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Bring yourself up to speed with our introductory content.
An overview of Microsoft Dynamics 365
Dynamics 365 unites various CRM and ERP tools into one platform. CRM apps include Dynamics 365 Sales and Customer Service, and ERP tools include Finance and Commerce. Continue Reading
How do companies protect customer data?
Companies can protect customer data through various technical tools and strategies, like authentication and encryption. But some types of data need more protection than others. Continue Reading
How to create a diversity and inclusion marketing strategy
Diversity marketing helps organizations attract new customers, but to implement a strategy, marketers need an internal D&I initiative and to learn about their audience. Continue Reading
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10 marketing trends to watch for in 2024
Marketers in 2024 must embrace AI, voice search, chatbots, personalized marketing, video, social commerce, influencers, VR, sustainability and big data for a competitive edge. Continue Reading
How to get started with marketing automation for SMBs
Marketing automation can help SMBs, which may lack marketing budgets and resources. With certain processes automated, an SMB's marketing team can spend more time creating. Continue Reading
Compare the top 10 marketing automation software
With the right marketing automation software, marketers can streamline their workflows and focus more on creative tasks. This list compares the top vendors in this space.Continue Reading
Why is marketing automation important?
Marketing automation can eliminate repetitive tasks and create a more personalized customer experience. Learn more about the future role of AI in marketing automation.Continue Reading
8 types of marketing automation, with examples
Just as there are different types of marketing, automation types differ, too. Explore real-world examples of each type and learn how businesses can benefit from them.Continue Reading
martech (marketing technology)
Martech (marketing technology) refers to the integration of software tools, platforms, and applications designed to streamline and enhance marketing efforts.Continue Reading
transactional marketing
Transactional marketing is a business strategy that focuses on single, point-of-sale transactions.Continue Reading
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10 marketing automation best practices
Learn how marketing automation best practices, like using behavior-based triggers and A/B testing, can help marketers reach and engage more audiences.Continue Reading
2 Salesforce acquisitions in 2023 close year of austerity
In a year that began with layoffs, Salesforce changed its tune about acquisitions. Instead, it invested more, aiming to aid companies with products that its customers need.Continue Reading
The benefits of diversity in sales teams
A diverse sales team can improve customer connections and boost employee engagement. However, sales managers must create an inclusive work culture if they want to retain talent.Continue Reading
Microsoft Dynamics 365 best practices for implementation
Microsoft Dynamics 365 offers business apps to help organizations boost efficiency. Best practices for implementation include creating the right team and designing a simple UX.Continue Reading
Top 5 benefits of marketing automation
If an organization wants to help its marketers, it must invest in marketing automation. This software offers benefits such as better lead conversion and data collection.Continue Reading
customer profiling
Customer profiling is the detailed and systematic process of constructing a clear portrait of a company's ideal customer by gathering and analyzing information about their demographic, psychographic and behavioral attributes.Continue Reading
customer insight (consumer insight)
Customer insight, also known as consumer insight, is the understanding and interpretation of customer data, behaviors and feedback into conclusions that can be used to improve product development and customer support.Continue Reading
buyer persona
A buyer persona is a composite representation of a specific type of customer in a market segment.Continue Reading
high-touch customer service
High-touch customer service is a category of contact center interaction that requires human interaction.Continue Reading
Why is sales enablement important?
With a sales enablement strategy, sales leaders can make their teams more efficient, well-trained and ensure all reps are consistent when they interact with customers.Continue Reading
digital marketing
Digital marketing is the promotion and marketing of goods and services to consumers through digital channels and electronic technologies.Continue Reading
Why is a customer experience framework essential?
