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Email Marketing for Salesforce: Strategies, Insights, and Alternatives
Learn How To Succeed With Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Megan Smith
April 24, 2025
Salesforce is a powerhouse platform for sales and marketing. But all that power can become unmanageable without the right skills and strategy.
While Salesforce shines with complex workflows and enterprise-level needs, some companies might find leaner, easier-to-use platforms like beehiiv to better match their goals and budgets.
My goal is to help you master Salesforce or find the right alternative for your brand. In this article, I explore tested Salesforce strategies, share real-world successful case studies, and introduce alternatives that might save you time, effort, or money.
Table of Contents
Why Businesses Are Using Salesforce for Email Marketing
Salesforce is a megalith in the business world, generating $31 billion of revenue in 2024. A large percentage of that is due to software subscriptions.
Businesses use its customer relationship management (CRM) tool to streamline operations, manage data, and build connections. But it also has a sophisticated email marketing tool.
Rich in Features
One standout feature is the ability to automate complex workflows. Put repetitive tasks on autopilot to save time and perfect your timing. Send onboarding emails, schedule follow-ups, or trigger abandoned cart reminders.
The marketing platform also shines when it comes to segmentation and personalization.
Strong analytics help businesses divide audiences into groups reflecting their demographics, engagement, or interests. Then, they can further refine their targeting and create dynamic content for each subscriber.
There are some pre-built automations that users can activate, but the proprietary Salesforce coding language AMPscript allows almost infinite customization.
Associated Challenges
All that power can be overwhelming. Smaller businesses and brands getting started with email marketing may want to look elsewhere.
Configuring tools like the Marketing Cloud requires time and expertise. Many businesses find themselves hiring consultants to help them optimize workflows. For example, you'll need to know AMPscript to realize the full benefit of the platform.
The Marketing Cloud also makes the most sense for companies using the Sales Cloud CRM. Without that integration, you may pay an unnecessary premium for the Salesforce name.
Case Study Insights: Exploring Key Strategies with Salesforce
Businesses across industries harness Salesforce’s capabilities to refine workflows, engage audiences, and achieve measurable success. The platform sets the stage for smarter, data-driven email marketing.
Strategy 1: Leveraging Automation for Lead Nurturing
Automation is a game-changer for lead nurturing. Salesforce lets brands optimize content, tailor it to each lead, and engage them throughout the customer journey.
Start off strong. A Minneapolis service industry business achieved an almost 10% increase in its open rate by A/B testing subject lines that included personalization. The platform automatically sent the best-performing email to the list.
You can build on these early wins with careful lead nurturing. For example, one financial services firm used Salesforce-powered sentiment analysis to flag negative feedback in customer emails for immediate feedback. This proactive strategy helped prevent churn.
Strategy 2: Enhancing Segmentation for Targeted Campaigns
With Salesforce, businesses organize vast customer data into actionable segments with customized messages.
Multiple Touchpoints
While segmentation is powerful, many businesses face data silos that fragment customer insights. But brands that pair Salesforce email marketing with other Salesforce tools can gather data from multiple channels in one convenient place.
The entertainment marketplace, Ticketmaster, pulled together customer information from email clicks, social media interactions, and website activities. This holistic view of each subscriber lets them send highly personalized promotions for dramatically increased sales and satisfaction.
Personalization at Scale
One of the advantages of advanced marketing tools is the ability to personalize content at scale. For instance, a global travel and hospitality giant revamped its multi-language email campaigns by integrating AMPscript.
Instead of creating over 20 versions of an email, they took advantage of Salesforce tools for dynamic content. This innovation reduced build time by 90%. It also benefited subscribers who received only the information they wanted — and in a language they could read.
Strategy 3: Maximizing Engagement With Drip Email Campaigns
Drip email campaigns nurture leads or re-engage customers with a sequence of emails.
The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas used Salesforce to craft drip campaigns, using customer data from loyalty programs and in-person interactions. Messages included exclusive deals and personalized guest experiences, and repeat bookings surged.
Salesforce’s powerful analytics helped the brand unlock their campaigns' full potential. By tracking metrics like open rates, click-throughs, and conversions, marketers can pinpoint which emails resonate most and adjust timing, content, or subject lines.
How to Set Up a Drip Campaign in Salesforce
Drip campaigns are known as engagement programs in the Salesforce Marketing Cloud, and you can create them in the Engagement Studio.
Set up your campaign by selecting at least one recipient list and building an engagement program. Each program consists of three step types:
Triggers: Actions that start the sequence
Rules: Criteria that influence each subscriber's experience
Actions: Automated tasks like sending out emails or updating information
The Results: Which Strategy Performed Best?
Businesses that combine segmentation and automation see the most significant outcomes.
Key Takeaways
Automate Engagement: The faster your business responds to prospects, the more likely you are to convert them into loyal customers. Then, build deeper relationships through segmented drip campaigns.
Centralize and Harness Data: Use Salesforce to harness your customer data. Unified insights drive better segmentation and personalization.
Test and Learn: A/B testing, analytics, and version tracking ensure your campaigns evolve and improve.
Why beehiiv Outshines Salesforce for Email Campaigns
Salesforce is undoubtedly a powerhouse for large-scale email marketing, but beehiiv is best for brands that prioritize email or want a simpler, more affordable solution.
