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Bring yourself up to speed with our introductory content.
What are the different types of contact centers?
Choosing the right type of contact center depends on understanding the options available and the needs of the organization. Continue Reading
15 customer service skills and how to develop them
Some customer service skills include problem-solving, empathy, product knowledge and patience. Continue Reading
contact center as a service (CCaaS)
Contact center as a service (CCaaS) is a framework that combines contact center hosting principles and cloud-based contact center infrastructure. Continue Reading
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customer service and support
Customer service is the support that organizations offer to customers before and after purchasing a product or service. Continue Reading
6 ways to build customer loyalty for your business
Creating and implementing an effective customer loyalty strategy involves communicating and understanding customers' needs. Continue Reading
contact center
A contact center is a central point from which organizations manage all customer interactions across various channels.Continue Reading
call center
A call center is a centralized department that handles inbound and outbound calls from current and potential customers.Continue Reading
9 steps to create a customer service plan
Crafting a customer service plan is a key step to improving customer satisfaction and building loyalty for an organization.Continue Reading
chatbot
A chatbot is a software or computer program that simulates the human conversation or "chatter" through text or voice interactions.Continue Reading
call center agent (call center representative)
A call center agent is a person who handles incoming or outgoing customer calls for a business.Continue Reading
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sales enablement
Sales enablement is composed of strategies, tools and processes that provide sales representatives with the ability to boost their productivity and revenue generation.Continue Reading
How do you create a chatbot and connect it to Salesforce?
Salesforce users have two ways to create a chatbot: using an outside platform and connecting finished creations through Salesforce Lightning, or writing it in Salesforce Einstein Bot.Continue Reading
field service management (FSM)
Field service management software enables companies to manage dispersed workers and resources. These workers can gain access to schedules, work orders and customer information via mobile devices.Continue Reading
contact center infrastructure
A contact center infrastructure is a framework composed of the physical and virtual resources that a call center facility needs to operate effectively.Continue Reading
direct marketing
Direct marketing is a type of advertising campaign that seeks to elicit an action (such as an order, a visit to a store or website or a request for further information) from a selected group of consumers in response to communication from a marketer.Continue Reading
customer account record
A customer account record is the basic unit of information about a customer that resides in a CRM, or customer relationship management system.Continue Reading
customer health score
A customer health score is a value that indicates the long-term prospect for a customer to drop off or, conversely, to become a high-value, repeat customer through renewal or Cross-selling or up-selling strategies.Continue Reading
mobile CRM (mobile customer relationship management)
Mobile CRM, or mobile customer relationship management, enables those working in the field or remote employees to use mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets, to access customer data and customer accounts wherever they are.Continue Reading
closed loop reporting
Closed loop reporting (CLR) is a system in which data and information collected by marketing and sales professionals is made available to both teams.Continue Reading
How to train contact center agents remotely
As businesses began to work remotely due to COVID-19, contact center managers had to learn how to train contact center agents remotely. Here are seven tips to get started.Continue Reading
Revenue operations vs. sales operations: What's the difference?
While revenue operations focus on revenue growth and integration of sales, marketing and service departments, sales operations focus on sales department efficiency.Continue Reading
How to choose the right CRM software for your organization
Choosing the right CRM software can be daunting for organizations. Follow these five steps and best practices to ensure the search, adoption and deployment processes go smoothly.Continue Reading
speech recognition
Speech recognition, or speech-to-text, is the ability of a machine or program to identify words spoken aloud and convert them into readable text.Continue Reading
Salesforce Work.com
Salesforce Work.com is a corporate performance management platform for sales representatives with a user interface that resembles a social networking website.Continue Reading
CRM vs. CDP vs. DMP: What's the difference?
