SALESFORCE EXPERIENCE CLOUD

Salesforce Experience Cloud is Module #7 of "Defogging The Clouds", a content and event series organised by myself and Cloud Odyssey , designed to demystify the Salesforce ecosystem, and help unlock the full potential of Salesforce solutions.

#DefoggingTheClouds #Salesforce #SalesforceExperienceCloud #DigitalTransformation #MaurizioStella #CloudOdyssey

Experience Cloud is a platform that allows businesses to create customised, branded online spaces. Aimed at enhancing customer relationships and improving communication and collaboration, it is particularly effective in customer service, partner network building, boosting employee engagement and productivity, and similar scenarios.

While Experience Cloud might initially seem like a website-building tool, it's more than that. Its strength lies in offering a seamless integration with Salesforce's Relationship Management system, making it ideal for managing data related to various stakeholders like suppliers, partners, contractors, and clients. Unlike platforms such as Wordpress and Drupal, which are more focused on blogging and general content, Experience Cloud is tailored for data accessibility and integration.

KEY FEATURES OF SALESFORCE EXPERIENCE CLOUD

Customer Experiences

Experience Cloud provides templates for creating customer experiences, such as a customer account portal or a customer service help centre.

These templates enhance customer support by enabling functionalities like initiating support cases, accessing knowledge articles, updating account information, and facilitating customer interactions.

Employee Experiences

Companies can use Experience Cloud to create platforms for employee feedback, idea pitching, and interest-based discussions. Additionally, it offers document and content management features, centralising important files for easy access.

Partner Experiences

This portal assists in coordinating projects, scheduling events, and streamlining sales processes with partners. It also allows partners to access Salesforce information, aiding them in tracking sales achievements and utilising training materials.

Engagement Tools

Experience Cloud is used for building various portals, including customer service portals, knowledge bases, forums, and registration/account management portals, all customised to unique business needs.

PRACTICAL EXAMPLES OF EXPERIENCE CLOUD APPLICATIONS

Given that we're talking about experiences, I thought that the best way to explain Experience Cloud is to describe some of these portals, hoping that this will give you a sense of how pivotal it can be. In the case of this tool, it's really not about it's power, rather, it's about the use you make of it.

Supplier Management and Enablement Portal

• Supplier Onboarding: Streamlined onboarding with forms, document uploads, and checklists.
• Communication Hub: Direct channels for supplier updates and feedback.
• Order Management: Tools for order placement and tracking.
• Performance Tracking: Dashboards for monitoring supplier metrics.
• Knowledge Base: Access to training materials and best practices.
• Collaboration Tools: Forums for supplier collaboration.

Contractor Management Portal

• Profile Management: Contractors can manage their personal details, skills, and availability.
• Project Assignment and Tracking: Enables assignment of projects to contractors and tracks their progress.
• Timesheet and Payment Processing: Features integrated timesheets for hours logging and automated payment processing.
• Compliance and Training: Provides access to essential training modules, safety protocols, and compliance documents.
• Feedback and Evaluation: Facilitates feedback exchange and performance evaluation between contractors and managers.
• Resource Center: A central repository of tools, guidelines, and support materials for contractors.

Estates Management Portal

• Property Database: Contains detailed listings of properties, including specifications and maintenance records.
• Service Request Management: Allows tenants to submit and track maintenance requests.
• Lease and Document Management: Manages lease agreements and related documents securely.
• Financial Management: Offers tools for managing rent payments, utility bills, and other financial transactions.
• Communication Tools: Provides direct communication channels for tenants, estate managers, and service providers.
• Analytics Dashboard: Delivers insights on key metrics like occupancy rates and maintenance costs.

MY CONCLUSIONS

In my opinion, the larger an organisation is, the more sense it makes to implement micro or macro portals for internal and external use. Any organisation that has to deal with multiple suppliers, contractors, or that has a need for onboarding processes and enablement should consider implementing experiences that help users get through those processes and that help educate people about those and other processes. In scenarios where organisations are already using other Salesforce Clouds like Service Cloud, Sales Cloud, OMS, Commerce Cloud (especially B2B), I can't see advantages in leveraging equivalent solutions that are not Salesforce.

The beauty of Salesforce, in general terms, is that unique ability to bring everything under one hood, and their attention to every aspect of a business, including these experiences which are often neglected for long periods of time, or at least until the inefficiencies become so obvious that a digital transformation project is triggered by frustration.

So, if you are already using some Salesforce tools, start building relevant portals and pages that will help make work more enjoyable for everyone. Additionally, for those new to Salesforce or integrating with existing non-Salesforce systems, it's worth considering the potential challenges and ensuring a strategic approach to integration and scalability. Salesforce Experience Cloud not only fits well with existing Salesforce ecosystems but also offers scalability, making it a viable option for growing organizations looking to expand their digital infrastructure in line with their evolving business needs.

If you have not done so already, I would recommend reading modules 1 and 2 of Defogging The Clouds, which are Service Cloud and Sales Cloud; two pieces of the puzzle that go hand in hand with this solution.