CRM tools and strategy
Customer relationship management combines various tools -- like marketing and sales force automation software -- and strategies to help organizations maintain, manage and learn from customer interactions. Find out the latest news and expert advice for your CRM approach.
Top Stories
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Video
06 May 2025
An explanation of customer relationship management (CRM)
CRM systems combine data, strategies and technology to manage customer interactions. Features include automation, lead tracking, and analytics to improve service and drive sales. Continue Reading
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News
10 Apr 2025
HubSpot users get more Breeze generative AI agents
HubSpot users get agents for sales, service and marketing. Continue Reading
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Answer
23 May 2019
How do Salesforce Next Best Action and Prediction Builder differ?
The Salesforce Einstein Prediction Builder and Next Best Action components look similar to the untrained eye, but each product works in a different manner. Continue Reading
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News
22 May 2019
Salesforce outage exposes Pardot marketing automation data
Salesforce's 15-hour outage may not scare away users. But it might get them to use more encryption, as the outage exposed customer marketing automation data in the GDPR era. Continue Reading
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News
16 May 2019
New Salesforce FoundationConnect designed for grantmakers
Salesforce.org has launched FoundationConnect, a CRM platform designed specifically to make managing the philanthropic lifecycle easier for nonprofits. Continue Reading
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Tip
14 May 2019
What you need to know about Flow Designer vs. Flow Builder
Salesforce Flow Designer is on the way out, Flow Builder is in -- sort of. The new update includes features that may not make a big difference for developers. Continue Reading
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Feature
10 May 2019
Pega Cloud is Pegasystems' preferred platform
In a Q&A, Alan Trefler, Pegasystems CEO and chess master, ruminates about the cloud, the symbiotic relationship between chess and AI, AI inflation, and the pivot to CX. Continue Reading
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News
08 May 2019
Einstein Analytics for Financial Services enhances banking CX
Salesforce's new analytics tools for financial services follow AI advancements from IBM Watson and Acquia upgrading customer experiences in retail banking and wealth management. Continue Reading
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News
02 May 2019
Impartner PRM integrates with Microsoft Dynamics 365 for sales
Impartner's collaboration with Microsoft delivers Impartner PRM for Microsoft Dynamics 365, a PRM sales software that gives users immediate access to direct and indirect sales data. Continue Reading
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News
01 May 2019
Infor launches new CRM mobile app for CloudSuite
Meeting mobile needs is key for Infor, which just released its Infor CloudSuite CRM Mobile application for iOS users. The app will provide access to important information on the go. Continue Reading
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News
25 Apr 2019
Upgraded Salesforce Sales Cloud features boost productivity
With AI enhancements, the new cohort of Sales Cloud features will minimize busywork and increase productivity of sales reps, according to Salesforce. Continue Reading
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Feature
25 Apr 2019
Salesforce buys Salesforce.org: What that means for customers
Salesforce.com bought Salesforce.org. Nonprofit Cloud customers mull changes they hope to see now that all Salesforce products are under one umbrella. Continue Reading
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Tip
18 Apr 2019
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
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News
17 Apr 2019
Salesforce adds OCR, translation, AI app builder to Einstein platform
Salesforce enables no-code AI app development, as well as optical character recognition, translation and services to extend Einstein predictive modeling tools into external apps. Continue Reading
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News
16 Apr 2019
Infor launches Infor CloudSuite for customer management
Infor has released the Infor CloudSuite CRM cloud-based application, a program for companies to track customer lifecycles, sales and marketing analytics. Continue Reading
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News
08 Apr 2019
Microsoft releases Dynamics 365 Nonprofit Accelerator update
A newly released second version of Dynamics 365 Nonprofit Accelerator doubles the size of the CDM and allows better management of all user data for nonprofits. 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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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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Feature
18 Feb 2019
How Lucky Brand improved its online customer experience
As retailers try to keep up with customers' changing expectations, more and more brands are trying to mesh their online shopping experience with their in-store experience. Continue Reading
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Feature
15 Feb 2019
Salesforce makes push for diversity in technology
Salesforce is maneuvering into industry leadership, making a diverse IT community a priority. Its product development strategy seems to have been crafted with such diversity in mind. Continue Reading
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Answer
25 Jan 2019
Why is the Salesforce administrator role so crucial?
