Contact center management
Contact center management puts the customer at the center of every decision. Measuring time-to-answer, hold times and response quality are all key metrics, as are customer satisfaction and retention.
Top Stories
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Tip
05 Oct 2022
10 tips to enhance and promote self-service platforms
Self-service platforms should be visible to customers, emphasized across all touchpoints and meet customers' needs. These tips can help enhance and promote self-service. Continue Reading
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Tip
03 May 2022
Best practices for initiating chatbot-to-human handoff
Contact centers perform a balancing act between AI and human agents. Support teams must train bots on chatbot-to-human handoffs and design AI aware of customer frustration. Continue Reading
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News
12 Jun 2019
Nuvi's sentiment analysis engine deciphers emotion, emoji and more
Nuvi's sentiment analysis engine enables organizations to interpret the true meaning behind text, images and emoji in order to get a more complete understanding of customers' experience. Continue Reading
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News
10 Jun 2019
$15.7B Salesforce-Tableau acquisition a direct shot at Microsoft
By acquiring Tableau, Salesforce dramatically strengthened its BI and data visualization capabilities. The move boosts Salesforce's ability to compete with Microsoft. Continue Reading
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Answer
10 Jun 2019
Why use third-party marketing automation instead of native CRM tools?
Though many CRM platforms offer native marketing automation tools, many organizations find it beneficial to use a third-party application, such as Eloqua or Marketo. Continue Reading
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Guide
07 Jun 2019
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
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News
07 Jun 2019
Companies entrust CX to customer service chatbots, but only so far
Depending on the vertical, chatbots can relieve human agents of simple, repetitive customer-support tasks. But brands await smarter tech to fully trust them with CX. Continue Reading
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Tip
06 Jun 2019
5 tips for creating customer journey maps from buyer personas
Comprehensive customer personas are important tools in coping with the increasing complexity of customer journey mapping. Here are some tips on how to do it best. Continue Reading
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Tip
06 Jun 2019
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
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News
05 Jun 2019
SurveyAdvantage launches new customer management service
LoyaltyLoop is SurveyAdvantage's newest service. It provides businesses with a platform to collect and manage customer feedback and reviews through surveys and reviews. Continue Reading
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News
05 Jun 2019
RedPoint Global mashes up CDP, DMP functions in new offering
RedPoint's Digital Acquisition Platform attempts to stop ads from chasing you around the internet after a purchase by mashing up CDP functionality with third-party DMP data. Continue Reading
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News
05 Jun 2019
LogMeIn Bold360 CX tool adds AI features for bots, human agents
LogMeIn bundled together Bold360 customer service tools as a single CX platform underpinned by its AI technology by rebranding some pieces and introducing some others. Continue Reading
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News
04 Jun 2019
Pegasystems Customer Empathy Advisor AI tool gauges ethics
Pegasystems' new empathy AI tool aims to help users make more ethical business decisions by gauging the empathy level of human and digital customer service agents. Continue Reading
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Tip
04 Jun 2019
Benefits and best approaches to B2B customer segmentation
With the increasing focus on personalization in B2B marketing, customer segmentation is a more important strategy than ever for organizations that want to know customers better. Continue Reading
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News
03 Jun 2019
Pega Customer Service adds digital messaging capabilities
Pegasystems users can now offer their customers support through text messaging and will be able to develop apps more easily with a new low-code platform. Continue Reading
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News
03 Jun 2019
Adobe debuts Qualtrics plugin, Magento-Amazon D2C features
Adobe moves forward with an SAP Qualtrics plugin to measure voice of the customer on Experience Platform and strengthens Magento customers' Amazon presence with new features. Continue Reading
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News
30 May 2019
Salesforce blockchain development tool for CRM platform unveiled
Blockchain has grown beyond its high-profile use case as the technology behind Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency. Salesforce is the latest tech company to bet big on blockchain. Continue Reading
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Feature
29 May 2019
Contact center-as-a-service platforms here, but face hurdles
Cloud contact center platforms offer promise, migrating agents into a flexible environment. Contact centers, a long-established on-premises IT world, are slowly starting to adopt them. 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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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
23 May 2019
Verint launches VOC software, gathers omnichannel feedback
Verint has launched Verint Unified VoC, which provides organizations with a full, accurate view of customer desires and preferences, according to the vendor. 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
21 May 2019
Pegasystems acquires In The Chat digital messaging platform
Pegasystems' recent acquisition of the digital messaging platform In The Chat brings Pega customers new communication channels and improves AI chatbot capabilities. Continue Reading
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Podcast
21 May 2019
Replacing contact center platforms poses big dilemma
CX expert Scott Sachs discusses the various dilemmas posed by migrating legacy on-premises contact center platforms to the cloud. Continue Reading
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Feature
21 May 2019
Cattlemen group uses Google AI to build a chatbot
Wondering 'where's the beef?' Ask Chuck, a chatbot created by the National Cattlemen's Beef Association -- one of hundreds of bots being deployed thanks to AI tools. Continue Reading
