Customer experience (CX) management
Customer experience management fosters inbound marketing, sales automation, service and repeat business. Read the latest technology news, information and best practices to shape your customer experience strategy.
Top Stories
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Feature
26 Apr 2023
15 customer experience conferences to attend in 2023
A good way to stay on top of customer experience advancements and trends is to attend industry conferences. Continue Reading
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Feature
28 Feb 2023
Customer success vs. customer support: What's the difference?
Customer support and customer success sound similar, but they're distinct business practices. Differences include approach, metrics, maturity and skills. Continue Reading
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Answer
15 Feb 2023
What does a customer success manager do?
The customer success manager is an essential CX role that takes a proactive approach to ensuring customer loyalty and retention when the sales process is complete. Continue Reading
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Tip
19 Jan 2023
Field service management software vendors to know in 2023
The COVID-19 pandemic turned nice-to-have field service features -- like remote project management and automation -- into vital capabilities. Find out which features vendors offer. Continue Reading
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Tip
18 Jan 2023
The future of field service management and trends for 2023
Contactless, cashless and self-service abilities mark the new standards for field service. The future of field service brings flexibility and convenience for workers and customers. Continue Reading
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Tip
14 Nov 2022
Business benefits of a customer self-service strategy
Self-service channels can save organizations money while improving CX -- if done right. Explore these benefits and tips to keep in mind when building a self-service strategy. Continue Reading
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Tip
06 Jun 2022
5 customer journey phases for businesses to understand
The customer journey contains several stages -- from the presale stage of awareness to post-sale advocacy -- and understanding each phase is key to business success. Continue Reading
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Tip
01 Jun 2022
Compare pros and cons of live chat vs. phone support
Phone support offers personalized experiences, but live chat agents can answer simple inquiries more quickly. See how these service channels stack up against each other. Continue Reading
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News
21 Jan 2022
Adobe, Salesforce release tools to enhance retail experience
Adobe to open beta program for store-pickup features developed in partnership with Walmart; Salesforce debuts Datorama features for retailers. Continue Reading
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Feature
28 Dec 2021
Cryptocurrency broker uses Ada AI platform for better CX
LiteBit partnered with the customer service vendor in 2017 when the cryptocurrency market was booming. Since then, it has been using the vendor's AI-powered chatbot. Continue Reading
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News
16 Dec 2021
Biden targets federal CX improvements with executive order
President Biden issues a detailed executive order that lays out agency-by-agency federal digital experience improvement mandates -- and builds accountability into the process. Continue Reading
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Feature
03 Dec 2021
8 tips to build and manage a customer service team
While customer service has its challenges, managers can build, run and maintain great customer service teams with good communication, up-to-date training and shared goals. Continue Reading
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Feature
02 Dec 2021
10 examples of AI in customer service
AI and AI-enhanced tools drive efficiency and cost reduction throughout the customer service team. Continue Reading
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News
29 Nov 2021
Technology drives holiday shopping for retail, e-commerce
Black Friday e-commerce sales maintained 2020 gains. Retail traffic is up but hasn't rebounded to pre-pandemic levels. Technology, supply chain, COVID-19 variants all factors. Continue Reading
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Feature
29 Nov 2021
15 customer service skills and how to develop them
Some customer service skills include problem-solving, empathy, product knowledge and patience. Continue Reading
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Feature
23 Nov 2021
8 customer service challenges and how to resolve them
The most important skill for a customer service agent to learn is empathy. That, plus a well-crafted customer service plan, can solve nearly any problem that arises. Continue Reading
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News
09 Nov 2021
Real Madrid teams up with Adobe to enhance global fan experience
Real Madrid is using Adobe’s Experience Cloud software to better connect with its fans in Spain and worldwide Continue Reading
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Answer
26 Oct 2021
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
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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
02 Sep 2021
FACE Act aims to improve government CX
The bipartisan bill that would codify the measurement of customer experience for federal agencies cleared the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs. Continue Reading
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News
16 Aug 2021
Meet the CIO who keeps the Salesforce platform running
Salesforce EVP and CIO Jo-ann de Pass Olsovsky embraces the pivot to remote work, low-code appdev and the role of alpha tester of upcoming Salesforce products. Continue Reading
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Answer
13 Aug 2021
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
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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
02 Aug 2021
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
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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
20 Jul 2021
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
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Tip
23 Jun 2021
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
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News
17 Jun 2021
Salesforce adds more HR, employee tools to Work.com
Salesforce to release more employee experience tools on Work.com to support the onboarding and well-being of workers who remain remote after the pandemic passes. Continue Reading
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Feature
15 Jun 2021
Top CX certifications for customer experience professionals
A number of organizations offer customer experience certifications, including CXPA, Medallia, Forrester and the Customer Service Institute of America. Continue Reading
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Feature
28 May 2021
Post-pandemic digital customer experience: What will change?
