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Dreamforce Session Recap: Winter ’24 Marketing Cloud Release Highlights

Dreamforce 2023 has come and gone, and wow, it did not disappoint. Not only was this my first Dreamforce, I had the honor of co-presenting the Marketing Cloud Release Highlights session with two amazing members of Salesforce product team: Ruth Bolster, product marketing manager, and Whitni Freeman, lead solution engineer.

In this session, we covered key Winter ’24 release highlights across each of the Marketing Cloud products:

Data Cloud
Intelligence
Engagement
Account Engagement
Personalization

Here’s a recap of the Marketing Cloud Winter ‘24 release features covered…

Highlight #1: Segment Intelligence (Data Cloud)

A new Data Cloud for Marketing feature, Segment Intelligence connects and harmonizes customer and marketing performance data — like revenue data, first party data, as well as paid media data — so you can understand how your segments are interacting with your marketing.

Using out of the box dashboards, you can see how segments are performing across channels, and gives you an executive understanding of how segments are performing across channels.

Plus, you can use Einstein to optimize existing segments, or create new ones based on performance data.

With all that data in one place this allows marketers to have a more holistic view of how segments are doing, without being bogged down by time consuming data management and reconciliation. And having those insights to optimize channel performance by segment – that level of visibility and adaptability means more impactful and relevant marketing campaigns, which leads to better marketing ROI.

And the built in dashboards and connections means that marketers can get started right away!

This feature will be available for select customers starting in October, and will be available to all customers later this winter.

Highlight #2: AI-Powered Segment Creation (Data Cloud)

Another Winter ‘24 feature for Data Cloud for Marketing is Segment Creation. Powered by Einstein, this allows marketers to build complex segments using a descriptive prompt.

So, for example, I can just tell Einstein “Big spenders in North America who made a purchase in the last 3 months and love hiking”, and it will generate the segment for me, showing what that segment looks like, and the attributes used.

This means that marketers can build their segments without having to be a data scientist to do it. Being able to pull data based on specific criteria has often required technical knowledge of the data model to know where to look, and SQL skills to query the data to know how to access it. This feature will allow marketers to be more self-sufficient to get the data they need when they need it.

This will be Generally Available in October for Data Cloud Customers.

Highlight #3: Intelligence GA4 Connector (Intelligence)

As of Winter ‘24, Marketing Cloud Intelligence will have a built-in GA4 connector and pre-defined data sets available to ingest GA4 data. Marketing data is the foundation of Marketing Cloud Intelligence. Its data models, dashboards and guidance are built for marketers. There are already more than 100 native connectors available, and now with GA4 data connector this is a natural addition to the platform to have relevant marketing data in one place.

How this will work: When setting up data streams, GA4 properties will appear under the ‘Website’ dropdown. These new properties will be supported in API connectors as well as Marketplace apps.

Marketplace apps will replace previous UA 360 websites and support the new GA4 web properties, dimensions, and other fields for data retrieval.

One thing to keep in mind: Due to the differences between GA4 and UA properties, the new connector will pull different, yet very similar, datasets into the platform when the GA4 property is selected, so your visualization may need to be tweaked when setting up the data stream for the first time. Marketplace will discontinue support of UA360 properties after the GA4 support begins.

Highlight #4: Trigger Action on GA4 Data (Engagement)

Marketing Cloud Engagement has some goodies in the Winter ‘24 Release as well. The first is Google Analytics 4 Integration, which lets marketers activate journeys based on Google Analytics 4 segments and events.

This new integration will include two key features in one:

Visual dashboards embedded within Engagement reporting so that marketers can see real time impact on revenue, AOV, and conversion metrics.
Audience activation, which allows marketers to create engagement and re-engagement campaigns based on customer interactions using that GA4 data.
- So for example, if you had a customer that viewed your product pages for backpacks and hiking boots, then abandon the session, you can use audience activation to trigger an abandoned browse journey. This also allows you to get cross-channel insights across mobile, web, and email.

There is a fully paid version which includes both Reporting and Audience Activation. There is also a free version that will feature the Reporting feature only.

Highlight #5: AI-Powered Email Content Creation (Engagement)

AI is coming to Marketing Cloud Engagement with Email Content Creation, including Typeface partnership!

Marketers can set up and specify personalities with brand voice and tone, and using natural language prompts can get draft ideas on subject, body copy and images. With the ability to give feedback on what works and what doesn’t this lets the model learn and improve over time.

Marketers can consider this a tool to help them get a first draft in place. They still have control over the content throughout. They’re given choices based on their prompts, which they can use, like or dislike.

That human element and judgment is a crucial part of the whole process.

Content Creation will be available in Marketing Cloud Engagement this October, and it is currently scheduled to be in Marketing Cloud Account Engagement next February

Highlight #6: Transfer Assets from Sandbox to Production (Account Engagement)

Speaking of Account Engagement… With the Summer ‘23 Release we saw the ability to move assets between business units, which is fantastic! But that still left a gap with sandboxes. Anyone that has used Salesforce sandboxes has been used to building and promoting configurations, and unfortunately that hasn’t been possible with Account Engagement sandboxes, which has been painful to work around. Any assets built in a sandbox had to be built again in production, which is of course time-consuming and also prone to error if something is missed.

In the Winter ’24 release, marketers can now copy assets from sandbox to production using Salesforce Flow. After installing the flow on your campaign, all you need to do is select your sandbox environment and your production environment, select your assets, and then copy it over. And this supports 8 asset types, including email templates, dynamic content, form handlers, custom redirects, custom fields, landing pages, and more.

This allows for a more useful Account Engagement sandbox, to perform all asset testing and avoid conflicts – and all that test data – when trying to build in production. Not to mention saving time because you won’t have to build assets multiple times. You can even use this to set up a QA process, giving a subset of users access to build in the Sandbox only and then have another subset of users review the assets and push them to production when approved.

This was first mentioned in Erin Duncan’s post on Winter ‘23 Highlights for Account Engagement.

Highlight #7: Real-Time Event Stream (Personalization)

With Winter ‘24 Release, Personalization will now include Real Time Customer Event Stream, a Lightning component that can be added to record pages, giving users a real-time view of the marketing assets that a lead or contact has interacted with.

