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  • #

    What is a 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.

  • A

    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.

  • actionable insights

    Actionable insights are conclusions drawn from data that can be turned directly into an action or a response.

  • Adobe Experience Platform

    Adobe Experience Platform is a suite of customer experience management (CXM) solutions from Adobe.

  • Apex (Salesforce)

    Salesforce Apex is a Microsoft-certified framework for building software as a service (SaaS) apps on top of Salesforce's customer relationship management (CRM) functionality.

  • What is account mapping, and why do you need it (with template)?

    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.

  • What is account-based selling? Everything you need to know

    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.

  • What is 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 data analytics or some other assessment.

  • What is an abandoned call?

    An abandoned call is a call or other type of contact initiated to a call center or contact center that is ended before any conversation occurs.

  • B

    B2C (business-to-consumer)

    B2C, or business-to-consumer, is a retail model where products or services move directly from a business to the end user who has purchased the goods or services for personal use.

  • BANT

    BANT is an acronym that stands for 'Budget, Authority, Need, Timing.'

  • BOPIS (buy online, pick up in-store)

    BOPIS (buy online, pick up in-store) is a business model that allows consumers to shop and place orders online and then pick up their purchases in the brick-and-mortar store, often within the same day.

  • brand ambassador

    A brand ambassador is an advocate of a particular company's products and services. In marketing, brand ambassador may actually be a paid position and job title.

  • build to order

    Build to order is a methodology and manufacturing practice where a product is created once a confirmed order is received.

  • business metric

    A business metric is a quantifiable measure businesses use to track, monitor and assess the success or failure of various business processes.

  • buzz marketing

    Buzz marketing is a viral marketing technique focused on maximizing the word-of-mouth potential of a campaign or product.

  • What are buyer personas?

    A buyer persona is a composite representation of a specific type of customer in a market segment.

  • What is 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, tagline, packaging or advertising campaign.

  • C

    chatbot

    A chatbot is a software or computer program that simulates human conversation or "chatter" through text or voice interactions.

  • chief customer officer (CCO)

    A chief customer officer, or customer experience officer, is responsible for customer research, communicating with company employees and taking charge of customer experience (CX) metrics.

  • churn rate

    Churn rate is a measure of the number of customers or employees who leave a company during a given period.

  • clickstream data (clickstream analytics)

    Clickstream data and clickstream analytics are the processes involved in collecting, analyzing and reporting aggregate data about which pages a website visitor visits -- and in what order.

  • 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.

  • contact center agent (call center agent)

    A contact center agent is a person who handles incoming or outgoing customer communications for an organization.

  • contact center burnout

    Contact center burnout refers to physical, emotional and mental exhaustion experienced by contact center employees.

  • contact center management

    Contact center management is the process of overseeing contact center operations with the goal of providing an outstanding customer experience in an effective and efficient manner.

  • contact center schedule adherence

    Contact center schedule adherence is a standard metric used in business contact centers to determine whether contact center agents are working the amount of time they are scheduled to work.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • contextual marketing

    Contextual marketing is an online marketing strategy model in which people are served with targeted advertising based on their search terms or their recent browsing behavior.

  • conversational marketing

    Conversational marketing is marketing that engages customers through dialogue.

  • cost per engagement (CPE)

    Cost per engagement (CPE) is an advertising pricing model in which digital marketing teams and advertisers only pay for ads when users interact with their campaign in some way.

  • CRM (customer relationship management) analytics

    CRM (customer relationship management) analytics comprises all of the programming that analyzes data about customers and presents it to an organization to help facilitate and streamline better business decisions.

  • customer acquisition cost

    Customer acquisition cost is the fee associated with convincing a consumer to buy your product or service, including research, marketing and advertising costs.

  • customer churn (customer attrition)

    Customer churn, also called customer attrition, is the number of paying customers who fail to become repeat customers.

  • 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.

  • customer data platform (CDP)

    A customer data platform (CDP) is a type of software application that provides a unified platform of customer information that can be collected, viewed or accessed by other systems.

