Salesforce Experience Cloud is a powerful platform designed for creating and managing websites, portals, and online communities. It helps businesses enhance engagement with customers, partners, and employees.
In this article, we'll explore Experience Cloud features and functionality, industry use cases, overview license types, and more.
Key Features and Capabilities of Salesforce Experience Cloud
Experience Cloud offers a variety of tools for creating personalized content, integrating with other Salesforce services and external applications, and managing interactions across multiple platforms.
Customized Digital Experiences is a key feature of Experience Cloud, enabling businesses to develop personalized portals, forums, and sites tailored to the needs of their customers and employees.
Mobile Optimization ensures that digital experiences are adapted across all devices, including mobile.
Integration is one of the most powerful features of Salesforce Experience Cloud. It allows businesses to connect and share data across all Salesforce Сlouds.
AI-driven Insights leverage advanced AI algorithms to analyze customer behaviour patterns and preferences, enabling companies to tailor their offerings to specific customer needs.
Content Management is designed to create, manage, and publish content across all digital channels.
Salesforce Experience Cloud Use Cases and Benefits
Experience Cloud is multipurpose and can be used for various scenarios, ranging from forums where users can find answers to their questions to creating portals for customers and partners with rich functionality tailored to specific industries.
Let's explore the portal types:
Partner Portals allow users to easily view and manage partner-specific data, share files, and access the latest product and service information. It is an internal portal for you and the companies you collaborate with. Here are a few technical tools that might be useful:
Role-Based Access Control (RBAC): Provides access to data and features based on partner roles.
Secure File Sharing: Applies secure protocols for file exchange.
Real-Time Data Sync: Synchronizes data in real time between partner systems and Salesforce.
Customer Forums provide the ability to create large forums where customers can interact with each other and the company. At those forums, users can receive technical support, instructions, and feedback that can help resolve their issues. The following technical tools may come in handy:
Community Management Tools: Tools for moderating and managing user interactions.
Advanced Search Functionality: Enhanced search capabilities for quickly finding information and solutions.
Employee Interfaces streamline onboarding and training processes. They make onboarding new employees easy, providing access to training materials and tracking progress. Some useful technical features include:
Learning Management System (LMS) Integration: Integration with LMS platforms for centralized access to training resources.
Progress Tracking: Features to monitor the completion of training programs.
Onboarding Workflows: Automated workflows to standardize and enhance the onboarding process.
Salesforce Experience Cloud Features and Functionalities
Branded and Customizable Portals: Experience Cloud enables the creation of portals with unique branding that reflects the corporate style and design. The portal interface can be customized to align with the organization's branding, ensuring consistency with corporate standards.
Customer Communities: This solution is made to create communities where customers can access support, share knowledge, and interact with other users. Some industry-specific use cases are the following:
IT: Customer support communities that provide technical assistance to clients. Customers can access a knowledge base, submit support requests, and interact with other users to troubleshoot issues.
FinTech: Online banking portals where clients can access their financial information, including accounts, transactions, and reports, as well as receive expert advice. Investment management communities allow clients to access analytics, get recommendations, and discuss investment strategies.
HealthCare: Patient portals where users can schedule doctor appointments, view lab test results, receive consultations, and share treatment experiences with other patients.
Education: Learning portals where students can access educational materials, ask teachers questions, and participate in discussions.
Partner Communities: The platform provides tools for partners that enable effective collaboration with the company, access to essential resources, and joint efforts on business tasks. Here are some industry-specific examples:
FinTech: Communities for brokers and referrers where they can manage their leads.
Manufacturing: Interaction with suppliers and distributors, including order management, inventory tracking, and sharing demand forecasts, which helps optimize logistics.
HealthCare: Pharmaceutical companies can collaborate with distributors, pharmacy networks, and research organizations in Partner Communities. Medical equipment manufacturers can create communities for distributors and sellers, giving them access to technical specifications, sales materials, and customer support resources.
Automotive Industry: Supporting dealers by providing access to information on vehicle models, pricing, marketing materials, and service manuals. This allows dealers to serve customers better and increase sales. Companies involved in selling auto parts can create communities for distributors and mechanics, where they can access information on new products, discuss technical issues, and receive support.
Employee Communities: This solution aims to enhance internal interaction among employees, providing access to corporate news, resources, and collaboration opportunities. Here are some industry-specific examples:
IT: Creating internal knowledge bases where employees can share information about technologies, developments, and processes. This allows for faster problem-solving and improved innovation. For distributed teams working on complex projects, Employee Communities can be a platform for file sharing, project discussions, and progress tracking.
HealthCare: Coordinating the work of medical staff. Doctors, nurses, and administrative personnel can securely share patient information, discuss clinical cases, and improve care coordination.
Education: Universities and schools can create Employee Communities to facilitate faculty and administrative staff collaboration. This allows for more effective program planning, discussion of classroom management issues, and sharing of educational materials.
Types of User Licenses in Salesforce Experience Cloud
Salesforce offers various user licenses to access its products, each providing different levels of access based on the user's needs. There are five types of licenses: Partner Community, Customer Community, Customer Community Plus, Channel Account, and External Apps.
Partner Community: This license is designed for partners such as resellers, distributors, and suppliers who require access to more advanced CRM features. It offers full access to sales and marketing management. Key technical features include:
Objects Access: Full access to standard and custom objects, including Leads, Opportunities, Campaigns, Cases, and Custom Objects.
Collaboration Tools: Access to Chatter for internal collaboration and information sharing.
Reports and Dashboards: Ability to create and view reports and dashboards.
Approval Processes: Participation in approval workflows.
Data Storage: Data and file storage limitations depend on the licensing plan.