This gives sales and service teams better insight into the types of content their customers have been engaging with. They can then have more relevant and informed conversations with them about their current needs and interests, and provide a better overall customer experience.

Learn more about the Marketing Cloud release highlights

If you want to learn more about the Marketing Cloud release features covered, here are a few resources:

Dreamforce ‘23 Marketing Keynote
Winter ‘23 Release Feature Demos
State of Marketing Report
Marketing Cloud Release Notes – Winter ‘24 Release Notes are expected to drop September 25th.

What do you think about these Marketing Cloud release highlights? Let us know in the comments.

Original article: Dreamforce Session Recap: Winter ’24 Marketing Cloud Release Highlights

The post Dreamforce Session Recap: Winter ’24 Marketing Cloud Release Highlights appeared first on The Spot.

By Heather Rinke|2023-09-18T21:08:09+00:00September 18th, 2023|Categories: Marketing Cloud, New Features, Pardot, Release Notes, Salesforce Marketing Cloud|

It’s that time – Salesforce Winter ‘24 release notes are out! Here are the key Salesforce platform features marketers and Salesforce admins should know about.

20 Platform Highlights from the Salesforce Winter ‘24 Release

Highlight#1: Migrate to Hyperforce with Hyperforce Assistant (Generally Available)

If you haven’t heard, Salesforce is undergoing a modernization of their infrastructure with Hyperforce, and undertaking steps to move customer orgs to Hyperforce. To help prepare for the migration, Salesforce has made their Hyperforce Assistant generally available, and updated with improved features to help orgs get ready for the move.

If you’re starting your journey to make the jump to Hyperforce we have more details here: Prepare Your Salesforce Org for the Migration to Hyperforce

Permissions & Record Access

Highlight#2: Report on Custom Permission Set and Permission Set Group Assignments

This is the first of many ideas that were delivered in this release. With this update you can create a report type that you can use to report on which users are assigned specific custom permission sets or permission set groups, or look at all of the assignments by user. This is just for custom permission sets and permission set groups, no word yet on when this would be available for standard permission sets and standard permission set groups.

Highlight #3 What’s Enabled in a Permission Set More Easily (Beta)

Admins who have spent so much time trying to uncover the permissions included in a permission set are going to love this. Another idea exchange request, it’s now easier than ever to see the enabled object, user, and field permissions on one page. You can even see the permission set groups a permission set is included in!

Highlight #4 User Access Policy Filters Improved (Beta)

Until now you could create User Access Policies referencing only one permission set, permission set group, or managed package license in your user access policy filters. With this update you can reference a total of three, giving you more flexibility to define your policy criteria.

What to know more about User Access Policies? Jason Ventura covered this in the post Salesforce Summer ’23: User Access Management Updates

Highlight #5 Report on Who Has Access to Accounts from Manual Shares and Account Teams

Admins and users will have a new way to understand better who has Read or Edit Access to an Account through Account Teams or Manual Sharing. By creating a report type it’s now possible to see which users and groups have access. Another idea was delivered!

Highlight #6 Report on Public Group Members

Another helpful report that’s going to save clicks! With this new custom report type, Admins will be able to more easily view which users, roles or groups are members of public groups.

Automation Updates

Highlight #7 Reactive Components now GA

With the general release of reactive flow screen components, admins will able to build more interactive single page applications, creating a more dynamic user experience.

Highlight #8 Create Custom Error Messages in Record-Triggered Flows

Another Idea Exchange idea delivered! Flownatics everywhere will be cheering for this. Now admins can customize the error that users see on record triggered flows. You can control one or more messages that will appear, what the messages will be, and when you want them to appear. You can even set them to appear as a window on the record page, or as an inline error on a specific field, similar to validation rules.

In the example below, you can see the Custom Error message element where I’ve configured 2 messages to appear if an opportunity has been created or updated and the stage is advanced and no Opportunity Contact Roles are found. One error will appear in a window on the record page, and the other will appear inline on the Stage field.

When active, the flow will display the configured error messages when the criteria has been met:

Highlight #9 Transform Your Data in Flows (Beta)

This is a new element for flow that lets users map data from a data source to a new target data destination. This can follow the HTTP Callout action that grabs data from an external location, and transforms the data before saving to a Salesforce object. Another use can be to transform field values while mapping from one object to another.

Highlight #10 Save a Flow Without Configuring Some Elements

How many times have you started to build a flow and have partially added elements, only to find you have to exit an element before fully completing the configuration. In the past you had to lose the partial configuration already completed, or add dummy data just to get the element to save, and remember to go back and update later. With this new feature, you now exit Start and Create Record elements before fully configuring them. According to Salesforce this is the “first steps to support saving a draft of a flow at any point in the building process”.

Highlight #11 Use Wait Elements in More Types of Flows

Marketers would be familiar with the ability to add a wait step in a customer journey (Marketing Cloud) or Engagement Studio Program (Account Engagement). The new Wait for Amount of Time and Wait Until Date elements are now available in schedule-triggered flows, autolaunched flows, and orchestrations. This adds more flexibility to being able to pause a flow interview for different use cases. The previous Pause element has also been renamed ‘Wait with Conditions’ for clarity.

Highlight #12 Flow Builder user interface moved to right panel

The element properties are now displayed in a panel on the right side of the screen instead of as a popup. So far this appears to be working for Start, Get, Create, Update, Transform (Beta), and Delete.

Highlight #13 Data Cloud Triggered Flows

For orgs with access to Data Cloud, you will be able to create new Data Cloud-triggered flows from the new Flow screen. After selecting Data Cloud-triggered flow, you will be prompted to configure your Start conditions specific to your Data Cloud object.

Highlight #14 Get Data Cloud Records More Easily in Flow Builder

Another Data Cloud related enhancement, admins can more easily choose between Salesforce objects and Data Cloud objects. Based on the choice more options are provided to specify the criteria.

Highlight #15 Use Filters to Find Record-Triggered Flows Quickly

Orgs with increasing numbers of flows will benefit from this handy additional filtering capability that lets you zero in on the flows you’re looking for. You can now filter on flows by Status, Package State or Process Type.