  • customer engagement

    Customer engagement is the way a company creates a relationship with its customer base to foster brand loyalty and awareness.

  • customer lifecycle

    In customer relationship management (CRM), customer lifecycle is a term used to describe the progression of steps a customer goes through when considering, purchasing, using and maintaining loyalty to a product or service.

  • customer retention

    Customer retention is a metric that measures customer loyalty, or an organization's ability to retain customers over time.

  • customer service charter

    A customer service charter is a document that outlines how an organization promises to work with its customers along with providing insights into how an organization operates.

  • customer success

    Customer success is a strategy to ensure a company's products are meeting the needs of the customer.

  • customer touchpoint

    A customer touchpoint is any direct or indirect contact a customer has with a brand.

  • customer-managed relationship (CMR)

    A customer-managed relationship (CMR) is a relationship in which a business uses a methodology, software, apps and perhaps internet capability to encourage the customer to control access to information and ordering.

  • What are customer service and support?

    Customer service is the support organizations offer to customers before, during and after purchasing a product or service.

  • What is a call center? Everything you need to know

    A call center is a centralized department of customer service professionals who handle inbound and outbound calls from current and potential customers.

  • What is a 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.

  • What is a cloud contact center?

    A cloud contact center is an internet-hosted service, typically managed by a third party, that handles all inbound and outbound customer communications for an organization.

  • What is a contact center?

    A contact center is a central point from which organizations manage all customer interactions across various channels.

  • What is a customer account record?

    A customer account record is the basic unit of information about a customer that resides in a CRM, or customer relationship management system.

  • What is a 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.

  • What is a customer health score?

    A customer health score is a value that indicates the long-term prospect for a customer to drop off or, conversely, to become a high-value, repeat customer through renewal or Cross-selling or up-selling strategies.

  • What is a customer journey map?

    A customer journey map is a visual depiction of the stages customers go through when interacting with a company -- from buying products online to accessing customer service on the phone to airing grievances on social media.

  • What is closed loop reporting?

    Closed loop reporting (CLR) is a system in which data and information collected by marketing and sales professionals is made available to both teams.

  • What is contact center as a service (CCaaS)?

    Contact center as a service (CCaaS) is a framework that combines contact center hosting principles and cloud-based contact center infrastructure.

  • What is contact center infrastructure?

    A contact center infrastructure (CCI) is a framework composed of the physical and virtual resources that a contact or call center facility needs to operate effectively.

  • What is CPQ software (configure price quote software)?

    CPQ (configure, price, quote) is programming that helps sales representatives and self-service customers quickly generate accurate quotes for configurable products and services.

  • What is CRM (customer relationship management)?

    CRM (customer relationship management) is the combination of practices, strategies and technologies that companies use to manage and analyze customer interactions and data throughout the customer lifecycle.

  • What is customer experience (CX) and why is it important?

    Customer experience (CX) is the sum total of customers' perceptions and feelings resulting from interactions with a brand's products and services.

  • What is customer experience management (CXM)? Ultimate guide

    Building brand loyalty among customers involves a customer-centric strategy and measuring feedback through voice of the customer data to improve customer experiences.

  • What is customer insight (consumer insight)?

    Customer insight, or consumer insight, is the understanding and interpretation of customer data, behaviors and feedback into conclusions that can be used to drive actions that improve product development and customer support.

  • What is customer intelligence (CI) and how does it help business?

    Customer intelligence (CI) is the process of collecting and analyzing detailed customer data from internal and external sources to gain insights about customer needs, motivations and behaviors.

  • What is customer profiling?

    Customer profiling is the detailed, 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.

  • What is 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.

  • D

    data clean room

    A data clean room is a technology service that helps content platforms keep first person user data private when interacting with advertising providers.

  • database marketing

    Database marketing is a systematic approach to the gathering, consolidation and processing of consumer data.

  • 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.

  • digital marketing

    Digital marketing is the promotion and marketing of goods and services to consumers through digital channels and electronic technologies.

  • direct email marketing

    Direct email marketing is a format for email-based campaigns in which standalone advertisements are sent to a targeted list of recipients.

