Marketing Cloud Next for Business Analysts

Marketing Cloud Next, also referred to as Marketing Cloud on Core, is Salesforce's contemporary marketing platform developed directly on the primary Salesforce infrastructure. It is seamlessly integrated with Data Cloud and Einstein AI. For a Business Analyst(BA), this transition involves moving away from conventional "campaign-centric" requirements gathering to a customer-centric, data-driven, and AI-enabled methodology.

Marketing Cloud Next For Business Analyst

Why It Matters for a Business Analyst

As a BA, you act as the bridge between business needs and technical capabilities. Marketing Cloud Next introduces new capabilities that directly impact how you should frame discovery sessions, define requirements, and prioritize outcomes:

• Unified First-Party Data: Since Marketing Cloud Next is powered by Data Cloud, customer data is no longer siloed. Analysts must think in terms of segments, consent, and identity resolution rather than static lists.

• AI-Driven Engagement: With Einstein and Agentforce, personalization moves beyond rules-based to predictive and generative. This requires asking deeper questions about customer journeys, content personalization, and readiness for AI adoption.

• Composable Journeys: Instead of linear automation, Marketing Cloud Next supports real-time orchestration across email, SMS, WhatsApp. Analysts need to map multi-channel touchpoints and ensure alignment with business KPIs.

• Compliance & Security: Features like shield and field-level encryption bring stricter compliance into marketing execution — important for regulated industries.

  
  

Key Areas for a BA to Explore

1. Customer Journeys & Use Cases

   • What are the highest-value moments to engage customers (onboarding, cross-sell, renewals, retention)?

   • Which channels are most effective for your audience, and do you want to expand into new ones (e.g., WhatsApp, push, ads)?

2. Data & Identity

   • Which first-party data sources do you currently capture (CRM, commerce, service, web, mobile apps)?

   • How do you identify a single customer across multiple systems?

   • Are there gaps in consent management or preference collection?

3. KPIs & Outcomes

   • How do you define marketing success today (conversion, retention, loyalty, CLV)?

   • Which metrics matter most to leadership, and how will Marketing Cloud Next improve visibility?

4. AI & Personalization

   • What role should AI play — predictive recommendations, journey optimization, or generative content?

   • Which use cases would benefit from real-time personalization (e.g., churn prevention, upsell triggers)?

5. Governance & Compliance

   • What security or compliance policies must campaigns follow (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA, financial regulations)?

   • Do you need tokenized sending, field-level encryption, or regional data residency controls?

     
     

How a BA Should Approach Marketing Cloud Next

• Discovery: Run workshops to map customer journeys, pain points, and desired business outcomes.

• Data Alignment: Ensure data sources, identity resolution, and consent models are clearly documented.

• Prioritization: Define MVP use cases (e.g., onboarding journeys, cart abandonment campaigns) before scaling into multi-channel orchestration.

• AI Readiness: Assess business comfort with AI-driven personalization and set expectations for governance.

• Change Management: Document impacts on existing teams, workflows, and training needs as processes evolve.

  
  

The Analyst’s Value in Marketing Cloud Next

With Marketing Cloud Next, the role of a Business Analyst becomes even more strategic: instead of just gathering campaign requirements, you are shaping how the organization engages with customers in a privacy-first, AI-powered world. By focusing on data, personalization, and outcomes, you ensure that marketing investments align with customer expectations and long-term business growth.

✨ In short: Marketing Cloud Next enables real-time, intelligent, and secure marketing. The Business Analyst ensures that these capabilities are aligned with business goals, regulatory requirements, and customer experience priorities. This is my 50th⭐ post! If you find my content helpful, please leave your feedback in the comments.