Highlight #16 Migrate to Flow Updates

In the meantime, admins still working on moving legacy automations like workflow rules and process builder to flow may appreciate that the Migrate to Flow tool has been updated to accommodate more use cases:

If you’re in the process of migrating your workflow rules and process builders to flow, have you checked out our guide and tools to help with that migration? Check out Automation Facelift: Migrate Workflow Rules and Process Builder to Salesforce Flow

Cool Admin Updates

Highlight #17 Visualize Lightning Reports with Summary Formulas as You Create Them

I don’t know about you but I still struggle with using PARENTGROUPVAL or PREVGROUPVAL. In Classic there was a great feature that helped build the summary with these functions, and showed how they would work in your report. Now this feature is available in Lightning!

Highlight #18 Select Who Has Access To a Sandbox

When creating or refreshing a sandbox for your team to build or test a new configuration any active user in production could access the sandbox. Now, admins can limit access to specific users by adding them to a group. This then freezes all other users in that sandbox, so they can’t access it (unless you unfreeze them). Only the users in the group will be unfrozen automatically. And the “.invalid” won’t be added to their email addresses either. Bonus! Now, apparently this may not be immediately available when orgs are upgraded to WInter ’24. According to the release notes, this will be available “in production orgs when they’re upgraded to the Winter ’24 release starting in mid-October 2023.”

Highlight #19 & 20 Lead & Contact Intelligence VIews

Last but not least…. As part of Winter ’24 release, orgs will now have access to a more actionable lead and contact lists that can help users segment their leads, and take action to build their pipe and grow customer relationships. In one page you can create segments and view key metrics, prioritize important records, view activity history of individual records and make calls or send emails without leaving the list.

Other Notable Updates

Which Salesforce Winter ‘24 features are you excited about? Let us know in the comments!

Original article: Salesforce Winter ’24 Release: Platform Highlights

The post Salesforce Winter ’24 Release: Platform Highlights appeared first on The Spot.

By Heather Rinke|2023-09-07T01:35:48+00:00September 7th, 2023|Categories: New Features, Release Notes|

For Account Engagement users, the most exciting feature coming with the Salesforce Winter ‘24 release is the ability to get more precise with wait steps in Engagement Studio Programs. Gone are the days waiting a full day to trigger an action, we can now set wait steps anywhere from 2-8 hours. This provides more flexibility with our programs and what we are able to do.

How do we get started with shorter wait steps in Engagement Studio?

In Engagement Studio, we’ve always had the ability to add wait steps. We were able to do this in day long increments after an event took place. We’ve used these for things like, sending follow up emails after a form fill, or sending an additional email days after an initial send.

Sometimes, a day seemed like too long of a wait, but that was all we had to work with.

Now, we can use these new hour increments. When adding an action to an Engagement Studio Program, click “wait”, then toggle to “hours” and set the desired amount of hours. That’s it!

When you should use hour wait steps…

Wondering how you can make the most of this feature? We’ve compiled a list of scenarios that we think would be best suited for a short, hours-long wait period.

Welcome Programs
- Prospects signed up for your mailing list or were imported? Add an hour wait step to send that first welcome email instead of waiting days.
Post Form Follow Up Emails from Sales Team Members
- If your follow up emails are sent immediately, prospects know it’s automated, and waiting days to follow up can lead you to miss out on an opportunity. With a wait step of just a couple hours, it gives your prospects time to finish looking at your website, gives your internal assignment processes time to complete, and feels more personal than an automated reply.
System Processing Time For List Evaluation
- When using automations that evaluate which lists a prospect is on, a two hour wait step will ensure your dynamic lists have time to run and prospects newly added to the list are included.
Custom Redirect/ Page Action Follow Ups
- Set up custom redirects or page actions on high priority pages and have them funnel leads into an Engagement Studio Program. From there, suggest the next step a prospect should take or the next piece of content the prospect might be interested in a few hours after they have left your website.

Time to get started with shorter wait times in Engagement Studio

This feature is one that hundreds of trailblazers have been asking for because it can be so useful in customizing programs. Once it becomes available, we recommend revisiting your existing engagement studio programs and seeing if this would be a better fit for some of the current day long wait steps you are currently using.

Being able to take action in hours, rather than days can really help personalize the experience you give to prospects.

Want to learn more about how to create the most effective Engagement Studio Programs? Consider taking our Workshop: Engagement Studio for Marketers.

Original article: The Wait is Over: Shorter Wait Steps in Engagement Studio Are Here

The post The Wait is Over: Shorter Wait Steps in Engagement Studio Are Here appeared first on The Spot.

By Michelle Cornely|2023-08-31T14:18:47+00:00August 31st, 2023|Categories: Automations, Engagement Studio, New Features, Release Notes|

Salesforce winter ‘24 release notes are out! Here are the most important features coming to Account Engagement that marketers should know about.

Winter ’24 Highlights for Marketers

Highlight #1 – Engagement Studio Program wait times less than 1 day!

Marketers have been keeping their fingers crossed for this feature for a long time, and it received over 8k points in the IdeaExchange.

With the Winter ‘24 release, you’ll be able to set Engagement Studio Program wait steps to 2-8 hours. This will be especially helpful if you’d like to give other processes time to run before moving onto next steps or before syncing the Prospect to Salesforce. This feature will be available to all Account Engagement Editions.

Highlight #2 – Sandbox to Production Flow

Details are sparse on this new feature, but it appears orgs will be provided with an example flow that can be copied and used to push Account Engagement Sandbox assets to Account Engagement Production. No details on which aspects of Sandbox will be able to be pushed to Production, but I have a feeling it will be somewhat similar to the Bulk Assets Copy Flow for multiple Business Units.

Highlight #3 – Review Email Templates with Invalid Senders

New Domain restrictions took effect in the Spring ‘23 release. As a result, you will now be prevented from sending an Account Engagement email with a sender from an unverified email domain. This is aimed to help protect your sender reputation.

This new feature will allow you to identify which email templates currently have an unverified sender so you can easily update them and keep using the email template. These notifications are already showing up in Optimizer, so may be able to proactively check for this issue rather than waiting until the release is out. To check, navigate to Account Engagement Settings > Optimizer and look for any Configuration Issues with “Sender email address with an unverified domain.”