  • What is direct marketing?

    Direct marketing is a type of advertising campaign that seeks to elicit an action (such as an order, a visit to a store or website or a request for further information) from a selected group of consumers in response to communication from a marketer.

  • E

    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.

  • F

    What is field service management (FSM)?

    Field service management (FSM) is a system of managing off-site workers and the resources they require to do their jobs efficiently.

  • What is first call resolution (FCR)?

    First call resolution (FCR) is when contact center agents properly address a customer's needs the first time they call so there is no need for the customer to follow up with a second call.

  • H

    headless commerce (headless e-commerce)

    Headless commerce, also called headless e-commerce, is a platform architecture that decouples the front end of an e-commerce website with the back end.

  • help desk

    A help desk is the individual, group, organizational function or external service that an IT user calls to get help with a problem.

  • hockey stick growth

    Hockey stick growth is a growth pattern in a line chart that shows a sudden and extremely rapid growth after a long period of linear growth.

  • What is high-touch customer service?

    High-touch customer service is a category of contact center interaction that requires human interaction.

  • I

    identity resolution

    Identity resolution is a data management process that links a customer's online behavior to their unique identity by gathering different data sets and identifying non-obvious relationships.

  • implementation

    Implementation is the execution or practice of a plan, a method or any design, idea, model, specification, standard or policy for doing something.

  • 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.

  • integration

    Integration is the act of bringing together smaller components or information stored in different subsystems into a single functioning unit.

  • What is interactive voice response (IVR)?

    Interactive voice response (IVR) is an automated telephony system that interacts with callers, gathers information and routes calls to the appropriate recipients.

  • What is IoT Cloud (Salesforce IoT Cloud)?

    IoT Cloud is a Salesforce platform designed to store and process internet of things (IoT) data.

  • L

    live chat (live support)

    Live chat (live support) is technology that provides companies with a way to interact with users when they visit an organization's media properties.

  • What is lead scoring?

    Lead scoring is a methodology sales and marketing departments use 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.

  • What is lead-to-revenue management (L2RM)?

    Lead-to-revenue management (L2RM) is a set of sales and marketing methods focusing on generating revenue throughout the customer life cycle.

  • What is the law of diminishing returns?

    The law of diminishing returns is an economic principle stating that as investment in a particular area increases, the rate of profit from that investment, after a certain point, can't continue to increase if other variables remain at a constant.

  • M

    market basket analysis

    Market basket analysis is a data mining technique used by retailers to increase sales by better understanding customer purchasing patterns.

  • marketing automation

    Marketing automation is a type of software that allows companies to effectively target customers with automated marketing messages across channels including email, websites, social media and text messages to generate sales leads.

  • marketing campaign management

    Marketing campaign management is the planning, executing, tracking and analysis of direct marketing campaigns.

  • marketing stack

    A marketing stack, also called a marketing technology stack, is a collection of technologies used by marketers to perform, analyze and improve their services.

  • marketing-qualified lead (MQL)

    A marketing-qualified lead (MQL) is a website visitor whose engagement levels indicate they are likely to become a customer.

  • 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.

  • moment of truth (marketing MOT)

    A moment of truth (MOT) is marketing lingo for any opportunity a customer (or potential customer) has to form an impression about a company, brand, product or service.

  • What is market segmentation?

    Market segmentation is a marketing strategy that uses well-defined criteria to divide a brand's total addressable market share into smaller groups.

  • What is martech (marketing technology)?

    Martech (marketing technology) refers to the integration of software tools, platforms and applications designed to streamline and enhance digital marketing.

  • What is 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.

  • What is mobile CRM (mobile customer relationship management)?

    Mobile CRM, or mobile customer relationship management, enables those working in the field or remote employees to use mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets, to access customer data and customer accounts wherever they are.

  • What is multichannel marketing?

    Multichannel marketing refers to the practice of companies interacting with customers via multiple direct and indirect channels to sell them goods and services.

  • N

    needs assessment

    A needs assessment is a systematic process that examines what criteria must be met in order to reach a desired outcome.