A customer experience framework can help CX teams streamline their workflows, showcase the value of a customer-first culture and improve customer engagement and satisfaction.Continue Reading
customer effort score (CES)
Customer effort score (CES) is a system for evaluating how much effort is required on the part of a customer to achieve satisfaction in their experience with a company.Continue Reading
360-degree customer view
The 360-degree customer view is a comprehensive approach to understanding customers by compiling their individual data from various touchpoints into a single view.Continue Reading
8 ways to measure sales enablement metrics
Measuring sales enablement metrics can increase efficiency for sales teams and drive revenue growth. Learn which metrics to track and real-world uses for each.Continue Reading
CRM (customer relationship management)
Customer relationship management (CRM) is the combination of practices, strategies and technologies that companies use to manage and analyze customer interactions and data throughout the customer lifecycle.Continue Reading
5 real-world examples of customer obsession
Customer obsession requires organizations to place clients' needs at the center of all operations. Real-world examples include Equinox, Tabrick and GreenPal.Continue Reading
actionable intelligence
Actionable intelligence is information that can be immediately used or acted upon -- either tactically in direct response to an evolving situation, or strategically as the result of an analysis or assessment.Continue Reading
Salesforce
Salesforce, Inc. is a cloud computing and social enterprise software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider based in San Francisco.Continue Reading
How product-led growth can help scale your business
With a product-led growth strategy, you can take the pressure off your sales and marketing teams and center what really matters: the product and the customer.Continue Reading
Salesforce Einstein
Salesforce Einstein refers to an integrated set of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies developed for the Salesforce Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform.Continue Reading
virtual assistant (AI assistant)
A virtual assistant, also called an AI assistant or digital assistant, is an application program that understands natural language voice commands and completes tasks for the user.Continue Reading
Microsoft Dynamics 365
Dynamics 365 is a cloud-based portfolio of business applications from Microsoft that are designed to help organizations improve operational efficiency and reduce business complexity while controlling costs.Continue Reading
Salesforce Commerce Cloud
Salesforce Commerce Cloud is a cloud-based suite of products that enable e-commerce businesses to set up e-commerce sites, drive more automation and provide customers with seamless shopping experiences.Continue Reading
How to reduce customer service costs
As organizations adjust to today's economy, CX managers should implement new technologies and strategies to reduce customer service costs without sacrificing quality.Continue Reading
Salesforce DX
Salesforce DX, or SFDX, is a set of software development tools that lets developers build, test and ship many kinds of applications on the Salesforce Platform.Continue Reading
omnichannel
Omnichannel -- also spelled omni-channel -- is an approach to sales, marketing and customer support that seeks to provide customers with a seamless and unified brand experience, regardless of which channel they use.Continue Reading
mindshare (share of mind)
Mindshare, also known as share of mind, is an approach to marketing that involves attempting to make a company, brand or product the first one that comes to mind when a customer thinks of a particular market.Continue Reading
What does a sales enablement manager do?
A sales enablement manager helps sales reps boost productivity and improves their workflows to generate more revenue. Some organizations may have a full sales enablement team.Continue Reading
virtual agent
A virtual agent -- sometimes called an intelligent virtual agent, virtual rep or chatbot -- is a software program that uses scripted rules and, increasingly, artificial intelligence (AI) applications to provide automated service or guidance to ...Continue Reading
account mapping
Account mapping is a strategic process that involves researching and visually organizing the key stakeholders, decision-makers and influencers within a target customer's organization.Continue Reading
chief experience officer (CXO)
A chief experience officer (CXO) is an executive in the C-suite who ensures positive interactions with an organization's customers.Continue Reading
brand recognition
Brand recognition is the extent to which a consumer can correctly identify a particular product or service just by viewing the product or service's logo, tag line, packaging or advertising campaign.Continue Reading
account-based selling
Account-based selling (ABS) is a strategic sales approach in business-to-business sales and marketing that centers around building highly personalized and targeted relationships with specific high-value accounts.Continue Reading
6 must-have customer experience roles for success
A well-rounded CX team is essential for meeting and exceeding customer expectations when engaging with a company.Continue Reading
How sales teams can use generative AI
Sales teams can use generative AI to create personalized content, coach sales reps and improve forecasting. However, risks include data protection and a lack of empathy.Continue Reading
customer experience (CX)
Customer experience (CX) is the sum total of customers' perceptions and feelings resulting from interactions with a brand's products and services.Continue Reading
content personalization
Content personalization is a branding and marketing strategy in which webpages, email and other forms of content are tailored to match the characteristics, preferences or behaviors of individual users.Continue Reading
Top 10 customer experience metrics and KPIs
Net Promoter Score is the most popular customer metric, but it's not the only one for CX teams to measure. Understand which metrics to track and how to calculate them.Continue Reading
Why businesses should prioritize customer retention
Proper customer retention can help businesses grow, save money and better understand consumers. Its benefits can lead to better customer experiences and greater business success.Continue Reading
How to collect customer feedback
Businesses that collect customer feedback are more likely to create positive experiences and address issues. Analyzing feedback can show deeper insights into customer sentiment.Continue Reading
What does it mean to be customer obsessed?
