We’re at a Turning Point
2026 isn’t just another year of “AI features” and platform updates. It’s the year where fundamental questions about Salesforce Marketing Cloud get answered—or don’t.
After a decade of preaching “marketing is data,” we’re watching Data Cloud cannibalize Marketing Cloud. Journey Builder is becoming Flow. Einstein is becoming Agentforce. And nobody’s quite sure what “Marketing Cloud” even means anymore.
But the real question isn’t about the technology.
It’s about whether Salesforce can navigate this transition without losing what made the platform valuable in the first place.
The Agentic Marketing Black Box
Salesforce is betting heavily on “agentic marketing.”
Agentforce will orchestrate campaigns. AI will generate content. Agents will optimize timing, segmentation, and creative.
Sounds amazing. But here’s what we don’t know:
What’s actually under the hood?
- How does Agentforce make decisions about campaign orchestration?
- What data does it use? What context does it miss?
- When it “optimizes,” what is it optimizing for?
- Can marketers override it? Should they?
Until Salesforce details how agentic marketing actually works, it’s a black box.
And marketers don’t buy black boxes. They buy tools they understand and can control.
The real question: Will there be product-market fit?
Not “can Salesforce build AI agents?” They can.
But “do marketers want to hand over campaign orchestration to an AI they don’t fully understand?”
Maybe. If it works dramatically better.
But “trust the algorithm” hasn’t been marketing’s instinct for the past decade.
We’ve been obsessed with control, measurement, attribution, optimization.
Now we’re supposed to let Agentforce decide?
That’s not a technology shift. It’s a philosophical one.
And I’m not convinced the market is ready.
Platform vs. Composable: The Battle Gets Real
For years, Salesforce sold the “one platform” vision:
Marketing Cloud + Sales Cloud + Service Cloud + Data Cloud + Commerce Cloud = Everything you need.
The promise: Everyone on the same stack. Data flows seamlessly. No integration headaches.
But here’s what’s actually happening in 2026:
Marketers are realizing they don’t need to be on the same stack as the rest of the company.
And they’re opting out.
The new composable marketing stack looks like:
- Databricks for data warehouse
- Hightouch for reverse ETL
- Braze (or Iterable, or Customer.io) for orchestration
- Attentive for SMS
- PostScript for conversational commerce
- Best-of-breed tools for every channel
Marketing Cloud? Not needed.
Sales Cloud? That’s for the sales team.
Data Cloud? We have Databricks and it’s cheaper.
Why the shift?
Because the “one platform” advantage evaporated:
- Modern integration is trivial – APIs, webhooks, and reverse ETL tools make connecting systems easier than ever
- Data Cloud made the moat shallower – If all your data lives in Data Cloud (or Databricks), Marketing Cloud is just an execution layer. And there are cheaper, faster execution layers.
- Marketers want best-of-breed – Why use Salesforce’s SMS when Attentive is better? Why use Marketing Cloud’s push notifications when Braze is more sophisticated?
- The cross-functional “shared platform” story doesn’t resonate – Marketing teams don’t collaborate with Sales on daily campaign execution. They don’t need to be on the same platform. They need their data accessible—and reverse ETL solves that.
The composable stack isn’t a future threat. It’s happening now.
I’m talking to brands running:
- Databricks + Hightouch + Braze for a fraction of Marketing Cloud Enterprise cost
- With more flexibility
- Better developer experience
- Faster time to market
Salesforce’s counter-argument is:
“But with our platform, everything is native. No integration complexity.”
Except:
- Integration isn’t that complex anymore
- “Native” doesn’t mean “better” if the features lag competitors
- And customers are realizing they’re paying platform tax for integration benefits they don’t actually need
The real question:
If you can build a modern marketing stack with Databricks + Hightouch + Braze for less money and more capability…
What’s the value prop for staying on Salesforce Marketing Cloud?
Enterprise support? Sure.
Salesforce relationship? Maybe, if you’re already on Sales Cloud.
But “one platform” isn’t the advantage it used to be.
And 2026 is the year composable becomes the default for mid-market and above.
Not for every company. But for enough that Salesforce should be worried.
SMB: The Build vs. Buy Equation Flips
Here’s the part that’s going to hurt traditional MarTech vendors:
AI just made “build” cheaper than “buy” for SMBs.
Used to be:
- Small company needs marketing automation
- Can’t afford to build custom
- Buys an off-the-shelf platform
Now:
- Small company needs marketing automation
- Uses AI to build exactly what they need in days
- Pays $50/month for infrastructure instead of $2K/month for software
This isn’t hypothetical. I’m watching it happen.
Founders using Replit + Claude to build custom CRM integrations.
