cloud Consultant, Platform Developer 1, and more.
  • Amplify Study Groups: Amplify is a nonprofit organization that amplifies historically excluded voices in technology, and those who support them, to become fearless leaders. They offer study groups to their members, typically on a seasonal basis, for certain certifications. You can also sign up to be a facilitator for these study groups as well if you’re looking to share your knowledge. Become a member here.
  • Blog Posts: This one might seem obvious as you’re already on our blog site, but many Salesforce blogs share articles on specific certifications to help provide tips and tricks on how to pass them. Here’s the blogs that Sercante has produced so far:

Next Steps Toward Getting Salesforce Certified

We hope the resources and perspectives in this post are helpful to you as you work toward your own Salesforce certifications.

Hot Tip: Check out this page to read more about the certification journeys of my colleagues. 

We would also love to hear from you on your certification journeys! Please leave a comment below or mention us online using the #certificationjourney hashtag.

Original article: The Spot. All Rights Reserved.

The post <strong>Explore the Journey to Salesforce Certified</strong> appeared first on The Spot.

By |2023-01-03T17:15:13+00:00January 3rd, 2023|Categories: Career Development, Community, Real Talk, revive|

The Spot Wrapped: 2022 Edition

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 share with others. Or that one you keep open while you’re knocking out a task in case 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.

Here are the stats behind The Spot so you can see how everyone is using this resource. Perhaps these stats will even inspire you to get involved and claim your spot, too.

Top Blog Posts in 2022

Now, for the thing we know you’re here to find out: what were the most popular posts on The Spot in 2022? Here are the posts that really resonated with our readers in 2022.

Top 10 New Posts in 2022

The Spot 2022 Blog Contributors

Little known fact: The author ‘spots’ on our About webpage here grow depending on the all-time total number of blog posts each author has written for The Spot. 

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:

  1. Ambre Juryea-Amole
  2. Erin Duncan
  3. Kirsten Schlau
  4. Dominique Beaudin
  5. Jordyn Jaffer
  6. Mike Morris
  7. Laura Curtis
  8. Marcos Duran
  9. Adam Erstelle 
  10. Andrea Tarrell

I have an unfair advantage here since my role at Sercante is focused on producing blog content. But what amazes me is that the other top contributors in the list above serve in completely different types of roles at Sercante while contributing equally high-impact content on a regular basis. Way to go, team Sercante!

The Spot 2022 Audience Breakdown

So here’s a little information about you — our lovely and talented readers who know how to dive in and get things done through wayfinding.

The Spot Readership Stats

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

Top Search Terms Used

Top 10 non-branded web searches (this is what you all typed into Google to reach The Spot blog posts.)

  • #1 Most Popular Search Query – pardot lightning email builder
  • #2 Most Popular Search Query – pardot email builder
  • #3 Most Popular Search Query – your salesforce login isn’t connected to a pardot user. ask your pardot admin for help. 
  • #4 Most Popular Search Query – pardot external activities
  • #5 Most Popular Search Query – pardot grading
  • #6 Most Popular Search Query – social studio sunset
  • #7 Most Popular Search Query – pardot certification
  • #8 Most Popular Search Query – pardot operational emails
  • #9 Most Popular Search Query – pardot snippets
  • #10 Most Popular Search Query – marketing cloud email specialist certification study notes

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

©2022 The Spot. All Rights Reserved.

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

By |2022-12-21T22:01:58+00:00December 21st, 2022|Categories: Community, Community Spotlight|

Salesforce World Tour NYC Recap: December 2022

About a mile and a half west of their Midtown Manhattan office tower, Salesforce hosted their World Tour New York for Winter 2022 at the Jacob Javits Center in NYC.

The usual characters were walking around, like Einstein, the Genie rabbit (Marc Benioff’s admitted favorite) and the Trailblazing bear. But amongst the crowds and the usual pomp there was a clear theme that permeated through the entire event.

Salesforce World Tour NYC Theme: Are you a customer company?

From the keynote session, through to many of the product updates and case studies, Salesforce asked the question; are you a customer company? And to that rhetorical question, they had the answer. 