Sales and marketing terms are like alphabet soup, and the different acronyms can get confusing. Find out the difference between three major platforms: CRM, CDP and DMP.Continue Reading
How relationship marketing works, its pros, cons and levels
An effective relationship marketing strategy can be a key component in acquiring new customers and retaining existing ones.Continue Reading
5 popular revenue operations platforms to know
The right revenue operations platform can unite the sales and marketing teams and drive revenue growth.Continue Reading
Best practices for call center agent training programs
Call center directors should include feedback in agent training programs, understand the center's key goals and objectives and meet agents' learning styles.Continue Reading
What to ask in a voice of the customer questionnaire
An effective voice of the customer questionnaire guides an organization to understand its customers better and improve its products or services.Continue Reading
Getting started with a revenue operations strategy
A revenue operations strategy requires coordination and communication among sales, marketing and customer service teams to fuel RevOps.Continue Reading
7 best practices for a voice of the customer program
A voice of the customer program can be tremendously fruitful for an organization -- if it is done well.Continue Reading
5 real-world multichannel marketing examples
Companies with effective multichannel marketing focus on brand reach, message, consistency, engagement and experience. It's important to meet customers on platforms they prefer.Continue Reading
6 steps to create a contact center RFP
As CX leaders plan a contact center RFP, they should follow these six steps -- including conducting research and asking relevant questions -- to ensure a successful result.Continue Reading
7 benefits of a personalized marketing content strategy
Customers want companies to treat them as individuals, and personalized marketing can help accomplish that. Personalization can also improve customer retention and brand affinity.Continue Reading
How to define contact center technology requirements
Whether launching a new contact center or updating an existing one, CX leaders must evaluate their contact center technology requirements before selecting a provider.Continue Reading
6 personalization software options to know in 2021
Personalization software enables marketing teams to customize experiences for customers. There are many options to choose from with varying capabilities.Continue Reading
6 ways to use analytics to improve customer engagement
Organizations can delve into customer data to improve interactions, identify gaps and work toward better engagement. Here's how to start out, and how to build on what you have.Continue Reading
How AIOps investment improves customer service, boosts ROI
Before reaping the benefits of AIOPs -- such as improved customer service and easier collection of customer data -- companies need to determine if it is a good fit.Continue Reading
Would your customer experience strategy survive 'Shark Tank'?
Bob Azman identifies what customer experience professionals need to do to get C-suite buy-in and investment support for their customer experience initiatives.Continue Reading
The psychology of UX design: How design affects CX
In her book, '100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People, 2nd Edition,' Susan Weinschenk explains how UX design relies on psychology to improve customer experiences.Continue Reading
The history and evolution of CRM
Customer relationship management had simple beginnings, which evolved into a sophisticated system that helps businesses improve the overall customer experience.Continue Reading
Customer upselling gets upgrade from AI, analytics
The time-honored tradition of convincing buyers to make an unexpected impulse purchase combines proven sales tactics with sophisticated customer upselling technologies.Continue Reading
How to write a marketing email: 10 tips
There are a number of components that make up a compelling marketing email, including content readers want, photos and videos, calls to action and mobile optimization.Continue Reading
Create a customer experience strategy before tech investment
Align customer expectations with your customer experience strategy before making any investments in CX technology. Bob Azman has 10 questions to ask yourself before making any moves.Continue Reading
A breakdown of inbound marketing vs. demand generation
Inbound marketing and demand generation are easy to confuse, but they are different. While inbound marketing is marketing-centric, demand generation tends to be more sales-centric.Continue Reading
How to build a world-class customer experience system, part 2
Building off the previously discussed foundation, Megan Burns explains what's needed to complete an XM system: diagnostic guidelines, micro-design process and rollout infrastructure.Continue Reading
The importance of personalized experience in CX
Musa Hanhan breaks down the three stages of customer experience and explains why personalized experiences offer companies the best chance at customer retention.Continue Reading
How to collect customer data to improve overall retail CX
Businesses need data to predict and adjust to customer wants and needs, but first, they need to figure out how to collect it. One option is to use a digital CX software.Continue Reading
Key strategies to build and monitor customer loyalty and trust
Businesses can't immediately expect trust from customers. It requires a lot of effort to build and eventually gain customer loyalty, especially during a pandemic.Continue Reading
10 types of biases that affect customer data analysis
Analytics can help businesses make data-driven decisions, but common cognitive biases can skew how organizations interpret the information and CX.Continue Reading
How to create a great customer experience strategy in 6 steps
In today's business landscape, a powerful CX strategy is key to gaining customer loyalty and a competitive advantage. Here's how to deliver a great customer experience, plus a template.Continue Reading
What roles are essential on a content marketing team?
