Cloud computing comes to marketing

Citation

Pitta, D.A. (2011), "Cloud computing comes to marketing", Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 28 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/jcm.2011.07728aag.001

Cloud computing comes to marketing

Article Type: Internet currency From: Journal of Consumer Marketing, Volume 28, Issue 1

IT professionals have been discussing cloud computing for a number of years. Cloud computing is internet-based computing in which the cloud is really an arena for sharing. The term, cloud, is a metaphor for the internet and has its origins in the cloud drawing used in the past to represent the telephone network simply, without all the underlying connections. Later, the cloud was extended to refer to the underlying infrastructure of the internet. The resources shared in the cloud include software, and information that can be accessed by computers on demand. The internet links all of the resources and makes them available for use anywhere, and makes them appear to reside within the individual’s PC. It leverages the connectivity of the internet to provide services to users.

One problem that cloud computing solves is the difficulty of sending people to remote sites to provide services, like consulting. Arguably, air travel has become more bothersome with increases in passenger security procedures that lengthen travel time (one has to be at the airport earlier to undergo screening) and restricts carry-on items. In addition the changing economics of travel have forced narrower seats and fewer flights to boost ridership. Before the millennium, companies routinely sent their employees to clients to deliver consulting advice. Today, that activity is both more costly and difficult to provide.

One of the premier services that uses cloud computing, Salesforce.com, represents a high level of customer service that leverages the strengths of the Internet. Salesforce.com has been in existence for a few years and during that time has become an irreplaceable resource for numerous marketing companies. It serves as an excellent example of what connectivity can provide and is a foretaste of the future. It also seems to be the death knell to a group of marketing consultants.

Salesforce.comwww.salesforce.com

Saleforce.com was one of the first enterprise cloud computing companies. It may help to consider the company’s concept, “Platform as a service.” In essence it provides hardware and software to its clients who are freed from the tasks of purchasing, managing, maintaining and securing the hardware and software. Instead, they can use the hardware that the company provides. It is a great example of outsourcing. In return, Salesforce.com provides professional level services that would be costly or impossible to duplicate.

Some observers state that Saleforce.com is a “rent-a salesforce” provider. That is not accurate. It provides no salespeople, no sales managers and really no people at all. The company does provide professional, Fortune 500 level systems that are normally out of reach of small to medium enterprises.

The company was founded in 1999 as a focused web-based salesforce automation software provider. Leveraging that experience, it added full customer relationship management (CRM) products a few years later. Today CRM is so well known that laymen use it. CRM originally referred to database systems that companied devised to store information about their current customers. They first used general-purpose database management programs to organize the data. Some smaller firms that lacked extensive information technology staff even used simpler spreadsheet programs with rudimentary database functions.

After collecting the data, the next step was to make some sense of it: to turn data into information. Two factors affected the value of the information that resulted. One was the nature of the database used and its abilities to perform analysis. The other was the sophistication of the managers who sought the information. Larger companies with information technology experts and experienced sales managers were able to develop sophisticated analysis procedures that could be used to guide the direction of the sales force. The analyses revealed things about their customers that the salesforce could use to boost success. The resulting information led to the development of metrics to serve as benchmarks of productivity. As these sales forces became more experienced with the tools, they became more sophisticated. They developed tools and techniques to build effectiveness and increase efficiency. The techniques included procedures for managing sales leads, in depth customer data management, project management of competitive bids, using a suite of analytics for control, a mobile application for instant responses to clients, and a variety of other tools. The result was a widening gap between large and small sales organizations.

Enter Salesforce.com

The company provides two major resources: tools and techniques as well as the underlying wisdom that is their foundation. One of their software solutions is called Sales Cloud. It contains sales force applications that are vital to success. Salesforce.com promotes its services by appealing to the decision maker: the sales manager. One of its appeals is:

Running a productive sales organization can be nerve-wracking: trying to grow your business, putting effective sales processes in place, and giving your sales reps the tools they need to be successful. In today’s hectic world, how do you give your reps more time in front of customers while getting them to collaborate and sell as a team? And how do you do everything with less money, fewer resources, and lower risk?

The answer they provide covers all the business processes involved in organizing, motivating, fostering teamwork, and closing sales. It includes 11 different applications, some traditional like Accounts and Contacts, that integrates account history, contacts, interactions, assets, as well as classifications of the importance of accounts. A separate element updates information and allows other sales people to share information of value to the organization. Since the team and customer information is in one place and are updated frequently, it is easier to build stronger customer relationships. Moreover, the tools are robust. For example, contact management fosters building in-depth knowledge of each decision maker at an account. Salespeople can manage and track all relevant information, communication, activities, and opportunities by contact, an important capability.

Perhaps the most important element is the team productivity tool. It fosters collaboration and tracks contacts or “touches” at the individual level. If three sales people interact with one specific decision maker, their efforts are coordinated for effectiveness. Thus, the organization is less likely to suffer embarrassing information lapses typified by one rep knowing vital information of which another is unaware. It helps you keep the reps organized and working together and even harmonizes calendars, tasks, activity reports, and activity tracking. It promises to provide professional, coordinated customer contact that concentrates the power of a firm’s actions.

Other tools like the Marketing and Leads element bridge the gap between marketing and sales allowing the firm to maximize the effect of campaigns from lead capture to close. It allows careful targeting of communication investments. In summary, while Salesforce.com does not provide sales people to clients, it provides the techniques and tools that allow even small sales departments to reap large benefits.

Implications for marketers

Cloud computing holds the promise of leveling the marketing playing field. Salesforce.com demonstrates that even small companies can gain resources that rival those of giant competitors. The possibilities for marketing research, logistics and supply chain management, pricing management already exist or are being developed. The current importance of social media is another example of cloud computing, albeit a consumer based example. The area is one that marketers of all types should monitor to keep competitive.

Dennis A. PittaUniversity of Baltimore

In our next issue, we will investigate other informative sites and invite readers to submit their favorite Internet sites for our consideration.

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Please forward all requests to review innovative internet sites to: Dr Dennis Pitta, University of Baltimore, 1420 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21201-5779, USA. Alternatively, please send e-mail to: dpitta@ubalt.edu for prompt attention.