If you’re in a company C-suite in today’s atmosphere, you know this “digital transformation” everyone is talking about is critical. But igniting this kind of change on your own is an entirely different story.

You’ve probably seen many of your favorite brands make changes to their business models or services. Spalding, a sporting goods company and the world’s largest basketball equipment supplier, has engaged customers with at-home campaigns and exclusive discounts, increasing its loyalty program membership 50% year-over-year and leading to a 421% transaction increase. Sun Basket, a meal plan delivery service, used Einstein Bots to handle the surge in cases brought on by the pandemic resulting in a 90% satisfaction rating from customers, as high as when they interact with agents.

Each of these companies had to move quickly to adjust their business models, which wasn’t easy and didn’t happen overnight. But, now anyone can fast track the move to digital with the help of Customer 360 Guides, a set of blueprints, architectures, and best practices for a successful digital transformation.

Why did we create Customer 360 Guides?

Digital transformation is stressful. It almost feels like you’ve been dropped off at a home improvement store with the marching orders to build a house and no one to help you along the way. Where do you start?

We spoke with thousands of customers about what is needed for a successful digital transformation, and here’s what they told us:

1. You want to learn from the success of others

2. You want more guidance on how to align teams on business priorities and succeed

3. You need tools to help you go faster

Based on these conversations, we created Customer 360 Guides to walk you through every step of your digital transformation journey. Whether you are getting started or want to improve different parts of your customer experience, there is something for everyone.

1. Learn from the success of others

Before you start gutting any rooms, you might want a little inspiration to create your design. In this section of the Guide, you’ll find:

• Customer Stories to see how other Trailblazers like Spalding, e.l.f., and others reimagine their customer journey, including the challenges they had to overcome along the way

• Industry Blueprints to get Salesforce’s point of view on the business processes and capabilities that drive success in your industry, based on leading customers in that industry

• Reference Architectures developed based on the experiences and feedback of hundreds of customers, show you how Salesforce products can align your departments to achieve your business goals

2. Bring teams together and align on priorities

As you get into the nuts and bolts, you’ll need to figure out what materials and tools you need to build your house. This next section of the Guide helps you do just that with: 

• Business Scenarios to help you identify and prioritize opportunities for future growth with the relevant crawl, walk, and run solutions based on your business maturity level

• Business Capability Maps (coming soon) to map out the business capabilities required to achieve the scenarios as part of your company’s vision

• Product Roadmaps (coming soon) to help you make more informed decisions on which Salesforce products and technologies to use today and in future 

All of these work together to help you understand how your practices fit against industry benchmarks so you can prioritize goals and map a path to success. 

3. Get the tools you need to move quickly

Once your teams align on priorities, it’s time to implement your plan and move fast. Get prescriptive solutions and tools to connect your technology portfolio to deliver connected digital experiences. This section of the Guide includes:

• Solution Architectures to show you how our tools work in conjunction with third-party tools and connecting technologies such as Customer 360 Data Manager and MuleSoft

• Solution Kits to provide you with prescriptive guidance and help you with best practices to achieve specific use cases

• MuleSoft Accelerators to help you learn how to connect all of this with your back-end systems to build a richer customer profile

Use the first Customer 360 Guide to help you transform the consumer experience. Since each business has its own unique needs, this guide acts as a trusted foundation for you to build on. Instead of starting from scratch, you can spend your time customizing a connected customer experience that embodies your unique brand. Learn from Trailblazers and define your customer-centric vision faster. Then, examine key use cases and business capabilities needed to create relevant paths to purchase, personalized buying experiences, and contextual service to delight customers throughout their journey. Connect your technology portfolio and drive business value with solution architectures, solutions kits, and MuleSoft Accelerators.

Like any big renovation project, blueprints are critical. Customer 360 Guides can help your business make informed, targeted decisions as you take on the ground-breaking journey of digitizing your business model.

There are more Customer 360 Guides in the works and we need your help to decide what comes next. Vote for your top choice.

If you’re ready to build, learn more about Customer 360 Guides. Don’t forget to first lay a solid foundation by completing these microbadges on Trailhead: Customer 360 Guides: Quick Look and Transform the Consumer Experience Guide: Quick Look.