There are a number of people involved in business content marketing teams. Some of those roles include content managers, content strategists and content creators.Continue Reading
10 ways to improve the customer experience today
Many organizations struggle with where and how to improve CX, as the focus shifts from CRM to customer experience. Here are 10 strategies to use for a successful journey.Continue Reading
10 steps to create a voice of the customer program
One of the best initiatives a customer experience team can undertake is a voice of the customer program. Here are some guidelines for building one from scratch.Continue Reading
Building a successful CX governance operating model
When developing a CX governance operating model, leaders should consider four key components: people, measurement framework, processes and tools and technologies.Continue Reading
Tips for call center crisis management amid coronavirus pandemic
Call centers can receive an influx of calls from customers during times of crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Here are some steps businesses can take handle the call volume.Continue Reading
Mystery shopping software key to customer experience management
Businesses use mystery shopping platforms, comment cards, brand reputation management and more to identify customer pain points and improve customer experience.Continue Reading
Personalized digital experiences for customers begin at home
Learn how implementing a rewarding digital experience for savvy customers starts with digitally transforming corporate culture and nurturing a customer-facing staff.Continue Reading
Contact center workforce management keeps pace with consumers
Workforce management software improves customer interactions with contact center agents and helps transform customer service from a cost center into a profit center.Continue Reading
Contact center AI opens new frontiers for customer engagements
Learn how AI and automation technologies like machine learning, chatbots and NLP are transforming one-dimensional call centers into multidimensional contact centers.Continue Reading
5 terms to know before creating a sales enablement strategy
Sales enablement is important for companies to drive efficiency, maintain customer satisfaction and stay organized. Sales enablement uses different tools and strategies to do this.Continue Reading
5 tips for an effective marketing automation implementation
Successful marketing automation implementations require steps beyond those that go into the usual technology rollouts. Here are some tips to help businesses along the way.Continue Reading
6 ideas to consider before making a C/4HANA SAP cloud migration
Moving to SAP's C/4HANA platform may lead to improved CX. However, companies should make some considerations before starting an on-premises to SAP cloud migration.Continue Reading
5 common call center terms to know
Businesses interact with customers in a variety of ways, including via phone calls and chatbots. Here are some call center terms that define these interactions.Continue Reading
What chatbot evaluation metrics do you use to measure performance?
Chatbots are an important contact center component -- as is measuring their performance. Learn how to measure chatbot performance in your organization.Continue Reading
These are the ABCs of marketing in the digital age
Audience understanding, behavior analysis, marketing convergence and accessible design are the ABCs of marketing in the digital age, according to Microsoft's Purna Virji.Continue Reading
Evolving contact center services reshape engagement strategies
As consumer expectations increase the need for more satisfying omnichannel engagements, the role of the contact center takes on greater importance and complexity.Continue Reading
The difference between autodialers and predictive dialers
Some people don't know that a predictive dialer is a type of autodialer. There are, in fact, five broad categories of autodialers contact centers need to know about.Continue Reading
8 live chat best practices for organizations to consider
Organizations find that live chat can be a means to improve customer experience -- when implemented correctly. Here are some best practices to put into action.Continue Reading
10 things to know about Google Cloud Contact Center AI
Google has partnered with more than 90 different companies to roll out its contact center AI. This article lists 10 important things you need to know about the program.Continue Reading
The art and science of digital experience management strategies
Businesses need a well-rounded view of customers to provide innovative, personalized digital experiences. In this handbook, learn the techniques and tools of the trade.Continue Reading
Digital CX vs. customer experience: What's the difference?
While similar, digital CX and customer experience are different. The former focuses on digital communication tool experiences, while the latter is the overall brand perception.Continue Reading
Customer data management tools shape personalization, boost CX
In this guide, learn about the many tools, including customer data platforms, that collect and analyze data from disparate sources and provide a single, 360-degree customer view.Continue Reading
5 Gen Z marketing trends for businesses to consider
Those born after 1995 are driving trends online for themselves and older generations. These shared experiences are important for marketers to understand. Here are some tips.Continue Reading
Customer service vs. customer experience: What's the difference?
Customer service is an age-old concept, but where does it fit into the customer experience? Here's how the two are different and where they intersect.Continue Reading
AI converts consumer analytics into potent sales weapons
Surveys, social media monitoring and loyalty cards are just some of the ways to collect customer data. Consumer analytics can help businesses analyze that data.Continue Reading
The evolution of call centers to experience centers
The call center has evolved over the years, moving from phone-based systems to multichannel contact centers. The next move is toward a customer experience center.Continue Reading
What are the most effective uses of AI in marketing automation?
