Decoding the Different Types of Salesforce Clouds for Every Business

Salesforce is well-known for its powerful CRM capabilities, but it's much more than that. 

It offers specialized cloud solutions, each designed to help different parts of a business. 

From managing sales and customer service to handling marketing campaigns and online commerce, building communities, and analyzing data, Salesforce has a cloud solution for almost every business need.

Whether you're a small business or a large enterprise, understanding these Salesforce clouds can help you find the right tools to grow and manage your business effectively.

In this blog post, we will focus on the six most popular Salesforce clouds. We will examine what each one does and its main features and discuss pricing information. Let's dive in!

Different Types of Salesforce Clouds

Salesforce offers a comprehensive suite of cloud-based solutions tailored to meet various business needs.

Here are some key types of Salesforce Clouds:

1. Salesforce Sales Cloud

The Salesforce Sales Cloud is one of the most popular applications. It helps organizations centralize customer data, track interactions, enable collaboration, and automate tasks to sell faster and smarter.

Sales Cloud puts all customer and prospect details in one CRM system for a unified view. It makes sales teams more efficient through tools like email integration, calendar syncing, and workflow automation.

It enables sales reps to manage deals in one place, maintain customer contacts, leverage AI-powered data, and track every interaction for a complete customer view. For business leaders, Sales Cloud provides real-time visibility into performance, helping guide strategic decisions and territory planning based on shifting market landscapes.

Sales Cloud is used widely in both B2B and B2C companies. It automates sales processes, generates leads, and facilitates omnichannel communication.

One significant benefit of Sales Cloud is its ability to increase sales. According to Salesforce, companies using the platform see a 37% higher win rate and 44% greater productivity ^[1]. Other data shows that Sales Cloud can boost conversion rates by 40-300% ^[2].

Key features that help drive these results include:

• Centralized account and contact management
• Lead tracking from origin to close
• Opportunity pipeline and product catalog management
• Marketing campaign integration

Additionally, Sales Cloud's functionality can be expanded with modules such as:

• Customer 360 Data Manager, which integrates customer experiences across departments and channels
• Sales Path, which accelerates lead qualification
• Einstein AI, which offers lead scoring and predictive analysis for better decision-making

2. Salesforce Marketing Cloud

Salesforce Marketing Cloud is a powerful platform as it backs every marketer with the power of personalized messages to reach their ideal customers through multiple channels. It simplifies managing communication flows, responding to customer behaviors, and extracting insights to enhance business growth.

Originally known as Exact Target, Marketing Cloud automates marketing activities, allowing real-time customer engagement across channels like email and social media. It tracks customers throughout their journey, enabling personalized communication that can boost sales.

Key features of Marketing Cloud include:

• Email Studio: For crafting personalized, targeted emails.
• Data Studio: Aids in monetizing customer data.
• Social Studio: Links social data to marketing efforts.
• Advertising Studio: Engages customers through social media and other channels.
• Mobile Studio: Manages SMS message-based push notifications.
• Interaction Studio: Integrates online and offline customer touchpoints.

3. Salesforce Service Cloud

Salesforce Service Cloud is a crucial component of the Salesforce suite, providing essential tools to improve customer experiences and engagement. It automates workflows and facilitates customer journeys, utilizing real-time customer data and artificial intelligence to boost sales and revenue.

Service Cloud is a customer service management platform, functioning as a comprehensive help desk and support system. It empowers companies to offer personalized customer support.

Service Cloud's capabilities include:

• Implementing AI and natural language processing to assist agents with real-time reply suggestions.
• Developing a multifunctional dashboard that records customer interactions in real-time.
• Establishing comprehensive reporting mechanisms for a complete view of the support operation.
• Seamlessly integrating telephony into the support system through Service Cloud Voice.

4. Salesforce Commerce Cloud

Salesforce Commerce Cloud offers a cloud-based e-commerce platform to simplify the creation, management, and sales of products online. Designed primarily for B2C companies, Commerce Cloud facilitates management across various channels such as offline, digital, mobile, and social media. It provides roadmaps for customer journey planning, cloud scalability, and LiveMessage to automate key customer functions.

Key aspects of Commerce Cloud include:

• Quick setup of online sales on a trusted commerce platform.
• A range of features and tools, including drag-and-drop functions and commerce portals, are integrated with Salesforce CMS.
• Utilization of Einstein AI for enhancing average order values and shopper engagement.
• Self-service options like curbside pickup and chat support.
• Integration with Customer 360 data for seamless building of integrated B2B commerce channels.
• Control for Buyer Managers to establish account-based rules like contract pricing, custom catalogs, and approval workflows.

5. Salesforce Experience Cloud

Formerly called the Community Cloud, Salesforce Experience Cloud is designed to connect customers, employees, partners, and agents through online communities. This platform enables the creation of web-based portals for collaboration, customer service, sales, and other essential activities.

Experience Cloud leverages CRM data to create an internal social platform for Salesforce users within an organization. It allows you to create custom portals for departments like HR and IT help desks. It also functions as a forum and support site, facilitating connections with necessary teams.

The various features of Salesforce Experience include:

• Customization and Branding: Tailor Experience Cloud to mirror your brand, creating interactive environments that seamlessly extend your brand's identity.

• Mobile Accessibility: Collaborate on the go using the Salesforce mobile app or any mobile browser, delivering a rich, branded, and device-responsive mobile experience

• Lightning Bolt Portals: Effortlessly craft next-gen portals that seamlessly integrate with Salesforce, offering quick and dynamic experiences.

• Topics for Centralized Information: Access all information through autogenerated topic pages, consolidating discussions, files, groups, and experts into a single, easily followed page.