Salesforce administrators serve as analysts, trainers and advisers in their roles. Companies can employ one or more Salesforce admins, depending on how the business is organized. Continue Reading
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Infographic
24 Jan 2019
How Salesforce.org's Philanthropy Cloud and Nonprofit Cloud differ
Salesforce.org's Nonprofit Cloud and Philanthropy Cloud both partner with nonprofit organizations but in different ways. The uses of each are compared here. 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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News
07 Jan 2019
Salesforce High Velocity Sales boosts inside sales
High Velocity Sales includes Salesforce tools, such as Einstein Lead Scoring, Lightning Email, Sales Cadences and Work Queues, with more features expected in later 2019 releases. Continue Reading
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Answer
07 Jan 2019
How do Salesforce Success Cloud and Trailhead differ?
Success Cloud and Trailhead work hand in hand, enabling Salesforce users to make the most out of the platform and overcome obstacles along the journey. Continue Reading
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News
07 Jan 2019
HubSpot Ventures to strategically fund friendly startups
HubSpot remembers the financial backing it received as a new company and creates its own $30 million venture fund to invest in startups that align with the HubSpot mission. Continue Reading
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News
04 Jan 2019
Salesforce Lightning Web Components adds JavaScript model
By moving toward a standard-based JavaScript model, Salesforce is appealing to millions of JavaScript developers by making it easier to build custom apps on Salesforce Lightning. Continue Reading
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Podcast
24 Dec 2018
2018 in review: CRM morphs into CX software
Acquisitions and new products marked a busy 2018, with vendors like Salesforce, Adobe and SAP making splashy acquisitions while refocusing on customer experience. Continue Reading
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Opinion
20 Dec 2018
Salesforce CX, AI, integration tools are 2019 trends to watch
As the world pivots from CRM to customer experience management, Salesforce makes its own moves with research showing millennials value CX over the actual goods or services received. Continue Reading
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Feature
07 Dec 2018
CRM for nonprofits rewires charitable giving
Salesforce.org Nonprofit Cloud and marketing automation tools help charitable organizations gain and retain valuable donors, giving them a more positive experience. Continue Reading
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News
19 Nov 2018
Zendesk CRM moves beyond customer service into CX
Zendesk moves on from focusing solely on customer service by adding analytics, sales force automation and CRM capabilities, while also providing third-party integrations on AWS. Continue Reading
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Feature
15 Nov 2018
Marketing automation tools make personalization possible
Marketing automation software can be a game-changer for sales and marketing departments, as it helps simplify campaign management and gauge the performance of marketing efforts. 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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Feature
09 Nov 2018
Salesforce salary survey details pay among professionals
A new survey of Salesforce professionals, published by Mason Frank International, analyzes Salesforce salary data, employment trends and diversity. 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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Feature
08 Nov 2018
4 signs Salesforce skills demand outpaces talent pool
Survey points to four reasons the demand and salaries for Salesforce admins, developers and other professionals is high, but talent pool can't meet it. Continue Reading
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Feature
08 Nov 2018
Will Salesforce decaNLP model live up to the hype?
