CRM strategy and implementation
Read the latest news and trends stories about CRM strategy and integration for businesses of all sizes, as well as case studies that help people purchasing this technology make sense of which vendors cater to their company size and vertical.
Top Stories
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Feature
12 Oct 2022
Top 4 CRM systems comparison
What differentiates the 'big four' CRM providers? Explore the advantages and disadvantages of Salesforce, Oracle, Microsoft and SAP in this CRM comparison. Continue Reading
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Feature
18 Apr 2022
What is Adobe Experience Cloud? CRM platform overview
Adobe Experience Cloud -- the vendor's CRM platform -- includes tools to help medium and large enterprises manage all facets of their customer engagement strategies. Continue Reading
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Feature
02 Dec 2021
10 customer service best practices to follow
As customer service evolves into a multidimensional force, agent training and experience, performance analysis, virtual assistance, customer sentiment and net promoter scores rule. Continue Reading
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Feature
24 Nov 2021
The future of customer service: 12 trends to watch
Advanced technologies continue to shape customer service goals to streamline digital workflows, increase positive experiences, lower agent turnover and improve contact center ROI. Continue Reading
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Answer
20 Sep 2021
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
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News
08 Sep 2021
Acquia acquires Widen digital asset management
DAM is an old idea making a big comeback for marketing teams trafficking in online video. Acquia adds the Widen DAM to its digital experience platform. Continue Reading
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Tip
02 Aug 2021
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
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Tip
30 Jul 2021
Inside 5 big-name relationship marketing strategy examples
How does Nike form an emotional bond with sneakerheads? How does Starbucks know what latte flavors customers want? The answer lies in their relationship marketing strategies. Continue Reading
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Tip
25 Jun 2021
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
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News
23 Jun 2021
Salesforce previews low-code, pro-code developer tools
Salesforce to release new low-code and pro-code tools for developers, as well as DevOps Center, which catalogs app dev efforts and offers a planning platform. Continue Reading
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News
09 Jun 2021
Salesforce Industries rolls out banking AI compliance tools
Salesforce now claims cloud customizations for 12 different vertical industries. Can this help them win new users from competitors who have released their own industry clouds? Continue Reading
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Tip
01 Feb 2021
The top real estate CRM software
Today's competitive real estate market highlights the importance of CRM systems that provide listings management and property tracking, as well as typical CRM system features. Continue Reading
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Infographic
30 Dec 2020
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
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Tip
24 Nov 2020
Transactional vs. relationship marketing: Key differences
Some companies thrive on building strong relationships with customers, while others want to make a sale without long-term commitment. Either way, the business needs a strategy. Continue Reading
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Feature
11 Nov 2020
Customer data platform tools push personalization, privacy
Evolving CDPs help companies unify the flood of consumer data collected from disparate sources, resulting in better customer insights and compliance with privacy regulations. Continue Reading
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News
23 Sep 2020
Salesforce delivers CDP, DXP and sales meeting tools
Salesforce drops a customer data platform, new virtual sales meeting tools and makes the case for its own Experience Cloud to give users an Adobe alternate. Continue Reading
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News
22 Sep 2020
HubSpot CRM gets enterprise makeover
HubSpot might not yet frighten Salesforce with its competing platform, which now includes enterprise CRM, but the company definitely pushes upmarket with its latest offering. Continue Reading
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News
30 Jun 2020
Zendesk CRM adds email automation features
The Zendesk Sell CRM platform adds email automation features for customer engagement as the pandemic cuts off sales rep users' access to in-person customer meetings. Continue Reading
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News
12 May 2020
Salesforce coronavirus contact tracing platform goes national
Salesforce gets involved in state and local health authorities' coronavirus contact tracing efforts in New York City, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, California and Louisiana. Continue Reading
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Feature
06 May 2020
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
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Feature
31 Mar 2020
