Sales technology
Sales automation and other sales technology open the door to new potential revenue, especially when paired with AI and other cloud customization tools that can personalize content and choose the next-best action to move sales along. Read about the latest sales technology tools driving bottom line benefits.
Top Stories
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Feature
09 Nov 2022
AI-powered CRM platforms compared
CRM vendors can apply fundamental AI capabilities in various ways. Learn about the similarities and differences between AI functionality in the major CRM platforms. Continue Reading
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Tip
30 Aug 2022
9 disadvantages of self-service options
Customer self-service platforms free up live agents for more complicated issues, but if organizations don't keep this software up to date, its disadvantages can frustrate users. Continue Reading
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Feature
26 Mar 2020
9 steps for negotiating deals with Salesforce
Understanding the Salesforce fiscal calendar, motivations of sales agents and what your businesses needs from a deal are key steps in negotiating contracts with the CRM giant. Continue Reading
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Feature
26 Mar 2020
Top 3 ways to increase engagement in e-commerce
Engagement is a key component of relationships between customers and businesses, and it is essential for fostering an exceptional customer experience. Continue Reading
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Tip
26 Mar 2020
Tips for creating remote call center programs amid COVID-19 pandemic
To create a sustainable work-from-home contact center program, businesses need to adjust a number of processes, including, hiring, training, supervision and technology. Continue Reading
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News
24 Mar 2020
Zendesk Relater primes customers for remote call center work
Zendesk focuses on fledgling Sunshine and Sell CRM platforms, as well as helping its well-established customer service base switch to remote call center work. Continue Reading
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Tip
23 Mar 2020
Businesses move toward UC and contact center integration
Integrating unified communications and contact center software is trending and it can provide a number of benefits to both business employees and customers. Continue Reading
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Answer
19 Mar 2020
What are 4 ways to improve content experience?
Thoughtful presentation of content enables businesses to engage customers. Methods of improving content experience include social media and tailored content. Continue Reading
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Tip
16 Mar 2020
Tips for call center crisis management amid coronavirus pandemic
Call centers can receive an influx of calls from customers during times of crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Here are some steps businesses can take handle the call volume. Continue Reading
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News
13 Mar 2020
Direct mail automation spikes in wake of conference cancellations
Marketers are turning to CRM-ready e-gift and direct mail vendors to send postcards and swag boxes to prospective customers they would have met with at canceled conferences. Continue Reading
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Feature
13 Mar 2020
Mystery shopping software key to customer experience management
Businesses use mystery shopping platforms, comment cards, brand reputation management and more to identify customer pain points and improve customer experience. Continue Reading
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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
10 Mar 2020
Collaboration tools in the workplace boost customer experiences
Collaboration tools improve personal digital experiences internally for contact center agents, marketers and sales pros and externally for customers in an e-commerce environment. Continue Reading
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Feature
09 Mar 2020
Salesforce adds new features to Trailhead Live and Go mobile app
Trailhead Live now features a live chat option and is available on Trailhead Go. While the mobile app fills a need, users still gravitate toward the desktop version. Continue Reading
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News
06 Mar 2020
Amazon chatbots to employ neural networks for CX
Amazon tests neural network bots to help site customers and human agents more quickly identify answers to refund and order-cancellation questions. Continue Reading
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News
04 Mar 2020
Zendesk Sunshine CRM, social media upgrades released
Zendesk upgraded Sunshine CRM and Support platforms to manage digital customer conversations, and added e-commerce tools that enable agents to work through order and payment issues. Continue Reading
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Feature
04 Mar 2020
4 ways to create an effective personalization strategy
Creating a personalization strategy can ensure that businesses offer the best possible experience to customers, with simple yet effective interactions. Continue Reading
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News
27 Feb 2020
Aprimo partners with Templafy on digital asset management
The Aprimo Connector for Microsoft Office allows users to streamline data assets through a Templafy connector to applications like PowerPoint and Word. Continue Reading
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News