Overstock.com, FTD and Giant Eagle all revamped their CX tech stacks during the pandemic to meet the demand for online service, and upgrades continue. Continue Reading
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Feature
25 May 2021
7 must-have skills for customer experience professionals
Empathy, communication and adaptability are just some of the skills that all customer experience professionals should have in their toolbox. Continue Reading
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News
12 May 2021
Salesforce low-code features in beta; GA slated for winter
Salesforce gives users a taste of Dynamic Interactions low-code features to come with a beta release of features planned for its next major platform update. Continue Reading
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Feature
10 May 2021
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
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News
07 Apr 2021
Microsoft pushes deeper into Dynamics 365 industry clouds
Microsoft's vertical industry strategy keeps pace with similar approaches from Oracle and Salesforce, which strive to woo users on the benefits of their platforms and data models. Continue Reading
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News
24 Mar 2021
Acquia digital experience platform adds CX-friendly tools
After two years of transition, Acquia users get a first glance at how all of its recent acquisitions and product introductions align to build digital experiences. Continue Reading
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News
04 Mar 2021
Sitecore makes personalization, e-commerce acquisitions
Sitecore's $1.2 billion investment plan for cloud modernization kicks off with the acquisition of Boxever and Four51. Continue Reading
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News
24 Feb 2021
Digital queues avert COVID-19 vaccine registration crashes
Q&A with Cloudflare co-founder and CEO Matthew Prince on how digital waiting rooms can help public health agencies register their constituents for COVID-19 vaccinations. Continue Reading
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Feature
29 Jan 2021
The 7 most effective ways to connect with customers
Businesses need to prioritize building a connection with customers. By doing so, companies get to know their customers on a personal level and can better serve their needs. Continue Reading
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Feature
27 Jan 2021
How to create a customer satisfaction survey
Businesses need to have a plan in place before sending out customer satisfaction surveys. Acting on customer feedback is just as important as collecting it. Continue Reading
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Guest Post
19 Jan 2021
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
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News
14 Jan 2021
Capitol riots spark e-commerce terms of service enforcement
Shopify, Salesforce and Google take action in wake of Capitol riots, as adware and customer experience platforms play an uncomfortable role in political events and discourse. Continue Reading
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News
13 Jan 2021
National Retail Federation tackles political unrest, COVID-19
Retailers at NRF discuss COVID-19 operations and how they changed retail forever. Also: the technologies that keep customer experience consistent during supply-chain disruptions. Continue Reading
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Feature
12 Jan 2021
SAP Commerce Cloud dresses up digital storefronts
SAP Commerce Cloud is designed to help companies launch digital commerce sites, which may be useful for large enterprises and digital commerce sites with complex processes. Continue Reading
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Guest Post
10 Dec 2020
Prioritize human-centric CX and EX to survive the pandemic
Ricardo Saltz Gulko breaks down why businesses should consider a human-centric approach to employee and customer experience, and provides six principles upon which to do so. Continue Reading
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Tip
30 Nov 2020
10 technologies to transform customer experience in 2021
AI-powered technologies such as sentiment analysis, chatbots and real-time transcription can help customer service organizations improve the customer experience. Continue Reading
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Feature
10 Nov 2020
How listening to the voice of the customer benefits businesses
Karen Mangia's book, 'Listen Up! How to Tune In to Customers and Turn Down the Noise' talks about the importance of listening to the voice of the customer in the business world. Continue Reading
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Guest Post
03 Nov 2020
Consider adopting extended reality for improved CX
Research shows that consumers are ready for extended reality when it comes to interacting with brands. Jason Cottrell explains why now is the time to consider adopting XR and AR. Continue Reading
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Guest Post
02 Nov 2020
Build trust in technology by reimagining customer experiences
During this uncertain time created by the pandemic, brands that win their customers' trust and add value through services will stand head and shoulders above the competition. Continue Reading
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Guest Post
30 Oct 2020
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
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Infographic
21 Oct 2020
The evolution of customer service
Today's customer service meets the consumer where and when it is convenient for them, with multiple contact channels, self-service and always-on coverage. Continue Reading
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Guest Post
14 Oct 2020
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
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Tip
13 Oct 2020
5 digital customer experience trends for businesses to consider
Improving digital CX is important in a market cluttered with choices for the customer. Here are some trending strategies to help businesses enhance their offerings. Continue Reading
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Feature
02 Oct 2020
2 Customer Workflows: Drive Customer Loyalty with Connected Digital Workflows
When the unexpected happens, customers want to know they can depend on you to hear them and meet their needs. Continue Reading
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- E-Zine 02 Oct 2020
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News
30 Sep 2020
Technology central to vote count in a tight election
Tech tools will be key in a close election that requires recounts. While electronic signature verification systems have advanced, many digital voting machines are flawed. Continue Reading
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Tip
29 Sep 2020
AI improves customer experience, call center efficiency
Customers and employees can benefit from the use of AI in contact centers. Businesses can use AI to provide customer self-service options and help make agents more productive. Continue Reading
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Feature
28 Sep 2020
6 customer retention best practices for businesses to heed
Customer retention is essential to an organization's success, so it's important to keep customers educated, engaged and feeling as though they're part of the business family. Continue Reading
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Feature
25 Sep 2020
Augmented reality in field service: Why FSM needs AR now
Augmented reality can improve field service by empowering technicians with better information. Learn why interest in AR for FSM has grown and what some early adopters are saying. Continue Reading
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Tip
25 Sep 2020
Sales funnel vs. flywheel: How sales and marketing has evolved
The sales funnel is evolving into a more customer-centric approach named the flywheel. These processes approach sales and marketing differently, but both are useful. Continue Reading
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Guest Post
22 Sep 2020
How can companies handle CX opportunities during COVID-19?