Customer obsession can boost a brand's reputation and profits. But it requires C-suite dedication to CX, high levels of personalization and a positive employee experience.Continue Reading
multichannel marketing
Multichannel marketing refers to the practice of companies interacting with customers via multiple channels, both direct and indirect, to sell them goods and services.Continue Reading
Customer experience strategy: 5 tips to build a valuable CX
The best CX strategy should provide value to both the customer and the business. However, it requires support from leadership and significant investments in technology.Continue Reading
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
12 essential ABM metrics and KPIs to measure success
Account-based marketing metrics let teams effectively engage with key decision-makers within target accounts, strengthen customer loyalty and identify areas of improvement.Continue Reading
Account-based marketing vs. lead generation, explained
Discover the key differences between lead generation and account-based marketing, as well as pros and cons and how to decide which approach is best for your organization.Continue Reading
demand generation
Demand generation is the process of creating and cultivating interest in a product or service with the goal of generating high-quality leads that can be nurtured into loyal customers.Continue Reading
Customer experience vs. customer service: How do they differ?
Customer experience and customer service are not the same, but they do have a shared goal: to ensure customers are satisfied and return for repeat business.Continue Reading
account-based experience (ABX)
Account-based experience (ABX) is a business-to-business (B2B) strategy in which the sales, marketing and customer success departments work together to provide accounts with a unified, personalized experience throughout the buyer journey.Continue Reading
CX personalization: Why it's important and how to deliver it
A personalization strategy can increase brand loyalty and customer retention by providing relevant content to customers when they need it. Here's how to get started.Continue Reading
Why customer journey touchpoints matter
Customer journey touchpoints allow businesses to create an excellent customer experience and drive long-lasting customer loyalty -- if understood and optimized properly.Continue Reading
customer journey map
A customer journey map is a visual representation of the stages a customer goes through when interacting with a company.Continue Reading
A guide to account-based engagement
Account-based marketing strategies can unify marketing, sales and customer service objectives to prioritize, personalize and monetize engagements with high-value accounts.Continue Reading
How to use generative AI for marketing
Organizations can use generative AI to write marketing content and analyze customer data quicker than a human. However, the tool requires basic prompt engineering skills.Continue Reading
How to effectively personalize your ABM strategy
The traditional approach of marketing to the masses is yielding to a more targeted, personalized account-based marketing strategy that caters to high-value clients and boosts ROI.Continue Reading
How does bulk SMS marketing work?
To start a bulk SMS marketing strategy, marketers should create message templates, monitor engagement and ensure that customers can opt in or out of communications.Continue Reading
5 tips for creating customer journey maps from buyer personas
Organizations can create a journey map for each buyer persona. To create the map, CX teams should use data, consider many viewpoints and apply a central governance framework.Continue Reading
quality of experience (QoE or QoX)
Quality of experience (QoE or QoX) is a measure of the overall level of a customer's satisfaction and experience with a product or service and the vendor that's providing that product or service.Continue Reading
7 benefits of SMS marketing
An SMS marketing strategy can benefit organizations and customers alike, with tactics like personalization, real-time results and communication, and loyalty between both parties.Continue Reading
voice of the customer (VOC)
Voice of the customer (VOC) is the component of customer experience that focuses on customer needs, wants, expectations and preferences.Continue Reading
4 components of a customer obsession model
Customer-obsessed organizations put customers at the heart of their operations. A customer obsession model requires important elements like a data strategy and leadership support.Continue Reading
RFx
RFx (request for x) encompasses the entire formal request process and can include request for bid (RFB), request for information (RFI), request for proposal (RFP), request for quotation (RFQ) and request for tender (RFT).Continue Reading
7 benefits of customer experience management
A customer experience management strategy brings many benefits, including a reduced customer churn rate, lower marketing costs and improved crisis management.Continue Reading
customer engagement
Customer engagement is the way a company creates a relationship with its customer base to foster brand loyalty and awareness.Continue Reading
phygital
