Partners make it possible

Partners make it possible The ultimate guide to empowering digital transformation success with a Salesforce consultant

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Intro The partner ecosystem, explained Laying the groundwork for success Two case studies proving the incredible power of partnership • Acts Retirement-Life Communities + CRM Science • GameStop +DEG, an Isobar Company 1 2 3 4 5 Contents 4 5 9 12 18 3 Getting started

You are capable of big, amazing things. Transforming your business and taking it to the next level with Salesforce is exciting and career-defining. Like any new, big, and important thing, it can also feel like a lot to take on – both as an individual and as an organization. Luckily, when you choose to innovate with Salesforce, you’re introduced to an expansive ecosystem of highly qualified consulting partners that are ready, willing, and able to support you along the way. The smart and experienced professionals in this network have all been through high-stakes digital transformations many times before and with great success. With their guidance and expertise, it’s entirely possible to achieve your biggest, most meaningful goals. We’ve created this e-book to be a helpful resource for customers new to the Salesforce partner ecosystem. In the pages ahead, we’ll introduce you to the types of Salesforce consulting and agency partners, explain how they add value, and provide actionable tips on how you can find, assess, and choose a partner based on your own unique needs. We’ll also share stories of people and businesses who have achieved exceptional outcomes working with Salesforce partners. Our hope is that by the end, you’ll be excited and inspired to write your own success story with our Salesforce consulting partners. 4

The partner ecosystem, explained. 2 5

A partner ecosystem designed to maximize customer success Organizations like yours are often looking for new ways to understand and connect with your customers and build lasting relationships that will help you grow your business. The power of Salesforce’s Customer 360 platform lies in its ability to connect every customer, empower every employee, and deliver continuous innovation, but it can be quite complex to create an integrated 360-degree view of every customer. For many companies, it’s incredibly beneficial to bring on a partner with deep industry knowledge, Salesforce experience, and technical capabilities. “As customer implementations become more complex and mission-critical, the Salesforce ecosystem will grow faster than Salesforce.” - IDC, 2019 6 Strategizing and executing on functionality and integration requirements Determining a Salesforce solution that works with your business processes Developing, managing, and tracking project plans Tailoring the solution to meet your specific needs Identifying opportunities to drive efficiency and growth using Salesforce Investigating possible add-ons and integrations Ensuring the project is completed on time and on budget How consulting partners add exceptional value: A good partner will make sure you’re getting the maximum benefit from your Salesforce investment. Every project is different, but a partner can help by: To learn more ways that consulting partners help, check out The ABCs of Consultants on AppExchange.

The Salesforce ecosystem is growing every day and includes over 1,500 consultants, including traditional consulting partners, and independent software vendors (ISVs). Let’s take a closer look at what these partners do: Consulting Partners: Certified Salesforce experts that use deep industry knowledge and proven Salesforce expertise to tackle your integration, implementation, or any Salesforce project Independent Software Vendors: Individual developers, startups, or existing software companies that build and sell applications for the Salesforce platform Strategizing and executing on functionality and integration requirements Determining a Salesforce solution that works with your business processes Developing, managing, and tracking project plans Tailoring the solution to meet your specific needs Identifying opportunities to drive efficiency and growth using Salesforce Investigating possible add-ons and integrations Ensuring the project is completed on time and on budget Areas of partner expertise: Types of partners: Product knowledge: Partners have a specialized command of one or more Salesforce solutions Industry expertise: Partners have extensive experience in the trends, best practices, and competitive landscape of one or more specific industries Cross-cloud experience: Partners are particularly skilled at implementing and connecting multiple Salesforce products System Integration abilities : Partners understand the best practices, change management needs, and technical implications of connecting Salesforce products with systems in other areas of business (ERP, HR, finance, etc.) 7

Laying the groundwork for success 3 8

Budget : It’s important to talk budget ranges with consultants early on, so having a clear idea of what you’re willing to spend before engaging potential partners is key. Location: Would you prefer to work with a local company that can work side-by-side with you? Do you need help across globally distributed offices? The difference between experts and order takers : Order takers will do exactly what you tell them to do, and sometimes that’s all you need. For high-stakes projects, however, an expert is the better choice. Experts add immense value by taking the lead and making sure everything you’re doing is supporting your long-term goals. The first step in selecting a great Salesforce partner has very little to do with partners at all – it’s about identifying your organization’s needs and non-negotiables. Before you begin your search, be sure to discuss (and document) the following: Stakeholder requirements: Make a list of what the key people on your team (including yourself) need and expect from a consulting partner, organizing them as “must-haves” AND “nice-to-haves.” Skill sets essential for project success: Consider the skill sets required and the skills your internal team already has; then identify any gaps that exist. Timeline: When does your project need to be completed? What events are driving that deadline? Is it realistic? 9

