As technology evolves, cross-channel marketing will become even more sophisticated, leveraging artificial intelligence, machine learning, and predictive analytics to deliver hyper-personalized and proactive customer experiences. Businesses that adopt this approach will stay ahead of the curve, fostering stronger customer relationships and achieving long-term success.
Sony Honda Mobility Leverages Salesforce Technology to Enhance Customer Relationships Sony Honda Mobility, a mobility tech startup, is utilizing Salesforce solutions—including Automotive Cloud, Data Cloud, Tableau, and MuleSoft—to deepen its customer relationships through enhanced data and insights. Sony Honda Mobility Inc. is a Japanese joint venture automotive company established by Sony Group Corporation and Honda Motor Company in 2022 to produce battery electric vehicles. The company will market its vehicles under the Afeela brand. Why It Matters: A significant 81% of business leaders report challenges with data fragmentation and silos. This disconnected, disjointed information often leads to immaterial and generic customer interactions, which is problematic as 80% of customers expect superior experiences given the extensive data companies collect. Key Developments: Sony Honda Mobility plans to launch its first electric vehicle in the United States in 2025, followed by Japan in 2026. To scale globally and stand out in the market, the company is empowering its service team with real-time data and insights on customer interactions with its products and services. How Is Salesforce Driving Change Data Cloud: A unified data platform that consolidates application, workflow, and data lake records, making it easier to train AI models, gain business insights, and improve customer relationships. Sony Honda Mobility is leveraging Data Cloud to integrate disparate data seamlessly across applications. MuleSoft API Integration: This integration connects data from Sony Honda Mobility’s vehicle and customer platform to Salesforce, ensuring a cohesive data flow. Automotive Cloud: Inside Automotive Cloud, Sony Honda Mobility now maintains a comprehensive profile of each customer and their vehicle, based on data from Data Cloud. This integration allows for personalized service and experiences at every touchpoint. The platform also streamlines contact center management, query handling, internal FAQ creation, web actions, and ongoing service support for incident and customer information management. Tableau: With Tableau’s visualizations of vehicle operation conditions and service usage status, Sony Honda Mobility can make quicker, more informed decisions about each customer’s needs. Customer Perspective “We aim to elevate our customer service and experiences to new heights. We are confident we can achieve this with Salesforce’s global expertise and proven track record in CRM, trusted AI, and data analytics,” said Yasuhide Mizuno, Chairman and CEO of Sony Honda Mobility. Salesforce Perspective “We are thrilled that Sony Honda Mobility has chosen the scalability, reliability, and expertise of Salesforce technology. By integrating their customer data on a single and trusted platform, we are excited to support Sony Honda Mobility as they scale excellent service to customers worldwide,” said Shinichi Koide, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Salesforce Japan. The Result By harnessing Salesforce’s advanced technology, Sony Honda Mobility is poised to revolutionize its customer service and experience, ensuring a more connected, efficient, and personalized interaction for its customers globally. Like Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more The Salesforce Story In Marc Benioff’s own words How did salesforce.com grow from a start up in a rented apartment into the world’s Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more
In 2023, Algo Communications, a Canadian company, faced a significant challenge. With rapid growth on the horizon, the company struggled to train customer service representatives (CSRs) quickly enough to keep pace. To address this, Algo turned to an innovative solution: generative AI. They needed to Adopt a Large Language Model. Algo adopted a large language model (LLM) to accelerate the onboarding of new CSRs. However, to ensure CSRs could accurately and fluently respond to complex customer queries, Algo needed more than a generic, off-the-shelf LLM. These models, typically trained on public internet data, lack the specific business context required for accurate answers. This led Algo to use retrieval-augmented generation, or RAG. Many people have already used generative AI models like OpenAI’s ChatGPT or Google’s Gemini (formerly Bard) for tasks like writing emails or crafting social media posts. However, achieving the best results can be challenging without mastering the art of crafting precise prompts. An AI model is only as effective as the data it’s trained on. For optimal performance, it needs accurate, contextual information rather than generic data. Off-the-shelf LLMs often lack up-to-date, reliable access to your specific data and customer relationships. RAG addresses this by embedding the most current and relevant proprietary data directly into LLM prompts. RAG isn’t limited to structured data like spreadsheets or relational databases. It can retrieve all types of data, including unstructured data such as emails, PDFs, chat logs, and social media posts, enhancing the AI’s output quality. How RAG