3 ways CRM improves customer experience
To be efficient, businesses need their information in one place. Using a CRM system, companies can improve CX by keeping track of their customers and automating business processes. Continue Reading
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Feature
26 Mar 2020
9 steps for negotiating deals with Salesforce
Understanding the Salesforce fiscal calendar, motivations of sales agents and what your businesses needs from a deal are key steps in negotiating contracts with the CRM giant. Continue Reading
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Feature
11 Nov 2019
Salesforce customers supplement CRM with AppExchange tools
Salesforce customers are turning to the AppExchange to supplement their CRM function. Many find AppExchange tools to be more cost-effective and to integrate better with the CRM. Continue Reading
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Feature
01 Nov 2019
Have success with SAP C/4HANA on-premises-to-cloud migration
There is no one way to complete a CRM platform migration, but a little planning and asking questions along the way can ensure you are on the road to success. Continue Reading
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Feature
18 Oct 2019
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
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News
03 Oct 2019
Zendesk Sell apps marketplace extends Sunshine CRM platform
Zendesk's Sunshine CRM gets an apps marketplace built on its Sell sales force automation platform, adapted from the 2018 acquisition of FutureSimple's Base. Continue Reading
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News
26 Sep 2019
New Salesforce clouds focus on manufacturing, consumer goods
Following the success of the Health Cloud, Salesforce is releasing new industry-specific cloud services for the manufacturing and consumer goods sectors. Continue Reading
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Answer
17 Sep 2019
How can customer relationship metrics benefit CX?
Companies often look at customer relationship metrics to determine how customers feel about a brand. Here are examples of how to obtain and use information to qualify customer relationships. Continue Reading
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Feature
03 Sep 2019
Organizations reap benefits of mobile CRM apps
Salesforce now offers organizations such as Cornell University the ability to render CRM systems as apps, making it easy to manage students and faculty at a number of colleges. Continue Reading
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Tip
24 Jul 2019
Customer success strategies stoke CRM engagement
Salesforce and other CRM providers use active customer service to increase customer engagement, solve concerns, train users and -- eventually -- bring in repeat business. Continue Reading
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Tip
17 Jul 2019
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
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Feature
28 May 2019
Businesses see increasing importance of video conferencing
Video chat is another channel for businesses to interact with employees and customers. Learn why businesses are placing increasing importance on video conferencing and about its effects on CX. Continue Reading
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Feature
18 Apr 2019
AI customer self-service platforms show analytical maturity
AI-enabled self-service platforms graduate from traditional customer support activities to more sophisticated methods of analyzing data on customer wants, needs and behavior. Continue Reading
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News
05 Apr 2019
Salesforce Classic nearing end of life, but not dead yet
Salesforce's Lightning UI debuted three years ago, and the vendor stopped adding features to its predecessor, Classic. Customers cling to Classic, despite a big push for Lightning. Continue Reading
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Infographic
26 Mar 2019
Choosing between single- vs. multivendor strategy for CRM
There are two ways to set up a CX tech stack -- either an integrated CRM suite or best-of-breed approach. There are benefits to each model, and the two are compared here. Continue Reading
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News
15 Mar 2019
Microsoft Government Community Cloud adds Teams, Dynamics 365
U.S. government agencies are undergoing a digital transformation, and Microsoft hopes that upgrades to its Government Cloud lineup will make its platform part of that change. Continue Reading
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Opinion
05 Mar 2019
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
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News
01 Mar 2019
Microsoft mixed reality software comes to smartphones
Microsoft is adding mixed reality capabilities for sales departments and for customer service, extending the features beyond their HoloLens headset and onto smartphones. Continue Reading
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Answer
22 Jan 2019
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
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Feature
22 Jan 2019
Industrial engineering company chooses integrated CRM for CX needs
Through partnering with only Oracle for all of its CX needs, Schenck Process realizes the benefits of an integrated CRM over multiple products. Continue Reading
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Feature
12 Nov 2018
Using Shuttle to track sales leads and close deals
