Marc Benioff founded Salesforce and is largely credited with developing modern cloud computing. Benioff is a natural entrepreneur who has been launching enterprises since he was a child. He began knocking on doors at the age of 12 to assist people with antenna repairs.
He sold his first computing software when he was 15 years old. And when he went to college, he paid for it entirely with royalties from the program he had created during a sabbatical from his long and successful career at Oracle. Benioff came up with the idea for Salesforce while swimming with dolphins in Hawaii.
1). Salesforce and Amazon
What is common in Amazon and Salesforce? Apart from becoming extremely successful Internet businesses. All things considered, when Marc Benioff was pondering how the Cloud would push programming beyond the boundaries of 1999, he required the product to be delivered cheaply over the web and as simple to use as possible given the conditions. He built it on the simplicity of use of Amazon, which is now known as Salesforce.com. Since its beginning in 1994, Amazon has been the king of e-commerce, and some argue that this is due to its vision and convenience.
2). App Store Created By Salesforce
Most IT professionals will be familiar with the term “App Store” and immediately identify it with Apple. Apple established The App Store, allowing developers to create and sell third-party apps for the iPhone.
The AppExchange began three years before Apple’s. Most people aren’t aware of this. Before settling on AppExchange, Salesforce.com considered naming it the App Store, patented the name, and registered the URL. In an interview, Benioff said that he handed Steve Jobs the name “App Store” in 2008 as a token of his gratitude for all of his help over the years.
3). Salesforce Marketing Strategies
On-premise servers ruled the computer industry back when Salesforce was created. Marc Benioff and his team had a huge struggle in convincing the business world. This is difficult to achieve when you’re a relatively unknown entrepreneur with a firm of fewer than ten employees.
We had to think outside the box to compete against these large software giants. Seibel was Salesforce’s biggest rival at the time (Which was eventually bought by Oracle in 2005). Benioff believed that on-premise technologies were obsolete and ineffective.
Salesforce paid fictitious protestors to demonstrate against software outside the annual Siebel conference. He even hired a fictitious television team to record the event and conduct interviews with attendance. Siebel phoned the cops, which created a big media frenzy for Salesforce’s unknown brand, and the “No Software” logo was born.
In Cannes, France, Siebel hosted another conference. Because most attendees would fly into Fine and then take a cab to Cannes, Benioff changed his plan for this event, and Salesforce hired all airport cabs. They could sell Salesforce to these IT specialists throughout the 45-minute ride by passing out marketing materials and a slew of Salesforce logos in the cab.
4). The Model 1/1/1
Benioff established the 1/1/1 concept at Salesforce.com, an integrated philanthropy strategy. It revolves around businesses giving back 1% of their stock, 1% of their product, and 1% of employee hours to the community.
The Salesforce Institute is how Salesforce does this. It provides organizations and higher education with free and low-cost technology (Product), donations to different charities and localities (Equity), and staff devote a set amount of hours each year (Time). Since its debut, Google, Workday, Box, and Yelp have implemented the 1/1/1 model.
5). Salesforce Tower(s)
Salesforce is known for its creative marketing, but its towers may house some of its most large-scale efforts. It has been securing naming rights to numerous office buildings across the world since roughly 2015. Salesforce Towers are built in New York, Atlanta, Indiana, Tokyo, Dublin, Sydney, and Chicago. Their Headquarter in San Francisco, however, is their most magnificent Tower. Since its completion in 2018, Salesforce Tower has commanded the metropolitan skyline as the second tallest structure west of the Mississippi.
6). Oracle and Salesforce
Oracle and Salesforce have a long history together, or should I say Larry Ellison (CEO and Founder) of Oracle and Marc Benioff of Salesforce.
Benioff worked at Oracle and rose through the ranks under Ellison’s tutelage to become the youngest vice president ever at 25. He was a billionaire at the age of 27. When Benioff expressed an interest in pursuing other projects, including Salesforce, Ellison encouraged him and granted him a six-month vacation. He even put the initial $2 million into Salesforce and joined the board of directors.
When Benioff learned that Oracle was working on a competitive CRM, he ensured that Ellison was removed from directors. To add to the intrigue, Salesforce is a prominent Oracle user, with its framework being hosted on the Oracle platform.
7). Salesforce Domain Name
Salesforce cares a lot about its image, and securing the domain name they desire for their product doesn’t take lightly. Force.com, Work.com, Data.com, Database.com, Desk.com, Do.com (sold), Site.com, and Social.com are just a handful of their most stunning domain names, and they surely paid a premium for some of them. Salesforce paid $2.6 million for Social.com, $1.5 million for Data.com, and an undisclosed sum to Microsoft for Do.com. Salesforce also owned several additional domain names that it sold in 2011 for a total of $4.5 million.
Final Thoughts:
Salesforce has been named one of the top customer relationship management (CRM) providers for the sixth year in a row compared to CRM suppliers. This is because, through numerous cloud-based apps, this incredible platform allows you to handle all contacts with your customers and prospects uniquely and effectively.
With Salesforce CRM, you want to take your business to the next level. Don’t hesitate to reach out to one of our Certified Salesforce Consultants to learn how to get the most out of your Salesforce investment. By utilizing our top-notch Salesforce-related services and CRM Salesforce solutions.
