What was announced
On 20 October 2026, Salesforce signed an agreement to acquire Braze, a customer engagement platform, for about $5.66 billion. Braze helps businesses respond to live customer behavior with personalised messages across mobile apps, websites, SMS, email, WhatsApp and other channels. The deal is not final yet. It still needs approval from Braze shareholders and regulators, and it is expected to close in Salesforce’s 2028 financial year.
Why it matters
The announcement puts real-time customer engagement firmly in the spotlight. It also raises a practical question for every business: how quickly can you turn customer information into a useful response?
When the message doesn’t match the moment
Imagine a customer who has already bought from you but keeps receiving offers to sign up. Or a customer with an unresolved complaint who receives an automated message trying to sell them more. In both cases, each department may be following its own process correctly. But the customer doesn’t see departments. They experience one business.
Questions to ask before automating more
Before investing in more automation, it’s worth checking whether marketing, sales and service can actually recognize the same customer. It’s also important to know whether new information, like a purchase or a complaint, changes what happens next, or whether the same messages keep going out regardless. Finally, someone needs to be accountable for the customer’s experience across departments, not just within one team.
Faster isn’t always better
Faster messaging creates value only when it reflects the customer’s actual situation. Sending the wrong message quickly doesn’t help anyone.
Where to start
Business leaders don’t need to fix everything at once. A good starting point is to choose one customer journey, find where information arrives too late, and then measure the improvement once that delay is removed.
So where does customer context get lost in your business?
