Leading with a strong focus on philanthropy, larger-than-life Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff kicked off his DF13 keynote with an enthusiastic message to business leaders – give.
“The best drug I ever took was philanthropy,” Benioff said, striding through the audience as leader of the #1 CRM company in the world and fresh off word that his company did $1 billion in business in a single quarter.
This year’s Dreamforce conference boasts more than 135,000 registrants; 1,200 sessions; and 350 exhibitors. But the most important number turned out to be “1”
Salesforce1, that is. Benioff and co-founder Parker Harris used a “Back to the Future” skit to introduce the CRM giant’s newest initiative – taking Salesforce to the mobile web.
Benioff explained the thinking behind the move – the concept of the “Internet of things” has transitioned to the “Internet of customers” and behind every interconnected device is a person.
“We need to reassess how we connect with our customers,” Benioff said. “At Salesforce.com we pivot to our customers.”
And, he added, he wants his customers to pivot to their own customers.
Thus the impetus for a new, mobile Salesforce – in order for Salesforce to pivot towards its own users, it needs to ensure CRM users can reach and respond to customers in a fully mobile manner.
After all, Benioff noted, the mobile experience is an inextricable aspect of the full customer journey. And to keep your customers and gain new ones, a business must know thy customer.
Check out the nuts and bolts of Salesforce1 here.
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