Highlight #4 – Change Monitor Histogram

Account Engagement Optimizer is also getting a new feature that will allow you to review Prospect changes. Details on this new feature are a little sparse. Optimizer already has a way to view Prospect Changes (discussed in our Everything You Need to Know About the Account Engagement Optimizer blog post), so my guess is this view is going to have new and improved ways to filter and chart the data.

Highlight #5 – Restrict which domains can iframe Account Engagement Assets

With the Winter ‘24 release you can now restrict which domains Account Engagement assets, such as forms and landing pages, can be iframed on, or restrict iframing assets all together. This helps you ensure your assets can’t be used on websites you don’t own, such as competitors or partners, as well as ensure assets are only iframed on the domains belonging to that particular Business Unit.

Business Units created after the Winter ‘24 release will have iframing restricted by default.

A Few Other Salesforce Winter ‘24 Updates

Restore Paused Prospects
Free up system bandwidth by deleting unconverted visitor activity records
Copy Marketing Assets Using API Version 5 for Flow
- This feature is available now. Read all about it in our “How to Copy Assets Between Account Engagement Business Units” blog post.

Which Salesforce Winter ‘24 features are you most excited about? Let us know in the comments!

Original article: Salesforce Winter ‘24 Release: Account Engagement New Features

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By Erin Duncan|2023-08-18T21:12:10+00:00August 18th, 2023|Categories: New Features, Release Notes|

The Salesforce Summer ’23 release includes many changes to the platform, like the ones we’re seeing with Account Engagement that include the ability to copy marketing assets between business units. However, the thing we’re going to talk about in this blog post are two new features that (hopefully) help you simplify user access management for the Salesforce platform.

First, we’re going to quickly go over the new User Access Policies (Beta) feature and then we’ll talk about setting field-level security in permission sets.

Salesforce User Access Policies (Beta)

User access policies are a new feature that allows you to control user access based on criteria such as user roles profile, or other user fields. For example, we can give users different access to the same data, depending on their role in the organization or their department.

Users can be assigned to permission set licenses, permission sets, permission set groups, package licenses, queues, and groups using user access policies.

User Access Policies are broken down into two types, Manual User Access Policies and Active User Access Policies.

Manual User Policies

Manual User Access Policies are one-time processes to grant or revoke bulk access for designated users. What this means is that you can identify users by using filters and modify, add, or remove access that you define in the policy itself.

Example: You’re migrating permissions for a group of users from profiles to permission sets. You would create filters to identify the users assigned to the profile, then create actions in the user policy to assign permission sets and permission set groups.

Active User Policies

Active User Access Policies automatically grant or revoke user access. An active user access policy runs in the background and is triggered by an event like a created or updated user record.

Example: You can have an active policy set to assign a series of permission sets permission set licenses and groups to a user when they are created and have the Sales Manager role, or grant/revoke assignments to an existing user who’s been updated with this role.

Sounds like a flow if you ask me…

Ok, that’s cool Jason. So how do I get to it?

Go to Setup > Quick Find “User Management Settings” then enable User Access Policies (Beta).
Then, Quick Find “User Access Policies” to create or manage user access policies.

Considerations before enabling User Access Policies

A couple of things to be aware of before you go and enable this setting in your org:

Each org is limited to 20 access policies in total.
This feature is in Beta and is subject to change without notice. Be sure to watch future Salesforce releases to find out when this will be made Generally Available (GA).

Set Field-Level Security for a Field on Permission Sets Instead of Profiles (Generally Available)

In the past, field-level security could only be set on profiles which, even with the Enhanced Profile User interface, could be extremely tedious. However, in the Summer ’23 release, you can now set field-level security on permission sets when creating a new custom field.

What does this mean?

When creating a field you would normally have a step that would have you pick which profiles have access to view or edit..

Now, once the Set Field Level Security for a Field on Permission Sets feature is enabled, this step (Profiles step) is replaced with something that looks like this screenshot:

This was originally a beta feature in Spring ’23 but is now Generally Available in Summer ’23.

How do you enable it?

Go to Setup>Users>User Management Settings, then Enable Field Level Security for Permission Sets During Field Creation.

Considerations for the Set Field Level Security for a Field on Permission Sets feature

Things to keep in mind when enabling Field Level Security for Permission Sets During Field Creation:

Enabling this setting will remove the profile list from view when setting or changing field level security at the profile level.
When you set or change field-level security for a field on permission sets, you can view by permission sets with object permissions, or by all permission sets.

Streamlining Salesforce user management today and beyond

Cool stuff, but how is this going to affect me now and in the future?

These changes are all part of Salesforce’s master plan to streamline User Management to make it less tedious, less challenging, and less time-consuming so we can spend more time taking the dog for a walk or enjoying the awesome Pacific Northwest Summers.

Eventually, we will see Salesforce sunset Profiles and move solely to controlling record access via permission sets as outlined in this Salesforce Admins Article.

If you would like to know more about the future of User Management I encourage you to check out this awesome blog by Cheryl Feldman and the Awesome Admin team over at Salesforce. And reach out to Sercante when you’re ready to talk about how these changes fit in with your overall marketing and technology operations strategy.

Original article: Salesforce Summer ’23: User Access Management Updates

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By Jason Ventura|2023-07-14T15:07:36+00:00July 14th, 2023|Categories: New Features, Release Notes, Strategy|

The Salesforce Summer ’23 Release Notes are out and we’ve been combing through them to see how these changes will affect our clients and readers. This post includes what you’ll need to know as a Marketing Cloud Account Engagement (Pardot) admin or user.

Salesforce Summer ‘23 Release Feature #1

Data Cloud and Account Engagement

Probably the new release feature I am most excited about, an Account Engagement Connector for Data Cloud! This connector will allow you to pull in Data Cloud segments via Account Engagement Dynamic Lists, allowing you to not only market directly to your Data Cloud customers, but also reap the benefits of Data Cloud’s unified view of customer data to help support your ABM initiatives.