The COVID-19 impact on in-person shopping experiences has changed customer service expectations; now companies must find ways to compete in e-commerce against Amazon and others. Continue Reading
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Tip
31 Aug 2020
How video chat improves customer service and engagement
As restrictions continue due to the COVID-19 crisis, many organizations adopt video chat capabilities to continue business operations and keep customers engaged. Continue Reading
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Guest Post
28 Aug 2020
Are you a customer experience leader or laggard?
Organizations need to invest now in customer experience to ensure they're leaders in their industry. They cannot risk falling behind their competitors with their CX initiatives. Continue Reading
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Feature
18 Aug 2020
Diversity in customer experience hinges on root-cause analysis
Sandra Mathis and Stephanie C. Harris discuss diversity and inclusion, and the necessity of addressing them at an internal level before customers see change. Continue Reading
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Guest Post
05 Aug 2020
How to build a world-class customer experience system
Megan Burns highlights the first four building blocks necessary for building a customer experience -- core journeys, criteria, blueprints and safety nets -- in this first article of a two-part series. Continue Reading
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Tip
03 Aug 2020
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
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News
27 Jul 2020
SAP floats Qualtrics IPO 2 years after acquisition
SAP's decision to spin off Qualtrics in an IPO will likely benefit both companies, analysts said. Continue Reading
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Feature
23 Jul 2020
Tech virtual conferences plagued by problems, boredom
Tech vendors staging virtual events during the pandemic have stumbled in trying to reproduce the in-person conference experience. Some have succeeded. Continue Reading
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Feature
22 Jul 2020
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
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News
14 Jul 2020
Acquia launches digital experience platform
Acquia's digital experience cloud aims to create a more marketer-friendly environment in its historically developer-centric platform based on Drupal. Continue Reading
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Feature
10 Jul 2020
Customer experience involves people, process and tools equally
Robert Azman breaks down why people, process and tools are all crucial for a successful customer experience strategy. Continue Reading
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Tip
08 Jul 2020
How to create customer profiles with examples
Creating customer profiles gives brands a deep understand of their customers' needs and behaviors and results in more successful marketing strategies. Here are steps to get started. Continue Reading
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Feature
08 Jul 2020
Discover the leading CX management software vendors
Take a look at these in-depth roundups that detail the leading products that help companies manage their customer experience, as well as their notable features and buying options. Continue Reading
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Tip
07 Jul 2020
How to gather and evaluate customer sentiment
Businesses can harvest customer sentiment from a variety of places, including social media, surveys, likes, comment cards, contact centers and word-of-mouth. Continue Reading
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Answer
06 Jul 2020
CEM vs. CRM: Which platform is best for your business?
