The Top 10 Salesforce Marketing Cloud Partners in 2024
Arguably one of the more complex Salesforce Products, the Marketing Cloud umbrella now consists of both Pardot (for B2B) and the traditional B2C offering. This guide focuses on companies leveraging Marketing Cloud for Consumer Marketing (B2C) as they navigate the Partner selection process.
Marketing Cloud Partner Overview
There are so many Salesforce Partners out there, but very few offer real specialization. In this list, we highlight the top ten implementation partners for Marketing Cloud projects across Enterprise, Mid-Market, and SMBs.
The hardest part about finding a reliable Salesforce Marketing Cloud (SFMC) Implementation Partner is that the biggest Partner doesn't necessarily mean the best Partner.
For a CRM like like Salesforce, when selecting a Salesforce Consulting Implementation Partner, you want to go with a specialist. This means finding a vendor that focuses on 1-2 Salesforce products and nothing else! These days, the most prominent firms - Accenture, Deloitte, PwC, IBM - are generalists.
Generalist Salesforce Consulting Partners usually have some dedicated Marketing Cloud Consultants in the organization, but overall, it's not a core focus or area of specialty.
If you have a project that only involves implementing SFMC and integrating it into your existing tools, you might want to look for a smaller, more specialized implementer. The functionality of Marketing Cloud is unique, and as such, you need a unique set of skillsets to make sure the implementation is carried out correctly, end to end
The Top Marketing Cloud Partners by Category
Choosing a Marketing Cloud Partner
Specialists Over Generalists
When it comes to a Salesforce Marketing Cloud implementation, the choice between a specialist partner and a generalist partner can significantly impact the success of your project. While generalist partners may offer a broad array of services, opting for a specialist partner with a dedicated focus on Marketing Cloud brings forth a multitude of advantages.
In this context, specialization matters—a specialized partner possesses unique expertise, streamlined processes, and a deeper understanding of the intricacies associated with Salesforce Marketing Cloud.
In depth knowledge specific to the platform: This leads to optimized solutions that are tailored to the unique features (and possibilities) that Marketing Cloud offers. It ensures a better utilization of its functionalities.
Streamlined Implementation: Specialists are likely to have streamlined and efficient implementation processes due to their extensive experience with Marketing Cloud. This can result in quicker deployment and reduced time-to-value.
Customization and Innovation: Marketing Cloud specialists can offer a higher level of customization, tailoring solutions to match your specific business needs. They are also more likely to stay abreast of the latest updates and innovations within the Marketing Cloud ecosystem.
Dedicated Resources: Specialist partners allocate dedicated resources with expertise in Marketing Cloud, ensuring that your project receives the attention and proficiency it deserves. This contrasts with generalist partners who may have a broader focus and less specialized resources.
Risk Mitigation: Marketing Cloud implementations come with inherent complexities. Specialists are simply better equipped to navigate potential challenges and mitigate risks.
Post-implementation support is critical. Specialists can provide more focused and effective support for Marketing Cloud-related issues, ensuring ongoing success and smooth operation of your marketing initiatives.
FoundHQ vs Consulting Partners
Companies are told that Salesforce Partners are the only place to go for quality guidance or reliable execution. But that’s simply not true. At least anymore.
There is absolutely a time and place to leverage Consulting Partners but that is primarily limited to projects that will require a Delivery team of 10+ Consultants engaged simultaneously. More often than not, stakeholders turn to Firms when a better option is hiring a small team of Independent Consultants.
FoundHQ was born out of a very real need: a way to engage the same Salesforce Consultants you get from a Partner at a fraction of the cost.
How Consulting Partners Work
There are a few key aspects to the way Salesforce Partners work with you to get the work done. This is a simple reality of their business model.
Deliver the Work and Leave
Their business runs on delivering projects efficiently so they can manage their workload and move on to the next project. Obviously, you're looking to get the work delivered quickly as well but you want to make sure it's done right before they leave - and if the Partner has another project lined up for their Consultants, the final stages can get rushed.
Not to mention, most Partners simply don't have a cost-effective model to support you after go-live. They will either charge astronomical rates for access to an individual Consultant or they will hand everything over and wish you luck.
All Deliverables are Scoped Upfront
In order to achieve the fastest possible deployment, the start of an engagement with a Partner involves scoping the entire project from start to finish and solidifying a timeline for when everything is scheduled to be completed.
Again, project planning is critical for success but it leaves very little room to maneuver. As you learn new things along the way, you might want to change some of the original plans and Partners make it very difficult to do so.
Partners Execute 100% of the Work
Perhaps you have a capable Salesforce Administrator or Developer in-house that would love to get their hands on this new project. It would give them experience and bring the cost of the project down but Consulting Partners don't want to do things that way.
