A deep dive into SFMC’s evolution and Salesforce’s broader marketing strategy
When discussing Salesforce’s investment priorities, a question frequently emerges: Is Salesforce shifting its focus away from Marketing Cloud Engagement (SFMC) in favor of Data Cloud, Marketing Cloud Growth, and Marketing Cloud Advanced?
This thought-provoking issue was raised to me by Kaelan Moss, a well-respected Marketing Cloud educator and recent Salesforce Golden Hoodie recipient, in this thread. At its core, the question reflects an unease about the future of SFMC as Salesforce accelerates its development of Data Cloud and newer marketing automation products. While SFMC has long been positioned as Salesforce’s flagship marketing solution, recent product updates, or the lack thereof, suggest that it may no longer be the primary focus. As we analyze the pace of SFMC innovation versus competing platforms (like Adobe, Braze, HubSpot, Oracle), the trajectory becomes clearer:
- SFMC is evolving, but not necessarily leading in marketing innovation.
- Salesforce’s R&D focus appears, and has appeared for quite some time, to be shifting toward Data Cloud and next-gen Marketing Cloud products.
- Customers are already facing a split reality: SFMC as the legacy, enterprise B2C platform, and MC Growth/Advanced as the future of Salesforce marketing automation.
Especially the last point is a doubt I am seeing with increasing number of existing SFMC customers, as well as marketing organisation considering going with.
But is this shift strategic growth or the beginning of an SFMC sunset? Let’s break it down.
SFMC’s slow evolution: incremental changes, not bold innovation
I went through the past five years of SFMC release notes, and it’s clear that most of the platform’s improvements have been incremental rather than groundbreaking. Enhancements to Einstein AI, expanded/native support for WhatsApp messaging, and the migration to Hyperforce have all been welcome changes, but they hardly represent a bold new vision for the future of marketing automation. Meanwhile, competitors like Adobe, Braze, HubSpot, and Oracle have pushed ahead with significant advances in real-time orchestration, AI-driven personalization, and omnichannel execution.
The shift toward Data Cloud: a strategic repositioning?
Perhaps the strongest indication that Salesforce is shifting its focus is the growing prominence of Data Cloud (formerly Salesforce CDP, formerly Customer 360 Audiences…). Instead of enhancing SFMC’s native data capabilities, Salesforce is positioning Data Cloud as the hub for customer segmentation, real-time audience building, and AI-driven insights. The narrative has subtly changed: SFMC is no longer the engine of marketing transformation but merely one of several activation channels within a Data Cloud-powered ecosystem. This is apparent in:
- The introduction of Marketing Cloud Growth & Advanced, both of which are built on Data Cloud rather than my beloved ExactTarget (SFMC’s legacy platform).
- Salesforce’s messaging, which highlights AI-driven audience segmentation, real-time customer profiles, and multi-cloud activation. Features that exist outside of SFMC.
- The increasing dependency on Data Cloud for analytics, as seen in the removal of Intelligence Reports from Hyperforce-hosted SFMC instances.
Here Marketing Cloud Growth and Advanced are being heavily promoted as next-generation solutions, built on Salesforce Core rather than the legacy ExactTarget platform. But there’s a problem: these new products still lack many of the capabilities that enterprise users expect from SFMC:
- Advanced email personalization & scripting (AMPscript, SSJS).
- Complex journey automation (Journey Builder in MC Growth is basic).
- Automation Studio features, which for me are a must have in any SFMC implemnentation
- Full data model flexibility, based on arbitrary number of data extensions
- Send speed!
How quickly can Salesforce develop these products to match SFMC’s enterprise-grade functionalities? (And is this even their plan?) Will customers be willing to adopt Growth or Advanced if they don’t yet meet the needs of complex marketing operations?
How fast does Salesforce need to innovate?
Kaelan posed a compelling question: How fast does Salesforce need to innovate to ensure that MC Growth is viable for large-scale business use cases? The answer remains unclear. On one hand, SFMC is still positioned as the go-to platform for enterprise B2C marketing, suggesting it won’t be abandoned overnight. On the other hand, the broader strategy appears to nudge customers toward Data Cloud-powered solutions rather than heavily investing in SFMC’s continued evolution. This split focus creates a risk. Salesforce may not be innovating rapidly enough in either SFMC or Growth/Advanced, leaving enterprise marketers without a truly forward-thinking platform.
Where SFMC stands in the competitive landscape
When comparing SFMC to its competitors, it’s apparent that while Salesforce retains a strong CRM-native advantage, it has started to lag in areas that are becoming critical for modern marketers. Adobe has surged ahead in AI-powered content generation and real-time omnichannel orchestration, while Braze continues to dominate the mobile engagement space with its best-in-class push notification and in-app messaging capabilities. HubSpot, despite being traditionally SMB-focused, has made substantial investments in AI-powered automation, making it a compelling alternative for mid-market businesses. Meanwhile, Oracle Eloqua remains a staple for B2B enterprises, even as it struggles to match the agility of newer platforms (so is it even that much relevant?).
