Salesforce today announced the launch of Salesforce Foundations, a significant upgrade that integrates Sales, Service, Marketing, Commerce, and Data Cloud features into the existing CRM systems of all Sales and Service Cloud customers. This upgrade comes at no additional cost.
Salesforce Foundations aims to enhance customer experiences by providing a unified view of every customer and enabling access to baseline Salesforce features. The suite includes opportunity management, case management, and email campaigns with targeted segmentation, alongside secure payment links. The features are designed to improve the user experience and streamline operations without the need for extra costs or data integrations.
David Schmaier, President and Chief Product Officer at Salesforce, stated, "Salesforce Foundations will let us get more out of our existing Salesforce investment, and make it easier for our sales teams to get crucial customer data from across service, marketing, and commerce experiences." This enhancement is poised to benefit businesses by allowing sales, service, and marketing teams to work in one integrated platform, thereby driving revenue and increasing customer loyalty.
The integrations provided by Salesforce Foundations are expected to address a common customer concern. According to Salesforce, more than three-quarters (79%) of customers expect consistent interactions across departments, but 55% feel they are communicating with separate departments rather than with one cohesive company. Foundations aims to resolve this issue by consolidating sales, service, marketing, and commerce data into one unified platform.
Matt Rosenberg, Chief Revenue Officer at Grammarly, echoed positive sentiments, stating, "Salesforce Foundations will let us get more out of our existing Salesforce investment, and make it easier for our sales teams to get crucial customer data from across service, marketing, and commerce experiences. Trying more Salesforce features, and getting more of our team into Salesforce, helps us create a better experience for the 30 million people and 70,000 teams using Grammarly to drive their business forward."
The new features built into Salesforce Foundations include the ability to drive more revenue by having all customer-facing teams work within a single environment. Sales users can now manage opportunities with insights into service cases and seamlessly add relevant customers to marketing campaigns. Additionally, secure payment links can be generated directly from quotes or opportunity records to expedite transactions without needing an external payment system.
Service teams are also empowered by Salesforce Foundations, enabling them to add customers to high-touch onboarding journeys and upsell using sales quotes and secure payment links. Marketers benefit through the unified data provided by Data Cloud, which facilitates highly targeted segmentation lists based on comprehensive customer data, enhancing the relevance and personalisation of customer experiences.
The update includes an enhanced user interface, featuring new left-navigation and a customisable homepage that allows users to manage their priorities more effectively. Salesforce Foundations also offers access to prebuilt third-party extensions and integrations available on the AppExchange, including extended free trials from over 25 leading partners such as Docusign, RingCentral, and ZoomInfo.
Salesforce Foundations is built on the core Salesforce platform and leverages enterprise-wide data from the Data Cloud. This foundation harmonises customer data across the business, providing a comprehensive and trusted data foundation for AI tools and automation solutions.
