What is Salesforce Marketing Cloud – and how does a freelance Salesforce Marketing Cloud specialist work?

By Carsten Bjerregaard, Addcapacity.com

Salesforce Marketing Cloud is an enterprise marketing automation platform designed for organizations that work systematically with data, personalization, and customer journeys across channels. The platform enables customer data to be collected, activated in real time, and orchestrated across email, SMS, push, advertising, and web.
Salesforce Marketing Cloud is typically used by CRM managers, marketing automation specialists, lifecycle marketers, data and CX professionals, and marketing management in larger organizations. A freelance Salesforce Marketing Cloud specialist often works at the intersection of business, data, and technology, ensuring that the platform is used strategically – not just as a broadcast tool.

1. What are the basic functions and core purposes of Salesforce Marketing Cloud?

Salesforce Marketing Cloud’s core purpose is to activate customer data across channels and create cohesive, personalized customer journeys. The platform is built around specialized modules such as Email Studio, Journey Builder, Mobile Studio and Advertising Studio, which together enable advanced orchestration.
The system is data-heavy and designed to work closely with CRM, CDP (Customer Data Platform) and other Salesforce solutions. The strength lies not in single campaigns, but in continuous, automated flows based on behavior, relationship and timing.

Core features

• Advanced email and messaging
• Journey Builder and lifecycle flows
• Data modeling and segmentation
• Real-time and behavior-based triggering
• Tight integration with the Salesforce ecosystem

A concrete example: A customer moves from lead to loyal customer through automated journeys, where messages, timing and channel selection are continuously adjusted based on behavior.

2. What business value does Salesforce Marketing Cloud create?

The business value lies in the ability to work consistently data-driven and personalized at scale. Salesforce Marketing Cloud makes it possible to reduce manual campaigns and instead focus on lifecycle, relationship and relevance.
For marketing, this means higher engagement and better performance. For management, the value is about better utilization of customer data, higher lifetime value and more predictable marketing processes.

Value-creating elements

• Increased relevance and personalization
• Scalable automated journeys
• Better utilization of customer data
• Stronger connection between marketing and CRM
• Long-term customer acquisition

In practice: A company reduces campaign pressure, but increases conversion by shifting focus to personalized lifecycle flows.

3. How comprehensive is Salesforce Marketing Cloud – and who is the platform for?

Salesforce Marketing Cloud is a comprehensive platform that is best suited to medium-sized and large organizations with a mature CRM structure and clear data processes. It is rarely optimal for small teams or organizations without dedicated resources for marketing automation and data.
Budget-wise, the platform is an investment – ​​both in license, implementation and skills. In return, the organization gets a robust setup that can be developed and scaled over many years.

Typical organizations

• Larger B2C and B2B companies
• Organizations with a lot of customer data
• Teams with lifecycle and CX focus
• International setups with multiple markets
• Companies with Salesforce CRM

An example: A Nordic company consolidates all customer communication in Salesforce Marketing Cloud to ensure a consistent experience across markets.

4. What other systems are available in the same category?

Salesforce Marketing Cloud is at the heavy end of the marketing automation landscape. The alternatives vary in complexity, price and flexibility.
The choice is often about data maturity, integration requirements and level of ambition.

Alternative platforms

• Adobe Marketo Engage
• HubSpot Marketing Hub (enterprise)
• Oracle Eloqua
• Braze (customer engagement)

In practice: Salesforce Marketing Cloud is often chosen when CRM integration and data complexity are more important than fast implementation.

5. What role and tasks can a freelance Salesforce Marketing Cloud specialist perform?

A freelance Salesforce Marketing Cloud specialist works both strategically and executively. The focus is on ensuring the correct data model, well-functioning journeys and governance, so that the platform can be used effectively over time.

The specialist often acts as a link between marketing, CRM, IT and external suppliers and ensures that complexity is handled professionally.

Typical tasks

• Setting up data models and DEs
• Design and implementation of journeys
• Email and messaging structure
• Integration to CRM and other systems
• Quality assurance and documentation

A specific scenario: A freelancer takes over responsibility for Journey Builder and consolidates scattered campaigns into coherent lifecycle flows.

6. What work-related and financial benefits can you achieve by using a freelance specialist?

The advantage of a freelancer is specialized focus and flexibility. Salesforce Marketing Cloud is complex, and an experienced specialist can quickly create an overview and progress without long start-up processes.
At the same time, the effort can be scaled as needed – from intensive implementation to ongoing optimization and sparring.

Benefits in practice

• Fast onboarding
• Deep platform experience
• Flexible resource use
• Clear prioritization of effort

In practice: A company uses a freelancer 2–3 days a week to mature the setup and train internal resources.

7. What are the advantages of using a freelancer over an agency or consultancy?

With Salesforce Marketing Cloud, many companies choose freelancers over agencies and consultancy firms. The collaboration is closer, the decision-making process is shorter, and hourly rates are often 30–40% lower.

This allows for more continuous collaboration, where the specialist becomes an integrated part of the team and works both strategically and hands-on.

Key differences

• 30–40% lower hourly rates
• More direct collaboration
• Faster prioritization and execution
• Less project and process overhead

A typical choice: The freelancer handles daily operations and development, while agencies are used selectively for larger campaigns.

How do you quickly get in touch with freelance Salesforce Marketing Cloud specialists who match your tasks?

Salesforce Marketing Cloud specialists often have different strengths – some are strongest in data modeling and SQL, others in Journey Builder, email or collaboration with CRM and the sales organization. At Addcapacity.com, we focus on the specific tasks and the function to be solved.

We have access to a large network of experienced freelance Salesforce Marketing Cloud profiles and help identify three strong candidates who match both professionalism, scope and form of cooperation. It is non-binding, and we always have an initial dialogue to clarify the need.

The process in brief

• Clarification of needs and ambition level
• Selection of 3 relevant candidates
• Dialogue and quick start