More Than Newsletters: 3 Powerful Use Cases for Salesforce Marketing Cloud

Use Case 1: Building a Cross Channel Onboarding Journey with Marketing Cloud

One of BRITE’s clients – a fast-growing EV charging provider – faced a challenge in customer onboarding as demand for their service increased. Customers who signed up for an account often didn’t complete the activation process. Unsure of the next steps, they then contacted customer support. Others failed to install the mobile app or link a payment method before charging. This was causing frustration at the charging stations and within the support team.

Before the use of Marketing Cloud, onboarding relied on manual emails and customer service follow-ups. And that simply wasn’t efficient or sustainable. Marketing Cloud allowed for a structured, automated multi-step onboarding journey that today seamlessly guides customers through their first interactions:

1. Welcome Email. Immediately after sign-up, customers receive a personalized onboarding email that outlines key next steps: activating their account, linking a payment method, and downloading the mobile app.
2. Account Setup Reminders. If customers haven’t activated their account or installed the app within a few days, an automated reminder email gets triggered.
3. First-Time Usage Incentives. Data from Salesforce identifies customers who haven’t completed their first charging session. A follow-up email encourages them to do so, including a free charging credit as an incentive.
4. Continuous Engagement. Once a customer completes their first charge, they enter an automation sequence that provides usage tips, loyalty rewards, and personalized offers based on charging behavior.

With a fully automated onboarding process, our client significantly reduced customer confusion, support inquiries and achieved higher rates of first-time usage. All of that has improved customer satisfaction and retention.

Use Case 2: Up- and Cross-Sell Campaigns

We see it time and time again: B2B companies focus on winning new leads but leave money on the table by not maximizing the value of their existing customer base. A common issue? Upsells and cross-sells are left to sales reps, but manual outreach isn’t scalable – especially for smaller accounts or products that don’t generate enough revenue to justify dedicated sales attention.

Take one of our clients, an office technology provider selling printers, IT infrastructure, and workflow automation tools. A customer might start with a basic hardware purchase, but without proactive engagement, they may never explore maintenance plans, security add-ons, or software integrations. That’s where Marketing Cloud’s automation and personalization tools help to intelligently promote relevant products without adding pressure on sales teams.

What a up- and cross-sell campaign can look like in practice:

1. Spot the Cross-Sell Opportunities. By analyzing purchase history and product usage data, businesses can identify gaps like customers who bought a printer but didn’t sign up for a maintenance plan.
2. Send Personalized Offers at the Right Time. Automated emails can introduce complementary products using dynamic content, with subject lines like: “Extend your printer’s lifespan with the right maintenance plan”.
3. Smart Follow-Ups Based on Engagement.
   • If a customer opens but doesn’t act, a reminder email is sent a few days later.
   • If they click through but don’t purchase, a sales rep can follow up with a personalized touch.
   • If they ignore the message, they’re automatically excluded from further emails to avoid spam fatigue.
4. Go Beyond Email. Customers who visit the website after engaging with an email can see tailored product recommendations which creates a seamless experience across channels.

When done right, cross-sell automation doesn’t feel like aggressive sales but rather like good customer service. By surfacing the right products at the right time, companies can increase revenue per customer, improve retention, and free up sales teams to focus on bigger or more complex deals.

Use Case 3: Proactive Retention Campaigns with Marketing Cloud

Customer churn is one of the biggest revenue leaks for any business, yet many companies only act after a customer has canceled their plan. Instead of waiting, businesses can use Marketing Cloud to spot early warning signs and take action before it’s too late.

For example, a company offering subscription-based services or long-term contracts might notice that some customers haven’t logged in, placed an order, or engaged with their account in months. Without a proactive strategy, these customers could drift away, cancel their service, or switch to a competitor. The challenge is detecting disengagement early enough and reaching out in a way that feels helpful, not intrusive.

What that can look like:

1. Identify At-Risk Customers. By tracking usage patterns, purchase frequency, or customer support interactions, businesses can create automated segments of customers who show signs of disengagement. Example triggers could be:
   • A SaaS company sees that a customer hasn’t logged in for 60 days.
   • A retail business notices a VIP customer hasn’t made a purchase in 6 months.
   • A service provider detects that a contract renewal is approaching, but the customer hasn’t engaged.
2. Automate the Right Message at the Right Time. Instead of a generic “We miss you” email, Marketing Cloud can deliver personalized retention campaigns based on customer behavior:
   • Product tip email highlighting new features they might have missed.
   • Loyalty offer like a discount or exclusive preview of a new product.
   • Customized retention offer, possibly with a limited-time incentive.
3. Escalate Outreach for High-Value Accounts. Not all customers should get the same treatment. If a high-value client is flagged as at-risk, a sales or account manager can be notified to reach out personally. For lower-value segments, automated multi-touch email sequences can drive engagement without manual intervention.
4. Go Beyond Email. If emails go unopened, businesses can trigger other touchpoints, like:
   • SMS reminders with quick links to re-engage.
   • Direct mail incentives (e.g., a VIP discount postcard).
   • In-app pop-ups for SaaS users, guiding them back into the platform.

Retention isn’t just about winning customers back. It’s about preventing them from leaving in the first place. With the right triggers and automation in place, you can keep customers engaged before churn becomes a problem.

Conclusion: Get Your Money’s Worth!

Salesforce Marketing Cloud is one of the most powerful tools for customer engagement… but only if you use it to its full potential. As these examples show, its real strength lies in automating complex customer journeys across multiple channels, personalizing outreach at scale, and ensuring every touchpoint is data-driven and timely.

Unlike basic email marketing tools, Marketing Cloud connects seamlessly with Salesforce data. Once you know how to tap into that power, you can create smarter, more efficient customer interactions that drive engagement, increase revenue, and strengthen retention—without adding manual workload.

So, how can you make sure your Marketing Cloud setup doesn’t fall into the “glorified email tool” trap? In our second article, we break down the essential steps to setting up cross-team collaboration, building the right technical foundations, and overcoming common challenges like GDPR compliance.