AppExchange is the marketplace for all things Salesforce, including apps, third-party integrations, and more. It gives you access to over 65,000 Salesforce-accredited consultants from more than 1,500 partners and developers, with advanced filtering tools that help you find the ideal partners for your projects. Using AppExchange to connect with partners. The first step in selecting a great Salesforce partner has very little to do with partners at all – it’s about identifying your organization’s needs and non-negotiables. Before you begin your search, be sure to discuss (and document) the following: Stakeholder requirements: Make a list of what the key people on your team (including yourself) need and expect from a consulting partner, organizing them as “must-haves” AND “nice-to-haves.” Skill sets essential for project success: Consider the skill sets required and the skills your internal team already has; then identify any gaps that exist. Timeline: When does your project need to be completed? What events are driving that deadline? Is it realistic? Here’s how to use AppExchange to find the right consultants for you. Consultants on AppExchange can be found using the top navigation bar in the AppExchange header. Under the “Consultants” tab, navigate to the Consultants page. Filtering You can use filters to find partners by product, industry, location, practice size, and ratings. Consultant Finder Within the Consultants page, you’ll find “Consultant Finder” — a guided search engine that helps you narrow down your search by even more specific criteria, such as preferred location, company size, and product and industry expertise. You can further filter searches based on consultant rating. Search One of the most popular ways to find information on AppExchange is to use the search bar at the top. The search functionality includes fuzzy matching and recommendations based on other searches, making it easy and fast to find consultants. Once the cumulative search results load, you’ll see a section called “Consultants,” which lists all of the relevant partners based on your search query. 10

Want to learn more about finding consultants on AppExchange? Read this blog post 11 Evaluating your options Once you’ve identified partners that meet your criteria, take a closer look at their listing to learn more about them. You’ll find information including: Rating: An average rating of 1-5 stars, based on customer reviews Completed projects: Number of Salesforce-verified projects completed Certified experts: Number of Salesforce-certified experts on staff You can also evaluate partners by considering the following information, found on the "Expertise" tab of their AppExchange listing: Overview: A summary of the partner’s business and experience Content: Videos, graphics, case studies, datasheets, and whitepapers relevant to that partner’s expertise Geographic focus map: A visualization of where that partner has done work Record of certifications: A detailed count of consultants whose credentials match your project needs Partner Navigator achievements: An easy way to learn about a partner's proven industry expertise and Salesforce product knowledge, based on a partner's ability to drive customer success on previous projects Verified Reviews: Detailed reviews from previous customers 11 Want to learn more about finding consultants on AppExchange? Read this blog post

Proving the incredible power of partnership 4 12

Every year, Salesforce hosts the annual Partner Innovation Awards to recognize and celebrate a select group of consulting partners for delivering innovative solutions built on the Salesforce platform to help customers achieve extraordinary success. It’s not only an opportunity to recognize how Salesforce partners help our customers, but it also showcases how these consultants can take the tools Salesforce provides and elevate them in new and exciting ways. In this section, we’ve profiled two recent award-winning projects to show some of the things Salesforce consultants do to help customers meet and exceed their goals. 13 Case Studies Acts Retirement-Life Communities + CRM Science: Connecting systems and seniors to create a better experience for everyone GameStop + DEG, An Isobar Company: Transforming an entire marketing program in the middle of the holiday season

Even with 12,000 residents and 8,000 employees across 26 different campuses, Acts Retirement-Life Communities strives to maintain a shared culture of loving kindness. Today, Salesforce technology plays a big role in making it happen. Acts’ Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer, Peter Kress, saw the opportunity to innovate and create meaningful connections long before he made it a reality. He envisioned the company using technology to make their residents’ lives better, enhance their employees’ experience, and improve sales process - es—but he knew he couldn’t achieve his vision alone. “We were able to start taking much more meaningful steps forward when we began building a relationship with CRM Science,” Kress explained. Acts and CRM Science partnered on several smaller projects before they decided to tackle a full-scale digital transformation. “At the heart of it, CRM Science invested in our mission, and that allowed our partnership to evolve. And I have a great appreciation for what that has helped us to achieve today,” said Kress. What they have achieved today is nothing short of amazing. Acts Retirement-Life Communities + CRM Science: Connecting systems and seniors to enable new possibilities 14