Using many of the tools you may already be familiar with, such as Slack or B2BMA, Salesforce Customer 360 helps you build an organization that is focused on the customer and their needs. But really what we’re talking about here is harnessing the incredible tools in the Salesforce ecosystem to create efficiencies and easier access to data.

The 7 Habits of a Customer Company (keynote address)

During the Salesforce World Tour keynote address, Salesforce CEO, Marc Benioff highlighted what he calls the 7 Habits of a Customer Company. 

  1. Salesforce Customer 360: is not so much a single product offering, but the concept of utilizing Salesforce tools to create a complete view of your customer, shared by various departments like sales, marketing, service, etc. The Customer 360 puts your customer in the center.
  2. Create a single source of truth. Most organizations have data throughout different systems. There wasn’t an easy way for customers to connect all of their data and integrate it into one platform. Mulesoft helps companies connect data from different sources to create one single source of truth.
  3. See and understand your customer. Because of the many different data storage needs companies have, they have created their own data lakes to house information. This causes “data silos” and during his keynote address, Benioff admitted this was their [Salesforce’s] mistake. Introducing, Salesforce Genie Customer Data Cloud, which is a new data warehouse product, powered by Tableau, that is deeply integrated with Salesforce and offers real-time, automated access to your data. 
  4. Maximize time to value. Using Industry Clouds, organizations can save on customizations because these various industry clouds already contain the language and processes different organizations use, such as nonprofit, education and financial clouds. Think of it as a template for your Sales Cloud org that contains the industry-specific customizations you need.
  5. Do impossible things as a team. Slack is a terrific collaboration tool and since being acquired by Salesforce in July 2021, the integration has continued to improve. I watched a terrific demo in the Campground (exhibitor area) of Slack’s integration and it really was impressive. Teams can collaborate on Accounts and Opportunities, pull in various stakeholders and work together to close business. Doing “impossible things” may be a bit of hyperbole, but the value for teams (geographically separated more now than ever before) is obvious.
  6. Save time, save money and grow revenue. Salesforce president and CMO, Sarah Franklin gave  kudos to the “Success Ecosystem” that includes partners, app developers and support teams. Furthermore, the innovation from these players in the ecosystem results in more automated processes, faster service response times and lower support costs resulting in efficiencies and profits.  
  7. Finally, Trailblazers! The folks that make the magic happen for organizations every day. Growth in the Trailblazer community has created what Franklin called a “Trailblazer economy,” referring to millions of new jobs, business revenue and community members/groups. I love my black Trailblazer zip-up sweatshirt and wear it with pride.

Introducing Net Zero Cloud

Sustainability is a core value for Salesforce as an organization. Their goal is to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. Recognizing that this is important to many companies, Salesforce has introduced Net Zero Cloud. 

This new cloud product offers a management platform for a company’s carbon footprint. It helps you track and manage your environmental impact. You can run emissions forecasting and simulations, optimize different areas for efficiency and even work with your suppliers on their environmental goals. Additionally, the carbon accounting features let you convert your energy consumption into carbon emission data. 

The Net Zero Marketplace also provides a place for companies to purchase carbon credits to offset their environmental impact.

Wandering into the Salesforce World Tour Campground

The Campground, Salesforce-speak for exhibitor hall, was abuzz with tons of activity. There were several mini theaters with tree-stump seats providing short presentations on everything from Customer 360, Slack integrations, demos and case studies. 

Trailblazer Forest was always a busy spot for seasoned Trailblazers and admins just beginning their education journey to meet up and learn more about the latest offerings, pick up some cool swag (I left empty handed), and show off their skills. 

I grabbed a seat, err, tree stump at the Customer Success Theater to watch a presentation on the 6 Guiding Principles for CRM Adoption, but missed out when the required headsets were all taken. But don’t feel too bad for me, I spent that time catching up with a great client in the partner’s hangout nearby. 

Though it may seem trivial, I loved the way Salesforce designed the Campground. Those of us that have been to other industry trade shows know that you typically find yourself in large concrete rooms, walking between narrow pathways, desperately seeking coffee or a restroom. However, the Campground was nicely decorated with lots of signs, decorations and plenty of space between exhibits (except during peak hours), with multiple opportunities to grab a snack, coffee or a drink.

