With Salesforce Marketing Cloud (SFMC) rolling out updates at such a rapid pace that even we struggle to keep up, you might wonder if you need anything beyond the Salesforce ecosystem. Dynamic content and personalisation are now easier than ever, thanks to drag-and-drop functionality. But is there still room for third-party tools?
At Merkle, we continue to see high engagement with Movable Ink (MI), one of the most popular third-party tools in our clients' marketing stacks—and for good reason. While there may come a time when everything can be done in-house with SFMC, there are still several areas where Movable Ink’s ease of use and technical capabilities make it an essential enhancement.
1. Personalised Imagery
Image personalisation is Movable Ink’s bread and butter, and it’s often the first feature that comes to mind. Something as simple as adding a customer’s forename to an image can have a big impact. In fact, research shows that including a forename in a subject line or body copy can increase engagement by around 26%. This personalisation becomes even more effective when applied to products—whether it’s a makeup case or a new credit card, the possibilities for creating more relevant customer experiences are endless.
In SFMC, creating this level of personalisation would be tricky. However, Movable Ink makes it simple—just pass the forename field as a variable, and Movable Ink handles the rest. That said, not all dynamic image content requires Movable Ink. SFMC is more than capable of handling personalised images and next-best-action recommendations. With a properly configured personalisation module, you can easily track browsing behaviour and reserve those products in an email. The distinction lies in how much manipulation or layering of personalisation is required, this is where Movable Ink steps in to streamline the process.
Key Tips:
Use your existing customer data to personalise images.
Evaluate if your Salesforce Marketing suite can handle dynamic content, if no additional personalisation is required, to reduce unnecessary costs.
2. Next-Level Interactive Content
Interactive content is a must-have to drive engagement and stand out in today’s crowded inboxes. Although setting it up requires some technical know-how, dynamic carousels or interactive hotspot content within emails are achievable with SFMC. By using AMPscript, you can make these content blocks more reusable and code friendly.
However, certain interactive elements remain better suited for Movable Ink. For instance, ‘scratch-and-reveal’ campaigns, which reveal new product launches or discount codes, offer a fun, engaging alternative to simple clicks—who can resist scratching away to discover a hidden message? Live polls are another excellent example of real-time interaction. They foster a sense of community within your customer base, as clients can see how others are responding in real-time. It’s also an easy way to learn more about customers’ preferences, enabling future retargeting within an SFMC journey.
Key Tips:
Avoid overusing interactive elements, as repetition can lead to diminishing engagement and click-through rates (CTR).
Use these interactive features to refresh newsletters or add excitement to product announcements.
3. Drag-and-Drop Custom Content
Content today needs to be many things—personalised, engaging, interactive, scalable, and easy to deliver on short notice. This is where Movable Ink offers an unbeatable return on investment. Instead of asking your dev team to code a complex countdown timer, Movable Ink provides an out-of-the-box drag-and-drop solution that’s hard to beat in terms of time and cost efficiency. Countdown timers are perfect for driving urgency during a sale or building anticipation for a new product launch.
The same applies to weather or location-based apps and widgets, which Movable Ink makes easy to integrate into your emails. Whilst you could create your own assets and API calls to pull in the required data, it quickly becomes locked behind complex code that’s difficult to maintain and update. While a weather widget alone might not have a massive impact on revenue, it can serve as a springboard for further personalisation.
For example, retailers can recommend new suncream products, or travel agents can highlight skiing conditions for an upcoming holiday. All of this is possible within SFMC’s Content Builder, thanks to the Movable Ink app-exchange plugin, with no need to switch between windows.
Key Tips:
Avoid custom code solutions where possible—they create technical debt that can be challenging to maintain.
Focus on providing helpful and relevant information, even if it doesn’t immediately drive clicks. This will improve customer experiences and encourage future engagement.
Movable Ink is just one example of how a third-party tool can significantly enhance your marketing stack. While SFMC and personalisation might seem to cover everything, Movable Ink elevates your capabilities in ways that wouldn’t be possible or practical otherwise. Although we can’t predict what Salesforce will introduce next, for now, third-party vendors like Movable Ink are here to stay.
