Marketing Cloud Next: Understanding Users and Licenses
- sfmcstories
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
When Salesforce launched Marketing Cloud Next, the excitement was real — AI-powered personalization, unified customer journeys, tighter Data Cloud integration. But if you’re like me, your first thought quickly turned practical:
"Cool… but how do I manage users and licenses without breaking the org (or the budget)?"
Let’s break it down in a way that makes sense for real-world marketers and admins.
Marketing Cloud Next is part of Salesforce's unified platform that integrates with Data Cloud and Einstein AI. Licensing typically depends on the features and scale of your marketing operations:
Base License: Includes access to core campaign tools, CMS-powered content creation, and basic segmentation.
Add-ons: You may need additional licenses for advanced features like:
Data Cloud integration
Einstein predictive analytics
Tableau Next reporting
Consent management tools
User-Based Licensing: Some features may be tied to the number of active users or roles assigned.
Full Marketing Cloud Users: The Core Team
These are the folks who live and breathe Marketing Cloud — admins, flows, campaign managers, automation pros.
Full licenses give them:
Email, SMS, WhatsApp campaigns
Advanced analytics & AI-powered insights
Access to all cross-channel features
Basically, if someone needs to create, execute, and optimize campaigns daily, this is the license for them. It’s the “everything included” option — higher cost, but necessary for your core team.
Identity Users: Unlock Access Without the Extra Cost
One of the smartest moves in Marketing Cloud Next is the Identity License.
Why it matters: Not everyone in your org needs full access. Think about these roles:
Analysts who check dashboards and segmentation
Content contributors uploading creative assets
Regional marketers reviewing campaign performance
Identity-licensed users get the tools they need — without paying for features they won’t use. Pair it with a custom Identity profile and the right permission sets (Marketing Cloud Manager + Tableau Next Business User), and you’ve got a cost-effective, scalable solution.
💡 Tip: Out-of-the-box, you can assign up to 100 Identity licenses, but this can be expanded through your contract.
Permission Set Licenses (PSLs): Modular Flexibility
PSLs are perfect for teams who need select features without giving full access to everyone.
For example:
Advanced AI personalization for a few marketing strategists
Multi-channel segmentation for specific campaign owners
Instead of upgrading all users, you assign PSLs to those who truly need it — keeping costs in check while still enabling innovation.
“+” Editions: Upgrading the Experience
Next also introduces “+” editions — upgrades to your existing Marketing Cloud licenses that unlock Next features.
Think of it as keeping your base platform but adding turbo: AI-driven personalization, cross-channel orchestration, unified analytics.
You don’t have to rebuild everything, but you get the modern capabilities your marketing team needs to stay competitive.
My Take: How to Approach It
When I work with teams rolling out Marketing Cloud Next, I usually map it like this:
User Role | Description |
Marketing Admin | Full access to campaign setup, audience segmentation, content creation, and publishing. |
Content Editor | Can create and edit CMS-powered content, but cannot publish or manage campaigns. |
Data Cloud Architect | Manages data ingestion, identity resolution, scoring rules, and data streams. |
Salesforce Admin | Oversees user provisioning, permission sets, and integration across Salesforce clouds. |
Viewer/Analyst | Read-only access to dashboards, reports, and campaign performance. |
The key: assign based on role + need, not just “everybody gets full access.” This keeps costs down and ensures your team isn’t fighting with permissions or missing features they need.
Wrapping Up
Licenses can feel boring, but in Marketing Cloud Next, they’re actually a tool for scaling collaboration smartly. Identity users and PSLs let you involve more team members, while “+” editions give you the full power of Next where it counts.
Done right, you can give your marketing team the freedom to innovate without the overhead, and that’s what Next is really about: smarter, faster, and more efficient marketing — for everyone.
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