CRM ASSIGNMENT #1

ADOBE CRM

Submitted By

Asil Nizar

Mujtaba Hussain Mohammed

Mydhili Jayachandran

Navpreet Singh

Sakunjay Vyas

Simran Sanjeev Sharma

Vaishali Kcannan

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

CONTENT PAGE NO
Executive Summary 3
Adobe CRM Product & Vendor Company 4
Features of Adobe CRM 4-5
Benefits of Adobe CRM 5
Competitor Analysis on Product Features/Capabilities 5-6
Competitor Analysis on Product Pricing Models 6-7
Database Model of Adobe CRM 7-8
AI used in Adobe CRM 8
Business using Adobe CRM 8-9
Adobe CRM Strengths and Weaknesses 9 - 10
Recommendations 9-10
References 10-11

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 PART 1: CRM EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Purpose
The paper evaluates Adobe Experience Cloud, a complete CRM platform, and the impact it has
on improving consumer dating control across different sectors. The Adobe CRM combines the
existing technology that makes companies personalize consumer experiences, automate
advertising campaigns, and facilitates facts-based selections. Further, we'll see how Adobe
integrated AI, compare it to other structures like Salesforce and HubSpot, and some tips that
could enlarge its competencies.

Methodology
The report is based on product documentation, case studies, and customer comments. An
assessment of Deloitte's implementation of Adobe Experience Cloud is provided to assess
realistic offerings. Competitive landscape: Adobe is studied in competition with Salesforce and
HubSpot on a variety of attributes.

Key Findings

• With the help of in-house AI, Adobe Sensei, Adobe Experience Cloud offers real-time
personalization and customer segmentation for further optimization of marketing efforts.
This makes the tool all the more feasible for large enterprises since it's very much
integrable with external databases such as Microsoft SQL and Oracle.

• Equipped with Experience Manager for solid content management, Adobe Analytics for
customer data insights, and Adobe Target for content personalization and testing, the key
tenet still remains-creating personalized customer experiences at scale.

• Deloitte has successfully implemented Adobe Experience Cloud across its network of
member firms, thereby achieving the following benefits: better data management from a
central platform, workflows were automated and simplified, and the performance of each
region can be tracked. However, clients reported that challenges existed in the form of a
steep learning curve due to the platform's complexity and the stabilization of the platform,
which takes time after updates.

• The fact that Adobe has deep content management and customer journey mapping
differentiates it from Salesforce and HubSpot. It has a higher learning curve and is
correspondingly priced as a premium product; therefore, this will be more suitable for large
enterprises. Salesforce will have strong CRM capabilities, AI-driven insights, while for a
small business, a much more cost-effective alternative is HubSpot.

• Adobe should simplify its interface by providing customizable, role-based dashboards and
easily integrated third-party software that will provide more flexibility for coding options.
Besides, better training resources and onboarding will go a long way toward easy adoption
of the platform by new users.
This report concludes that indeed, Adobe Experience Cloud is a powerful CRM platform for
large enterprises needing advanced personalization and content management; further work is
needed on usability and training resources to fully leverage its potentials.

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 PART 2: CRM PRODUCT & VENDOR COMPANY
Adobe’s CRM solution, known as Adobe Experience Cloud, is a comprehensive suite designed to
support businesses in managing and optimizing their customer experiences. The company that
owns and sells Adobe CRM is Adobe Inc. Adobe Inc., a major player in digital marketing, creative,
and customer experience software, develops and markets Adobe Experience Cloud as part of its
portfolio aimed at helping businesses manage customer relationships and create personalized
digital experiences. Adobe Inc. is headquartered in San Jose, California, and is widely recognized
for its suite of creative and digital marketing tools. Founded in 1982 and headquartered in San Jose,
California, Adobe has evolved into a multifaceted company. (Cloud, 2023)

FEATURES OF ADOBE CRM

Adobe Experience Cloud provides the most comprehensive set of applications, capabilities, and
services specifically designed to address today’s need for personalized customer experiences at
scale. The key features of Adobe CRM:
• Experience Manager: Adobe Experience Manager is a content management solution that
helps businesses create, manage, and deliver personalized digital experiences across
channels. It leverages data and insights from Adobe Analytics and other sources to assist
businesses in customizing their marketing efforts to suit each customer’s needs and
preferences.
• Analytics: Adobe Analytics provides in-depth insight into customer behavior, enabling
businesses to make data-driven decisions, optimize customer experiences, monitor website
visits, evaluate customer segmentation and assess the efficacy of marketing initiatives
• Target: Adobe Target is a personalization and testing tool that helps businesses deliver
tailored content and offers to customers based on their preferences and behavior. With its
comprehensive suite of optimization tools, Adobe Target allows businesses to test different
versions of a website or landing page and select the one with the best performance.
• Commerce: Adobe Commerce helps to manage and optimize online stores for seamless
customer experiences.
• Customer Journey Analytics: Visualize and analyze customer journeys across channels
and identify opportunities for improvement and personalization.
• Real-Time CDP: Unifies customer data from various sources which enables businesses to
create and manage audiences for targeted marketing campaigns.
• Audience Manager: Adobe Audience Manager is a data management platform that helps
businesses to segment and target their audiences for personalized marketing efforts.
Utilizes data from Experience Cloud applications and external systems to create and
manage audience segments based on various customer attributes and preferences
• Launch: Adobe Launch is a tag management system that simplifies the deployment and
management of marketing and analytics tags across websites and applications. This
ensures that businesses can effectively track customer interactions and optimize their
marketing efforts.
• Campaign: Adobe Campaign is a marketing automation platform that enables businesses
to create, manage, and track personalized cross-channel campaigns. It helps to leverage
dynamic content that can be tailored to each customer’s behavior and preferences.

