In the world of SFMC, all roads lead to the data and a clear understanding of Contact Builder. Comprehending its use will provide a solid foundation for all other features of an SFMC account. It’s more than just the technical expertise of how to use and set up Contact Builder. You must also understand the more general concepts around data and data management within the context of SFMC. These concepts will play a central role during any project, influencing the many decision options that will ultimately lead to a successful project.
Tom suggests that a good SFMC Consultant, along with technical platform expertise, needs to be an effective communicator. We often find ourselves at the center of any project, he says, serving as a bridge between the various stakeholders involved, and to ask the right questions, convey concepts effectively, and to educate as well as inform is an important quality to possess. Not only will this ensure a successful project, but just as important will allow the client and stakeholders to feel empowered and confident in using their SFMC account long after you have left the project.
Senior Marketing Consultant at Bluewolf (an IBM Company), and Salesforce Marketing Cloud Champion
Oana Munteanu
The Subscriber Key and how it relates to Contacts and Salesforce data are crucial for users to understand. It’s a basic but essential feature in your subscriber management strategy. Many businesses still get it wrong due to a lack of knowledge and understanding of Consultants’ advice.
For Oana, being a good listener is extremely important if you want to be a successful Consultant. She mentions, not just Marketing Cloud Consultants but any Consultants in general, must be good listeners to understand their clients’ business requirements, to know when to ask the right questions and dig deeper into the conversation, and then translate these findings into great solutions that fit the respective business.
Marketing Cloud Lead Consultant at Capgemini and Salesforce Marketing Cloud Champion
Mats De Meersman
My advice is to focus on SQL Query or SSJS Script activities in Automation Studio, depending on what leaves you more comfortable. Both are powerful, allowing you to manipulate and transform data in ways you can’t easily do in the UI.
Ryan gives great advice to all consultants, his take is to look beyond what the client is asking for, and understand the problem they are really trying to solve. From there, the Consultant can recommend a solution. SFMC is such a big, complex product. Clients are often familiar with small pieces of it and frame their requests with a solution in mind based on the functionality they’ve seen. We need to help our clients take a step back from the solution and figure out how we can solve the problem.
Salesforce Consultant at Coastal Cloud and Salesforce Marketing Cloud Champion
Ryan Hernalsteen
For me, the Einstein integration within Marketing Cloud is an essential feature of the tool. Thanks to the robust AI integration, it becomes straightforward to grasp your customer’s behavior at every interaction point. It also adds another layer of personalization, beneficial to Marketing Cloud users.
My favorite feature of the Einstein stack is Einstein Send Time Optimization. This SFMC feature predicts the optimal send time for each customer to ensure better they open your message.
Mats mentions that a healthy dose of curiosity is a key characteristic of a good Marketing Cloud Consultant. Marketing Cloud, and the marketing automation world, is continuously developing. So, for a good SFMC Consultant, it’s important to stay on top of the latest technologies, methodologies, and tips & tricks in order to deliver the best customer experience possible.
So that’s it! As you may notice, most answers of the beloved Consultants lead to an understanding of data. It’s an integral part of knowing how to work efficiently with Salesforce Marketing Cloud. If you want to know how to help your client better, you need to know how to work with data and the multiple connections within the platform.
Fortunately, DESelect is here to help you save time in learning how to code using SQL. With DESelect Segment, you can easily manipulate data and create advanced segments to send personalized campaigns. Book a demo with one of DESelect’s experts if you want to learn more about how DESelect Segment can help you reduce time on segmentation.
7 must-have Qualities for Aspiring SFMC Consultants
To become an SFMC Consultant, you’ll most likely need to start by getting your certification from Salesforce. To stand out as a consultant and perhaps get on the path to becoming a Marketing Champion, the following important qualities were voted the most important to have by our experts.
1. Passionate
Work should give immense pleasure and motivate you to move forward in the field. Regardless of whether you have an IT background, passion will go a long way in helping you score as an SFMC Consultant.
2. Innovative
Nurture your ability to innovate integrations, implementations, and custom solutions.
3. Patient
Be patient, be a good teacher and show them the way. And be tenacious. We know there’s nothing better than SFMC to do these things, right? Keep pushing.
4. Effective communicator
We often find ourselves at the center of projects, serving as a bridge between the stakeholders involved. We must know how to ask the right questions, convey concepts effectively, and educate and inform.
5. Good listener
Consultants must be good listeners and understand their client’s business requirements. Knowing when to ask the right questions and to dig deeper into the conversation is paramount. Translating these findings into great solutions that fit is crucial.
6. Curious
For you to be a great SFMC Consultant, it’s essential to stay on top of the latest technologies, methodologies, and tips & tricks to deliver the best customer experience possible.
7. Looking beyond what the client is asking for
You must understand the client’s core problem since clients do not always know what to ask. From there, you can recommend a solution. SFMC is such a complex product. Clients are often only familiar with minor elements and frame their requests based solely on the functionality they’ve seen. We need to help our clients step back from the solution and figure out how to solve the problem. Take a helicopter view. That’s consulting.
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