Salesforce Wants to Know Your Customer Beyond the CRM

October 25, 2026 · Technology & the Future of Work · The Salesforce Trainers

Salesforce has agreed to acquire customer engagement platform Braze in a deal valued at approximately US$5.66 billion. Announced on October 20, the proposed acquisition would give Salesforce stronger capabilities for responding to customer behaviour in real time across email, mobile apps, websites and messaging channels. The transaction remains subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals.

But there's a bigger story here than another Salesforce acquisition.

The Customer Relationship Is Bigger Than the CRM

Braze specializes in using real-time customer signals to coordinate personalized communications. Its technology helps businesses respond to what customers are actually doing—not simply what they've previously entered into a database.

Salesforce says the combination could connect Braze's engagement capabilities with its CRM, Data 360 and AI offerings, creating more coordinated customer experiences across marketing, sales and service.

What This Means for Sales Leaders

For sales leaders, that raises an important question: How well does your organization understand what customers are doing between sales conversations?

A CRM might tell you an opportunity's stage, its expected value and the last recorded interaction. But customer behaviour across digital channels can provide additional context about interests, engagement and changing needs.

The opportunity is to bring those signals together in a way that helps salespeople have better conversations and prioritize the right opportunities.

More connected data doesn't automatically mean better selling.

Organizations still need a clear sales process, reliable customer information and managers who know how to turn insights into action.

We've explored the importance of those foundations in Why Salesforce Adoption Fails and How to Fix It. And as AI becomes more involved in customer engagement, Salesforce readiness for AI becomes increasingly important.

The takeaway: The next evolution of CRM isn't just about recording customer relationships. It's about understanding customer behaviour and helping teams respond at the right moment.

Source: Salesforce — Salesforce Signs Definitive Agreement to Acquire Braze, October 20, 2026.