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 • Journey Optimizer: Adobe Journey Optimizer is a solution that helps businesses optimize
customer journeys by leveraging real-time data and AI-powered insights.
• Marketo Engage: Adobe Marketo Engage is a marketing automation platform specifically
designed for B2B businesses, helping them engage and nurture leads throughout the
customer lifecycle.
• Workfront: Adobe Workfront is a work management platform that facilitates marketing
operations and project management, thereby enhancing collaboration and efficiency.
(Adobe Experience Cloud Products - Personalized Customer Experiences, 2024)
(Adobe Experience Cloud: A Breakdown of Services and Integrations, 2023)

BENEFITS OF ADOBE CRM

• Adobe CRM offers AI-driven personalization to tailor customer experiences in real time,
increasing engagement and conversion rates.
• Adobe Analytics consolidates customer data from multiple sources, providing a
comprehensive view of customer journeys to drive data-based decision-making.
• Tools like Adobe Campaign and Adobe Experience Manager streamline campaign
creation and content delivery across channels, ensuring consistency and efficiency.
• Adobe CRM supports interactions across the web, mobile, social, email, and in-store
channels, delivering a seamless customer experience regardless of where customers
engage.
• Adobe CRM is scalable for growing business needs and adheres to data privacy standards
like GDPR, making it suitable for enterprises across industries, including highly regulated
ones.
(Work with Campaign and Your CRM | Adobe Campaign, 2023)

PART 3: COMPETITOR ANALYSIS ON PRODUCT FEATURES/CAPABILITIES

(ADOBE EXPERIENCE CLOUD VS. SALESFORCE AND HUBSPOT)

Feature/Capability Adobe Experience Salesforce HubSpot CRM

Cloud
Target Audience Large enterprises, Large enterprises, Small to mid-sized
media- heavy mid- size companies businesses,
companies startups
Marketing and customer Sales and customer Sales and basic
Core Strength experience relationship CRM
management management functionalities

Customized pricing, Per-user licensing Free tier available,

Pricing Structure generally high cost for starts at $25/month paid from
enterprises $50/month

Advanced content Basic CMS

Content personalization and Basic CMS capabilities
Management dynamic rendering capabilities

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 Customer Journey Highly advanced, Limited customer
Mapping personalized, real-time Available with add- journey tracking
journey mapping ons

Strong integrations with Extensive Built-in

Integration Options Adobe products, integrations with apps integrations,
moderate others and services limited add-ons

Advanced analytics Advanced AI-driven Basic analytics,

Data & Analytics (Adobe Analytics) insights (Einstein AI) some advanced
options

User Interface High learning curve, Comprehensive but Simple, easy-to-

ideal for experienced can be complex navigate
users
AI & Machine AI-driven Einstein AI, predictive Limited AI options
Learning Tools personalization (Adobe insights
Sensei)
Sales & Marketing Robust marketing Advanced, with AI Basic to moderate
Automation automation and insights and process automation
automation
Mobile Support Strong mobile Highly rated with Limited features on
experiences but web- offline capabilities mobile
focused
Highly scalable for Highly scalable,
Scalability global and media-rich suitable for large Moderate
enterprises teams scalability

In conclusion, Adobe Experience Cloud is specialized for companies focused on content-driven

customer experiences and advanced personalization. It excels in content management and
journey mapping. Salesforce provides extensive CRM capabilities with a strong focus on sales
and customer relationship management. HubSpot CRM offers a cost-effective, user-friendly
option suitable for smaller businesses.

PART 4: COMPARISON OF PRICING MODELS

For comparing Adobe CRM pricing model to its competitors, we have chosen HubSpot CRM,
Zoho, Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics 365.

HubSpot CRM: HubSpot offers a user-friendly interface, including a free basic CRM version and
a subscription model, making it accessible for businesses of all sizes. It provides a well-rounded
suite of marketing, sales, and customer service tools without customization options for small
businesses that don’t require tailored solutions.