The Slack demo I watched was terrific. It was sort of a “day in the life” approach to a demo and you got to see how an organization was able to collaborate with an account and eventually an opportunity. No meetings, no endless email chains, just collaboration. It was impressive.

My Favorite Session: Delivering Success as a Salesforce Admin, the Skill Every Admin Needs…

I was expecting this session to be a general overview of tips for Salesforce admins, but the focus was on one single thing. Arguably, one of the most important skills every admin needs to master. Flows. For a brief introduction, check out this terrific overview of Flows.

What was once done using complex Apex code can often be done with Flows in a simple drag/drop interface, using the same “journey paths” look and feel of Pardot’s Engagement Studio. And what is probably being done right now in your org by Workflows Rules and Process Builder will eventually need to be a Flow. 

Note: Workflow Rules and Process Rules are being retired in Winter 2023.

Overall, the session inspired me to sharpen my own Flow skills so that I can take advantage of all of the new functionality that will (pardon the pun) flow through Salesforce Flows. It’s essential that every Salesforce admin is able to automate both simple and complex business processes and Flows is the future.

Salesforce World Tour is Worth the Effort to Attend

Salesforce hosts these events all over the world and if you’re fortunate enough to be a reasonable distance from one of the host cities, it’s worth it for anyone that interacts with Salesforce as part of their role. 

The learning opportunities are practically limitless, in fact, there is no way to take in all the sessions you want simply because many sessions are scheduled concurrently, which forces you to make some tough decisions. 

The event is sponsored by the few dozen or so exhibitors that are usually represented by some of the big players in the AppExchange. But the event is well organized and designed to get you excited about everything available in the massive Salesforce ecosystem. It’s certainly not simply a trade show where endless rows of booths vie for your attention. Not at all. It’s an education event. You’ll leave inspired to try something new, explore a new product, or seek to sharpen your skills in one area of your work. 

A few tips for your next World Tour:

  1. Arrive before the exhibit hall opens. I arrived about 30 minutes before the event opened and that gave me the opportunity to grab my credentials and get the lay of the land without rushing. It’s just too massive and the lines get too long to wait until you’re trying to get to your first session.
  2. Figure out specifically what vendors and sessions you want to visit. Make sure you know what you want to learn more about and plan around it. If you rely on wandering around looking for something interesting you’ll likely miss sessions that you would otherwise be interested in. There’s too much to see and do.
  3. Similar to the first tip, arrive as quickly as possible to each session. I missed several sessions simply because I was too late to get a seat or the privacy headphones. Thankfully, the venue had coffee and refreshments on every level so I didn’t need to go out of my way for a cup of coffee, which I am always willing to do.

And make sure you check out this blog post from Andrea Tarrell to make sure you get the most out of Salesforce community events in the future.

Original article: Salesforce World Tour NYC Recap: December 2022

©2022 The Spot. All Rights Reserved.

The post Salesforce World Tour NYC Recap: December 2022 appeared first on The Spot.

By |2022-12-20T21:28:04+00:00December 20th, 2022|Categories: Community, Events, Real Talk|

Get Your [Insert Topic] Groove on at Salesforce World Tour NYC

No, that’s not a typo or forgotten placeholder in the title. It’s a representation of the wide range of sessions happening at the final Salesforce World Tour event of 2022 (December 8 in New York City)!

If you’re not able to get to NYC, you can watch virtually on Salesforce+. However you choose to engage, it’s FREE. Reserve your spot here. 

With 121 sessions happening in just one day, it can be overwhelming to craft your strategy and get the most out of your day at the Javits Center. 

If you’re not sure where to start, get 9 essential tips for attending Salesforce events in this blog post from Andrea Tarrell. Then, read on for the lowdown on Salesforce World Tour NYC.

