From social CRM to service cloud, Google executives to guitar heroes, expect Dreamforce 2011 to rock.

Planning your attack for the upcoming Dreamforce 2011 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco?

Here are the nine aspects of the conference you won't want to miss:

1. Scale: How popular is cloud CRM? Let's just say that Dreamforce will be big. Very big. Current estimates forecast 30,000 attendees, or double the attendance of Dreamforce 2010.
2. Social CRM: As we predicted at the start of 2011, everyone - even Morton's Steakhouse - has completely embraced social CRM. Salesforce.com is no exception, and from CEO Marc Benioff's keynote onwards, expect the buzz to be about how everything is social. And really, why shouldn't you be interacting with customers and prospects via Facebook, Twitter, and Chatter?
3. Surprise Announcements: Dreamforce wouldn't be complete without a series of surprise product and partnership announcements. On that front, we're especially interested in Vala Afshar's surprise announcement about a new Enterasys solution for Chatter.
4. World Series Tickets: Register for Innoveer's baseball-themed Dreamforce cocktail reception, where we'll be giving away a pair of tickets to the World Series. In the run-up, tell our Facebook poll which team will go all the way.
5. Service Cloud: Is Salesforce Service Cloud strong enough to handle customer service for organizations of any size? Indeed. Attend the "ICMI: The J.D. Power Top 25 Call Center Performer: Lessons Learned" (Tues., 3:30pm) session to master essential strategies.
6. Cloud Insurance: "The Next Generation of Insurance" (Wed., 3:30pm) is subtitled "Rethinking a Laggard Industry." Now, we'd hazard that this may not be the best way to lure potential attendees from the insurance industry. But we're working with many more insurers who now want to adopt Salesforce.com. Expect this session to be a big draw.
7. Inbound Marketing: Here at Innoveer, we're big on outbound marketing. But "Killing It: How Inbound Marketing Can Help You Crush the Competition" (Tues., 2pm) promises to teach new techniques for reducing advertising costs, by embracing more inbound marketing. Count us in.
8. Cloud 2.0: From 2001-2011, Google CEO Eric E. Schmidt (now executive chairman) transformed Google into a business powerhouse, while also inaugurating the era of cloud computing. Expect him to detail where the cloud goes from here.
9. Sonics: Musically, the conference promises a study in contrasts - American titans of metal Metallica, versus Canadian chanteuse Alanis Morissette. Also don't forget late-night DJ sessions will.i.am, an appearance from MC Hammer, as well as Jay Leno working the comedy angle.

Let's Get Social (CRM)

The above is but the briefest of Dreamforce previews. With an agenda featuring 425-some sessions, as well as numerous exhibits, parties (did we mention the World Series ticket giveaway?), music and comedy, you won't want for activities.

So if Dreamforce 2011 promises to celebrate the year of social CRM, let's get social.

Learn More

Innoveer Solutions has been named the "2011 CRM Market Leader For CRM Consulting" by CRM magazine. In particular, judges cited the high quality of Innoveer's customer engagements, as well as the strength of our CRM Excellence Framework, which helps businesses identify the next, best step for their CRM program.

To learn more about our award-winning services, why not use our handy online quiz to benchmark your existing CRM program?

Photo courtesy of Kreepin Deth.