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News
20 May 2019
Sparkcentral virtual agent framework blends AI, live agents
Bring Your Own Bot, Sparkcentral's virtual agent framework for chatbots, blends live agent and virtual agent assistance to augment the customer experience. Continue Reading
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Tip
20 May 2019
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
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News
16 May 2019
Leanplum, Amplitude unite for personalized mobile marketing
Leanplum and Amplitude have united to combine Leanplum's mobile marketing engagement with Amplitude's product intelligence for more personalized mobile marketing. 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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News
15 May 2019
Effective customer surveys help contact centers drive CX
As companies try to figure out who will run customer experience initiatives, contact centers make a strong case for the customer support team, using the right technology. Continue Reading
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News
14 May 2019
CX initiatives driving contact center technology trends
Making contact center agents more present across all channels is a new focus, as tech vendors rush to give customer service operations more tools to improve customer experiences. 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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Tip
10 May 2019
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
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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
Act-On launches Adaptive Web, AI-based personalization tool
Adaptive Web, an AI marketing software tool by Act-On, makes real-time content suggestions to increase user web engagement without the direct aid of a marketer. 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
07 May 2019
Salesforce announces Pardot Business Units, coming this summer
Pardot Business Units, an automated marketing platform, provides large companies with a way to coordinate and personalize marketing efforts across the business. Continue Reading
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Feature
07 May 2019
Oracle's CX strategy points toward real-time responses
As data increasingly becomes key to an effective CX implementation, Oracle's CX strategy points to what technology it's focusing on to win over corporate customers. Continue Reading
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News
06 May 2019
ICMI co-founder on contact center technology trends
Contact center technology stacks now include pervasive AI and CX-oriented tools, enabling agents to do a better job more efficiently, said ICMI co-founder Brad Cleveland. Continue Reading
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News
03 May 2019
Google launches CallJoy small-business phone service
Google has launched CallJoy, a new cloud-based phone service that provides small businesses with automated phone agents for customer service for $39 per month. Continue Reading
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News
03 May 2019
IBM marketing automation sell-off represents market shift
IBM divests itself of marketing automation tools, but they will likely live on as the new parent company combines them with other acquisitions to incubate a new integrated CX stack. 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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Tip
02 May 2019
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
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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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Feature
30 Apr 2019
Online scheduling platforms open new channel for customers
New customer-centric tools book demos in Salesforce at a customer's bidding, automating processes that took multiple email messages and forms -- sometimes losing leads in the process. 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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News
24 Apr 2019
CDP Institute releases customer data platform certification
While waiting for Salesforce to release a customer data platform and for Adobe to perfect its newly released CDP, RealCDP certification aspires to validate CDPs available today. Continue Reading
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News
24 Apr 2019
CDP vs. DMP: Vendors battle for marketers' budgets
Customer data platforms and data management platforms have overlapping features, as vendors vie for marketers' IT budgets. It may not matter, as Adobe and Salesforce join Oracle in the game. Continue Reading
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Tip
24 Apr 2019
4 customer insights research techniques for your organization
Organizations conduct customer research in order to understand customers, create new products and increase revenue, all of which can be overwhelming without a strategy in place. 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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Feature
18 Apr 2019
Add real-time customer experience to your CX strategy
At its recent CX conference, Oracle emphasized how important it will be to provide real-time CX. Users and analysts weigh in on how plausible that actually is. 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
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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Tip
17 Apr 2019
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
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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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Feature
15 Apr 2019
AI sales forecasting tools soothe sales-marketing rivalries
Sales forecasting vendors such as Clari extend reach into enterprise marketing, leveling the data and, with AI, solving an old problem: conflicting numbers on quarterly forecasts. Continue Reading
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Feature
12 Apr 2019
7 features of CX management tools to consider
Using CEM tools can help companies monitor, improve and manage the customer experience. Read on to learn what to look for when choosing CEM tools. Continue Reading
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News
11 Apr 2019
Google Cloud for Retail debuts, Contact Center AI makes inroads
Google takes on cloud competitors by making an AI-rich home for online and bricks retailers with new suite. Also: Google Call Center AI extends to Genesys, Avaya, Salesforce, more. Continue Reading
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Tip
11 Apr 2019
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
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Answer
10 Apr 2019
How do you turn customer feedback into actionable insights?