Works RAG enables companies to retrieve and utilize data from various internal sources for improved AI results. By using your own trusted data, RAG reduces or eliminates hallucinations and incorrect outputs, ensuring responses are relevant and accurate. This process involves a specialized database called a vector database, which stores data in a numerical format suitable for AI and retrieves it when prompted. “RAG can’t do its job without the vector database doing its job,” said Ryan Schellack, Director of AI Product Marketing at Salesforce. “The two go hand in hand. Supporting retrieval-augmented generation means supporting a vector store and a machine-learning search mechanism designed for that data.” RAG, combined with a vector database, significantly enhances LLM outputs. However, users still need to understand the basics of crafting clear prompts. Faster Responses to Complex Questions In December 2023, Algo Communications began testing RAG with a few CSRs using a small sample of about 10% of its product base. They incorporated vast amounts of unstructured data, including chat logs and two years of email history, into their vector database. After about two months, CSRs became comfortable with the tool, leading to a wider rollout. In just two months, Algo’s customer service team improved case resolution times by 67%, allowing them to handle new inquiries more efficiently. “Exploring RAG helped us understand we could integrate much more data,” said Ryan Zoehner, Vice President of Commercial Operations at Algo Communications. “It enabled us to provide detailed, technically savvy responses, enhancing customer confidence.” RAG now touches 60% of Algo’s products and continues to expand. The company is continually adding new chat logs and conversations to the database, further enriching the AI’s contextual understanding. This approach has halved onboarding time, supporting Algo’s rapid growth. “RAG is making us more efficient,” Zoehner said. “It enhances job satisfaction and speeds up onboarding. Unlike other LLM efforts, RAG lets us maintain our brand identity and company ethos.” RAG has also allowed Algo’s CSRs to focus more on personalizing customer interactions. “It allows our team to ensure responses resonate well,” Zoehner said. “This human touch aligns with our brand and ensures quality across all interactions.” Write Better Prompts – Adopt a Large Language Model If you want to learn how to craft effective generative AI prompts or use Salesforce’s Prompt Builder, check out Trailhead, Salesforce’s free online learning platform. Start learning Trail: Get Started with Prompts and Prompt Builder Like Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more The Salesforce Story In Marc Benioff’s own words How did salesforce.com grow from a start up in a rented apartment into the world’s Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more
Transforming Retail Media: Personalization and Faster Monetization with Smarter Media Dentsu, a leading growth and transformation partner, has announced a strategic collaboration with Salesforce, the world’s #1 AI-powered CRM, to launch Smarter Media—an innovative solution designed to accelerate retail media monetization through personalized buying experiences powered by AI. Why Smarter Media Matters With shifting consumer priorities, personalized retail experiences are more critical than ever. Salesforce research highlights that: Smarter Media addresses this growing demand by enabling retailers to quickly adapt, offering tailored buying experiences that strengthen customer loyalty while driving revenue. What is Smarter Media? Smarter Media combines the power of Salesforce’s ecosystem—including Media Cloud, Sales Cloud, and Marketing Cloud Engagement—to deliver an end-to-end retail media solution. The platform assesses a brand’s retail media maturity, identifies gaps, and creates a roadmap to optimize media, technology, and skills. The solution simplifies access to advanced media technology, empowering brands to connect with customers 24/7, expand their customer base, and nurture long-term relationships. Key Features and Benefits 1. Comprehensive Assessment 2. AI-Powered Personalization 3. Built for Retail Media Success 4. Quick and Easy Adoption How Smarter Media Works Smarter Media combines Salesforce Sales Cloud’s leading sales and pipeline management tools with Media Cloud’s Advertising Sales Management application. The result is a solution that seamlessly supports both simple and complex retailer models: Real-World Value Across Retail By addressing challenges like fragmented media strategies and inaccessible technology, Smarter Media delivers transformative value for retailers: Driving Innovation Together Paul Lynch, Integrated Solutions Lead for Commerce and Retail at Dentsu UK&I, shared: “Smarter Media will democratize cutting-edge technology for brands by providing a one-stop solution to create personalized buying experiences. In today’s experience economy, maintaining compelling customer relationships has never been more vital.” Christopher Dean, SVP and GM for Communications, Media & Entertainment at Salesforce, added: “By combining Salesforce Media Cloud’s industry-specific solutions with Dentsu’s creative retail media expertise, we’re making advanced media technology accessible for retailers, helping them thrive in a competitive market.” The Future of Retail Media Smarter Media from Dentsu and Salesforce offers a transformative approach to retail media, empowering brands to deliver personalized experiences, improve customer loyalty, and accelerate revenue growth—all while leveraging cutting-edge AI and automation. With its ability to deliver value in just six months, Smarter Media is the ultimate solution for retailers looking to succeed in today’s fast-paced, customer-centric market. Like Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more The Salesforce Story In Marc Benioff’s own words How did salesforce.com grow from a start up in a rented apartment into the world’s Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more