Salesforce Summer ‘23 Release Feature #2

Copy Assets Across Business Units

If you have multiple Account Engagement Business Units (BUs), then you probably know the pain of keeping universal assets exactly the same across all of your BUs. The Summer ‘23 release is hoping to make that pain point a thing of the past by enabling Salesforce Flow to replicate assets across BUs. This new feature will allow for replication of custom fields, email templates, engagement studio programs, files, and custom redirects! Keep an eye out for a follow up post on this, I can’t wait to try it and share some tips and tricks with all of you.

Salesforce Summer ‘23 Release Feature #3

Opt Out can again be set to “Most Recently Updated”

Back in the Winter ‘23 release, Salesforce announced they were doing away with the “Most Recently Updated” sync behavior option for Account Engagement’s “Opt Out” field. However, after hearing from the community, this change is being rolled back. So, if you didn’t prepare for this change, your procrastination has paid off! Just keep in mind new business units created after October 18th, 2023 will have the Opt Out sync behavior set to “Use Account Engagement” by default.

Salesforce Summer ‘23 Release Feature #4

External Actions are coming to Completion Actions

External Actions, which allow Account Engagement to send data to 3rd Party Applications, will now be available in Completion Actions. Now you can easily register a prospect for an event in a 3rd Party system upon form fill, or even send them a text as a completion action.

Salesforce Summer ‘23 Release Feature #5

Account Engagement Optimizer is Generally Available

Account Engagement Optimizer is moving from Beta to Generally Available! Optimizer provides easy ways to clean up your Account Engagement org but pinpointing potential issues. With the move to Generally Available, Optimizer has a couple of additional metrics, including:

Configuration Issues: diagnose problems that are blocking access to features
Performance Improvement Measures: display good measures so you can see what is working well in the Business Unit
Prospect Change Monitor: understand which features result in the most prospect changes for your Business Unit

A Few Other Summer ‘23 Updates

Which Salesforce Summer ‘23 new release feature are you most excited about? Let us know in the comments!

Original article: Salesforce Summer ‘23 Release: Account Engagement New Features

The post Salesforce Summer ‘23 Release: Account Engagement New Features appeared first on The Spot.

By Erin Duncan|2023-06-09T12:22:03+00:00June 9th, 2023|Categories: New Features, Pardot, Release Notes|

Salesforce is upping their game in the race to incorporate the latest generative AI tools into their products. Announced during Salesforce Connections on June 7, Marketing GPT and Commerce GPT are coming to Salesforce customers using Marketing Cloud and Commerce Cloud.

The features are gonna make it easier for marketers to reach the right audiences and generate emails, and commerce teams will create better shopping experiences and customer journeys. But, the best part is that both Marketing GPT and Commerce GPT can be connected to Data Cloud — meaning the tools can do their thing using data from any source.

History of Salesforce in the GPT game

Both Marketing GPT and Commerce GPT are dependent on Einstein GPT, which is the generative AI version of Einstein.

For a little back story, Salesforce Einstein is the machine learning model the company rolled out in 2016 to analyze large sets of CRM data. So, Salesforce has been on the AI train for a while already.

Einstein can do things like predict which customers or sales leads are likely to buy by looking at data from a bunch of sources. Or it can analyze data to determine the best time to send emails to your lists.

You can get it in Marketing Cloud Engagement and Account Engagement, Sales Cloud, Commerce Cloud, Experience Cloud, and Service Cloud, along with other platform tools.

In March 2023, Salesforce released Einstein GPT, which combines the machine learning model Salesforce developed with the chatbot from generative AI company OpenAI. (On a side note, Salesforce is going heavy on the AI devotion and has already invested $250 million into other AI technology companies.)

So, how are Marketing GPT and Commerce GPT related to Einstein GPT?

Both Marketing GPT and Commerce GPT are powered by Einstein GPT — the AI-powered set of solutions that marries Salesforce AI with OpenAI’s technology. They are both iterations of Einstein GPT that are tailored for the respective clouds. Stay tuned because we’re seeing GPT features getting infused across all Salesforce clouds in addition to these two.

What capabilities do Marketing GPT and Commerce GPT have?

Both of the sets of features combine generative AI capabilities, which use data from OpenAI, with Salesforce Data Cloud. That means you can use customer profiles in Data Cloud that include data from any source in real time. And while you don’t have to use Data Cloud to take advantage of the Salesforce GPT features, you’ll definitely be able to do more if you have it.

So, what exactly can you do with Marketing GPT and Commerce GPT?

Marketing GPT Capabilities

We’re really gonna be cooking now by giving the people super valuable experiences through email and content marketing. We already have Einstein features in our marketing back pocket, but now we’re throwing GPT into the overall mix. That means we can use conversational language prompts to get Marketing Cloud to do things for us.

I mean, it’s not going to organize all those random newsletter graphics you’ve been uploading to Account Engagement without using a naming convention (yet???). But it will do things like analyze the data you have and use that information to predict the best ways to improve your emails.

Source: Salesforce

Here’s what Marketing GPT can do (so far):

Segment Creation | generally available Oct. 2023
This is a whole new fancy way to build your audience segmentation strategy. You can tell Marketing Cloud to create audience segments for you using natural language prompts, and it will help you to improve your targeting using AI recommendations and audience data that’s in Data Cloud.

Email Content Creation | generally available Feb. 2024
Ok, so I’m gonna have to see this one in action, but Salesforce said this feature can “reduce writing workload” by creating auto-generated emails. It can potentially be a big one for marketing teams that have the content but stumble with their email marketing.

Segment Intelligence for Data Cloud | generally available Oct. 2023
This adds a fancier twist for tracking ROI. Segment intelligence combines first-party audience data, revenue data, and paid media data to show you exactly how your campaigns are doing in relation to your audience segments.

Rapid Identity Resolution, Segmentation, and Engagement | generally available Aug. – Oct. 2023
Salesforce is going heavy on the ‘transform at the speed of your customer’ theme. The mouthful that is this feature basically keeps Data Cloud segments updated in real time so messaging is always relevant and timely.

Typeface content platform | GA date not given yet
Using a third-party content generator called Typeface, marketers can create branded visual assets (like email graphics or social cards) inside Salesforce. Stay tuned for this one cuz it could be huge.

