Maneesh Gupta's Blueprint for Implementing Scalable Marketing Automation for Multi-Location Businesses

Running an organization with a single brand identity vis-a-vis one with multiple brand identities is two completely different ball games. Companies like Apple, Nike, Under Armor, and Microsoft have multiple distinct products, but all are sold under a single brand name. E.g., all products that you see in an Apple store (Mac, iPhone, iPad, etc. ) are Apple products. On the other hand, some companies own multiple brands, and each brand has its own distinct identity. E.g., Unilever, Nestle, a chain of casinos, a chain of clinics, etc. In these cases, there is a single holding company, but every brand is different in terms of its name, logo, operations, and marketing strategy. Unilever owns Dove, Knorr, Axe, and many other brands, but in the industry, they carry their own unique identities. Another fascinating one is a Veterinary aggregator (e.g., VCA) that owns several vet practices in different locations, and each clinic has its own local community brand presence. The model is similar to a chain for healthcare clinics or a coffee shop chain. Maneesh Gupta, a seasoned software engineer and Salesforce consultant, shares his insights on how Salesforce Marketing Cloud can enable the execution of marketing automation for multi-location business models.

"This most interesting aspect of this multi-location business model is the Unity in Diversity," Gupta cites. On the one hand, each location is a distinct brand in itself; each has its own name, logo, identity, culture, local processes, customer strategy, and operations team. On the other hand, all the locations are owned by a single holding company, so there is a common central theme amongst them regarding overall management, funding, business development, etc. "In many cases, the marketing & business development is a joint responsibility of the central corporate team and the local office," Maneesh Gupta explains. The location team drives local community-oriented marketing efforts while the corporate office runs data-driven, wider-reach campaigns. This unique ownership structure presents both challenges and opportunities in terms of marketing & business development.

Ideally, each location wants to manage its BD and marketing efforts themselves, but they lack the right tools, technology, skill set, and expertise. Also, the budget overhead for maintaining the technology infrastructure to support their business is typically too high to be afforded by each location. This necessitates the need for a centrally administered tech platform that can serve the business development and marketing needs of all the locations and also scale with the growing number. "You need a marketing automation platform that has unlimited dynamic content capabilities but also allows location-level personalization features," Gupta explains. With more than a decade of implementation experience, Maneesh Gupta has developed a comprehensive marketing automation framework for multi-location businesses using Salesforce Marketing Cloud.

"Salesforce Marketing Cloud functions as a centralized hub for managing marketing efforts across various touch points while allowing for localized customization," explains Maneesh Gupta. "This equilibrium between centralized control and local flexibility proves essential for businesses operating in multiple markets."

Key Questions to Ask

While maintaining brand consistency across locations is paramount, content tailored to local markets is equally vital. The solution lies in establishing a content management system within Marketing Cloud that allows for both global and local content creation and distribution. "Give your local teams the tools to create region-specific content while maintaining oversight from the central marketing team," Maneesh Gupta shares. "This method maintains brand consistency while enabling local relevance."

In order to set up a marketing automation platform, below are the key questions that need to be answered first:

• Who will be responsible for managing the marketing campaigns for each location? In some cases, they are managed by a central corporate team, while in other cases, they are completely location-governed. There can also be a hybrid structure where, depending upon the type of campaign, it could be centrally executed or location-driven.
• Does every location want to maintain its unique personalised identity in marketing campaigns? The identity here comprises location name, logo, color theme, banner, language tone, community culture, etc.
• Is there a need to maintain data privacy & security between locations? This involves content sharing, subscribers' database, and any other data required for marketing purposes. In most cases, the answer is 'Yes' here. Generally, each location wants to keep their stuff in their own private space without any sharing with others.
• Who is responsible for developing creative content for each location? Is there a central content team working with all the locations, or does each location have its own creative group?
• What is the CRM system for each location? Is there a central CRM system that houses the customers of each location, or does every location have its own database of customers

Implementation Blueprint

Successful implementation begins with a standardized data architecture, establishing seamless information flow and reporting across locations. This foundational element encompasses defined standard data models, consistent field mappings, and standardized integration patterns that all areas must follow.

Access management presents another crucial consideration when multiple locations utilize the Marketing Cloud platform. "Organizations must create precise roles and permissions, giving local teams necessary access while maintaining centralized control over critical functions and data," Maneesh Gupta notes. This governance framework confirms security while enabling efficient operations across all locations.

Based on the responses to the above questions, the implementation can follow the guidelines below.

Business Units: "Salesforce Marketing Cloud provides a supremely powerful capability of Business Units," Gupta explains. A business unit is basically a logical partition of your content, data, and campaigns. Organizations having multiple departments/ bands/ locations often demand a private working space, and a business unit is a perfect answer to that. Set up every location as its own business unit. "This will allow all the locations to operate under the same overarching umbrella but still work within their private space without sharing their data outside their BU," Maneesh shares.

Sending Domain: Because each location wants to maintain its own brand & identity in all its communications, set up a separate sending domain. "It can either be done using a separate SAP (Sender Authentication Package) or by buying separate Private Domains," Maneesh advises. An SAP allows you to brand the links, web URLs, and image URLs along with the From Address. A Private Domain allows branding of the From Address only.

Shared Folders: Despite the need to have a private BU, there are situations when multiple departments/ locations may want to share a business unit, too. For e.g., a common content repository or a central marketing team, or more. Marketing Cloud allows you to create content folders and data extensions that can be shared between multiple Business Units. "At times, this capability comes really handy and avoids a lot of rework," Gupta shares.

Multi-Org Connector: When it comes to multiple locations/ brands/ departments, a lot of times, they have their own Salesforce CRM instance where they manage their customer success operations. Salesforce Marketing Cloud's Multi-BU architecture allows the connection of different BUs with different Salesforce Orgs. This capability is really unique. It also helps in connecting development QA BUs with sandbox CRM Orgs.

Custom Preference Center: Multi-BU architecture empowers each location to have its own custom-branded preference center to manage the communication preferences of its clients. The unlimited dynamic capabilities of the platform also enable having a single preference center, but still, keep it personalized for each location. "Based on underlying metadata and URL parameters, you can completely change how the preference center page is rendered," Gupta indicates.

Measuring Success and Continuous Improvement

Effective deployment of Salesforce Marketing Cloud across multiple locations demands ongoing refinement and optimization. To succeed, organizations must establish key performance indicators (KPIs) that measure overall business goals and location-specific objectives.

"Performance reviews and sharing successful practices across locations drive improvements and fresh ideas," Maneesh Gupta advises. "This collaborative procedure helps insights from one location benefit the entire network."

Artificial Intelligence integration adds another transformative opportunity for multi-location businesses. "Organizations can unlock new levels of marketing effectiveness by using AI-powered features like Einstein for predictive analytics and personalization across all locations," Gupta explains. "AI identifies patterns and insights from vast amounts of data across locations, leading to more targeted and effective marketing strategies."

Technology Enabling Growth

Multi-location business expansion demands sophisticated, scalable marketing solutions. Salesforce Marketing Cloud offers a robust platform for managing complex, multi-location marketing operations.

Maneesh Gupta's blueprint for configuring Salesforce Marketing Cloud in multi-location businesses guides organizations in using technology to expand and improve customer experiences. Focusing on unified data management, localized content strategies, automated customer journeys, and integrated preference management helps businesses create a marketing ecosystem that maintains global consistency with local relevance.

Maneesh Gupta concludes, "Success in multi-location marketing requires a balance between centralized control and local autonomy. Salesforce Marketing Cloud provides the tools to achieve that balance and deliver exceptional customer experiences at scale."