Important notes if you’re attending Salesforce World Tour New York in person

⭐Sercante will be in the house!  If you spot one of us (look for our snazzy “Sercante” t-shirts), please  stop us to say hello (see who’s attending)

  • All sessions are first come, first seated
  • Doors open at 8:30 am (grab a morning coffee in the Campground)
  • Sessions, demos and hands-on learning begin at 9:00 am
  • Main keynote is at 10:00 am
  • Lunch is 11:30 am – 12:30 pm in the Campground
  • Afternoon sessions and demos start at 12:30 pm
  • Hit the Campground for Trailblazer networking, food and drinks 4:00 – 5:00 pm

Build your personalized World Tour NYC schedule.

Favorite sessions of interest in the schedule. Use the filters to find sessions specific to role, industry, product or topic.

Need more?

Sercante has a wide range of hands-on courses on essential topics like Salesforce integration, automations, scoring and grading, email best practices, and coding concepts like HTML & CSS. Join us to dig deeper!

BONUS: Explore Sercante’s Training Courses ➞

Some suggestions for your Salesforce World Tour NYC session selection journey:

The Basics / Admin

World Tour NYC: Main Keynote
10:00 AM – 11:15 AM EST

Hear how Customer 360 is helping Trailblazers reduce costs and increase productivity.

6 Guiding Principles for CRM Adoption

12:00 PM – 12:20 PM EST + 2:30 PM – 2:50 PM EST

Getting adoption for a new tool can sometimes be … a challenge. Get these 6 principles under your belt to get teams on board and find business value 

Enhance User Experience with Lightning Web Components

12:30 PM – 12:50 PM EST

Further your user adoption with beautiful and functional Lightning Components that are easy to create.

Make Life Easier with 10 AppExchange Apps for Admins

1:00 PM – 1:20 PM EST + 4:00 PM – 4:20 PM EST

AppExchange apps can make any admin’s day easier, but the list is overwhelming! Check out 10 highlights. (Also check out the App Demo Jam at 4:30 PM!) 

Backup & Recovery: Prepare for the Worst, Bring Out the Best

2:30 PM – 2:50 PM EST

A backup plan isn’t only for a disaster. The right backup-and-recovery solution can help you ensure data quality and drive new insights on a daily basis.

Skill Up and Connect from Anywhere

3:00 PM – 3:20 PM EST

Anyone can build a successful career, community, and company in the Salesforce ecosystem – explore the latest Trailhead and Trailblazer Community innovations.

BONUS: View Sercante’s board of Salesforce platform jobs ➞

Analytics

CRM Analytics: Product Roadmap highlights for CRM Analytics

1:30 PM – 1:50 PM EST

Drive cost savings and increase productivity by supercharging every Salesforce user with data, intelligence, and automation.

In Conversation: Building a Data Culture

2:00 PM – 2:20 PM EST

Join this fireside chat and see how you can set your business up for success with data and analytics

Salesforce on Analytics

3:30 PM – 3:50 PM EST

Learn how Salesforce uses data as a guide to be an agile organization in the face of changes and uncertainty.

BONUS: 

Genie / CDP

Salesforce on Salesforce: Turn Data into Magical Experiences

12:30 PM – 12:50 PM EST

Learn from the source! See how Salesforce uses Customer Data Platform to deliver compelling, personalized customer moments that become trusted relationships.

Learn Genie for Admins, Architects, and Developers

1:00 PM – 1:20 PM EST

Learn how Genie works and why it’s the single source of truth across Customer 360 and beyond.

Democratize and Demystify Your Customer Data with Genie

1:30 PM – 1:50 PM EST

Transform customer experience delivery across all engagement channels while driving measurable ROI.

Marketing Cloud

Create a Data Strategy to Maximize Marketing Outcomes

1:30 PM – 1:50 PM EST

Learn how to effectively harness cross-channel data to drive outcomes across the entire customer journey.

BONUS: MarDreamin’ On-Demand – Turn Marketing Into a Recession-Proof Competitive Advantage ➞

Unlock Tips and Tricks for Advanced Reporting as a New Admin

2:10 PM – 2:30 PM EST

improve value for your users and easily enable your teams with the data they need to be successful with advanced reporting features.

