Sending emails from Salesforce gives you the benefit to leverage your CRM data. It can be used to send personalized and meaningful details straight from Salesforce to your audience. It also helps you to automatically add and update data based on your email marketing efforts. 

There are three ways to send emails from Salesforce: 

  1. You can use Salesforce's email capabilities
  2. Use a Salesforce partner app from the AppExchange or 
  3. Integrate your email tool with Salesforce

We'll help you review all of your options so that you understand the benefits and challenges of both options.

Method One: Using Salesforce's Email Capabilities

Let’s review the different email types, how you can automate emails, and the benefits and challenges with this method. 

There are three types of emails you can send using Salesforce’s Email Capabilities: 

  1. One-off emails to a contact or lead
  2. Small group emails
  3. Email your campaign members within a campaign


1. One-off emails to a Salesforce contact

If you want to do a one-off email to a Salesforce contact, simply navigate to the person's contact record. On the Activities panel, you'll see the option to email the contact.

Here a quick video on how to create one-off emails:

You can create and store email templates in Salesforce under the Templates tab. Once your email is sent, you can track it (and all the rest of your previously sent emails) in your Activities tab. 

If you don't see the email tab in your Activities panel, ask your Salesforce Administrator to add it.


2. Small group emails

You can use Salesforce to create a list view and add list filters so that your email list is more targeted. Go to your Contacts or Leads tab, add filters to your existing list and click Send List Email to be able to draft your email and send it out. 

The quick video below will walk you through the process:


3. Email your campaign members in Salesforce

Let's say you have a Salesforce campaign for your annual fundraising event. You want to invite people to the event. How do you do it?

You can navigate to your Annual Fundraising Event campaign in Salesforce, open the campaign members list, and send an invitation to all of the members or just selected members.

Watch a quick 1min video on how to email your campaign members:

Now that we have talked about the different email types, let’s review how you can automate the process:

Automate your emails in Salesforce

You can utilize the Salesforce Process Builder to automate your emails.

The Process Builder is intended to trigger emails based on actions within the platform. The emails are sent out based on pre-defined logical patterns.

When you create a drip email for example, you're creating an email that is triggered by the addition or field change of a new contact or lead. Then, additional emails are scheduled out based on your unique drip campaign.

The benefits of using Salesforce’s Email Capabilities

  • Salesforce allows you to use your CRM data and create your targeted email list right within Salesforce.
  • You can also use merge tags based on data that Salesforce collects
  • There is no additional cost 

The limitation of using Salesforce's Email Capabilities 

  • You can only send 5,000 emails per day
  • Limited reporting: It’s difficult to track basic reports like open rates and click rates.
  • Limited automation: You need to know how to work with the Process Builder. It takes time to set an automated process up for each campaign. 


Method Two: Using A Native Salesforce Partner Application

You can browse the AppExchange for applications to enhance your email marketing. Predictive Response, for example, is a native Salesforce application that can help you send mass emails from Salesforce.

Let's look at some benefits of using an add-on Salesforce application like Predictive Marketing.

Benefits

Send unlimited emails from Salesforce

There is no email or user limit with Predictive Marketing. You can send unlimited emails without leaving Salesforce. It offers a simple drag and drop tool for sending drip, scheduled and behavioral emails. 

Use Salesforce data to automatically segment campaigns

When you add Predictive Marketing to your Salesforce environment, it's easy to use your CRM data to automatically add contacts into a campaign based on a criteria.

For example:

Use your Salesforce membership data to segment your members into a relevant campaign like:

  • Membership renewal campaign: Add members 30 days before membership expiration date
  • Personal interest: Add members based on their interest. E.g Fundraising 
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Out of the box marketing reports

Predictive Response provides several out of the box marketing reports. 

A few examples include:

  • Opens, clicks, and completed rates of emails or campaigns
  • Track contacts full journey: email activity, web pages browsed, events attended, etc.
  • Email ROI: How much revenue are your email campaigns bringing in


Method Three: Integrate Your Email Marketing Application With Salesforce

If you love your current email marketing application, why switch the process?

You won't be able to send emails from Salesforce, but you'll be able to use Salesforce CRM data to send targeted emails from your email marketing applications. Many email tools like  MailChimp, Constant Contact, or Emma provide an integration.  If you can't find an integration, you can try a connector like Zapier.

The benefits: 

  • You can keep using your preferred email tool 

The challenges:

  • Some integrations might cause issues: Importing bad data, duplicate records, data migration issues, etc.
  • Using two systems and switching back and forth
  • There is an additional cost using another email tool


Making the Best Choice for Your Company

The best way to send emails from Salesforce depends on your unique needs. If you are interested in learning more about our Predictive Marketing application, please book a demo with us.