Considerations for Syncing Custom Objects in Account Engagement When syncing custom objects between Salesforce and Account Engagement, the following key considerations should be taken into account: Like Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more The Salesforce Story In Marc Benioff’s own words How did salesforce.com grow from a start up in a rented apartment into the world’s Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more
Most workers today recognize the importance of rich data analytics in their jobs. However, 33% struggle to understand and generate insights from data. To address this, Salesforce has introduced Einstein Copilot for Tableau, which allows users of all skill levels to create complex data visualizations without extensive learning or coding. Democratize Data with Einstein Copilot for Tableau. Launched in April 2024, the beta version of this AI assistant features a user-friendly interface that simplifies the process with questions or simple commands. This facilitates the quick creation of comprehensive data presentations, including reports, dashboards, and various charts. Democratize Data with Einstein Copilot for Tableau Einstein Copilot for Tableau leverages a combination of AI technologies—natural language processing (NLP), machine learning (ML), and generative AI—to provide actionable insights. NLP enables conversational and intuitive interactions, while ML models process user queries and analyze data. Generative AI drives cognitive reasoning, planning, and creates insights, recommendations, and diagrams based on user inputs. By integrating with Tableau Cloud, Einstein Copilot accesses historical proprietary data, enables advanced data analysis, and translates user intent into actionable insights. It relies on Tableau’s analytics infrastructure to execute code and displays results through user-friendly visualizations and dashboards. Additionally, the Einstein Trust Layer secures and protects private data in Einstein Copilot. It authorizes inbound requests, ensuring users have necessary permissions to access specific data and safeguards model outputs to prevent the disclosure of confidential information. How Einstein Copilot for Tableau Transforms Requests into Insights To understand how Einstein Copilot for Tableau turns requests into actionable insights, let’s walk through each step of the interaction process: Einstein Copilot for Tableau democratizes access to data analytics, enabling all users to harness the power of data without needing extensive technical knowledge. Like1 Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more The Salesforce Story In Marc Benioff’s own words How did salesforce.com grow from a start up in a rented apartment into the world’s Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more
Earlier this month, CRM specialists Salesforce hosted the latest edition of its World Tour Essentials event in Johannesburg. This event provided Salesforce with an opportunity to engage more personally with businesses in the region and showcase the AI-powered solutions it is developing, including the Einstein 1 platform. Now Salesforce Customers Take On AI Hallucinations. Einstein 1 is designed for AI-focused enterprises, leveraging existing CRM applications from Salesforce, along with data cloud and AI-powered tools. This platform aims to address key business challenges, one of which is the issue of generative AI hallucinations—where AI generates false information due to data gaps. A notable example of this issue was seen with Google’s Gemini, which produced bizarre and potentially harmful suggestions, like advising users to put epoxy glue on pizza. This occurred because the AI lacked sufficient data to generate accurate responses. While some companies continue to use the internet to train their platforms to avoid such hallucinations, businesses, particularly in the CRM field, cannot afford these inaccuracies. Salesforce has introduced a tool called Einstein 1 Studio to combat this problem. This tool allows business engineers and developers to create prompts and refine the overall experience of conversational platforms like Slack AI. During a media roundtable at the World Tour Essentials Johannesburg event, Linda Saunders, Salesforce’s Director of Solutions Engineering Africa, explained how Einstein 1 Studio helps mitigate AI hallucinations. “If you ask Einstein an ungrounded prompt like, ‘Please summarize the case for me,’ it may not know which case you’re referring to. By pulling metadata elements into the prompt and using certain word triggers, we can provide a much richer and more accurate AI response,” Saunders highlighted. She added that once a setup is built, it can be activated across multiple use cases, creating a consistent and efficient deployment process. Saunders also emphasized the importance of the trust layer within Einstein 1, which includes data