Using Shuttle to track sales leads, sales reps at CBC Settlement Funding can focus less on coordinating follow-up emails and nurturing campaigns and more on closing deals. Continue Reading
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News
09 Nov 2018
Cloud e-commerce IT battle pits content management vs. CRM
ERP-based and stand-alone e-commerce systems dominate the market. As more companies go to the cloud, CRM and CMS vie to be the next foundation of e-commerce. Continue Reading
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Guide
09 Nov 2018
Guide to customer experience management best practices, technologies
Customer experience management is growing. Learn about technologies, strategies and best practices that businesses are applying to their CEM. Continue Reading
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News
25 Oct 2018
Adobe Magento Commerce Cloud brings e-commerce muscle
After acquiring Magento for $1.7 billion earlier this year, Adobe has integrated its commerce product into Adobe Experience Cloud for both enterprises and SMBs. Continue Reading
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News
26 Sep 2018
Clicks-and-bricks one-up online companies with behavioral data
Physical stores and banks are closing, losing ground to more agile online competitors. Technology and data can help them fight back. Continue Reading
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News
14 Sep 2018
Adobe acquisition of Marketo could shake up industry
Adobe looking to acquire Marketo could also be a ploy to incite a bidding war for Marketo from its holding company, Vista Equity, according to an analyst. Continue Reading
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News
29 Aug 2018
Add web content personalization to your marketing strategy
Josh Mueller, global head of marketing at Dun & Bradstreet, talks about how quality data drives innovative marketing solutions such as web content personalization and AI chatbots. Continue Reading
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Feature
02 Jul 2018
Cannabis CRM replicates dealer-customer relationship
When a big-city medical marijuana business wanted to better serve clients, it opted for cannabis CRM software that tries to replicate the traditional dealer-customer relationship. Continue Reading
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News
20 Jun 2018
Adobe-Microsoft partnership adds key integrations
Adobe brings its Document Cloud to Microsoft Office 365 and Dynamics 365, making it easier for licensees of both to quickly convert files into PDFs and into Acrobat. Continue Reading
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Feature
19 Jun 2018
Data migration software coming for SAP CRM
At Sapphire Now, SAP unveiled C/4HANA, a suite of applications that brings together ERP and CRM. To make it easier to switch, migration tools can be added to the suite. Continue Reading
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Feature
11 Jun 2018
Keys to customer engagement on social media CRM
Responding to positive and negative customer inquiries on social media is important, industry experts say, and that can go far in retaining customers and promoting your brand. Continue Reading
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Feature
05 Jun 2018
Selecting a CRM cloud to host sales, service and marketing
Azure, AWS and Google are popular public clouds. But not all CRM systems are interchangeable with each of them. Experts break down the decision-making process. Continue Reading
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Feature
05 Jun 2018
Marketers face stiff challenges improving CRM capabilities
Amid the proliferation of AI and cloud-based apps, marketers acknowledge and take partial blame for problems encountered along the way to improving their CRM capabilities. Continue Reading
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Feature
05 Jun 2018
AI strategy comes first, then AI tools second
If your organization plans to implement AI into its workflow, be sure to develop a sound strategy and provide the necessary training to get the most out of the software. Continue Reading
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News
15 May 2018
HubSpot customer service tool Service Hub aims to transform SMBs
HubSpot's Service Hub, the new customer service product, aims at helping small and medium businesses complete the view of the customer, combined with the company's sales and marketing products. Continue Reading
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Tip
03 May 2018
Cohesive AI in CRM strategies requires a singular 360 view
Implementing and upgrading AI CRM marketing and sales capabilities requires a holistic, multipronged strategy that encompasses all departments and customer engagement channels. Continue Reading
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Feature
15 Mar 2018
Digital sales transformation may require shadow IT dark ops
Sales tech initiatives culminating with flipping the AI switch require operational and IT prep involving data aggregation, training salespeople and, possibly, shadow IT experiments. Continue Reading
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News
28 Feb 2018
IT Priorities survey: CRM trends indicate move to the cloud
Hybrid cloud and on-premises IT should remain the norm for years. But more respondents to TechTarget's late 2017 survey indicate more cloud CRM and social media monitoring. Continue Reading
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Tip
28 Dec 2017
Adding voice, text channels in CRM for apps