They want to staff an entire team on the project and get as many Consultants billable as possible in order to maintain control. It means means that regardless of what expertise you have within your company - or who on your team you'd like to get some Salesforce exposure - the Partner will be push as many of their Consultants as possible, increasing the overall cost of the project and making knowledge transfer harder during go-live.
Partners are Very Expensive
The typical bill rate per Consultant from a Partner is $200/hour to $350/hour.
They will justify it by saying quality comes at a cost but it's really because Consulting Partners have a lot of overhead, which needs to accounted for in their price. In contrast, Independent Salesforce Consultants charge a significantly lower hourly rate - typically in the range of $100/hour to $175/hour.
And don't be fooled, their experience is identical to the Consultants you get from a Consulting Partner since many Independent Salesforce Consultants used to work for a Partner!
When To Hire Who: FoundHQ vs Consulting Partners
The Partner approach is ideal for larger transformation projects where the team being engaged across strategy, business process optimization, and systems work exceeds 10+ Consultants engaged simultaneously.
At this scale, it's beneficial to have a single vendor accountable for managing the all workstreams and keeping things organized.
But you should strongly consider engaging Independent Consultants for any initiative that requires fewer than 10 Consultants - and especially those that only need a team of 2-3.
In these scenarios, you can take a surgical approach to hiring only the experience needed, while also partnering with someone that remains available to you long after the project is delivered.
Why FoundHQ
Our approach gives you the best of both worlds.
The expertise of a Consulting Firm. The collaboration of an FTE.
And cost savings only a Freelancer can offer.
FoundHQ brings 10+ years of experience building Salesforce teams, including work with some of the top Partners globally. By partnering with us, you get access to a network of 8,000+ pre-vetted Salesforce Consultants, including talent from Slalom, Accenture, Deloitte, IBM, Kicksaw, Coastal Cloud, Salesforce, and hundreds of other Consulting Firms.
We possess the single largest Salesforce knowledge base and the ability to help you identify the right team needed to deliver any scope of work.
Marketing Cloud Partners for Enterprise
These are the largest Salesforce Consulting Services Partners for the North American market and should typically be reserved for projects in the $5m to $10m budget.
The way they operate is they deploy larger-scale, cross-disciplinary Delivery teams comprised of multiple Consultants, Developers, Administrators, Architects, and Email Automation Campaign Specialists.
An expected hourly bill rate for these Partners is in the $250/hour to $400/hour range, and you will encounter a Delivery team of 20+ individuals.
Slalom Consulting
Best for Multi-Product Implementations
Dentsu
Best for Enterprise Retail Brands
Deloitte Digital
Best for Enterprise Digital Transformation
WPP
Best for Global eCommerce Brands
Pierry
Best for 360 Degree Marketing Initiatives
Marketing Cloud Partners for Mid-Market
These are the Partners best suited for mid-market projects with a budget anywhere in the $450,000 to $2m range.
A typical Delivery team may still consist of Consultants, Developers, Administrators, and Architects, but, likely, you are only working with 1-2 of each, so the Delivery team will often be under ten people. Contrary to popular belief, it’s easier to stay on top of your roadmap if you’re coordinating a smaller group of experts.
You will still encounter a hefty $175/hour to $250/hour bill rate, though! So consider yourself warned.
Marketing Cloud Partners for SMB
If you are looking to implement a small Marketing Cloud instance, deploy new modules to your Salesforce CRM (email studio, interaction studio, social studio etc.), add a new Salesforce integration to your existing instance, or find help with building and deploying email and automation campaigns, you should absolutely look for a Salesforce Freelancer.
If you’re unsure about needing a Consulting Firm or an Independent Consultant, check out this post that highlights the pros and cons of choosing either one.
Get Matched to the Right Salesforce Consultant
FoundHQ is the easiest way to get work done in Salesforce.
As we highlighted in our Guide to Selecting a Partner, finding a Consulting Firm with expertise in the specific Product you need is only one piece of the equation.
Don't overlook the importance of vetting Partners on the specific type of work they deliver and how they will engage with you throughout the engagement.
If you're looking for guidance or an outside opinion on vendor selection, book a call with our team any time.
FoundHQ
New York, NY
Consultants:
8,000+
FoundHQ - The Largest Network of Salesforce Support Experts
Quick Stats
500+ completed Salesforce projects
8,000+ pre-vetted Salesforce Freelance Consultants
No minimum project size
No rigid SOWs
No matching fees
Founded in 2020
Serves United States, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Australia with Salesforce Consultants in 30+ Countries
FoundHQ provides access to the single largest network of Salesforce support experts in the world. This unique positioning allows FoundHQ to serve startups, mid-market, and enterprise organizations with a wide range of Salesforce services. Our model supports customers looking to identify project-based Salesforce contractors that function as embedded members of their team.
Getting started with FoundHQ is easy:
You tell FoundHQ about your project needs.
