Salesforce Genie: What Makes It Different From Salesforce Customer Data Platform?

There is no doubt that data is powerful. The use of data has completely transformed industries across genres, from personalizing information to cross-selling products and services based on recent purchases. Nonetheless, collecting the appropriate data appears to be a difficult task. However, in order to provide a single view of a customer, it is essential to streamline all your data sources into one. But what if there was a tool that stored real-time data across streams, systems, and channels at an enormous scale and extended it into your external and internal product portfolio? Salesforce Genie (formerly Salesforce Customer Data Platform or Marketing Cloud Customer Data Platform) does this. 

As one of Salesforce’s most innovative products, Salesforce Genie integrates user information from multiple applications. Organizations can deliver seamless customer experiences across channels by integrating them into Salesforce Customer 360 platform products. 

To achieve an unprecedented level of personalization, organizations must leverage the Salesforce Customer Data Platform (aka Genie) to its brimming potential. In addition, we discuss the layered functionality of tools such as Flow for automation, Salesforce Einstein for artificial intelligence, Mulesoft for seamless third-party integrations, and Tableau for deeper insight into customers. 

Let’s talk about the Salesforce Customer Data Platform.

Salesforce Genie is a platform that has received considerable attention from Salesforce implementation partners as well as large organizations, however, it is important to note that this product is an evolution of the much more well-known Salesforce product, Salesforce Customer Data Platform. Genie is built on the same foundation as the Salesforce Customer Data Platform, so it is essential that you are familiar with this foundation before diving into it. 

It is important to note that the Salesforce Customer Data Platform is not in the process of retirement. In spite of its age, it remains active. The same is true of Salesforce Genie. Moreover, both of these platforms differ greatly from one another, and we will discuss further. 

The Customer Data Platform (CDP) of Salesforce Marketing Cloud was one of the most successful Salesforce products ever. Salesforce Customer Data Platform works similarly to other Customer Data Platforms by offering a unified source of data for a user’s profile throughout all channels. 

Customer Data Platform and Salesforce Genie share this attribute. The Salesforce Customer Data Platform data model consists of the following key attributes as listed below:

• By incorporating fuzzy matching and enhanced data integration across channels, unified profiles can be created of an individual. 
• Through data ingestion and Salesforce Mulesoft APIs, combine data from multiple channels, tools, and streams into one dashboard 
• Create targeted interactions and personalized experiences by leveraging 360-degree data related to a client.
• Ensure that your sales, marketing, commerce, and service teams are working together to act on customer data in real-time.

Here is a quick overview of the Salesforce Customer Data Platform:

In order to understand how Salesforce Genie works, it is critical to gain a deeper understanding of the features of the Salesforce Customer Data Platform (now Salesforce Genie) which include:

1. Data Ingestion:

To create a single record in the Salesforce Customer Data Platform, the platform matches data records to people based on the data records. Essentially, it is a tool for gathering information from multiple sources, comparing it to a personal record that already exists, and that simply acts as the building blocks for the data library. This can include data across Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Salesforce CRM, Salesforce Service Cloud, Salesforce Sales Cloud, and other data platforms, lead scoring tools, and BI tools.

2. Identity Resolutions:

It is through this feature that organizations are able to prevent the creation of multiple versions of a customer or duplicate entries. Instead of creating multiple customer profiles to serve a variety of customers, identity resolution enables you to merge together these distinct profiles into one. It may be a hassle to store a user’s email address, name, and other personal information in one system and their financial details in another. The identity resolution feature in the Salesforce Customer Data Platform combines the two data sets into one. 

3. Data Processing:

Salesforce’s Customer Data Platform improves the data existing across a number of systems through code to allow one person to enter information in a single place. Even though it might seem like a simple issue, any brand with a variety of apps or solutions with varying amounts of data stored in each can find it challenging to manage user interests when managing multiple apps or solutions. The purpose of data processing is to help you find a solution to this problem. 

4. Audience Segmentation:

As this phrase implies, the Salesforce Customer Data Platform provides you with the ability to segment your target audience based on various attributes in order to create cross-selling and upselling opportunities that are customized to meet your specific needs. 

5. Data Synchronization and Syndication:

In the case of creating a single customer view, it is important to utilize this information across relevant platforms in order to nurture or convert your customers. In the Salesforce Customer Data Platform, data activation is the process of sending data to other platforms to be processed further. It is possible to nurture an audience whose data has been distributed in order to improve sales after they have been activated. 

