Salesforce.com promises customers a "private Dreamforce"

Salesforce.com has announced plans to accelerate its marketing spend and tactics, after posting a record third quarter profit.

The software-as-a-service firm told attendees at its Dreamforce customer and developer event in San Francisco that, if they have trouble proving a business case for the on-demand products, Salesforce will bring them a "private Dreamforce".

"I have had lots of emails from customers asking how to bring the ideas expressed here back to their companies. So now we will offer you a private Dreamforce," said Salesforce chief executive Marc Benioff.

"You tell use what parts of Dreamforce you want to come to the company - like if you want the presentations, the product managers, the sales people, the executives - and we will commit to giving you a private Dreamforce back home."

Benioff even promised to intervene personally. "If you have any problems making it happen, email me at ceo@salesforce.com and I will come and do it myself," he said.

The new marketing drive follows Benioff's earlier remarks in a Q &A with the press, during which he was asked whether Salesforce needed to hire more sales representatives and marketing professionals.

"For some reason, even though I have toured all the major cities to publicise the Service Cloud, people still don't know what it is," Benioff said. "Our focus has to be like Microsoft's: to keep going until it becomes a standard."