These are the features that Salesforce outlined during the announcement, but we’re sure the list will grow with each Salesforce release.

Commerce GPT Capabilities

We’re also getting a bunch of generative AI features for B2C companies that use Salesforce tools for commerce. These are especially cool because ecommerce customers can be a fickle bunch. Getting them exactly what they want when they want it makes all the difference.

Source: Salesforce

Here’s what Commerce GPT can do (so far):

Goals-Based Commerce | generally available Feb. 2024
This is one of those a-ha tools for businesses with big growth goals. It unites Data Cloud, Einstein, and Flow to lay out everything commerce companies need to do to reach their goals. Users give it a goal, like increase average order value (AOV) by XX%, and it gives recommendations on how to get there.
Dynamic Product Descriptions | generally available July 2023
Okay, so we’ve seen how serving up product recommendations based on customer preferences has shaken things up for commerce companies. But now we’re gonna be taking it even further by introducing dynamic copy capabilities for product descriptions. It could be a serious game changer.
Commerce Concierge | generally available Feb. 2024
Not all of the Commerce GPT features are specifically for Salesforce users. Online shoppers can use Commerce Concierge to find what they need using language prompts across channels from online stores to SMS messaging.

Comments on generative AI + Salesforce from the peanut gallery

My two cents: My mind immediately goes to the content creation features of Marketing GPT. There is SO MUCH copywriting that goes into marketing. And we’ve seen a whole bunch of copywriting GPT tools pop up in the last year, like the free Stensul email toolkit or paid ones like GrammarlyGo. Some people are naysaying the tools in fear that they will replace copywriting jobs, but I don’t think that’s the case at all.

In my experience, leaner marketing teams rarely have dedicated copywriters. Those responsibilities are usually lumped into other marcom roles. I see the tools giving marketers the ability to edit copy instead of writing from scratch. Then, they can have bandwidth to dig deeper with their messaging and present higher quality work that hits their audience in the feels. And being able to do that inside Salesforce just sweetens the whole deal.

I opened the floor to my teammates about what they think about Marketing GPT and Commerce GPT, and here’s what they had to say.

Cate Godley

“I’m excited to see how Marketing GPT can help marketers to craft better subject lines and calls to action to increase engagement with content. There are so many ways to use generative AI to inspire creativity in our marketing efforts, and I can’t wait to see how people are using these tools in new and exciting ways.”

Courtney Cerniglia

“As marketers, we’re constantly asked what content is resonating most with customers, what action will increase likelihood to purchase, and how we identify our highest value leads. Marketing GPT is going to help prove our assumptions and give us the data in real-time, across platforms, so we can quickly pivot and personalize experiences for customers.”

Mike Creuzer

“There have been a few inflection points where human knowledge growth hockey sticked. Gutenberg press took centuries, computers took decades, the internet took years, and this generative AI appears to be taking… months?

According to the 2023 Connections Keynote, there were 1 million users in two months for ChatGPT (if I remember correctly).

We are at the start of the next great change in pace of human knowledge and communication.

2023 is the year where AI is no longer hidden away behind RFID badged doors and is widely available to EVERYBODY in a usable, general way.

In business, AI has been baked into the tools that we use for many years now. But it’s been a one trick pony. It’s now anything WE want it to be, not just what our vendors built.”

Continue the conversation

What are your thoughts on Salesforce and generative AI? Any hot takes? Tell us about it in the comments, or reach out to team Sercante to see how the tools fit into your overall marketing and operations strategy.

Original article: Salesforce Announces Marketing GPT and Commerce GPT

The post Salesforce Announces Marketing GPT and Commerce GPT appeared first on The Spot.

By Ambre Juryea-Amole|2023-06-08T19:17:37+00:00June 8th, 2023|Categories: Automations, Data Management, Emails & Forms, New Features, revive|

Salesforce is introducing something pretty exciting for orgs that have little wiggle room while assigning licenses to Salesforce users. A new type of license called “Salesforce Integration User” is available now, and it’ll help you to save your user licenses for actual humans.

The Salesforce Integration User was introduced to facilitate best practices of using a separate license for any integrations that require an integration license to integrate with Salesforce. That includes integrations like Docusign and MuleSoft.

This license is specifically designed for System-to-System Integration types and provides the user with API Access Only.

How many Salesforce Integration User Licenses Do We Get?

All orgs will have 5 free Salesforce Integration User Licenses available to them, and additional licenses are available to purchase for about $10 each (customers should speak to their AEs regarding the purchase of additional licenses).

Salesforce Integration User License Setup

You can verify the number of integration user licenses available to you under Company Information > Setup.

In addition to the new licenses, a new standard profile called ‘Salesforce API Only System Integrations‘.

NOTE: When creating a new user with the Salesforce Integration User License, this will be the only profile available.

Creating a Custom Profile for the API Only System Integration User (System Permissions)

Since the new ‘Salesforce API Only System Integrations’ profile is a standard profile and therefore can’t be updated, it is recommended that you create a new profile by cloning the Salesforce API Only System Integrations (not System Administrator) for integration users in order to customize the permissions:

Go to Setup > Profiles
Locate the ‘Salesforce API Only System Integrations’ profile and click Clone.
In the Permission set, go to System Permissions
Enable the following permissions:
- Password never expires – doing this prevents the password from expiring while someone is out of the office with no one available to update it across integrations
- API Enabled
- Api Only User
- Chatter Internal User (optional)
(Still under System Permissions) Make sure ‘Multi-Factor Authentication Login Requirements for API Access’ is not enabled

Create a Custom Permission Set for the Integration (Object Access)

Go to Setup > (Quickfind) Permission Sets
Create a new permission set
Name your permission set to reflect the permission for this integration. For example “Integration – ZoomInfo”
Leave the License Type empty “–None–”
Add the following to the Object Settings for each object the integration needs access to:
1. Object CRUD access (Create/Read/Update/Delete/View All/Modify All)
  - This example is for adding access to just the Account object to the Integration User.
2. Field-level access (Read/Edit) for each field on the object
3. Remember the principle of least privilege – we want to grant access only for the actions that the integration needs.
  - In particular, keep in mind custom record types that are deployed by integrations’ own packages

Creating an Integration User

To use one of these licenses, it is recommended to:

Create a new user for each specific integration (if there is not a dedicated license already)
Assign the Salesforce Integration license (or you can change the license or if you already have a dedicated user for the integration)
Give the user the Salesforce Integration API permission set license.
Add the custom permission set you created above.

