My Salesforce Journey: Discovering New Technologies in the IT World

My Salesforce Journey: Discovering New Technologies in the IT World

Over a year ago, I set myself a bold goal: after more than a decade of work in marketing, I decided to make a change. I wanted to discover new technologies, work closer to IT projects and implement innovative solutions in companies. It was then that I discovered Salesforce – a platform that turned out to be much more than just a CRM tool. Today I would like to share my experiences and tips with you, which I hope will be helpful if you also want to delve into the secrets of this, as it turned out, fascinating world.

Do you know what CDP is?

CDP (Customer Data Platform) is a tool that integrates, organizes, and analyzes customer data from various sources, such as websites, mobile applications, social media, emails, offline transactions, and many others. CDP allows companies to create comprehensive customer profiles, which allows for a better understanding of their needs, preferences, and behaviors. This allows for more effective optimization of customer experiences in real time throughout the entire stage of the so-called customer journey. Why am I writing about it? Because the desire to work with this type of tool made me start looking. Looking for a solution that I could learn and then implement in companies. Why? To help companies grow: develop, conquer new markets, increase sales.

One example of a CDP is the solution offered by Salesforce, which uses a marketing automation tool to combine with a tool for collecting, unifying and analyzing data to provide companies with a powerful, comprehensive solution. 

Has anyone heard of Salesforce?

The business world is incredibly vast, and what drives companies is their customers. A good organization in terms of customer management is the key to success. Imagine a company offering different products and having many customers from different parts of the world. That's a lot of people with different needs! This is where Salesforce comes in, a super-intelligent tool that helps companies make their customers happy ???? Salesforce gives these companies the advantage of centralized data, so that all customer information is consolidated on one platform - the single source of truth.

Salesforce is not just a place where customer data is collected. It is an entire system of tools that enable data management, using artificial intelligence to create a better customer experience. Within the platform, we will find various clouds (Clouds), such as Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Marketing Cloud or Commerce Cloud - each dedicated to a different area of activity, and at the same time being part of a larger ecosystem. 

Sales Cloud enables effective management of contacts, quotes and orders, as well as monitoring sales performance. Service Cloud enables companies to deliver excellent customer service through effective ticket management and knowledge base. Marketing Cloud, my favorite part, enables marketing automation, campaign personalization and data analysis, which allows for more effective communication with customers. Commerce Cloud, on the other hand, supports online sales, enabling companies to quickly launch online stores and deliver personalized shopping experiences.

Imagine…

One day, Anna, an enthusiastic customer of an online store, was curiously browsing through the offers of trekking shoes. Since Anna likes to use applications, information about new products appears on her phone. Anna most often looks at products related to mountain climbing, and her previous purchases confirm these preferences, so when Anna enters the online store, she sees photos of these products first, and the main banner that she sees right after entering shows a breathtaking view from the top of one of the highest mountains in the world. Staring at the screen, full of expectations, Anna added more products to the basket. However, as is often the case, life can surprise. A sudden phone call tore Anna from her current activity, after which Anna completely forgot about her previous purchases. But the store where Anna had just been looking at sports products did not forget about her. A few hours later, Anna received an email reminding her about the abandoned basket. After a moment of reflection, she decided to return to the store and finish shopping. After choosing the right products, she completed the order and waited for the delivery. Two days later the package arrived at her door. 

Unfortunately, a few weeks later, one of the products was slightly damaged during use. Undeterred, Anna contacted the customer service department, where she received quick and painless help (the company representative Anna spoke to did not have to ask for details - he knew when and what products Anna had purchased). The faulty product was repaired in a short time. Anna also received a discount on future purchases, which made her extremely happy. 

Thanks to the integration of tools, Anna was able to go through the entire purchasing process without any problems, and customer service was ready to provide efficient assistance. It was this comprehensive service that made Anna feel cared for and appreciated as a customer. But this is just a taste of the experiences that can be created using well-designed Salesforce solutions.

How to start?

If you are thinking about changing your career or you are just entering the job market, if new technologies are close to you and the above description (still quite simplified) of the possibilities and functionalities of Salesforce solutions seems attractive to you - then this may be an interesting direction of development for you. So how do you start? It couldn't be easier!