27 Feb 2020
Salesforce Vlocity acquisition to aid vertical CRM integrations
As Salesforce co-CEO Keith Block steps down, the CRM vendor acquires Vlocity to spur growth in healthcare, energy, media, government, financial services and insurance. Continue Reading
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Feature
27 Feb 2020
5 terms to know before creating a sales enablement strategy
Sales enablement is important for companies to drive efficiency, maintain customer satisfaction and stay organized. Sales enablement uses different tools and strategies to do this. Continue Reading
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Feature
25 Feb 2020
Salesforce salary survey shows increase in Trailhead use
The annual Mason Frank International survey shows the top two Salesforce certifications are administrator and platform app builder. Trailhead use has also increased. Continue Reading
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Feature
25 Feb 2020
4 digital marketing best practices for businesses
Some digital marketing strategies for reaching customers include creating empathy and trust in marketing campaigns, personalizing content and having an omnichannel presence. Continue Reading
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Tip
21 Feb 2020
AI in customer experience: Key benefits
Incorporating AI in customer interactions enriches the customer experience in multiple ways, builds brand loyalty and boosts efficiency. Learn about three ways AI improves CX. Continue Reading
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Tip
19 Feb 2020
Best practices for using AI-enabled self-service
AI in customer self-service is right behind robotic process automation in terms of growth. Here are some best practices to implement the technology in your organization. Continue Reading
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News
19 Feb 2020
Salesforce Sydney event moves online amid coronavirus concerns
As coronavirus spreads, Salesforce changed its March 4 live World Tour Sydney conference to a livestream event, citing safety concerns for employees, customers and Trailblazers. 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
19 Feb 2020
Microsoft CDP leads 400-plus features in Dynamics 365 update
Microsoft's Dynamics 365 2020 Wave 1 release opens up the floodgates for outside data sources connecting to Customer Insights, its customer data platform. 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
13 Feb 2020
Google's Meena AI chatbot to eventually find its way into CX
Experts say Google's Meena chatbot is a leap forward in conversational AI. But using it for websites and customer service will require all-new deployments and training methods. Continue Reading
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Answer
13 Feb 2020
How does AI in sales improve staff performance?
AI can assist in many aspects of the sales process, including analyzing calls, making employees more productive and retaining talented representatives. Continue Reading
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News
12 Feb 2020
New leadership, new features for LinkedIn Sales Navigator
Sales Navigator adds features to create CRM contacts directly from LinkedIn, and content-tracking tools to see who's reading marketing materials salespeople send to customer leads. Continue Reading
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Tip
11 Feb 2020
5 tips for an effective marketing automation implementation
Successful marketing automation implementations require steps beyond those that go into the usual technology rollouts. Here are some tips to help businesses along the way. Continue Reading
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News
07 Feb 2020
Salesforce Trailhead Playground launches starter app to help users
The new starter app features tips for new Trailhead Playground users, along with an easier way to install packages from AppExchange and receive login credentials. Continue Reading
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News
07 Feb 2020
New Antavo interactive kiosks push retail loyalty programs
The kiosk features a prize wheel, treasure hunts and themed quizzes to engage and interact with shoppers while promoting in-store loyalty programs. Continue Reading
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News
07 Feb 2020
Google's third-party cookies ban bolsters new data tracking tools
Google will cancel third-party cookies by 2022, and is already eroding their value. Analysts and vendors predict what data strategies and technologies will replace it. Continue Reading
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News
06 Feb 2020
Salesforce layoffs hit Customer Success at end of fiscal year
Salesforce, a pioneer in customer success, has laid off what is rumored to be more than 1,000 Customer Success employees. Continue Reading
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News
04 Feb 2020
Experts: Salesforce Evergage acquisition for personalization, not CDP
Salesforce acquires Evergage, which offers personalization and a customer data platform. Analysts say Salesforce bought the tech for the personalization -- not to add to its CDP. Continue Reading
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Feature
04 Feb 2020
Sales enablement best practices to enhance customer interactions
Salespeople need the right tools to build strong relationships with customers to make a sale. Read about sales enablement best practices that may enhance customer interactions. Continue Reading
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Answer
03 Feb 2020
What are some benefits of SSO in contact centers?