Phygital (physical plus digital) is a marketing term that describes blending digital experiences with physical ones. As customer interaction channels proliferate, organizations aim to seamlessly integrate these channels.Continue Reading
Top 9 best SMS marketing examples, with templates
How can marketers write the perfect text message to engage customers? Templates can help. Explore examples of common SMS marketing messages, like product alerts and event invites.Continue Reading
How to create customer profiles, with examples
Creating customer profiles gives brands a deep understanding of their customers' needs and results in more successful marketing strategies. Here are the steps to get started.Continue Reading
outbound marketing
Outbound marketing is a traditional form of marketing in which an organization initiates contact with potential customers, or leads.Continue Reading
churn rate
Churn rate is a measure of the number of customers or employees who leave a company during a given period.Continue Reading
How to calculate call center utilization rates
Customer service leaders use metrics like call center utilization rates to track performance and CX. Leadership must learn the effects of these rates and how to calculate them.Continue Reading
marketing campaign management
Marketing campaign management is the planning, executing, tracking and analysis of direct marketing campaigns.Continue Reading
sales-qualified lead (SQL)
A sales-qualified lead (SQL) is a prospective customer that has been researched and vetted -- first by an organization's marketing department and then by its sales team -- and is deemed ready for the next stage in the sales process.Continue Reading
Adobe Experience Platform
Adobe Experience Platform is a suite of customer experience management (CXM) solutions from Adobe.Continue Reading
What are the different types of SMS marketing?
How should marketers text their audiences? First, ensure customers opted in to receive texts. Then, promote, incentivize and update customers on products and orders.Continue Reading
inbound marketing
Inbound marketing is a strategy that focuses on attracting customers, or leads, via company-created internet content, thereby having potential customers come to the organization rather than marketers vying for their attention.Continue Reading
account-based marketing (ABM)
Account-based marketing (ABM) is a business-to-business (B2B) strategy that focuses sales and marketing resources on target accounts within a specific market.Continue Reading
speech analytics
Speech analytics is the process of analyzing voice recordings or live customer calls to contact centers with speech recognition software to find useful information and provide quality assurance.Continue Reading
Salesforce Platform (formerly Force.com)
The Salesforce Platform -- formerly known as Force.com -- is a platform as a service (PaaS) product that simplifies the development and deployment of cloud-based applications and websites.Continue Reading
customer segmentation
Customer segmentation is the practice of dividing a customer base into groups of individuals that have similar characteristics relevant to marketing, such as age, gender, interests and spending habits.Continue Reading
emotions analytics (EA)
Emotions analytics (EA) software collects data on how a person communicates verbally and nonverbally to understand the person's mood or attitude.Continue Reading
lead scoring
Lead scoring is a methodology used by sales and marketing departments to determine the worthiness of leads, or potential customers, by attaching values to them based on their behavior relating to their interest in products or services.Continue Reading
customer data management (CDM)
Customer data management (CDM) is a set of administrative processes that allow data about customers and customer interactions from different source systems to be aggregated and normalized.Continue Reading
cold calling
Cold calling is the business practice of contacting a potential customer or client who has not expressed previous interest in speaking with a customer service representative or making a purchase.Continue Reading
How to use ChatGPT for customer service
Customer service teams can use ChatGPT to automate tasks, generate responses to customer inquiries, summarize email threads and power human-like chatbots.Continue Reading
voice recognition (speaker recognition)
Voice or speaker recognition is the ability of a machine or program to receive and interpret dictation or to understand and perform spoken commands.Continue Reading
The evolution of chatbots and generative AI
Customer service chatbots have evolved to include advanced NLP. The three evolutionary chatbot stages include basic chatbots, conversational agents and generative AI.Continue Reading
Salesforce Service Cloud
Salesforce Service Cloud is a customer relationship management (CRM) platform for Salesforce clients to provide service and support to their business customers.Continue Reading
BANT
BANT is an acronym that stands for 'Budget, Authority, Need, Timing.'Continue Reading
contactless payment
A contactless payment is a wireless financial transaction in which the customer makes a purchase by moving a security token in close proximity to the vendor's point of sale (POS) reader.Continue Reading