BONUS: Salesforce Native Reporting: Get More From Your Data ➞

Level Up Your Lead and Account Nurturing with AI

2:30 PM – 2:50 PM EST

AI can help you identify the best leads and accounts for targeted campaigns that nurture them to the point of conversion.

Automate a Personalized Web Experience for Every Customer

3:30 PM – 3:50 PM EST

Learn how to efficiently deliver site visits that drive relevant customer experiences with Marketing Cloud Personalization.

BONUS: Marketing Cloud Personalization: 3 Use Cases and Implementation Tips ➞

Sales and Service Clouds

Transform your Contact Center

9:30 AM – 9:50 AM EST

Learn how you can transform your legacy contact center into an intelligent, omni-channel engagement center.

5 Ways to Save Costs and Drive Efficiency in Selling

3:00 PM – 3:20 PM EST

Learn how Salesforce brings sales engagement under one roof, lights up a 360-degree view of your customer, and helps you win more deals.

Sales Cloud Hands-on Workshop: Territory Planning

3:00 PM – 4:00 PM EST

[Laptop Required and Limited Space] After going through guided exercises, you’ll be a TP pro! Includes a 30-day demo org to share what you learned at the office. 

Easy as 1, 2, 3: Finding, Winning, and Keeping Customers

4:00 PM – 4:30 PM EST

Learn how you can do more with less by getting back to basics with CRM and maximizing your customer relationships.

Say “hello” to the Sercante team

Please stop us to say hello!

Andrea Tarrell, CEO | LinkedIn

Angelica Cabral, Marketing Manager | LinkedIn

Pam Carey, Marketing Automation Strategist | LinkedIn

Jordyn Jaffer, Senior Salesforce Solution Engineer and Salesforce Marketing Champion | LinkedIn

Nick Loeser, Marketing Automation Strategist | LinkedIn

Original article: Get Your [Insert Topic] Groove on at Salesforce World Tour NYC

©2022 The Spot. All Rights Reserved.

The post Get Your [Insert Topic] Groove on at Salesforce World Tour NYC appeared first on The Spot.

By |2022-12-05T17:49:00+00:00December 5th, 2022|Categories: Community, Events|

Mardreamies 2022 Award Winner Story: Grassroots Innovation

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 Pardot
  • Grassroots Innovation: Scaling small business with Pardot
  • Extending Pardot: 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

©2022 The Spot. All Rights Reserved.

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

By |2022-12-01T20:17:14+00:00December 1st, 2022|Categories: Community, Community Spotlight, Events|

Mardreamies 2022 Award Winner Story: Best In Show

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 Pardot
  • Grassroots Innovation: Scaling small business with Pardot
  • Extending Pardot: 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 Best In Show Category Winner: INSURICA

Here’s the solution that won the MarDreamies 2022 award for the Best In Show category, which recognizes the overall winner from Mardreamies Award submissions. The MarDreamies Best In Show award went to INSURICA, which was submitted by Andy Paden.

What does INSURICA do?

Placing over $1 billion in annual premiums for our clients, INSURICA is among the 50 largest insurance brokers in the United States and is currently the 24th largest privately-held independent agency in the country.

INSURICA employs more than 700 colleagues in 35+ offices located throughout Oklahoma, Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Mississippi and Texas. They are constantly looking to expand their network with partners who bring additional value and expertise to the enterprise and clients.

Award-winning solution details

INSURICA wanted a way to pull in data from the Department of Transportation (DOT) alongside their client’s information/statistics. Their intention for the project is to offer a well-rounded picture of their DOT data with the end result being a customized report by account. 

By developing a connection between the data into Sales Cloud and using Pardot to call that information into an email template with merge tags.

How it works

Here’s how the solution pulls Department of Transportation Data into Salesforce and uses merge tags to dynamically populate email in Pardot. 

Using the API to call in DOT data to Sales Cloud, and the database updates that pull on a monthly basis. TO accomplish that, the team developed custom Sales Cloud fields on the account object. Then, the solution parses that data over to Pardot via mapped fields. 

Additionally, the team uses an email template with custom merge fields to populate data in a report-like layout template. Then, sales team lead members enroll their accounts to receive the email using a custom Salesforce flow action on the account record page.

