Back to Case studies
Association

Modernizing the member connection

LeadingAge enhanced its overall member engagement and streamlined marketing efforts during COVID-19 with Marketing Cloud Account Engagement.

LeadingAge sought to enhance member communications during the COVID-19 crisis while simplifying and modernizing its marketing automation solution. They aimed to integrate this solution with Salesforce CRM and gain access to comprehensive reports for measuring marketing ROI.

Sophisticated marketing tools are only valuable when they’re leveraged in smart, strategic ways. Fíonta’s deep product knowledge and great client service were exactly what we needed to ensure a smooth transition from Marketo to MCAE (Pardot).
Susan Donley
SVP Communications and Marketing

LeadingAge, a community-focused organization that provides a full range of aging and disability services across the United States, accessed the existing Fíonta partnership to address the challenge of disjointed member communication, particularly during the critical time of the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

01
Legacy marketing automation solution yielded a poor user experience and complicated user interface.

LeadingAge was dissatisfied with the overly complicated legacy solution that no longer met their marketing and member communication requirements. Staff needed help utilizing the tool to connect with members and manage mass email communications. They recognized the need for a solution that could scale with the trajectory of their growing organization and expanding marketing strategies.

02
Data silos between the legacy solution and Salesforce CRM caused disruption and record duplication.

The legacy solution did not seamlessly integrate with LeadingAge’s core Salesforce platform, causing problems with data hygiene. Membership data was often duplicated or unable to be synced between the two systems, leaving staff with increased responsibility to monitor data for errors or omissions manually.

03
Inaccessible reports hindered marketing efforts, leading to difficulty in measuring marketing ROI.

The marketing team at LeadingAge faced challenges due to the need for more visibility and transparency in their member communication reports, resulting in gaps in their understanding of the impact of their marketing campaigns. Without clear reports to define successes and identify areas for improvement, LeadingAge encountered difficulties optimizing its efforts and leveraging effective strategies.

To streamline member communications, increase member engagement, and gain valuable insights into marketing ROI, LeadingAge implemented Marketing Cloud Account Engagement (formerly Pardot).

LeadingAge and Fíonta collaborated closely to leverage the power of Marketing Cloud Account Engagement (MCAE) and displace the legacy solution. They explored all potential applications of MCAE, established project priorities, and strategized the integration with the core Salesforce CRM.

Fíonta customized marketing templates to enhance marketing assets and provided the LeadingAge team with tailored training. This training enables the organization to effectively utilize MCAE, resulting in high levels of user adoption.

With seamless integration into Salesforce CRM, the concerns about data hygiene were mitigated. Tracking data and engagement became effortless, easily connecting Contacts and Campaigns. The native reporting functionality of MCAE facilitated easy reporting and analysis of marketing ROI. The solution provided a modern and intuitive platform that met the organization’s growing needs and improved overall operational efficiency.

MCAE Email

Template-based emails allow departments to send emails without going astray of brand standards.

Implementation of Marketing Cloud Account Engagement

The MCAE implementation was a collaborative effort between Fíonta and LeadingAge to leverage and optimize MCAE, displace the legacy solution, and ultimately meet their growing organizational needs.

Customization of marketing templates and tailored training

Fíonta provided customized templates and subsequent training to help enhance marketing assets and effectively utilize MCAE. Because of the emphasis on knowledge transfer through these training sessions, LeadingAge increased its user adoption rates.

Seamless integration with Salesforce CRM

The integration with Salesforce CRM promoted better data hygiene, effortless tracking of data, and engagement with Contacts and Campaigns.

Several teams across the organization now use Marketing Cloud Account Engagement and seamless integration with Salesforce means that staff has new confidence in their clean data. All data and engagement efforts are now effortlessly tracked to Contacts and Campaigns. LeadingAge staff can easily report on and analyze marketing ROI using Marketing Cloud Account Engagement native reporting functionality.

News and Issues

Sharing resources and issues through MCAE

Our resourcing team staffs each project with care. Team members involved in this initiative included the following:
Project manager

A project manager oversees all aspects of a project, including budget, schedule, scope, and risk management. They work closely with the technical lead to manage and escalate risk and act as the main point of contact with clients and internally, providing regular updates on the project’s progress.

Technical architect

Technical architects are senior advisors specializing in functional, platform, and integration architecture. They communicate technical solutions and design tradeoffs to clients, provide a delivery framework, and oversee the design and development of complex solutions, ensuring the technical soundness and integrity of the final product.

Salesforce developer

A Salesforce developer builds and customizes applications with Salesforce-specific features, including Apex, Visualforce, and the Lightning Component Framework. They also use Salesforce APIs to integrate with other systems.

Business analyst

A business analyst works to understand a client’s business processes, identify needs, and translate requirements into user stories. They document current processes, create requirements, and collaborate with the technical lead or solution architect.

Configuration specialist

A configuration specialist configures a client’s Salesforce instance based on a technical lead’s solutions to client requirements. They can specialize in different areas and are responsible for building functionality, configuring standard and custom Objects, creating automations, customizing layouts and permissions, implementing apps, and performing low-complexity data import/export.

User Interface (UI) designer

A UI designer brings technical requirements to life by creating beautiful visuals for any web-based interface. They will work closely with developers and User Experience (UX) consultants to ensure the designs meet all requirements, project scope, and accessibility standards and represent the organization’s unique brand.