Validate

Once your user is set up:

Add the new integration user credentials in the integration platform (the steps may vary based on the integration)
Test the integration to confirm the integration is working the way it should.
- For example, are records being updated as expected?

Considerations

The Salesforce Integration user license is API Access Only, meaning that it is not suitable for non System to System integration uses. Users with this license will not have access to the direct user login or access the org through the UI.
With the new licenses, it is still recommended to use one integration user per integration to ensure traceability of the transactions that the integration has within Salesforce.
If you are moving an existing user to the integration user license, the new ‘Salesforce API Only System Integrations’ profile, may not have all the object permissions needed. Any specific permissions needed may need to be assigned using permission sets.
Pardot API users are usually better met with the Identity User License, but if there are reasons to use this license (Oath2 Client Credentials) the Integration Connector User permission set is what will need to be applied to grant Pardot record access. Users using this license may not appear in User Sync until after you manually create and connect a Pardot user.
A custom permission set granting object and field access is preferred over doing this in the profile as permissions in profiles is scheduled to be sunset Spring of ’26.

Additional Resources

Original article: How the Salesforce Integration User Saves Licenses for Real Humans

The post How the Salesforce Integration User Saves Licenses for Real Humans appeared first on The Spot.

By Nathalie Coles|2023-05-17T16:28:43+00:00May 17th, 2023|Categories: API & Integration, New Features, Release Notes, revive|

In a move that extends beyond the chatbots used to formulate interview questions or write email subject lines, Salesforce is expanding automation capabilities by integrating Einstein GPT and Data Cloud with Salesforce Flow.

So, what does the announcement from Salesforce mean for marketers?

Bringing Einstein GPT and Data Cloud capabilities into Salesforce Flow means marketers can use the automations to create impressive real-time experiences for customers. And they’ll accomplish that using clicks rather than coding skills.

It’s something that will make the tools easily scalable for Salesforce customers at every growth stage.

How and when can Salesforce customers access it?

The announcement actually involves two initiatives Salesforce is launching. The first is a tighter integration between Salesforce Data Cloud and Flow. And the second is the integration of Einstein GPT and Flow.

According to John Kucera, senior vice president of product management at Salesforce, customers can use Flow currently with Salesforce database data. The integration updates between Data Cloud and Salesforce Flow are opening up the possibilities, and incorporating Einstein GPT is adding an efficiency edge to the technology.

Kucera said the Einstein GPT capabilities will be available on an early adopter basis in early fall as part of the Salesforce Winter ‘24 release. He went on to say that the Data Cloud integration will probably be offered as part of a standard Salesforce subscription, and Einstein GPT for Flow may carry an additional charge once those details are worked out.

Einstein GPT and Data Cloud Capabilities

Salesforce introduced Einstein GPT in March 2023 as the world’s first generative AI CRM technology, which infuses proprietary Salesforce AI models with generative AI models from OpenAI and other large AI models. And Data Cloud takes customer data from any source inside or outside the Salesforce platform and harmonizes it in real time.

So what in the world does that mean for marketers?

That means marketers can use information from Data Cloud to generate content and build workflows via Einstein GPT. Since Data Cloud reacts to data changes in real time, marketers can serve content that adapts dynamically and creates personalized experiences every time.

For example, a marketer could use Einstein GPT to generate an email with dynamic content blocks that update in real time when a Data Cloud field updates based on customer activity.

John Kucera said to SiliconANGLE, “You can give it a prompt such as ‘I want to create a guided workflow for a new customer or create a rule to follow up with an email to customers who haven’t responded in five days.”

Infusing Einstein GPT and Data Cloud with Salesforce Flow

The new integrations are going to turn things up a notch for marketers. Here’s what happens when we incorporate Salesforce Flow into the Einstein GPT and Data Cloud mix.

What is Salesforce Flow?

Salesforce Flow is a declarative automation tool. It allows you to create complex automations inside the platform using clicks rather than code, so users can get in there without the need for developer skills.

Marketers use Salesforce Flow for things like managing campaign activations, automating customer onboarding steps, or creating a custom task series for sales teams.

How can marketers use Salesforce Flow with Einstein GPT and Data Cloud?

Using the Einstein GPT and Data Cloud integration alongside Salesforce Flow is changing the game for marketers who use the platform. That’s because marketers will be able to use conversational chatbots to automate complex workflows and trigger actions in real time.

Users and admins can describe the type of flow they want to build, and then they’ll sit back and watch the chatbot complete the tasks. Or, it can be used to build formulas or search for functions. It removes much of the manual and tedious work that goes into creating complex flows and automations.

Source: Salesforce

For example, a field in Marketing Cloud Engagement detects that a customer added items to their shopping cart, but they left the page without completing the purchase. That triggers an immediate email notification, created via generative AI, that goes to the customer and offers a discount code for them to complete the purchase.

In summary, the three benefits to marketers include:

Reduced flow build time
Access to more options to automate with flow
Improved real-time personalization for customer interactions

Get ready for generative AI inside your Salesforce org

We’re on the edge of our seats with anticipation for combining Einstein GPT with Salesforce Flow and Data Cloud capabilities.

These technologies make us feel like we have a front row to the future of CRM and marketing automation. So, in the meantime, we’ll be thinking about all the ways we can use conversational AI to do all the things us busy marketers do.

Have any aha use cases you’d like to share? How do you think Einstein GPT, Data Cloud, and Flow are going to work together in your org? Let us know in the comments!

You can also drop us a line if you’re wondering how you can incorporate these tools into your marketing operations strategy.

Original article: Salesforce Automation Game-Changer: Einstein GPT and Data Cloud Capabilities for Flow

The post Salesforce Automation Game-Changer: Einstein GPT and Data Cloud Capabilities for Flow appeared first on The Spot.