Small brands using AI agents to orchestrate email campaigns.
Indie developers shipping “lightweight SFMC alternatives” in weeks.
For Salesforce, this is an existential threat to future growth.
Not today. Not this quarter.
But in 3 years, when every SMB has the option to “build custom for cheap” instead of “buy Salesforce and customize”…
What’s the value prop?
Enterprise-grade reliability? Security? Support?
Maybe. But that’s a very different positioning than “the platform every company needs.”
The Real Weapon: The Community
Here’s what I actually think will determine whether Salesforce wins or loses in 2026:
Not the AI features. Not the platform architecture. Not the pricing model.
The community.
Salesforce has something no competitor can replicate quickly:
Hundreds of thousands of practitioners who’ve built careers on the platform.
ISVs who’ve invested millions in AppExchange.
Consultants who know the platform inside and out.
Champions, MVPs, user groups, Trailhead, Dreamforce.
This community is both Salesforce’s greatest asset and its biggest risk.
What the community is now:
- Deep expertise in Marketing Cloud, Journey Builder, AMPscript
- Institutional knowledge of what works, what breaks, what scales
- Trust networks where practitioners help each other when Salesforce documentation fails
- Defensive loyalty: “We complain about Salesforce constantly, but it’s OUR platform”
What the community is becoming:
This is the part Salesforce needs to pay attention to.
The community is fracturing:
Some are doubling down – Learning Data Cloud, Flow, Agentforce. Adapting to the new architecture.
Some are leaving – Moving to composable tools, AI-native platforms, or building custom solutions.
Some are stuck – Maintaining legacy SFMC instances while Salesforce pivots to “the future.” Uncertain whether to retrain or jump ship.
The thinkers vs. the doers problem is getting worse:
Agencies keep hiring doers (cheaper, faster to onboard).
Thinkers keep getting pushed out (expensive, question the approach).
But the new platform needs thinkers more than ever.
If Salesforce loses the thinkers—the ones who ask “why” and push back on bad ideas—they lose the people who could actually make agentic marketing work.
And here’s the uncomfortable truth:
The community’s loyalty isn’t unconditional anymore.
We survived ExactTarget → Marketing Cloud.
We survived the seat model dying.
We survived Journey Builder → Flow rumors.
We survived Data Cloud cannibalizing the expertise we built careers on.
But there’s a limit.
If Salesforce keeps:
- Breaking things with 48-hour notice (like the link encryption incident)
- Deprecating skills without clear migration paths
- Prioritizing AI buzzwords over operational stability
- Treating the community as an afterthought instead of a strategic asset
…then the community will do what communities do when they stop feeling valued:
They’ll leave. Or they’ll stay, but stop advocating.
And when your biggest competitive advantage is thousands of practitioners telling prospects “yeah, it’s complicated, but it’s worth it”…
Losing that advocacy is fatal.
What 2026 Will Actually Be About
Not AI features. Not platform architecture.
2026 is about whether Salesforce can navigate this transition without breaking trust.
The questions that matter:
- Will Salesforce detail how agentic marketing works? Or keep it a black box and hope marketers trust the algorithm?
- Will they defend the platform advantage? Or lose to composable architecture because “one platform” isn’t compelling anymore?
- Will they adapt to the SMB “build vs. buy” shift? Or watch a generation of future enterprise customers build custom instead?
- Will they invest in the community? Or treat practitioners as disposable while the platform pivots?
Here’s my prediction:
Salesforce will ship impressive AI features in 2026.
Agentforce will get better. Data Cloud will become more powerful. The demos will look incredible.
But the thing that determines whether they win or lose won’t be the tech.
It’ll be whether the community—the consultants, the ISVs, the practitioners, the thinkers—believes Salesforce still cares about them.
Because we’re the ones who translate “Dreamforce promises” into “production reality.”
We’re the ones who make the platform work when it breaks.
We’re the ones who convince prospects to buy and customers to renew.
And we’re at a crossroads too.
Do we keep investing in this platform?
Or do we start looking at the exits?
2026 is the year we all decide.
Salesforce is deciding what Marketing Cloud becomes.
Marketers are deciding between platform and composable.
SMBs are deciding between build and buy.
The community is deciding whether to stay or go.
These aren’t separate decisions. They’re all connected.
And the outcome won’t be determined by technology roadmaps or AI capabilities.
It’ll be determined by trust.
Trust that Salesforce understands what marketers actually need.
Trust that the platform won’t break our businesses overnight.
Trust that the community who built this ecosystem matters.
Trust that “agentic marketing” is a partnership, not a replacement.
Salesforce has the technology to win.
The question is: do they have the trust?
We’re about to find out.
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