Salesforce Genie: A data-driven platform:

At Dreamforce 2022, Salesforce unveiled its new data platform solution, Genie, to the world for the first time. But why was it needed? As we all know, Salesforce Customer 360 has been built by acquiring a number of other platforms from across the industry. This has resulted in an ecosystem of silos that span many of the applications within Salesforce’s suite of products. The Genie platform serves as a universal layer that connects all these tools, especially Marketing, CRM, and customer service, delivering a unified view of the customer at the speed and scale that you need. 

For instance, if a customer has been browsing the internet and found an item they’re interested in (let’s say sneakers), they have added that item to their cart. However, they have also explored the coupon page that you have available on your website. You are now receiving an inbound call from a caller ID that corresponds with this customer’s information. It is crucial for a customer service agent to stitch all of this information together in a seamless fashion and to begin the conversation by saying, “We see sneakers in your cart. Are you interested in using your coupons on them?”. Could we assist you with that? ” Having a unified view of customer information opens up infinite opportunities for personalization and Salesforce Genie can serve a precise use case based on this view. 

Despite this, Salesforce Genie does incorporate many Salesforce Customer Data Platform data model features, including data unification, identity resolution, and data activation. However, this platform is way beyond a simple customer data platform. 

• The solution is applicable to all Salesforce Customer 360 platforms and can be used to generate insights across service, sales, commerce, marketing, and other tools such as Slack, Mulesoft, and Tableau. 
• It ranges through no-code (Lightning controls for Marketing Cloud, integration with Service Cloud), low-code ( APIs, Mulesoft webhooks), and pro-code (Zero copy file access for Snowflake, SQL access for Tableau).
• This system is a data lake designed to provide access to structured and unstructured data in real-time (a major upgrade from the Salesforce Customer Data Platform, which allowed access to data via relational databases).

Here are some principal differences between Salesforce Genie and Salesforce Customer Data Platform: 

It is likely that you have a good understanding of the differences between the Salesforce Customer Data Platform and Salesforce Genie by now. From a business perspective, however, these two platforms differ in the following ways:

Here is what you need to know about the science behind Salesforce Genie and how it operates. 

When Salesforce Genie is incorporated into your Salesforce Customer 360 platform, you will be able to store and process information across internal and external tools in real-time and in milliseconds. Furthermore, Salesforce Genie is equipped with inbuilt connectors for gathering data from tools, channels, and streams regardless of whether it is a mobile application, a web portal, or an API. Mulesoft can integrate with your Salesforce CRM in order to provide you with the capability of transferring historical and legacy data from your data lakes to the Salesforce CRM.

There are currently the following capabilities available on the platform:

1. Genie Hyperscale Data Platform:

Salesforce Genie gains immediate access to data across existing sources and data lakes by using inbuilt connectors in the Hyperscale Data Platform, which allows it to match the data with Salesforce, allowing it to deliver a superior customer experience across all platforms. 

2. Salesforce Flow:

A Salesforce Genie solution is created based on Salesforce metadata and makes it possible to access information across multiple channels, and tools maintained by Salesforce Customer 360. The Salesforce Customer 360 platform will be able to use the data processed by Salesforce Genie and Salesforce Flow to trigger actions and responses in real-time in order to maximize efficiency. 

3. Hyperforce:

As a public cloud service provider, Salesforce’s public cloud platform keeps data secure, private, and maintains regulatory compliance by providing data storage, security, and privacy services. In addition, Salesforce Hyperforce has built-in data ethics features that ensure that data is protected against any possible threats. 

4. Salesforce Einstein AI:

Using the Einstein AI product, Salesforce can deliver personalized experiences that take into consideration the evolving buyer behavior of each user, and increase sales and conversions by taking advantage of a real-time, complete view of that user’s data via Genie. 

Data model setup for Salesforce Genie or Salesforce CDP:

The Salesforce Customer Data Platform provides organizations with the capability to store and manage data in a way that no other tool on the market offers. Moreover, Salesforce Genie provides futuristic data capabilities that no other product on the market can match. In addition to helping you decide whether Salesforce Genie or Salesforce CDP is more suited to your needs, as a certified Salesforce Consulting Partner, we can also help you implement either of the two platforms as per your business requirements and needs. Our team at TIS has been following all the latest developments related to Salesforce Genie very meticulously, and we can help you get the most out of the tool to the fullest extent possible. Find out more about Salesforce Genie and its implementation by contacting us today. 

About the Author:

The author of this blog is Nandini Pathak with an area of expertise in technology. Uniquely blending her legal background to create engaging content. An avid dog lover, her warmth and empathy enrich her writing style. Nandini’s passion for learning and her SEO proficiency ensure her work stays relevant and visible, making her an impactful content creator who seamlessly integrates personal passions with professional expertise in the technology domain.