Data updates monthly and the report needs to be refreshed to ensure the most up-to-date information.

And the results speak for themselves. The team at INSURICA now has custom data-centric reports to enrolled accounts.

Congratulations to the Best In Show Winners

Marketers often turn to third-party data sources to accomplish their goals. The team at INSURICA now has a customized view of carrier data that varies by account, and it does that through an innovative API-driven solution that lead to their MarDreamies Best in Show award.

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: Best In Show

©2022 The Spot. All Rights Reserved.

The post Mardreamies 2022 Award Winner Story: Best In Show appeared first on The Spot.

By |2022-11-29T21:35:00+00:00November 29th, 2022|Categories: Community, Community Spotlight, Events|

Mardreamies 2022 Award Winner Story: Personalization Perfection

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 Pardot
  • Grassroots Innovation: Scaling small business with Pardot
  • Extending Pardot: 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 Personalization Perfection Category Winner: Zoopla

Here’s the solution that won the MarDreamies 2022 award for the Personalization Perfection category, which recognizes teams that deliver right-time, right-message marketing campaigns. The MarDreamies Personalization Perfection Award went to Zoopla and was submitted by Rebecca White.

What does Zoopla do?

Zoopla is a property website and app based in London, England. It is part of Zoopla Limited, which was founded in 2007. 

The website and app have over a million properties to browse along with helpful tools and reliable house price estimates.

Personalization Perfection Project Details

Zoopla needed to drive user adoption for a major software upgrade with their clients and internal teams, and they needed it to be completed fast. It was a task that needed to be automated due to the scale of the project. And the teams couldn’t let anyone slip through the cracks.

The team created a flow of Marketing Cloud Account Engagement (Pardot) Engagement Studio Programs (ESPs) that used third-party and Salesforce data to send clients and internal teams through personalized next steps based on their stage in the journey, as well as reminders using unique upgrade dates. 

The ESPs ensured any changes in client information were reflected in the messaging and when they were delivered, they also updated campaign member statuses that helped departments understand where members were in the journey.

Personalization through automation was the key to success

Upgrading such a large client database in a short period of time was the key problem that inspired this initiative. With so many variables, stages and a reliance on third-party and Salesforce data, there was no possibility that this could have been done manually. But, having limited internal resources and having previously used spreadsheets and other offline resources meant there was also the opportunity to change the way internal departments worked.

Using data from third-party platforms and Salesforce, ESPs seamlessly moved clients through the upgrade stages, monitoring their actions and adapting messages when needed. It wasn’t just clients receiving the right messaging at the right time, ESPs sent internal updates (campaign statuses) to each department, some of which had been used to only working with spreadsheets. This initiative streamlined the way Zoopla worked and gave them time back knowing that automation was now working for them.

Challenges they overcame along the way

A key challenge was seamlessly piecing together the stages that relied on external data. ESPs also needed to react to client changes and still send the correct information. An average CTR of 5% shows messages are resonating with clients.

Taking a complex journey and ensuring internal teams knew what was happening and what action they needed to take was a hurdle. But, Salesforce reports, tasks and campaigns are now part of their day. 100+ Salesforce tasks have been created to help teams take action.

Results from the project

Pardot allowed Zoopla to create nimble automations that reflected the original goal of automating the upgrading process. Engagement Studio Programs (ESPs) and the Pardot connector allowed them to not only personalize messaging at a time right for clients but also deliver relevant information to internal teams. That ensured they could monitor the campaign in real time and provide a feedback loop to marketing, while Salesforce API integration allowed custom information from the upgrade portal to flow through to Pardot and the ESPs.

Using Personalization to Complete Essential Business Tasks

We often think of personalization in marketing as something that changes marketing assets based on customer personas. However, personalization is something that is essential when a company needs to get things done that affect their ability to operate. This project helped the Zoopla team to get clients and internal teams upgraded to the new Zoopla CRM. And they accomplished this through an automated process that ensured everyone felt supported and nobody was left behind.

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: Personalization Perfection

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By |2022-11-25T18:34:00+00:00November 25th, 2022|Categories: Community, Community Spotlight, Events|