Contact center agents often need to remember a number of passwords to log in to multiple applications. Single sign-on can alleviate that pain point and increase productivity. 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
29 Jan 2020
Totango introduces customer success tool Dynamic Assignment
Dynamic Assignment is a new feature in the Totango Spark that allows service providers to quickly sift through customer success managers to find one who will exactly fit a customer's needs. Continue Reading
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Feature
27 Jan 2020
4 contact center trends that drive customer experience
Modern contact centers are making a variety of improvements, such as incorporating AI and chatbots. Learn about four contact center trends that are poised to improve CX. 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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Tip
24 Jan 2020
IoT and the customer experience: What to expect in 2020
Consumers are finding themselves increasingly surrounded by technology that talks to each other. See how retail is incorporating IoT and affecting customer experience. Continue Reading
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Tip
24 Jan 2020
6 ideas to consider before making a C/4HANA SAP cloud migration
Moving to SAP's C/4HANA platform may lead to improved CX. However, companies should make some considerations before starting an on-premises to SAP cloud migration. Continue Reading
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Feature
22 Jan 2020
5 common call center terms to know
Businesses interact with customers in a variety of ways, including via phone calls and chatbots. Here are some call center terms that define these interactions. Continue Reading
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News
21 Jan 2020
HubSpot adds usability features to Marketing Hub Enterprise
HubSpot launched new features to their Marketing Hub Enterprise tool that focuses on user-friendliness and ability, while maintaining the tool's powerfulness. Continue Reading
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Tip
20 Jan 2020
5 ways a chatbot for the contact center can help workflow
AI and chatbot technology are constantly changing and gaining capabilities. Companies need to determine how to best use chatbots for their contact centers. 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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News
10 Jan 2020
Elastic Path acquires Moltin for headless commerce, microservices
Elastic Path's headless approach to e-commerce takes a step in the SaaS direction as it acquires Moltin, which specializes in microservices to enable online sales. Continue Reading
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News
09 Jan 2020
Customer experience world catches up on CCPA regulations
GDPR compliance has put many marketing, sales, e-commerce and customer service teams somewhat in line with the California Consumer Privacy Act. There are some differences, however. Continue Reading
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Tip
08 Jan 2020
Video conferencing adoption a growing trend among businesses
B2B and B2C video conferencing is on the rise as businesses strive to provide exceptional CX to customers. Nemertes shares some of its research results. Continue Reading
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Answer
07 Jan 2020
What are some useful Salesforce CPQ features?
CPQ tools help speed up the quote process while providing accurate pricing, along with other features. Here's how this technology can help your organization. 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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News
23 Dec 2019
Customer data platform tools top priority list for big vendors
CDPs, which unify marketing, sales and customer service data in real time, became a huge priority for Salesforce, Microsoft, SAP, Adobe and Oracle in 2019. Read about what's next for 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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Tip
19 Dec 2019
Strategize a smooth contact center migration
Companies are migrating from on-premises contact center software to the cloud. But before making the move, organizations must approve it from a strategic and practical perspective. Continue Reading
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Tip
19 Dec 2019
How to get value from customer insights data
Gathering and acting on customer insights can make the difference between a successful and struggling business. Here's how businesses can use it to their advantage. 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
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News
16 Dec 2019
Episerver expands B2B e-commerce footprint with Insite acquisition
Episerver's latest purchase expands its DX platform. It follows a trend of web CMS companies moving into territory dominated by Oracle, Salesforce, Adobe, Microsoft and SAP. Continue Reading
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News
13 Dec 2019
Qualtrics XM adds mobile, AI, information governance
SAP's influence is reflected in some new features Qualtrics revealed in its XM customer and employee experience measurement platform. Continue Reading
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Feature
13 Dec 2019
4 voice of the customer methods to improve CX
To improve customer experience, organizations can use mystery shopping programs, social CRM and surveys to gather data from interactions with consumers. Continue Reading
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Tip
12 Dec 2019
4 steps to successful contact center technology implementation
Before starting implementation of any new technology in a contact center, it is important to have a strategy to ensure both employee and customer satisfaction. Continue Reading
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Tip
06 Dec 2019
5 marketing budget strategies to maximize your dollars
Experts suggest that businesses build well-constructed budgets and create talent roadmaps to determine whether they are hiring the best people to reach their goals. Continue Reading
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Feature
05 Dec 2019
AppExchange, acquisitions key to the future of Salesforce
In the first 20 years of Salesforce's history, acquisitions and products drove rapid growth. In the next 20, AppExchange partners will play a crucial role in the company's growth. Continue Reading
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Feature
05 Dec 2019
Salesforce Trailblazer community must keep pace to fuel growth
Salesforce Trailhead's mission is to provide current and prospective customers with admins and developers. Growing that talent pool is crucial to Salesforce's health. Continue Reading
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Feature
05 Dec 2019
How Netflix uses emotional analytics to improve CX
Emotional analytics enable businesses to obtain customer feedback without words. Netflix employs this tactic as a means to engage and retain customers. Continue Reading
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Answer
03 Dec 2019
What chatbot evaluation metrics do you use to measure performance?