grounding, audit trails, data masking, and mechanisms to prevent hallucinations. “The trust layer is integral to Einstein 1. Whether you build it or use the out-of-the-box capabilities, the trust layer ensures grounded data, audit trails, and other critical features,” Saunders explained. She also pointed out that Einstein 1’s building tools can address localization and tailor experiences to specific markets, like South Africa. “South African customers have unique needs compared to those in the US. This tool allows for prompt customization to better suit local business requirements,” Saunders noted. The configuration engine on top of Copilot functionality allows businesses to refine prompt engineering, ensuring that AI interactions are more tailored and effective. As AI integration becomes more widespread in business operations, addressing issues like AI hallucinations is crucial. According to Salesforce, Einstein 1 is designed with these considerations in mind, ensuring a reliable and accurate AI experience. Like1 Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more The Salesforce Story In Marc Benioff’s own words How did salesforce.com grow from a start up in a rented apartment into the world’s Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more
Responsible AI Innovation: Benefits and Strategies Can Tech Companies Use Generative AI for Good?. As generative AI reshapes our world, the conversation has largely focused on its risks and downsides. However, Suzanne DiBianca, EVP and Chief Impact Officer at Salesforce, highlights the often-overlooked benefits that AI can bring to society and the fight against climate change. Optimizing AI for Sustainability Salesforce is driven by a mission to reduce emissions, accelerate climate solutions, and advance inclusivity. According to DiBianca, with proper guardrails and ethical development, AI can significantly aid in achieving these goals. Key Strategies for Sustainable AI Development: Best Practices for Reducing Carbon Emissions in Software Development Technologists must follow best practices such as identifying and shutting down underused systems, moving storage to more energy-efficient options, and developing energy-efficient software code. Tracking Climate Impact Improving the tracking of climate impact involves simplifying reporting processes and investing in emissions-tracking solutions. DiBianca advises starting with a clear climate action plan, conducting energy usage audits, prioritizing renewable energy, and collaborating with suppliers to collect emissions data. Accelerating Climate Innovation Through AI Investments DiBianca emphasizes that reducing global emissions and limiting warming to 1.5°C requires urgent innovation and investment. Salesforce invests in companies using AI to address climate challenges, such as PanoAI, which deploys AI to detect and respond to wildfires. Driving Sustainability and Equity with AI To ensure AI benefits all, it is essential to integrate sustainability into the business core. Salesforce’s Sustainable AI Policy Principles guide the company’s efforts in minimizing environmental impact and promoting climate innovation. Upholding Responsibilities As a technology leader, Salesforce is committed to shaping AI’s impact on the world responsibly. DiBianca stresses the importance of a dual commitment to the planet and global communities, fostering a legacy of responsible AI innovation for future generations. Like Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more The Salesforce Story In Marc Benioff’s own words How did salesforce.com grow from a start up in a rented apartment into the world’s Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more
Salesforce Expands AI Capabilities for Marketing and Retail with Einstein Copilot Salesforce is making waves in the marketing and retail sectors by enhancing its Einstein Copilot feature, bringing advanced AI tools even closer to its users. AI for Marketing and Retail. For those unfamiliar with Salesforce, it offers Einstein 1, a comprehensive platform integrating AI and machine learning across its various applications. Einstein Copilot, a part of this platform, functions as an AI-powered assistant designed to provide real-time assistance, automate tasks, and deliver contextual insights to boost productivity. New Additions: Einstein Copilot for Marketers and Merchants Salesforce has recently announced two exciting additions: Einstein Copilot for Marketers and Einstein Copilot for Merchants. Einstein Copilot for Marketers: Einstein Copilot for Merchants: Availability Einstein Copilot for Marketers is set to be generally available this summer, while Einstein Copilot for Merchants will enter the beta stage in the autumn. Leadership Insight “With the Einstein 1 Platform, we’re giving organizations the power to unify all of their data on one trusted platform,” said Ariel Kelman, President and CMO of Salesforce. “This is the key to getting results from generative AI that are actually useful in driving your business forward.” About Salesforce Founded in 1999, Salesforce is a cloud-based software company renowned as one of the best CRM software providers. With over 72,000 employees globally and an annual revenue of $26.49 billion, Salesforce continues to lead in innovation and customer satisfaction. Like Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more The Salesforce Story In Marc Benioff’s own words How did salesforce.com grow from a start up in a rented apartment into the world’s Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more