Prior to Acts’ digital transformation, their data was siloed across multiple platforms, and residents felt siloed, too. Today, Acts is a more unified community. The innovative Acts’ Resident Portal displays highly personalized information, there’s a social feed to help community members stay in touch, and the process for ordering resident services is simple and centralized. The best part is, Acts and CRM Science continue to grow together with this Salesforce implementation supporting Acts’ continued growth of three to five new community facilities per year. 470% increase in resident engagement with 3x growth in digital requests by residents attributed to easy-to-use mobile functionality 12% boost in new resident deals – equating to an estimated revenue increase of $16 million. Over 1 million activities and 10 million meals provided to Acts residents annually using the integrated Salesforce platform CRM Science helped Acts create new revenue streams by identifying fees attached to Work Order Line Items In just 5 months, Acts saw a 75% increase in Marketing Cloud journeys across channels, leading to a 210% increase in targeted and personalized communication Bringing data and people together 15

470% increase in resident engagement with 3x growth in digital requests by residents attributed to easy-to-use mobile functionality 12% boost in new resident deals – equating to an estimated revenue increase of $16 million. Over 1 million activities and 10 million meals provided to Acts residents annually using the integrated Salesforce platform CRM Science helped Acts create new revenue streams by identifying fees attached to Work Order Line Items In just 5 months, Acts saw a 75% increase in Marketing Cloud journeys across channels, leading to a 210% increase in targeted and personalized communication The global, multichannel video game and consumer electronics retailer GameStop knew that it was critical to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their marketing program. They were ready to upgrade their technology and partnered with DEG, an Isobar Company — one of the largest and longest-tenured Salesforce Marketing Cloud partners, and the only 3X Salesforce Marketing Cloud Partner of the Year. GameStop knew they were in good hands with DEG’s full-service team, whose members are fully versed in all Marketing Cloud technologies and have conducted more than 500 Marketing Cloud implementations globally. In fact, DEG’s expertise gave GameStop the confidence they needed to plan a cross-cloud implementation and email system migration during peak holiday shopping season. GameStop + DEG, an Isobar Company: Transforming an entire marketing program in the middle of the holiday season 16

DEG began by migrating GameStop’s email marketing to Marketing Cloud — consolidating 15 IPs into one account — all while the GameStop website was simultaneously being migrated to Commerce Cloud. To ensure GameStop would be able to leverage the full capabilities of the Marketing Cloud platform immediately and capture as many sales as possible during one of their busiest times of the year, DEG also developed a responsive template, set up email triggers and journeys, and trained the GameStop team on best practices within the platform. With DEG’s guidance, GameStop has achieved: A scalable solution with a user-friendly, mobile-optimized experience More efficient and effective data segmentation Near real-time dashboards and faster optimizations based on learnings Reduction in personnel overhead More than 74 million+ emails sent 99.63% email deliverability A sender score of 99 Lead-time improvement (email production process reduced from 18 to 12 business days) 17 Enabling next-level customer experiences, just in time

Getting started 5 18

One of the biggest advantages of working with a Salesforce partner is that you benefit from their collective experience on previous customer projects just like yours. Before you commit to a partner, it’s important to understand their organization’s approach to implementation and what it might be like to work with them. To set yourself up for collective success, be sure to consider and discuss the following: Set a clear strategy and defining goals Too many transformation initiatives fail because the people implementing the technology didn’t truly understand the business’ current operating state and long-term goals. They dive right into upgrading technology and then fail to deliver the desired impact. Setting a strategy and defining your goals right from the start will make sure everyone’s working toward the same result. Align cross-functional teams early on A digital transformation plan is only as strong as the perspectives brought in to create it. Getting buy-in from every team is critically important, as each is motivated by their own goals and perspectives. Internal alignment is key, and you want to work with a partner who is committed to making sure your solution works for everyone who will be using the new technology. Focus on the people just as much as the technology You don’t just need to implement a new system, you need to prepare your organization for a major shift in the way business is done. It’s critically important to find a partner who treats technological transformation as human transformation and plans accordingly. Five questions to ask a potential partner: Do your organization’s goals for this project closely align with mine? What’s your process for gathering requirements and developing a project plan? Can you tell me about a project you’ve done that’s similar? What went well? What did you learn? What is your organization’s communication style? Will your people be willing to push back if necessary? How will you approach the change management piece of our engagement? 19

We’re here for you. Explore consultants on AppExchange Ready to see how a consulting partner can help you turn your digital transformation aspirations into an actionable plan? 20