Salesforce has been at the top of the CRM mountain for years, and it continues to make improvements to please its users. That being said, it should be no surprise that the company was able to easily maintain its reputation when its CFO announced his retirement.
Recently, Salesforce CFO Graham Smith made it known that he would be leaving the company at a time when its wheels are turning toward a bright future. Investors have not deemed his retirement a reason to lose faith in Salesforce, which is good news for the industry giant.
However, the marketing cloud sector as a whole is continuing to expand. As a result, more competitors are entering the realm, giving professionals additional choices – Salesforce is not the only option.
A Warm Welcome for the Marketing Cloud
Salesforce has most notably conquered CRM, but the marketing cloud is still relatively new to this company and others in the industry. ExactTarget was purchased by Salesforce to help enhance its offerings in terms of the marketing cloud. The platform undoubtedly makes Salesforce more attractive to potential buyers, but it’s important to note that the marketing cloud is still in its infancy.
It’s constantly changing, meaning that Salesforce and its competitors will need to work hard to stay up-to-date.
“If you look at what they are launching right [now], the marketing cloud, that's also new for Salesforce itself,” Ali Zaidi, senior research analyst at International Data Corporation’s IT consulting and systems integration service, told The Street. “I think this is where the competition can create some hindrance for Salesforce because everybody's sort of new in that space and large vendors have also been arguably pushing more and more into the cloud.”
Will Buyers Stray From Salesforce?
The fact of the matter is that Salesforce is a pioneer in CRM. Buyers know this, and they can look back on Salesforce’s reputation if they have any questions pertaining to its legitimacy. For this reason, it’s hard to believe that Salesforce will enter any sort of steep decline in the near future.
However, it’s important to note that there are more companies attempting to enter the world of CRM. As additional businesses look to capitalize on the popularity of the marketing cloud, Salesforce will need to maintain a competitive edge. Don’t be surprised if you see it releasing more flashy, appealing features in the future. After all, staking your claim at the top of the CRM mountain takes work.