AI is beneficial in many marketing automation processes. Organizations use the technology in chatbots, personalization, voice and visual search, frequency optimization and more.Continue Reading
Multipronged digital customer experience strategy enriches CX
The digital experience is an everyday facet of life. Learn how businesses are using tools and technologies to engage consumers and devise and manage effective CX strategies.Continue Reading
4 steps to create a digital marketing strategy
This four-step approach will help organizations build a digital marketing strategy designed to increase their online presence and attract new customers.Continue Reading
6 live chat benefits to consider in a CX strategy
Live chat enables customers to solve problems quickly and agents to multitask, but it also can be difficult to implement well and requires synchronous communication.Continue Reading
Prepare for California Consumer Privacy Act with these 5 questions
At Oracle's Modern Customer Experience conference, a privacy professional shared tips on incorporating privacy into CX systems so businesses are ready for the CCPA.Continue Reading
How to use live chat for lead generation
Live chat can successfully generate sales leads -- if done right. Here are four steps organizations can take to boost brand loyalty and close the deal.Continue Reading
Salesforce learning resources include free and paid options
While Salesforce offers a number of free and paid customer success tools to users, nonusers can also benefit through the use of Trailhead and the Trailblazer Community.Continue Reading
7 customer segmentation methods to help connect the dots
Customer segmentation is essential to marketing, enabling businesses to provide the right people with the right products -- and is a move away from bulk appeals.Continue Reading
5 things to know about Salesforce Customer 360
Salesforce Customer 360 -- a tool that connects customer data stored in multiple silos -- is currently in beta and will be available to all users later this year.Continue Reading
How do you determine the right point for chatbot-human handoff?
Customer experience can be adversely affected when chatbots don't transfer the call to a live agent at the right time. Here are some guidelines and best practices for initiating that handoff.Continue Reading
5 crucial ways to prepare for the CXO role
Technophiles who have experience in sales and marketing, as well as social media awareness, may be best prepared for success in the role of chief experience officer.Continue Reading
How to improve customer experience with mystery shopping
Mystery shopping -- among other CX management tools -- enables businesses to collect the data necessary to identify customer pain points and improve CX.Continue Reading
Q&A: How to narrow down your CRM vendor choices
SaaS consultancy Lunar goes over the dos and don'ts for choosing a CRM system, whether you're licensing one for the first time or migrating to a new system.Continue Reading
Our rebrand: Customer experience strategy, platforms, best practices
Customer experience strategy blurs lines between sales and marketing automation, customer service and e-commerce as they come together on next-generation customer experience platforms.Continue Reading
What is the role and responsibility of a chief experience officer?
The chief experience officer is an increasingly vital member of the C-suite who ensures that an organization's customers have positive interactions with the brand.Continue Reading
Liferay digital experience platform helps company improve CX
Jack Maina, group chief operations officer of Britam, talks about how the financial services group rebuilt the way it interacts with customers and partners using Liferay.Continue Reading
Salesforce.org's CRM for education helps UVA students succeed
The University of Virginia is one of a number of institutions using Salesforce.org's Education Cloud CRM to recruit students, track student success and manage alumni relations.Continue Reading
Which vendors make the best CRM for small businesses?
Choosing a CRM for small businesses can be difficult, as the most well-known CRM vendors cater to large enterprises. Others, however, create products with SMBs in mind.Continue Reading
How does Salesforce Einstein Bot differ from other AI?
Salesforce's no-code bot authoring tool competes with Google, Amazon and Microsoft, but differentiating capabilities make it potentially more useful for the Salesforce user base.Continue Reading
How does Salesforce lead scoring benefit Sales Cloud?
Einstein lead scoring offers a customizable workflow and strives to get better at prediction over time, and Salesforce is one of the top three vendors in the field.Continue Reading
Salesforce Circles of Success help SMBs get up to speed
Circles of Success participants connect with other Salesforce users to swap challenges, tips and tricks for rolling out the platform in their businesses.Continue Reading
8 tips for a successful Einstein artificial intelligence rollout
You'll fail a few times before you succeed with Einstein, Salesforce customers said at Dreamforce. Once you dial it in, though, success can follow. Here are eight ways to get there.Continue Reading
How does Salesforce Einstein Language NLP improve productivity?
Salesforce NLP learns in a manner similar to that of the human brain, performing a variety of functions, such as semantic parsing, summarization and more.Continue Reading