Within 24 hours, we match you with 2-3 Salesforce support consultants specifically identified for your project.
You choose the consultant(s) to interview.
Kick off the project — and FoundHQ will support you every step of the way.
To learn more about if FoundHQ is the right fit for your project, you can Create an Account, List a Quick Project, or Book an Intro Call.
Slalom
Seattle, WA
Consultants:
2000+
While they are one of the largest Salesforce Implementation Partners, they do have an extremely well-established SFDC Marketing Cloud Practice. Unlike some of the more prominent firms that only focus on 'multi-Cloud' projects, Slalom does maintain a focus on standalone SFMC engagements, which provides a unique specialization at their scale.
Their team of Salesforce experts looks like this:
67 Certified Marketing Cloud Consultants
34 Certified Marketing Cloud Developers
202 Certified Marketing Cloud Email Specialist
Dentsu
Tokyo, Japan
Consultants:
2000+
In 2018, DEG Digital (an established Salesforce Implementation Partner that had acquired numerous mid-sized Partners along the way) was acquired by Dentsu, a Japanese advertising giant. Prior to that acquisition, DEG Digital was the largest standalone Salesforce Marketing Cloud Partner in the United States. This has remained a core competency while also being integrated into a broader Marketing and Advertising agency. This is a Salesforce Consulting company with years of experience in Marketing Cloud.
Their team of Salesforce experts looks like this:
145 Certified Marketing Cloud Administrators
123 Certified Marketing Cloud Consultants
67 Certified Marketing Cloud Developers
412 Certified Marketing Cloud Email Specialists
Deloitte
New York, NY
Consultants:
14,000+
This is the Digital arm of Deloitte, one of the largest Management Consulting companies in the world. While Deloitte does a little bit of everything inside and outside of technology, Deloitte Digital is solely focused on digital transformation strategy, and they have an enormous focus on Salesforce customization.
While they start to creep into 'generalist Partner' territory, the scale of their Marketing Cloud capabilities and the number of Consultants (all with tons of certifications under their belt) across the Practice make them a strong option for any Enterprise engagements.
Their team of Salesforce experts looks like this:
338 Certified Marketing Cloud Administrators
303 Certified Marketing Cloud Consultants
151 Certified Marketing Cloud Developers
934 Certified Marketing Cloud Email Specialists
WPP
London, UK
Consultants:
1000+
A multinational British communications and advertising agency, WPP is a relatively new entrant to the Salesforce ecosystem. Given their core focus on Marketing Automation & Advertising strategy, a logical expansion for them was moving into technology consulting and digital transformation. These efforts focused strictly on Marketing tools.
For this reason, they are unique in the fact that they are a huge company overall with a relatively modest Salesforce Practice, but the entirety of that Practice is focused on Marketing Cloud.
Their team of Salesforce experts looks like this:
35 Certified Marketing Cloud Administrators
70 Certified Marketing Cloud Consultants
33 Certified Marketing Cloud Developers
271 Certified Marketing Cloud Email Specialists
Magna Technology
Brooklyn, New York
Consultants:
56
Founded in 2017, Magna Technolgy is one of the fastest growing Salesforce Partner by Peyton Smith Jr. and Adam Blake. Since launching, Magna has quickly developed a reputation as a best-in-class technology consultancy and has rapidly grown its team of Salesforce & Digital Transformation experts. They specilize in implementations, advisory, & managed services associated with Salesforces' Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Datorama, Tableau, Pardot, & Marketing Cloud applications.
Their reviews on the Appexchange rate them with a 4.94 out of 5.0.
Torrent Consulting
Charlotte, NC
Consultants:
137
Founded in 2010, Torrent Consulting is what we would consider a smaller, “boutique” Salesforce Consulting Firm (even though it has an international presence). Their core practice focused on Sales Cloud and Service Cloud, with a smaller operation dedicated to Marketing Cloud. The industries they specialize in are Healthcare and Life Sciences, Manufacturing, and High Tech.
Their reviews on the Appexchange rate them with a 5.0 out of 5.0.
Sercante
Atlanta, GA
Consultants:
84
Sercante is 100% focused on helping Marketing and Sales teams, and specialize in Pardot implementations, account audits, Marketing analytics and more. They also have an "agency" side with creatives, designers and copywriters to support companies of all sizes take their digital marketing to the next level.
MarCloud
Liverpool, England
Consultants:
23
MarCloud is a smaller firm with extensive experience with Salesforce Marketing Cloud. As a Salesforce Partner, MarCloud has a team of certified experts who have successfully delivered numerous Marketing Cloud projects. Founded in 2017 and based out of the UK, MarCloud serves the EMEA region as the go-to Marketing Cloud Partner of the area.
They have an AppExchange rating of 4.85 out of 5.0
Get Matched to the Right Salesforce Consultant
FoundHQ is the easiest way to get work done in Salesforce.