When SpotHero wanted to create text and voice channels to enable agents to assist app users with parking their cars, Ujet was the ticket that made it work. Continue Reading
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Podcast
21 Jun 2017
CRM machine learning leaps forward, assisting process automation
AI, analytics and machine learning -- once separate technologies -- are now integrating into powerful new combinations for customer retention and service. Continue Reading
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Feature
28 Apr 2017
Top five benefits of speech analytics tools for contact centers
Learn the top benefits of speech analytics technology for contact centers, and how speech analytics tools can lead to a better customer experience. Continue Reading
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News
09 Mar 2017
Six tips for simple, effective SMB cloud CRM implementations
Thrush Aircraft flew through a cloud-based CRM implementation by engaging employees all along the way. Here are tips based on its success. Continue Reading
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Feature
14 Jul 2016
Mobile location-based services teeter on ethical line
Mobile location-based services can yield information about customers, but companies need to travel a careful line with the information they gather. Continue Reading
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Podcast
17 Dec 2015
Marketing automation adoption takes off: 2016 technology trends
As we look ahead to the 2016 IT trends to watch, one key CRM theme is marketing automation adoption, which is poised to grow, says an expert. Continue Reading
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News
16 Dec 2015
Box-Salesforce partnership brings ECM features to CRM
A new partnership will bring the cloud file-sharing capability of Box to Salesforce. Continue Reading
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News
01 Sep 2015
FinancialForce project management tool boosts Lexmark's ECM services
When Lexmark took on FinancialForce to manage its technology services projects, its ability to provide services blossomed Continue Reading
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Feature
18 Aug 2015
Zoho CRM platform overview
Zoho's cloud-based CRM platform helps businesses manage the key aspects of their customer engagement strategies. Continue Reading
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Feature
07 Jul 2015
Improving customer engagement strategies with CRM tools
There are several different types of CRM tools that can be used to improve your customer engagement strategies. Continue Reading
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Tip
06 Feb 2015
Salesforce vs. Microsoft Dynamics: Why I choose Salesforce
While Salesforce can be more costly than Microsoft Dynamics, ease of use and a healthy ecosystem of support can make it a persuasive choice. Continue Reading
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Report
05 Jan 2012
CRM user interface guide
This guide provides an at-a-glance look at Oracle, SAP, Microsoft and Salesforce.com’s user interfaces for their mobile client, Outlook integration and sales dashboards. Continue Reading
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Feature
11 Nov 2008
Creating positive customer retention strategies
Is your organization deploying positive customer retention strategies or negative ones? In this chapter excerpt, learn about a number of positive customer retention strategies, including how to add customer-perceived value, create social and structural bonds and build engagement to delight your customers. Continue Reading
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Feature
03 Nov 2008
SIP in the call center: Top 10 buzzwords
In many of today's call centers, session initiation protocol (SIP) allows customers and call center agents to connect through various forms of multimedia communications. We've gathered these terms and definitions to help you better understand SIP in the call center. Continue Reading
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Answer
05 Nov 2007
What's the difference between speech recognition software and voice tags?
Wondering about how voice recognition or speech recognition and voice tags differ? Read definitions from Donna Fluss in this tip. Continue Reading
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Quiz
21 Sep 2007
Web 2.0 and CRM quiz
This quiz on Web 2.0 and CRM was designed to test your knowledge of Web 2.0 technology and social networking and open your eyes to how this technology can help advance CRM initiatives. Continue Reading
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Quiz
28 Jun 2007
Call center interactive voice response (IVR) system quiz answers
Find out how you did on SearchCRM.com's call center IVR system quiz with these answers. Continue Reading
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Answer
27 Apr 2007
How can understanding customer value lead to successful marketing?
According to Lior Arussy, understanding customer value can lead to successful marketing if you target those customers with the highest potential value, not just those with the highest actual value. Continue Reading
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Answer
14 Feb 2007
New call center agents -- top 10 pitfalls
Common areas of call center agent weakness are largely due to inexperience in handling live (and sometimes frustrated and nasty) customers, and a lack of in-depth knowledge of systems, products, policies and procedures. Most of these areas can be improved over time. Learn best practices from Donna Fluss here. Continue Reading