A recent survey conducted by Kyruus Health and shared with HealthPayerIntelligence reveals that consumers are demanding more accurate online provider data from payers to enhance access to care. Healthcare solutions from Tectonic and Salesforce improve patient care and trust by improving data accuracy. The survey, fielded by Wakefield Research in April 2024, involved 1,000 healthcare consumers. Nearly three-quarters of respondents (72%) had private health insurance, with Medicare being the second most common form of coverage (18%). The participants represented an even distribution across U.S. regions and age groups, with 57% identifying as women. Payers have historically struggled to maintain up-to-date provider directories, and this survey highlights the significant impact of these challenges. About 30% of consumers reported skipping care due to inaccurate provider information, with 70% of them seeking this data online. Consumers primarily rely on health plan websites or apps for provider information, with 32% naming these platforms as their first resource. Medicaid enrollees were particularly dependent on their plan’s digital resources, with 64% turning to these tools first. Besides health plan websites and apps, consumers also used general internet searches, provider or clinic websites, and healthcare information sites like WebMD. Social media platforms were also popular for care searches, with 77% of users turning to Facebook and 61% to YouTube. The survey also revealed that payers often fail to provide accurate cost predictions. Only 32% of respondents said their health plans offered accurate cost information. Price transparency tools are particularly important to younger generations, with 76% of Millennials and 80% of Gen Z respondents using these tools. However, 40% of Baby Boomers were unsure if their plans even offered such tools. Among those who did use them, 34% found that the tools presented incorrect provider data, with 45% of Gen Z reporting this issue. Inaccurate provider information can lead to significant negative consequences for consumers, including delays in accessing care, difficulties contacting preferred providers, and higher costs. Some consumers even reported accidentally receiving out-of-network care or forgoing care altogether due to these inaccuracies. These experiences not only hinder access to care but also damage consumer trust in their healthcare providers and payers. Overall, 80% of respondents said that inaccurate provider data affected their trust, with 27% losing trust in their health plans and 22% losing trust in their providers. The survey results underscore a clear call to action. Over 60% of consumers, and nearly 75% of Gen Z specifically, want their health plans to provide more accurate data. Tectonic has decades of experience applying Salesforce solutions to health care providers and payers. To address these concerns, the report recommends that health plans take three key steps: First, engage with members through appropriate channels, including social media. Second, unify and validate their provider data to ensure accuracy. Third, introduce self-service capabilities within their digital platforms to empower consumers. Reach out to Tectonic today if your organization needs help applying these three steps. Like Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more The Salesforce Story In Marc Benioff’s own words How did salesforce.com grow from a start up in a rented apartment into the world’s Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more
Salesforce Unveils Data Cloud Vector Database with GenAI Integration Salesforce has officially launched its Data Cloud Vector Database, leveraging GenAI to rapidly process a company’s vast collection of PDFs, emails, transcripts, online reviews, and other unstructured data. Gen AI Unleased With Vector Database. Rahul Auradkar, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Salesforce Unified Data Services and Einstein Units, highlighted the efficiency gains in a one-on-one briefing with InformationWeek. Auradkar demonstrated the new capabilities through a live demo, showcasing the potential of the Data Cloud Vector Database. Enhanced Efficiency and Data Utilization The new Data Cloud integrates with the Einstein 1 platform, combining unstructured and structured data for rapid analysis by sales, marketing, and customer service teams. This integration significantly enhances the accuracy of Einstein Copilot, Salesforce’s enterprise conversational AI assistant. Gen AI Unleased With Vector Database Auradkar demonstrated how a customer service query could retrieve multiple relevant results within seconds. This process, which typically takes hours of manual effort, now leverages unstructured data, which makes up 90% of customer data, to deliver swift and accurate results. “This advancement allows our customers to harness the full potential of 90% of their enterprise data—unstructured data that has been underutilized or siloed—to drive use cases, AI, automation, and analytics experiences across both structured and unstructured data,” Auradkar explained. Comprehensive Data Management Using Salesforce’s Einstein 1 platform, Data Cloud enables users to ingest, store, unify, index, and perform semantic queries on unstructured data across all applications. This data encompasses diverse unstructured content from websites, social media platforms, and other