SFMC still offers major strengths, particularly in its integration with Salesforce CRM, its high level of security and compliance, and its improved mobile messaging capabilities. But weaknesses persist, especially in real-time decisioning, AI-driven content creation, and automation flexibility. The increasing reliance on Data Cloud for segmentation and reporting further suggests that SFMC is being repositioned as a supporting tool rather than the heart of Salesforce’s marketing vision.
What does the future hold for SFMC?
So where does this leave SFMC in the long run? The future could unfold in multiple ways. It’s possible that SFMC will continue as an enterprise-grade solution, but without major innovation, while Growth and Advanced mature into more viable alternatives. Alternatively, Salesforce could push harder to transition customers away from SFMC entirely, accelerating the adoption of Data Cloud-centric marketing tools. A third, less likely possibility is that SFMC undergoes a radical transformation, receiving significant R&D investment to bring it in line with the capabilities of its competitors. I see three possible futures:
1. SFMC Stays Relevant but Secondary
- SFMC continues to receive minor updates, mainly for large enterprise customers.
- Data Cloud becomes the core, with SFMC as an activation tool rather than a standalone platform.
2. MC on core will overtake SFMC (but not yet)
- Customers hesitate to switch until Growth/Advanced match SFMC’s functionality.
- Salesforce pushes MC Growth to (eventually) replace SFMC, but innovation speed is too slow.
3. SFMC Gets a Major Revamp (Unlikely)
- Salesforce doubles down on SFMC, investing in real-time AI, faster automation, and omnichannel orchestration.
- This would require major R&D, which Salesforce is likely directing toward Data Cloud instead.
The most probable outcome?
Scenario 1 & 2 combined: SFMC will still exist but won’t be the priority. Meaning a gradual de-prioritization of SFMC, with customers encouraged to adopt newer solutions over time. That doesn’t mean SFMC will disappear, but it does suggest that it may no longer receive the level of innovation needed to maintain a leadership position in the rapidly evolving marketing technology landscape.
Customers will slowly be nudged toward MC Growth & Data Cloud. This is very much aligned with my current gut feeling/intuition, which I have a.o. shared in this post. This is to be seen as a long-term transition, rather than a migration. If existing SFMC customers will be seeing increasing value of connecting Data Cloud to ExactTarget, building increasing campaigns on core, we will slowly be abandoning our old trusted platform, in favor of the new shiny products.
Kaelan’s question remains relevant: Is Salesforce moving quickly enough to ensure that MC Growth can truly replace SFMC for enterprise customers? Or will SFMC remain the dominant solution for high-end B2C marketing, despite its slower evolution?
At this stage, the answer isn’t definitive, but one thing is certain: if Salesforce doesn’t invest more aggressively in either SFMC or MC Growth, it risks being overtaken by competitors who are moving faster, thinking bigger, and redefining what modern marketing automation looks like. Here is my take on how the future looks like:
- Salesforce is moving in the right direction but too slowly.
- If MC Growth doesn’t evolve quickly, SFMC will remain – but without true innovation.
- Adobe, Braze, and even HubSpot are innovating faster in AI, automation, and real-time decisioning.
If Salesforce wants to remain a leader in digital marketing, it needs to invest more aggressively in either SFMC or MC Growth. Right now, it’s unclear if they’re fully committed to either. I am excited to see, if we one day will see some degree of feature parity between MC on Core (Growth/Advanced, and what else is yet to come). If this feature parity is the ambition of Salesforce, it is even less likely for us to see groundbreaking innovation directly embedded in SFMC/ExactTarget. Why? For each new feature on SFMC, we get yet another feature Salesforce needs to build on Core. Why should they create double the work for themselves? I do understand the strategy from Salesforce to unify the technology stack, so the conclusion must be:
We will most probably need to redefine our perception of what using Salesforce for Marketing Automation (B2B and B2C) is about, abandoning much of our current toolkit (Automation Studio, SSJS, and what not), in favor of a more seamless integration of core CRM, Data Cloud, and Marketing features. Is this a better future? How much will you miss LookupOrderedRows()? I am excited to see this, keeping my faith in Salesforce, while knowing ExactTarget is not going away for the next 5-10 years (remember how long did it take to “kill” Social Studio?).
This isn’t a criticism of Salesforce, nor a doubt in their ability to deliver a worldclass marketing automation platform. Salesforce has proven time and again that they can drive innovation at scale. Rather, this is an exploration of the crossroads they now stand at. Where the rise of Data Cloud and MC Growth/Advanced presents a shift in their marketing strategy. For current and future SFMC customers, understanding this evolution is crucial in making informed decisions about the long-term role of SFMC in their marketing ecosystem. The question isn’t whether Salesforce will continue to lead in marketing automation, but rather what form that leadership will take in the years ahead.
Now that you have read this, slightly “provocative” article, you should consider reading the followup, which has been written after a fruitful and constructive debate in the SFMC community: SFMC and I: Why I still believe we can grow old together