Skip to main content

Get Started with Financial Services Cloud

Learning Objectives

After completing this unit, you’ll be able to:

  • Explain the basics of Financial Services Cloud.
  • Discuss how Financial Services Cloud fits into the Salesforce Platform.
  • Describe the partner ecosystem.

Get to Know Financial Services Cloud

Meet Financial Services Cloud: the world’s #1 CRM, reimagined for financial services. Now you can connect your entire institution across lines of business, geographies, and channels. From retail banking to wealth management, 360-degree visibility into clients’ financial profiles puts your customer at the center of every interaction. Insight into a client’s family wealth ecosystem helps advisors grow their book of business across multiple networks. A richer context helps personal bankers understand who their customers are, what financial products they have, and what they can use to achieve their life goals. New productivity tools help advisors and personal bankers work faster and smarter than ever. Are you ready to unlock the full power of your financial services institution?

Introducing Our Star: Matt the Admin

Here to show you how Financial Services Cloud can work for you is Matt. Like you, Matt is an admin. He doesn’t have any experience with Financial Services Cloud, but he does have experience with Service Cloud from when he worked in customer support. Right now he’s working in wealth management, where admins are using a patchwork of solutions to interact with customers. Needless to say, they’re not happy with the results.

He recently volunteered to investigate how to use Financial Services Cloud, because his company is struggling to connect with customers. Ideally, he’d like to bring his positive experience with Service Cloud to the financial services world.

Where Does Financial Services Fit In?

Matt wants to know how Financial Cloud fits into the larger Salesforce system. He views the Salesforce platform as a giant layer cake.

Diagram showing the stacked benefits of Salesforce: data, intelligence and apps on the bottom. The next layers are financials services basic functionality, wealth management, retail banking, and AppExchange partners

Matt studies the bottom layer in more detail to understand how he can create the best experience for financial service customers.

  • Data. This layer includes features like multitenant architecture, data services, API services, and customer data. Matt is familiar with its power from Service Cloud.
  • Intelligence. CRM Analytics intelligence learns from all the information in the platform’s data layer. It provides insights to your employees that help them make faster and smarter decisions.
  • Apps. Existing applications make your business more successful, your advisors and personal bankers more productive. They help break down company silos and improve the customer experience. Applications include the Sales, Service, Marketing, Experience, and CRM Analytics.

As Matt had hoped, Financial Services Cloud is fully integrated within the Salesforce world. He gets the power, scalability, and security he’s used to from Service Cloud. It’s not just an add-on.

Now he takes a closer look at the Financial Services Cloud layer, particularly the wealth management features, since that’s his line of business.

  • The data model augments and extends core Sales and Service Cloud functionality. But the data model is tailored to his industry, including an added B2C model so his business can interact directly with clients.
  • Custom objects make it easy to model financial accounts, roll up financial information for clients and groups, and track customer goals.
  • A needs-and-referrals component helps his advisors to nurture and convert client leads.
  • Advisor analytics and Experience Cloud make it easier to work smarter.
  • Finally, the relationship builder and map give Matt a full perspective of each customer in the context of their entire financial world. Now he understands their complete financial story, such as how their finances fit into their household or where they hold their accounts.

Matt is glad to see how well Financial Services Cloud integrates into his company’s business model. He’d worried he’d have to spend time creating custom objects or customizing standard ones. He’s happy to know that he has almost everything he needs right in front of him.

Get the Benefits of a Partner Ecosystem

But almost everything isn’t enough. That’s why Matt investigates AppExchange, the Salesforce store. Many third-party companies are AppExchange partners, and there are offerings for every Salesforce cloud and product. Matt sees enticing apps for Lightning app components, full-fledged apps, and consulting services.

And there are offerings for Financial Services Cloud, too. They include financial planning, electronic forms, onboarding, customer profiling, data aggregation services, and compliance solutions. And the list keeps growing, so Matt bookmarks https://appexchange.salesforce.com/. He makes a note to research more later.

Keep learning for
free!
Sign up for an account to continue.
What’s in it for you?
  • Get personalized recommendations for your career goals
  • Practice your skills with hands-on challenges and quizzes
  • Track and share your progress with employers
  • Connect to mentorship and career opportunities