SaaS majors Salesforce.com and Google team up

Stephen Withers
Wednesday, 06 June 2007 04:18

Your IT - Home IT

Salesforce.com and Google have announced an alliance, with its first fruit being a new edition of the on-demand CRM application featuring integrated support for AdWords.

"Salesforce Group Edition featuring Google AdWords enables any company to jump start their business by creating an online marketing and sales presence," Salesforce.com officials claimed.

The idea is that users can create AdSense ads within the new version of Salesforce, and then any information provided by people responding to the ad can be captured by Salesforce as a new lead. Dashboards within the product provide real-time information and allow companies to make decisions quickly and alter advertising strategies appropriately.

"Our site traffic is up 55 percent since we started using the integrated Salesforce.com and Google AdWords solution, and now I know where that traffic came from and what piqued their interest," said Erin Jacobs, director of marketing at TFC, a California-based marketing services company.

Other business applications offered through Salesforce.com's AppExchange directory can be added to the mix, such as mapping the locations of leads.

"[A]s a first step in a long programme, the Salesforce Group Edition featuring Google Adwords makes perfect sense. In an age when the web is becoming key to success in almost any market, making it easier for smaller companies to buy, use and monitor returns from Google Adwords is a very positive development," said David Bradshaw, principal analyst at Ovum. "These types of companies will generally not have the technical or marketing skills to do it on their own. We therefore welcome this joint product from Salesforce and Google, and look forward to more of the same."

An introductory price of $US600 per year applies to the five user edition of Salesforce Group Edition featuring Google Adwords (normally $US1200). New AdWords advertisers in the US, Canada and Mexico also receive $US50 AdWords credit.

As part of their philanthropic activities, the two companies are providing Salesforce Group Edition featuring Google Adwords to selected nonprofit organisations.