Salesforce Connections is a one-of-a-kind experience bringing together the brightest minds in digital marketing and commerce from across the ecosystem. Held June 8-9, 2022 in Chicago, IL, Connections offered technology professionals the opportunity to skill up teams, deliver powerful new customer experiences, and access the full potential of Salesforce Customer 360. Changemakers, big thinkers, and industry-renowned leaders comprised an inspiring lineup of speakers, and over 200 product experts educated Trailblazers on the future of Salesforce across more than 100 unique breakout sessions.
Cloud for Good was fortunate enough to have several of our Goodies in attendance to take in the momentous event and report back on their findings. Here are a few of our key takeaways.
Major Keynote Announcements
Salesforce CMO Sarah Franklin kicked off this year’s event proceedings with a rousing keynote speech discussing how businesses can wow customers by building an economy of trust. Franklin expressed the importance of efficiency, connected data, and artificial intelligence in this pursuit, with an all-encompassing focus on achieving a net-zero climate impact in the process. It was during Franklin’s keynote that the four prevailing themes of Salesforce Connections 2022 were unveiled:
1. Connected Data – Learning how to create a data strategy that focuses on outcomes, unlocks value across the entire customer lifecycle with a Customer Data Platform (CDP), and envisions what’s ahead for the future of data-driven marketing.
Career development – With the newly-launched Marketer Career Path learning hub on Trailhead, Trailblazers are granted an all-in-one place to learn in-demand skills, connect with a community of skilled marketing pros, and build their dream marketing career.
These themes all circle back to the ever-refining pursuit of creating meaningful moments for customers. When marketing and commerce professionals humanize digital interactions, build brand loyalty, and upskill to incorporate new technologies, they raise the ceiling on customer experience and create unforgettable interactions that deepen the relationship with our brands.
Hyper-personalization – Exploring how artificial intelligence helps marketers achieve 1:1 connections at scale and deliver personalized engagement for the mobile-first customer.
Automation – Winning loyalty with seamless post-purchase experiences through automating customer experiences with Platform and MuleSoft.
The Next Generation of Commerce Cloud
Innovations to the Commerce Cloud platform revealed at Connections sought to bring a new approach to digital commerce and enhance revenue opportunities through every customer touchpoint. Finding and targeting new audiences has never been easier thanks to a new social integration for Commerce Cloud allowing TikTok ads to be created and redirected back to commerce sites. This social integration grants businesses the ability to create and automate product feeds and segment audiences with exacting precision.
A new commerce marketplace was revealed that presents brands with the opportunity to quickly create, manage, and scale on Commerce Cloud. This marketplace effectively extends a brand’s catalog range with products from other companies and helps them reach new channels and buyers. New revenue streams driven by increased cart sizes, commissions, and membership subscription fees from vendors round out this exciting new product announcement’s innovation.
Salesforce also announced the pilot of a new NFT Cloud promising to expand customer experiences to Web3 environments through trusted, sustainable blockchains. Brands will now be able to mint, manage, and sell non-fungible tokens (NFTs) through the centralized Salesforce Customer 360 Platform. Customer data will be securely connected to aid in gaining a 360-degree view across a customer’s physical and digital worlds.