sources, resulting in more accurate outcomes and insights. Auradkar emphasized, “This represents an order of magnitude improvement in productivity and customer satisfaction. For instance, a large shipping company with thousands of customer cases can now categorize and access necessary information far more efficiently.” Additional Announcements Salesforce also introduced several new AI and Data Cloud features: Auradkar noted that these innovations enhance Salesforce’s competitive edge by prioritizing flexibility and enabling customers to take control of their data. “We’ll continue on this journey,” Auradkar said. “Our future investments will focus on how this product evolves and scales. We’re building significant flexibility for our customers to use any model they choose, including any large language model.” For more insights and updates, visit Salesforce’s official announcements and stay tuned for further developments. Like1 Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more The Salesforce Story In Marc Benioff’s own words How did salesforce.com grow from a start up in a rented apartment into the world’s Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more
Elevating Email Marketing with Dynamic Content Customers don’t want to feel like just another number to your brand. Relying on a generic “batch and blast” email marketing strategy is likely to land you in the customer’s spam filters—or worse, prompt them to unsubscribe. However, with Dynamic Content Powered Email, you can create a relevant and timely experience they’ll remember for all the right reasons. The Power of Personalization In an era where privacy and security dominate the headlines, it’s surprising that 83% of consumers are willing to share personal data for more personalized experiences. This isn’t just an interesting tidbit—it’s proof that people expect and value personalized experiences from brands. This tradeoff—data for personalization—presents a significant opportunity for marketers who can uphold their end of the bargain. Nowhere is this more evident than in the inbox. Dynamic email content allows for the creation of personalized messages that update when the email is opened, meeting readers’ expectations for tailored communication. The Importance of Dynamic Email Content Modern email marketing must prioritize engaging and relevant content to avoid poor performance and potential relegation to spam folders. Recent developments, such as the loss of third-party cookies, make it increasingly challenging to acquire the right data for personalization. Let’s explore some tactics and resources to achieve quick email marketing wins without the heavy lifting, by automating impactful experiences in the inbox. Understanding Dynamic Email Content Dynamic email content, often called live email content, refers to messages that change based on the subscriber’s personal preferences or history with your website. Unlike static ads, dynamic content offers a tailored shopping experience, increasing engagement and fostering brand loyalty. For example, using dynamic elements such as live polls or customized product recommendations can make subscribers feel valued and understood. Interactive emails enhance the overall experience and encourage deeper engagement. Case Studies in Dynamic Email Success Dynamic content engages audiences and prompts action, crucial for both business success and email program health. Email engagement metrics influence whether your emails are delivered to the inbox or spam folder, making engaging content essential for ISP trust. Not just customer trust. Leveraging First- and Zero-Party Data First-party data is now more important than ever. Email provides a direct line to subscribers, enabling the collection of valuable insights into their preferences and behaviors. This data can fuel further personalization efforts. For example, UK hospitality brand icelolly.com used dynamic email content to display searched and abandoned deals, resulting in a 35% higher open rate, a 201% increase in click-through rate, and a 45% increase in conversion rate. Popular Types of Dynamic Email Content Implementing Dynamic Email Content Simply Personalization with dynamic email content doesn’t have to be resource-intensive. No-code solutions or templates can streamline the process, allowing ongoing implementation with minimal effort. For instance, PrettyLittleThing used automation in birthday emails to show the correct star sign content based on the opening date, driving a 38% increase in click-through rates. Dynamic Content Powered Email has emerged as a powerful tool for marketers aiming to meet and exceed consumer expectations. By incorporating dynamic elements—such as live polls, countdown timers, and personalized images—marketers can create engaging, memorable experiences that build stronger customer relationships and drive brand loyalty. Like Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more The Salesforce Story In Marc Benioff’s own words How did salesforce.com grow from a start up in a rented apartment into the world’s Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more