By Ambre Juryea-Amole|2023-04-19T21:08:10+00:00April 19th, 2023|Categories: Automations, Industry News, New Features, Release Notes|

Those of you who have been followers of The Spot for a few years now know that we have shared our favorite Marketing Cloud Account Engagement (Pardot) Ideas from the Salesforce IdeaExchange either in blog posts or the Pardashians Slack group.

This tradition started in 2017 with Andrea’s initial post highlighting 8 ideas on the IdeaExchange that Pardot admins should upvote. We’ve seen great features come to life in the most recent Salesforce releases (looking at Conditional Options for Completion Actions), and we’re hoping you can help prioritize ideas for future releases.

Salesforce has three releases throughout the year and uses their IdeaExchange to help drive which features are prioritized in future releases. As a marketer, you have most likely entered a situation where your team is requesting a solution that is currently not available in Marketing Cloud Engagement or Marketing Cloud Account Engagement as a feature.

Your first stop is to see if this feature/solution has been mentioned or resolved via the IdeaExchange. Checking there first is going to help you understand how others have solved it, and then you can add in your own vote to the idea.

What is the Salesforce IdeaExchange anyway?

Back in 2006, the Salesforce #Ideaexchange was born as a way to involve its customers (big and small) in a modern effort to crowdsource ideas for its product roadmap. This ensures the community gets a platform to contribute their ideas and wishes — you know, a place where the margods can go for inspiration if you will as they build the world of tomorrow.

How does one enter their idea into the Salesforce IdeaExchange?

Come up with an idea and submit it to the exchange
You then get trapped and spend 2-4 hours going through other people’s ideas (definitely optional, but highly encouraged).
If your idea gets enough votes (10+ points for you) then a product manager gets involved
The idea is developed and then delivered, and we all cheer!

Need more details? We wrote a little about the history of the AppExchange.

Top Salesforce IdeaExchange items for marketers

As Salesforce continues to work on improving their marketing automation platforms, our team has put together a list of ideas that we recommend you upvoting and adding to your wish list in hopes of getting them added to the top of the prioritization list.

Here is our current list of Salesforce IdeaExchange items that marketers should check out and upvote.

Salesforce

Ability to Customize Campaign Member Status Values for all Campaigns

This feature would help with needing to update campaign member statuses for each individual campaign. We wrote about how to fix this with Protected Campaign Member Statuses.

Upvote >>

Marketing Cloud Engagement

Access to a Marketing Cloud Engagement Developer Edition

This feature would help trailblazers gain hands-on experience working within Marketing Cloud Engagement without being a customer.

Upvote >>

Include Dynamic Links in Engagement Split Activity

This feature would ensure Journey Builder engagement splits based on clicks can monitor the clicks on any dynamic link as well as static links.

Upvote >>

Access to a Recycle Bin in Marketing Cloud Engagement

This feature would give Marketing Cloud Engagement admins the same abilities as the Marketing Cloud Account Engagement recycle bin.

Upvote >>

Include the “De-Duplicate by Email Address” Feature in Journey Builder

This feature would give users the same abilities they have when sending a normal email through Marketing Cloud Engagement.

Upvote >>

Allow Data Extensions as Suppression Lists in Journey Builder

This feature would allow marketers to use data extensions for suppression lists in Journey Builder instead of lists.

Upvote >>

Marketing Cloud Account Engagement

Track and Record Direct Replies to an Email Sent from Marketing Cloud Account Engagement

This feature would provide an additional, much needed KPI for marketers to be able to determine which CTAs are working for their emails that do not go directly to links or forms.

Upvote >>

Reduce Errors Post-Sending Email

This feature would allow you to either recall or edit emails that have not been opened yet after an email is sent with an error.

Upvote >>

Allow or Operational Email Sending in Engagement Programs

This feature would bring the operational email checkbox to the entire Engagement Program or individual Email steps to ensure those who need to receive these emails still are even when in an Engagement Program.

Upvote >>

Audit changes to Marketing Cloud Account Engagement Assets

This feature would bring a tool similar to what Salesforce Admins have available to them to be able to view all changes made to lists and assets throughout Marketing Cloud Account Engagement.

Upvote >>

Allow Variable Fields in SFDC Tasks

This feature would allow for more variability and customization when creating a Salesforce Task from within Marketing Cloud Account Engagement.

Upvote >>

Notifications for SFDC Connector Errors

This feature would bring forth a notification system for your team to understand when there are Connector errors between Salesforce and Marketing Cloud Account Engagement.

Upvote >>

BRING BACK “PARDOT”

This feature needs no explanation as many people are hoping we can reverse the name rebrand and move back to calling the tool “Pardot” at some point in the future.

Upvote >>

Analytics

Ability to Include Cross Filters in Report Filter Logic

This feature would allow users to be able to use standard filters and cross filters together in a report with filter logic.

Upvote >>

Reporting on Email Activity from Salesforce Inbox or Standard Inbox Integrations

This feature would bring email activity into the Activity records to allow for reporting between emails and other activities.

Upvote >>

Allow Reference Lines on Dashboard Components

This feature would bring an amazing reporting feature to dashboards so marketers can include reference lines on any report chart within a dashboard.

Upvote >>

We Want to Hear From You!

While some Pardot admin recommendations get picked up and implemented faster than others, it all depends on community participation and perceived need from the Marketing Cloud product team. In fact, to help drive ideas, Salesforce created a prioritization system where you can see top feature suggestions across the ecosystem battle it out!

Are there any features or functionality you wish you could see? If so, let us know below. With a little bit of luck and support from your Salesforce Ohana, you might also uncover the secrets of the IdeaExchange and get your idea on the scoreboard.Don’t forget to vote for these ideas, submit your own and chat with us on Twitter, LinkedIn or simply subscribe to the blog.

Original article: Marketing Goodies from the Salesforce IdeaExchange: Spring ‘23

The post Marketing Goodies from the Salesforce IdeaExchange: Spring ‘23 appeared first on The Spot.

By Jordyn Jaffer|2023-04-05T20:02:21+00:00April 5th, 2023|Categories: Community, New Features, Release Notes|

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