Actionable insights can be gleaned from brand surveys and reviews, competitor reviews and social media. However, not all insights are insightful or actionable. Continue Reading
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News
10 Apr 2019
Reimagined customer experience mobile apps driving new sales
Mobile and lightweight web apps aren't new. But digital teams driving demand generation is new, thanks to marketing automation platforms that can personalize the pitch. 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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News
05 Apr 2019
LogMeIn Bold360 updates improve chatbot customer experience
LogMeIn Bold360 features new tools that will improve customer experience by streamlining communication, allowing agents to solve problems quickly, and managing bot involvement. Continue Reading
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Answer
04 Apr 2019
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
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Feature
04 Apr 2019
4 customer success best practices to ensure loyalty and retention
It's increasingly important for anyone who interacts with customers to be prepared to promote customer success. Learn how contact center agents can deliver a great customer experience. Continue Reading
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Feature
03 Apr 2019
5 must-read CX trends uncovered at Adobe Summit
As CRM, customer service, marketing and e-commerce morph into customer experience, Adobe speakers, partners and users pinpoint five trends in CX to watch develop in the next two years. Continue Reading
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Tip
01 Apr 2019
Gaming company boosts call center employee engagement
Gaming company Electronic Arts boosts customer experience by using a design thinking strategy to improve the employee experience in call centers. Continue Reading
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News
29 Mar 2019
Adobe-Microsoft-SAP Open Data Initiative gains momentum
It wasn't a marketing scam announced last year: An alliance takes clearer shape, as Adobe, Microsoft and SAP cooperate on a common data model for ERP, CRM and marketing automation. Continue Reading
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News
29 Mar 2019
New Oracle Eloqua features, integrations collect actionable CX data
New integrations and updates for Eloqua, Oracle's B2B marketing tool, emphasize the importance of actionable data in delivering a positive customer experience. Continue Reading
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Feature
28 Mar 2019
Marketing automation tools deliver personalization, customer focus
When buying a marketing automation product, it's important to consider key features, how the tool addresses the organization's size, deployment options, support and pricing. Continue Reading
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Feature
28 Mar 2019
Ensure a good customer experience with CEM software
CEM software helps companies track, measure and manage the customer experience. Read on to learn just how it differs from CRM software and what a good CEM system should include. Continue Reading
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Feature
28 Mar 2019
Maximize and manage customer experience with CEM tools
CEM software provides the technological support necessary to successfully manage the customer experience. Discover the extensive benefits the right platform can provide. Continue Reading
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Feature
28 Mar 2019
Make marketing automation software choices to fit business needs
Examine what core features leading marketing automation software vendors -- including Adobe, HubSpot and Oracle -- and CRM vendors -- including Microsoft, Salesforce and SAP -- offer. Continue Reading
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Feature
28 Mar 2019
A martech stack is vital for successful marketing operations
When building a marketing tech stack, project stakeholders should consider what tools the organization needs, the level of automation it's trying to achieve and the overall budget. Continue Reading
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Feature
27 Mar 2019
6 must-know customer experience technology trends
Our customer experience technology trends survey of 250 North American tech buyers and influencers reveals that the CRM to CX migration is well underway. Continue Reading
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Podcast
27 Mar 2019
Relax, Adobe Marketo still plans to support Salesforce customers
Marketo VP Matt Zilli discusses what's next for the marketing automation platform, especially in regard to what devoted Marketo customers who use Salesforce CRM can expect. Continue Reading
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Feature
27 Mar 2019
Trends to follow: Voice SEO and CX personalization
Voice and personalization are CX trends to follow as businesses place more emphasis on customer experience, according to analysts at Oracle's Modern Customer Experience conference. Continue Reading