API Access: Full API access, enabling integration with other systems.
Customer Community: The Customer Community license provides a basic level of access for your company's customers, focusing on support and self-service features. Key technical features include:
Objects Access: Limited access to objects such as Cases, Knowledge Articles, and Custom Objects.
Knowledge and Case Management: Access to the knowledge base and the ability to create and track cases.
Chatter Collaboration: Limited access to Chatter to participate in discussions and communities.
Reports and Dashboards: No access to report creation, but users can view provided dashboards.
API Access: Very limited or no API access.
Customer Community Plus: This license extends the capabilities of the Customer Community license by offering additional access to more advanced features like reporting and record sharing. Key technical features include:
Objects Access: Enhanced access to objects, including Accounts, Contacts, Cases, and Custom Objects.
Reports and Dashboards: Ability to create and view reports and dashboards.
Advanced Sharing: Support for record sharing and participation in approval processes.
Data Storage: Data storage limitations, but higher than those of the Customer Community license.
API Access: Limited API access, but more extensive than in the Customer Community.
Channel Account: The Channel Account license is specifically designed for sales channels such as distributors and resellers, providing all the necessary tools for managing partner relationships. Key technical features include:
Objects Access: Access to objects like Leads, Opportunities, Cases, Contracts, and Custom Objects.
Deal Registration: Integrated tools for deal registration and partner relationship management.
Channel Management Tools: Access to specialized tools for managing sales channels.
Reports and Dashboards: Ability to create custom reports and dashboards.
API Access: Full API access for integration with external systems.
External Apps: This license is intended to develop and deploy custom applications integrated with Salesforce communities. It provides access to Salesforce data via API and supports scalable apps with a large user base. Key technical features include:
API Access: Full access to Salesforce APIs for integration and app development.
Custom Objects: Access to create and use Custom Objects.
Data Integration: Support for scalable solutions to integrate large data volumes.
Objects Access: Limited access to standard Salesforce objects.
User Limits: Depending on the license, there may be restrictions on the number of active users.
Salesforce Experience Cloud License Models
In addition to the license types, there are two main models for community user licenses: Member License and Login License. These models differ in how access to the community is granted and managed.
Member License: This type of license is typically used for internal users who need access to standard CRM features, such as Account, Contact, and Reports. It is assigned to a specific user, granting them fixed access to the portal. This license is ideal for users who regularly interact with the community and require constant access to all its features. There are no limitations on the number of logins, making it suitable for active users. It requires a fixed payment per user, regardless of how often they log in.
Login License: This license provides access to the Salesforce platform without specific user permissions or functionality. It is designed for users who rarely log into the community. Instead of counting the number of users, this license tracks the number of logins. It is useful for large communities where users do not need frequent access. This model can help save on licensing costs for large communities with infrequent users. However, it limits the number of logins, which may be challenging for users who need frequent access.
These licenses and models allow companies to choose the most suitable option for different users, ensuring efficient access management and cost optimization.
Content Management in Salesforce Experience Cloud
Content is essential for any portal, and Experience Cloud offers tools that simplify the processes of content creation, modification, and analytics. Salesforce Experience Cloud's Content Management allows businesses to create, manage, and publish content across all digital channels. These tools help businesses to craft engaging content with easy-to-use features tailored to their needs.
Below are the key aspects and technical details of content management within Experience Cloud:
Content Creation
Content Builder: A user-friendly tool for creating and editing content without requiring deep technical knowledge.
Rich Text Editor: A formatting-friendly editor that makes it easy to create text content with images, links, and other media.
Content Management
Salesforce CMS: Integration with Salesforce CMS for centralized content management, allowing storage, organization, and control of all content from one place.
Content Personalization: Using Salesforce data to personalize content, ensuring relevance and targeting different audiences effectively.
Content Tags and Categories: Organizing content with tags and categories for easier search and navigation.
Content Publishing
Publishing Workflows: Customizable workflows that include content review and approval before publication.
Scheduled Publishing: The ability to schedule content for specific dates and times, ensuring regular updates.
Content Delivery
Multi-Channel Delivery: Deliver content across various channels, including websites, mobile apps, social media, and email.
Responsive Design: Ensures content is displayed optimally on all devices, including desktops, tablets, and mobile phones.
Analytics and Reporting
Content Performance Analytics: Track content effectiveness with built-in analytics tools, including engagement metrics like views, clicks, and interactions.
Einstein Analytics: Leverage AI-powered analytics to gain insights into top-performing content and identify optimization opportunities.
Integration Capabilities
Third-Party CMS Integration: The ability to integrate with third-party content management systems (CMS) for content sharing across different platforms.
API Access: Provides access to APIs for integrating content with other applications and services.
To sum up
Leveraging Experience Cloud enables organizations to provide top-notch customer service, integrate seamlessly with other systems, deliver personalized user experiences, and create specialized portals for various needs. This contributes to increased user satisfaction, improved engagement, and greater efficiency in business processes. Understanding your specific needs is crucial in choosing the right portal for your organization. Equally important is understanding the types and models of Experience Cloud licenses to configure your site properly. Additionally, remember that various features can help you create a unique user environment. Stay tuned for the second part of this article, where we'll dive deeper into these topics. Below, you'll find helpful links for further exploration:
Build and Customize Your Experience Cloud Site — Help And Training Community Experience Cloud Documentation — Help And Training Community Experience Cloud User Licenses — Help And Training Community Trailhead Identity for Customers — Salesforce Identity Engagement Techniques | Salesforce Trailhead Customize Your Experience Cloud Site — Optimize Your Experience Cloud Site - Learn Best Practices
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