The Craftsman team attended the 2019 Salesforce World Tour in their hometown of Boston. Unlike the rest of my colleagues who attended as Registered Partners, I had the unique experience of participating as a Salesforce customer. In addition to working with organizations on the Salesforce platform, Craftsman also uses Salesforce internally to streamline business processes and manage data. As an internal user, my World Tour experience was more similar to the organizations Craftsman works with than to the rest of my team. In this post, I discuss highlights from the 2019 Salesforce World Tour: connectivity, the importance of values in creating impact, and the spectacle of it all.

Connectivity

A major theme of the World Tour is the Fourth Industrial Revolution – the current technological movement centered around connectivity. We have officially transitioned out of the mobile era and are now connecting across an increasing number of platforms and devices. Meaning, constituents are interacting with organizations in a variety of ways and at multiple points in their daily lives. Through Salesforce Customer 360, these interactions are captured to provide organizations with a holistic view of constituents while simultaneously meeting the needs of different functional teams. For example, Customer 360 gives organizations the power to connect email engagement metrics and customer success data to create a seamless experience for staff and constituents.

To truly get a 360-degree view of constituents, organizations need to ensure their platform and tools can talk to each other. In this era, configuring solutions is preferred over customization so data can be easily shared across applications. A cross-functional data management approach integrates tools with Salesforce to provide a holistic view of constituents and create data-driven business processes.

Values + Impact

Another 2019 World Tour theme is the significant role of values in driving impact. Tony Prophet, Salesforce’s Chief Equality Officer, addressed the importance of using technology for good. He emphasized that organizations with strong values have even stronger ideas, and ultimately greater impact. He also reminded us that technology is not inherently good or bad, but can be used as a force for either. And, during the Fourth Industrial Revolution organizations with a set of strong core values have the opportunity to leverage technology for the greater good.

Examples of nonprofits and socially-minded organizations, were evident throughout the keynote and the rest of the World Tour. There were case studies of organizations using Salesforce for fundraising, volunteer management and cause marketing – all of which were more impactful as a result of technology. For example, I witnessed The Greater Boston Food Bank’s Salesforce journey and the significant impact it had on outreach, mission and fundraising. Another organization, Compass Working Capital was able to save 125 hours of data entry per month by integrating applications that automatically pulled credit reports. Coming from an organization that works in the social sector, it was refreshing to see the vibrant representation of social organizations using technology to drive impact.

The Salesforce Spectacle

It is nearly impossible to ignore that the Salesforce World Tour is a marketing spectacle. It is a day to learn about new Salesforce offerings and one can easily get swept up in the hype. This is where my experience was most different as a Salesforce customer, rather than a partner. At first glance, the sole difference was the color of the lanyard I was wearing around my neck (I got yellow, while the rest of my team got blue). Roaming the expo hall made the difference very clear – vendors and partners approached me at a dizzying rate. They saw the color of my lanyard and knew that I was either a current customer, or even better, a potential one.

Once you come to terms with the emphasis on marketing and sales, you begin to realize how impressive the collective group of Trailblazers really is. There was an entire convention center filled with tech professionals who have designed products, created solutions, and dedicated themselves to enabling the use of technology at organizations. The Salesforce World Tour may be over the top, but it is also extremely helpful. It makes knowledge and solutions accessible to every person who attends, and pulls it off in a way that is utterly entertaining.

Summary + Conclusion

It is easy to get swept up by the ever-impressive Salesforce marketing efforts. From the small details like Trailblazer branding, all the way up to the endless number of inspirational speakers. As an event, the World Tour successfully showcases the potential that can be reached with Salesforce. And, more importantly it provides a day of learning that emphasizes how connectivity and values are key to impact during the Fourth Industrial Revolution. For more information on the 2019 World Tour visit Salesforce Events or see the registration links below.