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News
27 Mar 2019
Adobe Experience Platform unites Magento, Marketo, customer data
Adobe makes a play for customer experience leadership by adding Magento- and Marketo-based clouds and building it on the Adobe Experience Platform foundation to unify the data. Continue Reading
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Feature
27 Mar 2019
4 ways to use chatbots to improve Gen Z customer experience
More and more chatbots are entering the marketing, customer service and sales spaces. Here are four tips for brands looking to make their chatbots stand out from the others. Continue Reading
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Tip
27 Mar 2019
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
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Infographic
26 Mar 2019
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
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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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Feature
26 Mar 2019
The pros and cons of customer service AI
AI is growing deep roots into cloud-based support services, but there remains a question of whether it can provide the empathy and understanding that brand loyalty requires. Continue Reading
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News
22 Mar 2019
AWS DCX Competency vets cloud customer experience partners
The AWS Digital Customer Experience Competency for content management, e-commerce, service and marketing automation certifies partners for infrastructure and security to create cloud CX. Continue Reading
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News
21 Mar 2019
Adobe Experience Platform likely to get boost, Adoption Scoring debuts
Adobe Experience Platform (formerly Adobe Cloud Platform) focus of Summit, as analytics, AI and open-data initiatives with Microsoft and SAP converge. Continue Reading
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Feature
19 Mar 2019
How Philanthropy Cloud streamlines workplace giving
Perpetual Energy used Salesforce.org's Philanthropy Cloud to create content, track charitable donations and better engage with employees during its annual United Way campaign. Continue Reading
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Answer
19 Mar 2019
3 ways the data scientist role benefits CX teams
CX teams don't traditionally include the data scientist role, but adding one can help derive more value from customer data than a CX analyst or canned analytics software can. 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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Feature
14 Mar 2019
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
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News
12 Mar 2019
Salesforce strategy focuses on integration, customer data
Salesforce's strategy for 2019 and beyond includes better data integration and more plans for MuleSoft, Customer 360 and Salesforce Essentials. Continue Reading
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Feature
08 Mar 2019
AAA discovers benefits of Salesforce Service Cloud software
Using Salesforce Live Agent and Salesforce Service Cloud, AAA Carolinas increased member engagement by 330% and reduced service response time by 54%. Continue Reading
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Tip
06 Mar 2019
5 sales enablement best practices to drive growth
Sales enablement consists of tools and processes that can help sales agents succeed in their roles, including training, resource availability and team involvement. Continue Reading
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News
06 Mar 2019
SurveyMonkey acquisition of Usabilla adds website feedback
SurveyMonkey, by adding website and app feedback capabilities from Usabilla to its survey software platform, now has a more robust offering for enterprise customers. 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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Answer
05 Mar 2019
What are 4 essential social CRM strategies?
Social CRM continues to evolve, using additional social media channels and techniques such as social media mining, advertising and listening. Continue Reading
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Answer
05 Mar 2019
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
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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
28 Feb 2019
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
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Answer
25 Feb 2019
5 common customer support problems that affect CX
In customer support, common customer experience issues include lengthy hold times, scaling, failure to follow up, lack of human touch and a lack of personalization. Continue Reading
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Answer
21 Feb 2019
6 must-have roles on your customer experience team
Customer experience is the most important differentiator between enterprise competitors today, and CX teams are essential to ensuring customer loyalty and retention. Continue Reading