Chatbots are an important contact center component -- as is measuring their performance. Learn how to measure chatbot performance in your organization. Continue Reading
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Answer
27 Nov 2019
How can you best use contact center AI?
While AI is still an evolving technology, agent assist benefits contact center employees by improving agent efficiency improve the overall customer experience. Continue Reading
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News
26 Nov 2019
Aviso introduces version 2.0 of AI-guided sales platform
Version 2.0 provides artificial intelligence tools that predict deal close probabilities, guide next best actions and limit typos and unsaved changes during entry of data. Continue Reading
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Tip
22 Nov 2019
How to use low-code software platforms for digital experiences
Low-code software platforms enable flexibility and faster development for digital experiences. Here's what content managers should consider before purchasing a low-code tool. Continue Reading
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News
21 Nov 2019
Salesforce Trailhead app makes learning more convenient
Learning Salesforce skills and boosting career potential gets easier with the new mobile app, Trailhead Go. Customers explore how they can take advantage of it. Continue Reading
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Conference Coverage
21 Nov 2019
Salesforce Dreamforce 2019 news, events and highlights
Dreamforce 2019, Nov. 19 to 22 in San Francisco, promises a variety of announcements and events. Follow this guide for all the happenings during the conference. Continue Reading
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News
21 Nov 2019
New Salesforce Customer 360 aims to unify data sources
In aggregate, the new Customer 360 features Salesforce added to its sales, marketing, e-commerce and service platform resemble a customer data platform. Customers, analysts and partners weigh in. Continue Reading
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News
20 Nov 2019
How Salesforce mobile Einstein Voice Assistant can improve CX
The Salesforce mobile app’s Einstein Voice Assistant brings a variety of benefits to customers. The AI-enabled tool creates a more human interaction and could help improve self-service. Continue Reading
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News
19 Nov 2019
Salesforce Service Cloud Voice, Einstein Voice Assistant unveiled
Salesforce unveils a voice assistant and call center tools to enable real-time natural language processing for agents to connect customer data and supervisor help on a single screen. Continue Reading
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News
18 Nov 2019
Oracle expands Customer Experience platform with Oracle Digital Sales
Features of the new CRM tool include Oracle Digital Assistant and a user interface that brings tasks frequently done by sales reps into one place to reduce data entries and clicks. Continue Reading
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Tip
18 Nov 2019
Contact center agent experience needs massive overhaul
Research shows several areas in which contact centers are failing their agents and what changes organizations are making to improve the experience and reduce turnover. Continue Reading
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News
18 Nov 2019
Salesforce mobile app, Trailhead Go rebuilt for iOS
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff and Apple CEO Tim Cook take the Dreamforce stage as a rebuilt-for-iOS Salesforce Mobile, new Trailhead Go app and Swift-optimized mobile SDK debut. Continue Reading
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Answer
18 Nov 2019
What is the role of a customer success manager?