Salesforce World Tour Highlights: Data Cloud Vector Database and Hyperforce At the Salesforce World Tour on June 6, 2024, at the Excel Centre in east London, the focus was on advancements in the Data Cloud and Slack platforms. The event, sponsored by AWS, Cognizant, Deloitte, and PWC, showcased significant innovations, particularly for GenAI enthusiasts. Data Cloud Vector Database and Hyperforce. Vector Database in Data Cloud A key highlight was the announcement of the general availability of a Vector Database capability within the Data Cloud, integrated into the Einstein 1 Platform. This capability enhances Salesforce’s CRM platform, Customer 360, by combining structured and unstructured data about end-users. The Vector Database collects, ingests, and unifies data, allowing enterprises to deploy GenAI across all applications without needing to fine-tune an off-the-shelf large language model (LLM). Addressing Data Fragmentation Salesforce reports that approximately 80% of customer data is dispersed across various corporate departments in an unstructured format, trapped in PDFs, emails, chat conversations, and transcripts. The Vector Database unifies this fragmented data, creating a comprehensive profile of the customer journey. This unified approach not only improves customer engagement but also enhances organizational agility. By consolidating data from all corporate silos, companies can quickly and efficiently address issues such as product recalls and returns. Hyperforce: Enhancing Data Residency and Compliance During the keynote, Salesforce emphasized the importance of personalization in customer engagement and the benefits of deploying GenAI in customer-facing sectors. The event highlighted the need to overcome the fear and mistrust of GenAI and showcased how enterprises can enhance employee productivity through upskilling in GenAI technologies. One notable announcement was the general availability of Hyperforce, a solution designed to address data residency issues by integrating all Salesforce applications under the same compliance, security, privacy, and scalability standards. Built for the public cloud and composed of code rather than hardware, Hyperforce ensures safe delivery of applications worldwide, offering a common layer for deploying all application stacks and handling data compliance in a fragmented technology landscape. Salesforce AI Center The Salesforce AI Center was also introduced at the event. The first of its kind, located in the Blue Fin Building near Blackfriars, London, this center will support AI experts, Salesforce partners, and customers, facilitating training and upskilling programs. Set to open on June 18, 2024, the center aims to upskill 100,000 developers worldwide and is part of Salesforce’s $4 billion investment in the UK and Ireland. Industry Reactions and Future Prospects GlobalData senior analyst Beatriz Valle commented on Salesforce’s continued integration of GenAI across its portfolio, including platforms like Tableau, Einstein for analytics, and Slack for collaboration. According to Salesforce, the Data Cloud tool leverages all metadata in the Einstein 1 Platform, connecting unstructured and structured data, reducing the need for fine-tuning LLMs, and enhancing the accuracy of results delivered by Einstein Copilot, Salesforce’s conversational AI assistant. Vector databases, while not new, have gained prominence due to the GenAI revolution. They power the retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) technique, linking proprietary data with large language models like OpenAI’s GPT-4, enabling enterprises to generate more accurate results. Competitors such as Oracle, Amazon, Microsoft, and Google also offer vector databases, but Salesforce’s early investments in GenAI are proving fruitful with the launch of the Data Cloud Vector Database. Data Cloud Vector Database and Hyperforce Salesforce’s AI-powered integration solutions, highlighted during the World Tour, underscore the company’s commitment to advancing digital transformation. By leveraging GenAI and innovative tools like the Vector Database and Hyperforce, Salesforce is enabling enterprises to overcome the challenges of data fragmentation and compliance, paving the way for a more agile and competitive digital future. Like Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more The Salesforce Story In Marc Benioff’s own words How did salesforce.com grow from a start up in a rented apartment into the world’s Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more
The Reality Behind AI Chatbots and the Path to Autonomous AI In the rush to adopt the latest Consumer Chatbot Technology, it’s easy to overlook a fundamental reality: consumer chatbot technology isn’t ready for enterprise use—and it likely never will be. The reason is simple: AI assistants are only as effective as the data that powers them. Most large language models (LLMs) are trained on data from public websites, which lack the specific business and customer data that enterprises need. This means consumer bots can’t adequately assist employees in selling products, marketing merchandise, or improving productivity, as they lack the necessary personalization and business context. To achieve the vision of AI that goes beyond simple chatbots performing basic tasks—like drafting emails, essays, blogs, or graphics—to a more advanced role where AI acts autonomously and addresses business-critical needs, a different approach is needed. This vision involves AI taking action with minimal human intervention, using digital agents to identify and respond to these needs. At Salesforce, we are pursuing a clear path to AI that not only takes action but also automates routine tasks, all while adhering to established business rules, permissions, and context. Instead of relying solely on LLMs, which primarily