• Pricing: HubSpot provides free CRM features to help businesses automate tasks, with a
premium subscription starting at $20, offering all advanced features. (HubSpot, Inc., n.d.)

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 • Comparison to Adobe: HubSpot may be a better choice for small businesses that don’t
need to invest heavily or seek specific customizations. In contrast, Adobe, with its higher-
end pricing and customizable plans, is better suited for businesses with advanced needs.

Zoho CRM: Zoho CRM is highly customizable and offers a seamless experience for small to
medium-sized businesses. It includes features like sales automation, analytics, and AI-driven
insights at a competitive price. (Zoho CRM - Highly Rated by Critics, n.d.)

● Pricing: Zoho’s basic plan is $40, which includes all premium features, though it lacks
options for extensive customization for specific use cases. (Zoho CRM - Highly Rated by
Critics, n.d.)

● Comparison to Adobe: Zoho is a cost-efficient alternative compared to Adobe’s high-end

pricing. However, Adobe’s customization capabilities make it a stronger option for
enterprises needing tailored CRM solutions.

Salesforce CRM: Salesforce is one of the most comprehensive CRM solutions available, offering
extensive customization and scalability, which makes it suitable for businesses of all sizes,
particularly large enterprises. (Apptivo, 2024)

● Pricing: Salesforce offers tiered plans, including a Lite version at $15 per user/month
(annual), $25 for small teams, $40 for large teams, and customizable plans for
enterprises. (Apptivo, 2024)

● Comparison to Adobe: Salesforce may be ideal for smaller companies that need cost-
effective solutions without high customization needs. For large enterprises, Adobe may be
preferable due to its high customization options, despite its higher price.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM: Microsoft Dynamics 365 provides a complete set of CRM tools
integrated with the Microsoft ecosystem, making it an attractive choice for businesses already
using Microsoft products. (Customer Service Pricing | Microsoft Dynamics 365, n.d.)

• Pricing: Microsoft offers various levels of service, starting at the Professional level at $50
per user/month, Enterprise at $105, and Dynamic Premium services at $195 per
user/month. The plans lack customization options across levels. (Customer Service
Pricing | Microsoft Dynamics 365, n.d.)

● Comparison to Adobe: Microsoft Dynamics may not be ideal for high-end users needing
customization. Although Microsoft offers premium pricing, Adobe stands out with itS
customizable solutions tailored to enterprise needs, making it a potentially better fit for
large organizations.

PART 5: DATABASE MODEL OF ADOBE CRM

Adobe Experience cloud is one of the most flexible, open and powerful CRM platforms which aims
to give complete customer experience. The ability of the platform which enables organizations to
standardize and centralize customer data and content from any system and integrate data science
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and machine learning has helped to dramatically improve its design and deliver personalized
experiences. By going through the product documentation, it was evident that adobe uses both
relational databases and data lake technology to segregate the large amount of data set present in
the platform. The Experience database model (XDM) is generally used to make it easier for the
customer to identify and access the data. The database model is an in-house product or software
and can be integrated across all the adobe platforms. The compatibility of XDM to integrate and
operate with external databases present on other platforms (Microsoft SQL server, Oracle) gives it
an edge over the other CRM platforms currently present in the market and highlights how the
organization aims to give clients the best experience based on their specific needs.

PART 6: AI SOURCES USED IN ADOBE CRM

Customer Relationship Management platforms assist companies in tracking clients during the sales
process, storing and analysing contact information and automating specific marketing and sales
tasks to improve workflow. Ai is used by many CRMs to improve these procedures and assist
businesses in achieving more opportunities for growth. Many CRM related tasks including
automation, data analytics and predication of consumers needs are benefit from AI. Because AI
can generate insights and make judgments based on what it learns, since it replicates how humans
learn from experience and knowledge. AI can easily produce accurate reports because of its quick
analysis of large data and saving your maximum time. It also makes predictions using the
information you have been storing on customers, sales and leads. AI is a great tool for predicting
trends and empowering organizations to make more informed decisions.

The Names AI resources.

1) Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM is an AI tool with the combination of outstanding customer
relationship management with business innovation. Streamline your sales, marketing and
customer support. With great intelligent features dynamics 365 CRM empowers your
organization to build up relationships with customers and make data-driven decisions. A
rebranding initiative for Microsoft dynamics suite was implemented in 2016, combining all
company’s CRM and ERP products into single package called Dynamics 365.
2) HubSpot is a platform which provides you with confidence to accomplish everything, it will
locate and acquire more clients right away if you have all your marketing sales and
customers support capabilities on one platform. HubSpot connected platforms enable you
to grow your business faster by focusing on what matters most of your customers.
3) Microsoft dynamics 365 is developed and managed by Microsoft within their azure cloud
platform, making it an in-house resources and HubSpot has built some AI features it also
license AI capabilities from open AI especially for natural language processing task.