The customer success manager is an essential CX role that takes a proactive approach to ensuring customer loyalty and retention, balancing out automated CRM functions. Continue Reading
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News
14 Nov 2019
Adobe Experience Platform CDP adds marketer-friendly features
Adobe adds features for non-IT marketing users to more easily deploy the Adobe Experience Platform CDP. Photoshop-like layering tools for data sets, previewed earlier this year, go live. Continue Reading
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News
14 Nov 2019
Salesforce.org Education Cloud updates enhance student engagement
New Salesforce.org Education Cloud features assist with degree planning, setting up adviser appointments and getting a more well-rounded view of students. Continue Reading
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Feature
13 Nov 2019
Microsoft CDP helps businesses unify customer data
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Insights takes data from disparate sales, service and marketing systems to bring it all into one golden record of the customer. Continue Reading
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Feature
11 Nov 2019
Salesforce customers supplement CRM with AppExchange tools
Salesforce customers are turning to the AppExchange to supplement their CRM function. Many find AppExchange tools to be more cost-effective and to integrate better with the CRM. Continue Reading
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News
11 Nov 2019
Upland Software extends its portfolio with CRO tool Altify
Features offered by Altify include analytics with Salesforce Einstein and Tableau, relationship map visualizations and integrations with applications in the CRO tool ecosystem. Continue Reading
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Feature
07 Nov 2019
Small customer data platforms fend off big tech with service, features
With Microsoft, Oracle and Adobe releasing customer data platforms, to be followed by Salesforce and SAP, small CDPs defend their turf with more features, better service and pricing Continue Reading
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News
06 Nov 2019
Inboundgeo Marketing Suite introduces new direct mail tool
Clients' website visitors can receive direct mail with customized content within 72 hours of their visits with the new Content Derived Filtering tool, according to the company. Continue Reading
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Feature
01 Nov 2019
Have success with SAP C/4HANA on-premises-to-cloud migration
There is no one way to complete a CRM platform migration, but a little planning and asking questions along the way can ensure you are on the road to success. Continue Reading
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News
01 Nov 2019
Adobe digital experience platform adds small businesses offerings
Adobe is reaching out to small businesses with expansions to its product portfolio, which include Magento Commerce, Marketo Engage and Adobe Analytics Foundation among others. Continue Reading
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News
30 Oct 2019
Salesforce Trailhead to roll out live training videos
By year's end, Salesforce will unveil a new set of live and on-demand video training classes to give users a new way to earn Trailhead badges and certifications. Continue Reading
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News
30 Oct 2019
Public sector's customer experience strategies analyzed, ranked
Some U.S. government agencies use technology to earn high marks for CX. Others need improvement in areas that corporate marketing teams can learn from. Continue Reading
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News
29 Oct 2019
Salesforce Financial Services Cloud adds mortgage tools
Salesforce pushes deeper into financial services with tools to make mortgage data collection easier, and to find upsell opportunities for customers looking for home loans. Continue Reading
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Feature
28 Oct 2019
Influencer marketing best practices to reach millennials, Gen Z
To reach the millennial and Gen Z consumer, you need to build trust and create experiences. Follow these tips to spin up an influencer marketing campaign. Continue Reading
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News
24 Oct 2019
Salesforce email marketing gets Einstein AI infusion
Salesforce adds Einstein AI features to email marketing tools to find images and keywords and provide keyword analysis to help email campaigns succeed. Continue Reading
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News
23 Oct 2019
Rent the Runway CEO discusses IT challenges, CX strategy
Rent the Runway CEO Jennifer Hyman shares the company's CX strategy, describes its customer data collection and use, and addresses recent IT upgrade challenges. Continue Reading
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News
23 Oct 2019
Ex-Salesforce exec Bob Stutz takes the reins of SAP C/4HANA
Ex-Salesforce Marketing Cloud CEO Bob Stutz, known for jump-starting stagnating CRM and CX software at Siebel, Microsoft and SAP, returns to SAP to bolster C/4HANA CX cloud. Continue Reading
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Tip
23 Oct 2019
Benefits of migrating customer experience apps to the cloud
Nemertes research claims 75% of contact centers do some or all business in the cloud. As CX technology improves, businesses increasingly consider the benefits of cloud migration. Continue Reading
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News
22 Oct 2019
Digital experience projects balance CX, data privacy concerns
Users want hyper-personalized, convenient experiences when they shop or stay at hotels, but brands must balance the thin line between convenience and invasion of privacy. Continue Reading
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News
22 Oct 2019
Adobe updates Magento Commerce, adds Amazon and Azure hooks
Adobe continues to support Magento Open Source but adds Azure support and AI tools only to the commercial version of the vendor's e-commerce platform. Continue Reading