Salesforce's decaNLP model made a big splash at Dreamforce. But can it deliver on its promises? Here's what to expect from the natural language processing initiative. 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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Podcast
24 Oct 2018
How enterprises use dynamic pricing algorithms with AI, CRM
Born out of the '80s era of airline deregulation, dynamic pricing finds new life and popularity when mixed with AI. In this Pipeline podcast, we talk with Ulrich von Beck of Pros. Continue Reading
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News
22 Oct 2018
FinancialForce adds Einstein Analytics to back office
FinancialForce added an analytics layer to its Professional Services Automation product to help its users find better insights in their back-office applications. 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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Tip
21 Sep 2018
4 tips on getting up to speed with GDPR for U.S. companies
When GDPR went into effect four months ago, some U.S. companies just shut down communications with EU customers, but compliance can benefit organizations and marketers. Continue Reading
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News
19 Sep 2018
Microsoft Dynamics 365 AI going hard after Salesforce
Microsoft hammers Salesforce by launching low-code, AI-based virtual agents for customer service. Also: New tools for sales and marketing add automated insights to Dynamics 365. 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
14 Aug 2018
Sales planning tools sport a B2B customer experience focus
Sporting goods giant uses sales performance and planning tools to upend traditional product-centric approach, tackle engagement issues and pitch a better story to customers. Continue Reading
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Feature
01 Aug 2018
Customer service chatbots gain ground
As chatbots begin to replace email as the go-to customer service channel, more and more companies are using AI and natural language processing to improve their chat services. 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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Feature
27 Jun 2018
AppExchange in Salesforce a slam-dunk for Detroit Pistons' workflow
The Detroit Pistons needed help getting the most out of Salesforce, so they turned to AppExchange -- although the abundance of choices is sometimes a challenge. Continue Reading
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Podcast
26 Jun 2018
SAP C/4HANA, Pega Infinity ramp up the CRM market
The Pipeline podcast duo discusses the CRM market after the unveiling of Pega Infinity and SAP C/4HANA, as well as technology news from Uber about detecting drunk passengers. Continue Reading
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Podcast
21 Jun 2018
Banking blockchain part of Pega Infinity platform reboot
This Pipeline podcast features a not-so-serious Q&A with Pegasystems CMO Tom Libretto covering Journey albums, blockchain hype and what happens at a user conference. 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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Podcast
01 Jun 2018
Call center artificial intelligence trends drive chat, decision-making
ICMI's Brad Cleveland has seen call centers integrate email, chat, IVR -- automated FAQ answering -- and social media. None reduced call volume. Chatbot tech may bring similar results. Continue Reading
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Tip
29 May 2018
Sales Cloud implementation transforms sales tracking, analysis
Salesforce Sales Cloud has made Thompson Pump's once manual, paper-backed tracking, analyzing and crediting processes fast and tidy, reducing order-processing time by about 20%. 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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Podcast
14 May 2018
Recapping Oracle Modern CX: CX execs share challenges
What's on the minds of customer experience execs right now? This Pipeline podcast breaks down grumblings and rumblings from Oracle's Modern CX show. Continue Reading
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Podcast
11 May 2018
Don't let customer service automation override customer experience
CRM expert Jay Baer, author of NYT bestseller 'Hug Your Haters,' joins the Pipeline podcast and answers host Don Fluckinger's litany of personal experience CRM complaints. Continue Reading
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Feature
10 May 2018
Clari AI for sales helps to enhance Salesforce
One company found that when using a variety of different vendors, a third-party AI product was more beneficial than a core vendor's AI offering. 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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Podcast
09 Apr 2018
Importance of customer experience highlighted at Adobe Summit
The Pipeline podcast looks back at the Adobe Summit and the conference's main themes. Listen in as our team discusses how the NFL uses Adobe to better personalize customer campaigns. Continue Reading
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Podcast
06 Apr 2018
Adobe DMP a touchdown for NFL's data-driven marketing strategy
Heading into the 2017 season, the NFL made a concentrated effort to better understand its data and its audience. It turned to data governance and Adobe Audience Manager. Continue Reading
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Podcast
19 Mar 2018
Social media customer care important to brands, experts say
In this Pipeline podcast, we discuss what was a primary topic at Social Media Marketing World: how companies should interact with customers through social media. Continue Reading
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Podcast
16 Mar 2018