• Chatter Collaboration for Innovation: Promote workplace innovation through Chatter Collaboration, allowing employees to collaborate on projects, find experts, and contribute ideas from anywhere.

6. Salesforce Analytics Cloud

Salesforce Analytics Cloud is a powerful, cloud-based analytical tool designed to rapidly process and analyze large volumes of data. Its primary goal is to equip teams with comprehensive information for better, more informed decision-making.

Salesforce Analytics Cloud is empowered by Einstein Analytics and Tableau to extract actionable insights and present them in intuitive graphs and charts. It enables users to identify trends, boost efficiency, and understand the underlying logic in data.

The key features of Analytics Cloud include:

• Aggregated Data: Combine data from multiple sources into a single view for more informed conclusions and accurate insights.

• Mobile Friendliness: Access fresh data on the go, empowering sales reps and service staff to make timely decisions with personalized views, real-time updates, and data categorization.

• Self-Service Access: Empower users to find answers without IT support, eliminating the need for data analytics background or support tickets, while allowing ad hoc queries for deeper exploration.

• Business Intelligence: Leverage robust reporting and business intelligence capabilities in Salesforce Analytics Cloud for smart forecasts, strategic planning, budgeting recommendations, trend identification, and issue notifications.

Other Salesforce Clouds for Diverse Needs

In addition to the six main clouds, Salesforce offers a variety of other clouds catering to specific applications and industries, empowering diverse business types and organizations.

These include:

1. Salesforce Integration Cloud: Offers a unified view of customer data across large enterprises.
2. Salesforce App Cloud: Manages apps, users, and events.
3. Salesforce IoT Cloud: Transforms data from connected smart devices into actionable customer insights.
4. Salesforce Manufacturing Cloud: A CRM solution tailored for the manufacturing sector.
5. Salesforce Financial Services Cloud: Provides tools for asset and wealth management, ideal for financial advisors.
6. Salesforce Education Cloud: Manages recruitment, admissions, operations, and student experiences in educational institutions.
7. Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud: Assists in managing donors, fundraising, and operations for nonprofit organizations.
8. Salesforce Health Cloud: Integrates patient, medical, and benefits data for healthcare organizations.
9. Salesforce Vaccine Cloud: A specialized cloud for managing COVID-19 vaccine administration, statuses, and test results.

These clouds can be utilized independently or with other Salesforce tools and services, offering a versatile and comprehensive suite of solutions for various business needs.

Understanding Salesforce Clouds Pricing

Each Salesforce cloud solution comes with its own pricing structure. The cost of using Salesforce clouds, such as Sales Cloud and Service Cloud, is $25 per user per month. However, depending on the specific needs and chosen features, the price can go as high as $500 per user per month.

The significant variance in pricing is primarily due to the customization and scalability options Salesforce offers. Different businesses have varying requirements, and Salesforce caters to these needs with a broad spectrum of functionalities and features, which are reflected in their pricing.

Given the substantial difference in potential costs, the most effective way to determine how much it will cost for your business is to get a direct quote from Salesforce. This tailored quote will consider your business needs, the number of users, the level of customization required, and the specific Salesforce clouds and features you plan to use.

How to Find if Salesforce Cloud is an Ideal Choice for Your Business?

Salesforce offers robust capabilities for various departments including sales, marketing, customer service, and more. Yet, Salesforce may not be the ideal choice for every business. Here are three key factors to weigh when deciding if Salesforce Cloud is right for your company: 

Your Budget

Salesforce pricing varies based on the specific edition and number of user licenses. Salesforce Sales Cloud pricing starts at $25/month per user for essentials, $75/month per user for professional, and $150/month per user for enterprise.

Higher-tier editions have more advanced features. Consider your budget constraints and what pricing tier aligns. Think about how many people in your team will use it.  While Salesforce offers a comprehensive platform, the cost may be prohibitive for smaller businesses with tighter budgets.

Your Company Size

Salesforce lends itself better to medium or large businesses rather than small companies. The platform's extensive customization and sophisticated functionality suit larger teams with dedicated admins and developers.

If you have less than 25 employees, Salesforce may be overkill. The learning curve and setup process require substantial resources. Ensure you have the staffing to implement and manage Salesforce before adopting it.

Your Intended Use Cases

Before choosing Salesforce, outline how you intend to use it. The platform is highly customizable, with many add-ons and capabilities. Consider which features are must-haves versus nice-to-haves.

The investment can pay off if you leverage Salesforce's automation, workflows, and advanced analytics. But a lower-cost platform may suffice if you only need basic CRM features. Align features to your specific use cases.

Final Thoughts

Salesforce offers a remarkable range of cloud services, each designed to enhance a specific area of business operation. However, navigating through the complexities of Salesforce clouds can be overwhelming, especially when choosing the right combination for your business and integrating them seamlessly into your existing workflows. This is where the expertise of Salesforce professionals becomes invaluable.

Let the Salesforce experts at Growth Natives take the lead in guiding you through this journey. Our extensive experience in various Salesforce installations and a deep understanding of its capabilities make us perfectly positioned to recommend the most suitable Salesforce solutions for your unique business requirements.

Ready to Elevate Your Operations with Salesforce Clouds? Let’s Talk!
Our experts can help get the most out of your Salesforce clouds and grow your business. Email us at info@growthnatives.com, and we will take it from there.

Sources:

1. https://www.salesforce.com/in/blog/2021/05/salesforce-for-sales-get-the-most-out-of-your-sales-cloud-implementation-with-this-best-practices-guide.html
2. https://www.salesforce.com/ap/blog/convert-more-leads-pardot/