1. First things first: The Trailhead Platform.

Trailhead is a great place to start learning. The platform is free, you just need to create an account and start learning. The knowledge is divided into topic areas in short articles, making them easy to read. You also earn points and badges as you learn, which makes the process not only easy but also incredibly motivating. You can find more information here: https://trailhead.salesforce.com/ 

2. Secondly: Communities.

Salesforce is not just a tool – it is also a community. It is worth joining local groups, where you will quickly get inspired and make your first contacts. At meetings, members share their experiences, give tips, and are open to new people who are just starting their adventure. So find the closest group in your area and do not hesitate to join – that is why these groups were created!

3. Third: Events.

There are several events in Poland that are worth attending. One of them is the largest event, Salesforce World Tour Essentials (more about the event and registration on the website: https://invite.salesforce.com/world-tour-essentials-warszawa-2024/ArlanisReply). At these types of events, you will have an extraordinary opportunity to listen to interesting lectures, see live demos – interesting solutions for using Salesforce in various industries. You will meet enthusiasts, talk to leaders, make friends.

4. Fourth: Bring Women Back to Work

If you have had a career break, I also recommend checking out Bring Women Back to Work. The BWBW program is an initiative to support women returning to work after a career break. The program focuses on creating opportunities for women who have decided to take a career break for various reasons, such as childcare, caring for a family member, or other personal commitments. You can find out more about the program here: www.bringwomenbacktowork.com 

Wondering what role would be best for you?

If you're wondering what the benefits of learning Salesforce are, it's worth mentioning the wide range of career opportunities. 

First: you can work both within Salesforce itself, as well as for one of the partners who implements this solution in other companies (as I did). Finally, you can work in an organization that already has this solution and needs an internal team to support it. 

Secondly: roles. You can become a consultant helping companies implement and adapt the platform to their needs. You can also work as a business analyst helping to understand and optimize business processes. There are many options: you can also become a developer, architect, administrator… You can read more about the career, available roles and tasks within each of these functions on the official website here: https://trailhead.salesforce.com/en/career-path 

I couldn't help but mention: a few words about marketing automation

Since marketing is part of my DNA, I couldn't help but mention marketing automation more ???? Salesforce Marketing Cloud is a marketing platform that enables companies to create and manage marketing campaigns across different communication channels. It is part of the Salesforce ecosystem.

The main functions of Salesforce Marketing Cloud include marketing automation (the platform enables the creation of automated marketing campaigns based on customer behavior and interactions). With MC, you will design communication personalization (thanks to detailed customer data, it is possible to personalize content and offers, which increases customer engagement and affects the effectiveness of the campaign), create audience segmentation (e.g. dividing the database based on various criteria, including behavioral, which allows for more targeted and effective messages), and track the results of conducted activities (including e-mail open rates, clicks, conversions, and many others). Thanks to extensive analytics and reporting, companies can better understand their customers' behavior and make better marketing decisions.

Was it worth it?

Working with Salesforce, especially in the Marketing Cloud area, brings me great satisfaction. Marketing automation is not only a tool, but also a way to communicate more effectively with customers and build long-term relationships, it is a whole ecosystem of opportunities and integrations. Having business experience and technical knowledge, you gain a holistic view of the entire organization, its environment and needs, in order to build business development strategies on this basis. And that is why I love my job ????

So if you are looking for new challenges, want to explore the secrets of modern technologies and be part of a dynamic IT community, Salesforce may be the perfect solution for you.

Start small – learn the basics of Salesforce, get your first certificates and gradually develop your skills. Remember that the key to success is not only theoretical knowledge, but also practical experience and the desire for continuous development. Salesforce is not just a data management platform, but an entire ecosystem that offers virtually unlimited opportunities for professional and personal development. Regardless of whether you are just starting your adventure with technology or you are an experienced specialist, Salesforce provides a place for everyone who wants to be part of the dynamic world of IT and create innovative solutions.

If you have any questions or still don't know how to get started - let me know. I'd be happy to help.

See you!
Emilia Śledzińska, Salesforce Business Consultant @ Arlanis Reply
Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/emiliasledzinska