Do We Need Marketing Cloud Next? A Strategic Guide for CMOs

Many CMOs are asking, “Do we need Marketing Cloud Next?” The answer depends on how ready your team is to take advantage of real-time data, AI-driven decisioning and coordinating campaigns across channels.

Why this matters for CMOs

Many marketing teams today rely on technology that feels like a collection of bolt-ons: email here, social there, advertising somewhere else. Campaigns often use yesterday’s data, journeys can be manual or siloed and teams spend too much time on technical setup rather than strategy and creativity. 

Earlier this year, Salesforce announced Marketing Cloud Next (MC Next) as the next-generation flagship product of the Marketing Cloud suite. While Marketing Cloud Engagement (MC Engagement) will remain stable for now, MC Next is the evolution teams will adopt to unlock connected, agile marketing in the future. 

MC Next changes what marketing teams can do and how they do it. By connecting data in real time, automating tasks and surfacing actionable insights, it allows teams to better focus on strategy, engagement and measurable outcomes.  

The challenge for today’s marketer

MC Engagement is a mature, reliable platform, yet even strong setups face evolving demands: 

• Evolving customer expectations: Customers expect timely, personalised, seamless experiences across every channel. 

• Fragmented customer data: Information in multiple systems can slow insights and personalised actions. 

• Complex campaign execution: Journeys, segments and automations can require technical support, slowing iteration. 

• Disconnected channels: Email, social, messaging apps, web and paid media often operate separately, making coordination difficult. 

• Emerging innovation needs: Real-time AI recommendations, predictive audiences and next-best-action guidance are increasingly critical to stay competitive. 

These evolving demands highlight why organisations are preparing for MC Next. 

What MC Next changes for marketing teams 

MC Next helps marketing teams act faster on insights, run coordinated campaigns across channels and deliver measurable results. 

1. Unified, real-time customer data with Data Cloud 

• MC Next has native integration with Data Cloud, creating a single, up-to-date view of each customer across multiple sources. 

• Teams can use this data to power real-time segments, personalised campaigns and AI-driven recommendations without complex setup. 

2. Easier adoption for marketing teams 

• MC Next offers intuitive, marketer-friendly interfaces, reducing reliance on IT. 

• Drag-and-drop journeys, simplified segmentation and embedded AI guidance let teams focus on strategy and execution. 

3. Connected, multi-channel campaigns 

• Native integration across email, social, messaging apps (e.g. WhatsApp), web and paid media enables campaigns to be orchestrated from a single platform. 

• Real-time data flows automatically, allowing personalised experiences to be triggered instantly. 

4. AI-driven decisioning 

• MC Next leverages Agentforce to bring AI directly into workflows. Predictive audiences, next-best-action recommendations and content suggestions help teams optimise campaigns automatically. 

• Teams can make faster, more confident decisions with real-time insights.

5. Outcome-focused advantage 

• By connecting data, automating tasks and coordinating channels, teams shift from reactive campaign management to proactive, strategic marketing. 

• The result: faster execution, higher engagement, improved ROI and the ability to meet evolving customer expectations. 

Planning a smooth transition to MC Next 

Adopting MC Next works best as a planned, phased approach, rather than a sudden switch.  

• Start with a review: Assess campaigns, journeys and data readiness to identify where MC Next can add the most value. 

• Pilot and learn: Begin with low-risk campaigns or features to test new capabilities and build confidence. 

• Scale gradually: Expand usage over time, adding channels, Agentforce features and personalisation as the team grows comfortable. 

Key takeaway for CMOs 

MC Next isn’t just a product update, it’s a strategic evolution that lets marketing teams respond to evolving customer expectations with real-time insights, AI-driven guidance and coordinated multi-channel campaigns.  

For CMOs, the priority is to plan strategically and start preparing now: review your current Marketing Cloud setup, pilot new capabilities, ensure your data and teams are ready and scale adoption gradually.  

As a Salesforce partner, VISEO helps organisations define their MC Next strategy and bring it to life, ensuring your investment delivers impact from day one. We can help you review your current Marketing Cloud Engagement setup, discover pilot opportunities and design a phased adoption strategy that maximises today’s investments while preparing for tomorrow’s capabilities.