focus on generating human-like text, future AI assistants will depend on large action models (LAMs) that integrate decision-making and action-taking capabilities. The Journey Toward AI Autonomy Our journey towards this vision began with the Salesforce Data Cloud, a robust data engine built on the Einstein 1 Platform. This platform integrates data from across the enterprise and third-party repositories, enabling companies to activate their data, automate workflows, personalize customer interactions, and develop smarter AI solutions. Recognizing the shift from generative AI to autonomous AI, Salesforce introduced Einstein Copilot, the industry’s first conversational, enterprise-class AI assistant. Integrated across the Salesforce ecosystem, Einstein Copilot utilizes an organization’s data, whether it’s behind a firewall or in an external data lake, to act as a reasoning engine. It interprets user intents, interacts with the most suitable AI model, solves problems, generates relevant content, and provides decision-making support. Expanding the Role of AI in Business Since its launch in February 2024, Salesforce has been expanding Einstein Copilot’s library of actions to meet specific business needs in sales, service, marketing, data analysis, and industries like ecommerce, financial services, healthcare, and education. These “actions” are akin to LEGO blocks—discrete tasks that can be assembled to achieve desired project outcomes. For example, a sales representative might use Einstein Copilot to generate a personalized close plan, gain insights into why a deal may not close, or review whether pricing was discussed in a recent call. Einstein Copilot then orchestrates these tasks, provides recommendations, and compiles everything into a detailed report. The ultimate goal is for AI not only to gather and organize information but also to take proactive action. Imagine a sales representative instructing their digital agent to set up meetings with top prospects in a specific territory. The AI could not only identify suitable contacts but also suggest meeting times, plan travel schedules, draft emails, and even create talking points—all of which it could execute autonomously with the representative’s approval. Tectonic dreams of the day AI is smart enough to interpret our search engine typos and produce the results for what we were actually looking for! The Future of AI Autonomy The possibilities for semi-autonomous or fully autonomous AI are vast. As we continue to develop and refine these technologies, the potential for AI to transform business processes and decision-making becomes increasingly tangible. At Salesforce, they are committed to leading this charge, ensuring that our AI solutions not only meet but exceed the expectations of enterprises worldwide. Salesforce is in a strong position to deliver on all of them because of the volume and breadth of data housed in Data Cloud, the heavy workflow traffic in our Customer 360 CRM, and the fact we’ve delivered an enterprise-class copilot that is rapidly expanding its library of actions. It will not happen overnight. The technology needs to advance, organizations and people have to be able to trust AI and be trained to use it in the right ways, and more work will need to be done to ensure the right balance between human involvement and AI autonomy. But with our continued investment in CRM, data, and trusted AI, we will achieve that vision before too long. Salesforce is in a strong position to deliver on all of them because of the volume and breadth of data housed in Data Cloud, the heavy workflow traffic in our Customer 360 CRM, and the fact we’ve delivered an enterprise-class copilot that is rapidly expanding its library of actions. Jayesh Govindarajan, Senior Vice President, Salesforce AI Like Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more The Salesforce Story In Marc Benioff’s own words How did salesforce.com grow from a start up in a rented apartment into the world’s Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more
How to Add Fields to a Custom Report Type If a report based on a Custom Report Type is missing some fields, you’ll need to edit the layout of the report type to make those fields available. For example, if an ‘Activities with Accounts and Contacts’ report type lacks certain fields in the ‘Select Columns’ step of the Report Builder, follow the steps below to resolve this. Steps to Add Missing Fields to Your Custom Report: Note: When previewing the layout, you’ll see all fields and objects, even those you don’t have permission to access. You can only access data stored in fields or objects that you have the appropriate permissions for. Once you’ve completed these steps, the missing fields will be available in the report. Additional Resources For more tips, visit the Salesforce Help page: Design the Field Layout for Reports Created From Your Custom Report. You may also want to explore more about creating a Custom Report Type and Standard Report Types for further customization. Like Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more The Salesforce Story In Marc Benioff’s own words How did salesforce.com grow from a start up in a rented apartment into the world’s Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Health Cloud Brings Healthcare Transformation Following swiftly after last week’s successful launch of Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce has announced the second installment in its series Read more