Key Differentiators of beehiiv vs. Salesforce
While Salesforce offers a robust ecosystem of tools, its comprehensive nature comes with a steep learning curve and higher costs.
beehiiv offers a streamlined, budget-friendly platform tailored to email marketing. It doesn't overwhelm small to mid-sized businesses with unnecessary features.
Instead, it prioritizes usability, so even teams without dedicated IT support can execute professional campaigns.
Where Salesforce focuses on integrating multiple business processes, beehiiv zeroes in on helping users grow and engage with their audience.
Top Features Loved by beehiiv Users
beehiiv offers features that make email marketing effortless and impactful. Whether you're just starting or scaling up, the platform grows with you.
One of beehiiv’s most appreciated features is its intuitive editor, designed to help marketers create visually polished newsletters in minimal time.
Users can easily customize templates, embed media, and craft newsletters that stand out in crowded inboxes without wrestling with complex design tools.
Adaptable Audience Management Tools
beehiiv simplifies the way businesses segment audiences and track subscriber behavior. Its adaptable tagging and segmentation capabilities allow users to create targeted campaigns efficiently.
Focus on Growth
Businesses migrating to beehiiv often cite its growth-oriented approach. The platform comes with all the tools you need to develop an extensive list of subscribers. One newsletter hit 14,000 subscribers a mere month after launching.
beehiiv growth tools include:
Referral Program: Turn your existing subscribers into marketers to help you reach new potential customers.
Recommendation Network: Reach a wider audience by connecting with other businesses and cross-promoting each other.
Pop-ups and Gated Content: Convince readers to subscribe and capture their email addresses.
Boosts: Pay to reach highly engaged prospects in their inboxes.
Monetization Opportunities
Brands can even monetize newsletters. You can offer paid subscriptions to premium content, get paid to recommend similar newsletters with paid boosts, and find advertisers on the beehiiv ad network.
One beehiiv publication, The Money Buzz has lived up to its name. Two months after launch, it started earning semi-passive income through the built-in ad network.
Best Tips for Email Marketing Success With Salesforce
Salesforce is a power-packed platform for email marketing, but it requires a thoughtful approach. Below are actionable tips to help businesses harness Salesforce’s full potential for impactful campaigns.
Automation
Automation is such a gift to marketers, but its impact depends on how you use it. Rather than overwhelming leads with generic emails, use automation to create personalized touchpoints.
To make the most of Salesforce’s marketing automation features, identify key moments in your customer’s journey. Maybe they download a resource, attend a webinar, or buy something online. Then, you can follow up immediately with a relevant message.
If you also have the Sales Cloud, you can use the built-in Einstein AI tool to predict behavior and generate responses for more personalized experiences.
Just be careful not to overdo it. Excessive automated emails can feel spammy. Strike a balance by spacing out emails and ensuring each one provides value. Then tailor each one with customer data and dynamic content.
Drip Campaigns for Salesforce
Go beyond single messages with full email sequences. Consider automating one of these top-performing drip campaigns:
Welcome or Onboarding Series: Send a series of emails that introduce your brand, products, or services and offer helpful resources or tips.
Loyalty Rewards Campaigns: Keep customers coming back with points updates, exclusive tiers, and special perks.
Upsell and Cross-Sell Campaigns: Nudge customers toward premium options, like suite upgrades or special experiences.
Re-Engagement Campaigns: Win back inactive customers with offers or reminders of their favorite services in re-engagement campaigns.
Product/Service Education Series: Use this drip campaign to educate your subscribers about the features and benefits of a specific product or service. Include customer testimonials to build trust and credibility.
Promotional Series: Use this campaign to promote a new product, service, or limited-time offer. Create a sense of urgency with a countdown timer or exclusive discounts for subscribers.
Segmentation
With Salesforce’s CRM, you can sort subscribers into nuanced groups to deliver highly targeted messages.
Once you have a clear picture, create audience segments. You can even layer segmentation criteria. For example, you could target people who regularly engage with email campaigns but have yet to make a purchase. Send them a special offer that convinces them to finally get off the fence.
Combine strategies. Automatically segment your audience when they click on links or open emails. With data-driven segmentation, you can target subscribers based on their behavior and interests. This allows for more personalized messages that resonate with your audience.
Campaign Reporting and Analysis
Salesforce gives you all the important email metrics and customer data you could want.
Pre-built dashboards provide a visual overview of how your emails perform. Using Salesforce’s Drag-and-Drop Report Builder, you can customize reports tailored to specific KPIs, such as conversion rates for a loyalty rewards email or the ROI of a drip campaign.
Final Thoughts: Salesforce and Your Email Marketing Journey
From nurturing leads to creating personalized campaigns, Salesforce enables marketers to achieve measurable results.
However, the scope of Salesforce’s capabilities can be a double-edged sword. Its complexity requires a significant learning curve, making proper onboarding and training essential. Without the right support, your team may struggle to use it efficiently.
Businesses that want a simpler, more streamlined solution should consider beehiiv, a hassle-free alternative for small to mid-sized organizations looking to drive subscriber growth and engagement.
Intrigued? Get started with beehiiv. Sign up for a free trial to take the platform for a test drive.
Why Trust Me
I'm an experienced marketer who specializes in email and website content. I regularly research and test drive the hottest marketing platforms around.
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