What is Marketing Cloud used for?

Salesforce Marketing Cloud is used by large companies to send personalized messages to their customers.

By sending these personalized messages to customers, people continue coming back to buy more and more stuff.

Let's use a large company like Nike as an example.

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When you go to the Nike website, this is what you see.

If you click on "Join Us" in the top right of the Nike website homepage, you'll see a page pop up that looks like this one.

Nike is asking you to put your email in the box so they can send you messages when new shoes come out, or when new clothes are released.

This is what some of those messages look like.

(These are real images that Nike sent to me in an email).

Nike can't send you these messages if they don't have a way to message you.

That's why they ask for your email address (or even phone number).

Think about it for a second...

If you meet someone at a restaurant and you like that person, you need to ask for their phone number or Instagram if you're going to continue talking to that person.

It's the same way with huge companies like Nike.

Nike needs a way to stay in touch with you.

That's where a tool like Marketing Cloud comes in to save the day.

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Inside Marketing Cloud, you can use someone's email address and start sending email messages to them (like the one below👇 )!

You can even create dozens of emails all at once and then set those emails up to send out on a schedule that you and your team decide.

To set all those messages up, you'll use a tool called Journey Builder inside Marketing Cloud.

This is an example of what a journey looks like.

Set a specific journey up one time in Journey Builder and then Marketing Cloud does all the work.

Let's look at the top path from the image above in Journey Builder.

In the image we have a path that looks like this:

1. Data Extension Entry Source - The people in this data extension will go through this journey.

2. Decision Split - To determine the decision that each person made. If they "Attended the event", then send them down this path... If not, then send them down the other path.

3. Thank You Email - To say thank you to the customer

4. 1-Day Wait - To wait for the person to receive the email

5. Exit on day 1 - To kick people out of the journey

This is an example of a basic journey in Journey Builder.

Now you have the basics for what Marketing Cloud is used for just by reading this article.

There are other cool tools in Marketing Cloud that you can use to send text messages, mobile push messages, and even personalize what you see on a website.

Marketing Cloud is very powerful and can connect directly with Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Commerce Cloud, Salesforce CDP, and pretty much any other system if you use APIs.

For now, we won't get into all the other functionality of Marketing Cloud, but as a summary, here's what Marketing Cloud is used for.

To send personalized messages to their customers. By sending these personalized messages to customers, people continue coming back to buy more and more stuff.

Let me know if you have any questions!

PS - Want to learn Marketing Cloud from a certified instructor & professional?

Join the Marketing Cloud Career Development Program.