PART 7: BUSINESS USING ADOBE CRM

Deloitte is one of the organizations that started integrating Adobe Experience cloud to unify their
client base and make it easier to understand the progress and content that needs to be created
based on the data available on Experience manager assets. (Deloitte, n.d.) Deloitte is a global
financial consulting agency with a network that comprises over 140 regional firms, operating
individually each having a huge content database catering to their local client needs. Adobe. (n.d.).
They employ suite for analytics, audience segmentation, and multi-channel campaign execution,
allowing them to offer tailored solutions to their clients.

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Through client reviews we could understand that the platform’s interoperability and ease to merge
with the existing Deloitte software made it very user friendly and made the transfer of data a smooth
process, they also highlighted the compatibility of the platform to process the large complex data
sets and its smooth data categorization process.

The benefit of the platform that was mentioned by Deloitte was how it has helped them centralize
their data and made it easier to assess their performance in each region and automate workflows.
Adobe. (n.d.). Another feature that was highlighted was how the platform has integrated Adobe
Senie (AI) to produce personalized insights and depth of customer segmentation options. Adobe.
(n.d.).

The few challenges faced by the clients was how the platform can be a bit intimidating and can be
a huge learning curve due to its complexities. The other challenge faced by the client was how the
security updates were in patches which made the components that already existed more complex.
The updates brought in by the platform take a bit longer to stabilize and it usually complicates the
operation.

Few recommendations to improve the platforms are to integrate 3 rd part software to make the
customized coding feature more efficient and simplify the platform model making it less intimidating
for a new user.

The other recommendation was to provide better training and certification options to make the on-
boarding process easier. User reports a desire for more customizable, intuitive dashboards that
cater to different roles within an organization. Simplifying the interface and providing role-based
dashboards would improve usability for both high-level strategists and day-to-day operators,
ultimately enhancing the CRM’s efficiency.

PART 8: CRM TECHNOLOGY STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

STRENGTHS

• Adobe CRM allows businesses like Deloitte to consolidate large amounts of data from
multiple regional offices, facilitating team workflow optimization and performance analysis.
• Targeted, data-driven marketing and CRM tactics are made possible by the integration of
Adobe Sensei (AI), which provides sophisticated customer segmentation and personalized
insights.
• Adobe Experience Cloud's robust compatibility with existing tools facilitates data migration
and enhances usability when working with large and complex datasets.
• The benefits of Adobe CRM help teams focus more on strategy and personalized client
interactions by automating repetitive chores and increasing productivity.

WEAKNESSES

• The effectiveness of the CRM depends on the caliber of the data that is entered. Ensuring
accurate and consistent data integration across numerous geographies can be challenging.
• There might be a learning curve even with Adobe CRM's abundance of customization
choices, particularly for teams who need unique permissions and data displays.

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 • Without thorough and ongoing training, staff members could find it challenging to use the
system to its full potential. Many CRM initiatives fail because customers don't completely
understand how to use the platform's functions.
• Despite its flexibility, if there are ambiguous goals and backup plans, the CRM might not
adequately serve business objectives. Ensuring that everyone understands its objective is
the key to its successful implementation.

PART 9: RECOMMENDATIONS

• The quality of the data that a CRM system gets determines its effectiveness. One of the
most important aspects of administering CRM is making sure that all data sources are being
imported into the database.
• The needs of various users for CRM software will differ. (Trickey, n.d.) A technical advisor
might only check the specification of a customer’s product. On the other hand, salespeople
may utilize a variety of background data to support their pitch. (Trickey, n.d.).
• New software will do little to benefit a business that has no clears goals around how to use
it. (Trickey, n.d.). One of the advantages of modern CRM Software is its adaptability, with so
many potential functions. Buyers must be aware of the software’s intended purpose.
(Trickey, n.d.).
• Providing thorough training for employees to use the CRM system effectively is crucial.
Surprisingly often, CRM projects fail simply because users don’t have the experience
needed to make the system work. This is because of an incomplete understanding of CRM
beyond its role as database. The training is essential to build user confidence and show the
CRM can enhance daily task for user. Make training fun by adding quizzes, progress badges
or friendly competitions. Encourages experienced users to lead group discussions or take
part in workshops.

PART 10: REFERENCES

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it’s important. Adobe.com. https://business.adobe.com/blog/basics/customer-relationship-
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Adobe Experience Cloud Products - Personalized Customer Experiences. (2024). Adobe.com.

https://business.adobe.com/products/adobe-experience-cloud-products.html

Adobe Experience Cloud: A Breakdown of Services and Integrations. (2023, August 28).
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Trickey, R. (n.d.). 10 best practice ideas to improve your CRM system. Call Centre Helper.
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