Businesses must be familiar with CEM and CRM if they want to improve customer experience. While these acronyms sound similar, they are different. Continue Reading
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Tip
19 Jun 2020
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
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News
17 Jun 2020
SAP C/4HANA users describe e-commerce pivots amid COVID-19
SAP's customer experience application suite still a priority after a year of senior leadership upheaval at the enterprise cloud vendor, thanks to the COVID-19 economy. Continue Reading
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News
02 Jun 2020
Pegasystems debuts Pega Process Fabric CX integration tools
Pegasystems makes a play to be a 'platform of platforms' with Pega Process Fabric, which orchestrates processes between applications in mixed-vendor CX tech stacks. Continue Reading
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Tip
28 May 2020
How data from APM tools helps businesses improve CX
Businesses have many options when it comes to analyzing customer experiences. APM tools can help contact center leaders improve agent experience, as well as CX. Continue Reading
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Feature
27 May 2020
Brands focus on messaging, empathy in crisis marketing mode
There is no single way for businesses to approach marketing in a crisis, but no matter how they choose to address the situation, they must be sensitive to their customers. Continue Reading
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Feature
26 May 2020
Preparing your customer experience strategies for the new normal
As companies prepare to reopen following the lengthy shutdown due to the pandemic, they need to learn how their customers feel and how best to adapt to serve them. Continue Reading
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News
21 May 2020
Adobe Experience Manager buoys U.S. census during pandemic
The first U.S. Census digital experience was launched in time for the pandemic, and now Adobe looks to parlay the success into more government business. Continue Reading
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Tip
12 May 2020
4 ways CX is central to digital transformation in retail
Digital transformation initiatives in businesses can help drive sales, increase customer engagement and retention, and improve the customer experience. 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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Tip
21 Apr 2020
6 ways customer experience influences sales
The entire customer journey makes up the overall customer experience, which can affect repeat sales and a company's bottom line. Here are some tips for providing exceptional CX. Continue Reading
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News
20 Apr 2020
In COVID-19 economy, CX teams shrink despite greater need
B2B companies realign sales and marketing efforts as the COVID-19 economy creates slowdowns and layoffs for some, opportunities and new leads for others. Continue Reading
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News
31 Mar 2020
Adobe AI tools coming to Experience Cloud
This year's Adobe Summit, held online, marked the debut of the Adobe Analytics Digital Economy Index, a massively scaled gauge of online purchasing trends. That, and AI tools. Continue Reading
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News
11 Mar 2020
ServiceNow Orlando update adds tools for human and virtual agents
ServiceNow Orlando update and new partnerships builds on strategy of reaching into new verticals such as telecommunications and banking. Continue Reading
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Feature
19 Feb 2020
CXO role requires tenacity, cross-departmental influence
The CXO role is fairly new to businesses, focusing on customer experience strategies across the entire enterprise. In this Q&A, an executive discusses what makes a CXO successful. Continue Reading
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News
17 Feb 2020
Chief experience officers, chief customer officers on rise
Since 2017, more CXOs and CCOs have shown up in Gartner's customer experience management survey. They don't always report to the CMO, but marketing's ownership of CX is growing. Continue Reading
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News
31 Jan 2020
Target CIO leads retailer's digital customer experience tech makeover
Target rebuilt its technology stack from the inside under CIO Michael McNamara's watch, and plans to further refine its digital e-commerce experience. Continue Reading
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News
24 Jan 2020
Retail facial recognition and eye tracking the next tech wave, maybe
Biometric data is the last frontier of the shopping experience, as eye-tracking and facial recognition technologies slowly weave their way into the retail tech stack. Continue Reading
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News
16 Jan 2020
Google Cloud retail strategy provides search, hosting, AI for stores
With new Google Cloud Platform tools for retailers, the search giant takes on Microsoft and AWS with its own flavor of AI and promises of better uptime. Continue Reading
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Feature
14 Jan 2020
Software CDP features don't equate to CDP branding
While many tech companies have software with customer data platform attributes, some vendors, such as Salesforce and Oracle, don't put the CDP label on them. Continue Reading
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News
13 Jan 2020
Microsoft, Salesforce, Oracle launch retail customer experience tools
Retailers get new tools from leading customer experience platform vendors to better compete with online-only rivals. Continue Reading
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Feature
06 Jan 2020
Customer engagement strategies focus on mobility, loyalty programs
The Miami Heat and JetBlue both use mobile apps and loyalty rewards programs to engage their customers -- inside their places of business and at home. Continue Reading
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Tip
03 Jan 2020
How to differentiate between CX and DX platforms
CX and DX platforms have similarities in how they manage content to produce interactive experiences, but they aren't the same. The difference is their underlying business purpose. Continue Reading
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Opinion
20 Dec 2019
Digital experience trends to watch in 2020
With the availability of AI, personalization engines and customer data platforms, businesses and consumers can expect improved digital experiences in 2020. Continue Reading
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Tip
20 Dec 2019
Business text messaging examples that engage customers
Business text messaging is making its way into enterprise CRM. Texting is among the most personal contacts people receive, and with proper use, can enhance customer relationships. Continue Reading
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News
17 Dec 2019
How Amazon customer experience became e-commerce standard
Amazon made personalization, one-click shopping, quick shipping and easy returns de facto standards for all B2C and now, B2B businesses. Read about how the company did it, and what's next. Continue Reading
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Feature
16 Dec 2019
Big retailers share their CX strategies
Effective customer experience strategies have a big impact on business success. Hear what Carnival Corp., Ritual Cosmetics and Ashley Stewart have to say about CX. Continue Reading
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News
16 Dec 2019
Deloitte launches Adobe Experience Platform accelerator
Deloitte-Adobe global joint strategic partnership for Adobe CDP deployments adds AI tools for Deloitte clients to measure customer experience on standard metrics. Continue Reading