Inside sales strategy, millennials highlight Accelerate 2018
Learn what happens when a SearchCRM editor joins a panel as the paid skeptic to discuss whether AI technologies provide real value for helping businesses increase revenue. Continue Reading
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News
16 Mar 2018
Salesforce small business tools get major refresh
Emphasizing the 'S' in 'SMB,' Salesforce goes after companies with 20 employees or less with Salesforce Essentials -- with hooks into Trailhead's free training. 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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News
28 Feb 2018
Salesforce certification salary data: Admin, dev in demand
The 2018 Mason Frank International Salesforce Salary Survey's bumper sticker: The talent's holding the cards as employers increase bids for their services. Continue Reading
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Tip
31 Jan 2018
Salesforce Classic vs. Lightning: How the CRM versions stack up
With migration becoming unavoidable, you should understand the different features available between Salesforce Classic vs. Lightning. Here is a chart to help you do just that. Continue Reading
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Tip
26 Jan 2018
Salesforce Pardot certification opens doors, boosts salaries
Pardot consultant Stacey Cogswell talks about the opportunities and challenges when obtaining Salesforce certifications. Continue Reading
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News
23 Jan 2018
Salesforce Trailhead gets social boost for admins, developers
Salesforce might not own LinkedIn, but it's creating a similar online social network of certified professionals via Trailhead, complete with vanity URLs and more detailed profiles. Continue Reading
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Tip
11 Jan 2018
Salesforce Marketing Cloud certification helps Aussie make bank
When considering which credentials in the Salesforce universe are the best investments, one marketing consultant makes the case for Salesforce Marketing Cloud certification. 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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News
07 Dec 2017
Salesforce small-business CRM customers can tap into AI, too
Salesforce small-business faces heavy competition from more nimble, agile, less expensive boutique CRM vendors. Yet, the largest CRM platform woos SMBs like it does bigger fish with features for AI. Continue Reading
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News
07 Nov 2017
Experts: Time is nigh for a Salesforce Lightning migration
'Everything forward will be Lightning,' was advice from one analyst at Dreamforce 2017. CommScope's experience proves a move to Salesforce Lightning may be easier than you think. Continue Reading
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News
06 Nov 2017
At Dreamforce, Salesforce applications take center stage
Quip is expected to become the new Salesforce collaboration standard in Dreamforce unveiling; AppExchange and Einstein announcements reveal push into new markets. Continue Reading
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Podcast
20 Oct 2017
Pipeline podcast: Exploring the growth of the martech stack
The marketing technology field has exploded, as have ways to organize a martech stack. This episode of the Pipeline podcast recaps highlights from the MarTech Conference. Continue Reading
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Podcast
06 Oct 2017
AI among new Dynamics 365 features, Microsoft Teams top news from Ignite
Discussing the top news stories coming out of the newly combined Microsoft Ignite and Envision conferences on the latest Pipeline podcast episode. Continue Reading
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News
02 Oct 2017
Dynamics 365 CRM can help drive the digital transformation process
At Ignite, Microsoft predicts the future -- and it's one that centers on Dynamics 365, artificial intelligence and digital transformation. Continue Reading
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Podcast
27 Sep 2017
New Dynamics 365 features take center stage during Ignite keynote
Dynamics 365 and the future direction of Microsoft products were given center stage during the Ignite keynote delivered by Satya Nadella. Continue Reading
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Feature
11 Sep 2017
Automation features help settle CRM migration quandary for one office
Insightly CRM for G Suite or Salesforce? One of a manufacturing company's 72 offices takes the road less traveled. Continue Reading
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Answer
24 Aug 2017
What problems need solving to create smoother customer interactions?
While many factors can make or break a sales-service platform merge, three challenges stand out when combining service, sales strategies. Continue Reading
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News
10 Aug 2017
Humanitarian company uses Dynamics 365 for Talent for quicker deployment
Chemonics upgraded its technological process from telex-era capabilities to cloud-based software for its worldwide projects. 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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Tip
26 Apr 2017
Advisor sees better jobs and pay after Salesforce administrator course
Jenn Sanders illustrates how the Salesforce administrator course can boost a career. The consultant saw an increase in pay, client respect and a teaching opportunity. 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
08 Mar 2017
Which track on the Salesforce certifications list is right for you?
The Salesforce certification list seems long and complicated. But it's not -- if you break it down into tracks and look at salary data for ROI on training. Continue Reading
