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• 6 tips for driving adoption of self-service platforms

  Self-service platforms should be visible to customers, emphasized across all channels of communication and well-promoted. These and more tips are discussed here. Continue Reading

• 6 ways high-performing agents improve customer loyalty

  Sandy Rogers of FranklinCovey offers tips for customer service managers on how to encourage positive traits in agents, such as empathy, responsibility and generosity. Continue Reading

• Call center tips to ensure successful agents

  Once hiring managers find the right people for the job, contact center agents need both proper training and office tools to be successful in their roles. Continue Reading

• Trusting marketing automation with CRM functions

  Marketing automation with CRM frees up resources and improves the efficiency and accuracy of campaigns and lead development, but it still requires a degree of oversight. Continue Reading

• GDPR compliance requirements for CRM managers

  Learn how the General Data Protection Regulation applies specifically to the CRM space and how managers can best ensure compliance within their organizations. Continue Reading

• Is CRM with social media growing less trustworthy?

  Comments made on social media can sometimes give businesses a skewed perception of consumer sentiment. Learn how to correct the data to inform business decisions.Continue Reading

• Use smart workflows to personalize customer experience

  Smart workflows that automate certain decisions must become part of personalization strategies in order for CX teams to better guide customer journeys.Continue Reading

• 8 tips for getting rich mystery shopping survey data

  Mystery shopping data is only as good as the overall strategy for collecting it and setting up realistic customer experiences. Here are eight tips for investing your resources wisely.Continue Reading

• 7 tips for improving marketing technology stacks

  Being deliberate about integrating a new tool into marketing technology stacks will help ensure they produce ROI and makes processes more efficient.Continue Reading

• How can I maximize the Salesforce-Google Cloud integration?

  Find out four new ways to make the most of the Google and Salesforce integration, including updates to the Salesforce data connector for Google Sheets.Continue Reading

• Salesforce salary survey details pay among professionals

  A new survey of Salesforce professionals, published by Mason Frank International, analyzes Salesforce salary data, employment trends and diversity.Continue Reading

• Guide to customer experience management best practices, technologies

  Customer experience management is growing. Learn about technologies, strategies and best practices that businesses are applying to their CEM.Continue Reading

• Voice commerce rides on the backs of little smart speakers

  The use of voice assistants and smart speakers continues to rise, but now companies are looking for ways to apply voice commercially in B2B and B2C sales.Continue Reading

• Salesforce Philanthropy Cloud taps United Way connections

  Salesforce and United Way collaborated on a cloud-based platform that guides employees to nonprofits and helps Salesforce customers organize philanthropic projects.Continue Reading

• 4 tips on getting up to speed with GDPR for U.S. companies

  When GDPR went into effect four months ago, some U.S. companies just shut down communications with EU customers, but compliance can benefit organizations and marketers.Continue Reading

• New rules for WCM tools enhance the search experience

  WCM used to mean platforms for webpages viewed on desktops. Today, it's morphing into digital experiences, and it taps AI as well as other assistive technologies.Continue Reading

• Sales planning tools sport a B2B customer experience focus

  Sporting goods giant uses sales performance and planning tools to upend traditional product-centric approach, tackle engagement issues and pitch a better story to customers.Continue Reading

• Assessing GDPR's data protection officer requirements

  The GDPR's data protection officer mandate gives the EU a point person for compliance complaints, but not all companies need one. See when DPOs are required and what they do.Continue Reading

• AppExchange in Salesforce a slam-dunk for Detroit Pistons' workflow

  The Detroit Pistons needed help getting the most out of Salesforce, so they turned to AppExchange -- although the abundance of choices is sometimes a challenge.Continue Reading

• Let customer acquisition costs steer marketing, service plans

  Customer acquisition and customer retention strategies start with people and marketing automation tools. How much you should invest in either area depends on a number of factors.Continue Reading

• AI strategy comes first, then AI tools second

  If your organization plans to implement AI into its workflow, be sure to develop a sound strategy and provide the necessary training to get the most out of the software.Continue Reading

• Ten tips for honing social media customer service skills

  Navy Federal Credit Union ingrains customer service in social engagement, sometimes the only channel where sailors at sea can get critical questions answered. Here's how they do it.Continue Reading

• Salesforce's GDPR DPO preps partners, customers for compliance

  Salesforce's data protection officer discusses GDPR compliance challenges and strategies for customers and partners, along with the company's own GDPR readiness.Continue Reading

• GDPR call center compliance can be a sticky wicket

  GDPR compliance for call centers can be complex and require the collaboration of business execs, call center managers and outside lawyers to establish data protection policies.Continue Reading

• Check off those GDPR call center requirements

  With GDPR about to go into full force, there are last-minute details and loose ends to tie up to ensure that your call center complies with the necessary regulations.Continue Reading

• Don't forget agent training in your GDPR call center plan

  The General Data Protection Regulation will affect call center agents. A GDPR plan for call center agent training should cover the expanded definition of PII and more.Continue Reading

• Don't let customer service automation override customer experience

  CRM expert Jay Baer, author of NYT bestseller 'Hug Your Haters,' joins the Pipeline podcast and answers host Don Fluckinger's litany of personal experience CRM complaints.Continue Reading

• GDPR customer data compliance for service and support teams

  Getting your Salesforce-powered customer service and support staff ready for GDPR involves more than just the free Trailhead training module. But it's a start.Continue Reading

• Ten tips to help Salesforce teams prepare for GDPR

  The General Data Protection Regulation implementation date is closing in. Salesforce experts have some advice for companies tasked with complying with the EU guideline.Continue Reading

• CRM case studies: Customer relationship management in action

  CRM for today's businesses means AI chatbots, data mining, marketing personalization and equipping call centers to handle the many channels available to customers.Continue Reading

• partner relationship management (PRM)

  Partner relationship management (PRM) is a combination of the software, processes and strategies companies use to streamline business processes with partners who sell their products.Continue Reading

• Getting veteran sales force buy-in for AI CRM tools

  Setting up next-generation digital sales tools might not be easy, but it's even harder to get buy-in from successful veteran sales staff who built successful careers without them.Continue Reading

• Social media customer care important to brands, experts say

  In this Pipeline podcast, we discuss what was a primary topic at Social Media Marketing World: how companies should interact with customers through social media.Continue Reading

• Inside sales strategy, millennials highlight Accelerate 2018

  Learn what happens when a SearchCRM editor joins a panel as the paid skeptic to discuss whether AI technologies provide real value for helping businesses increase revenue.Continue Reading

• Digital sales transformation may require shadow IT dark ops

  Sales tech initiatives culminating with flipping the AI switch require operational and IT prep involving data aggregation, training salespeople and, possibly, shadow IT experiments.Continue Reading

• Salesforce GDPR marketing compliance involves rethinking lead gen

  The bigger -- and more complicated -- your marketing tech stack, the more complex your Salesforce GDPR compliance will be, vendors and experts say.Continue Reading

• E-commerce GDPR for Salesforce: Watch what data you capture

  Making your Salesforce GDPR compliance strategy for e-commerce starts with monitoring the customer data you collect, starting with cookies -- and we don't mean the Keebler kind.Continue Reading

• Expert: Boring retail is dying as tech gains importance

  Technologies such as augmented reality and AI in retail are becoming more important for brands looking to gain a selling edge. Tune in to the latest Pipeline podcast to learn more.Continue Reading

• Customer service chatbots help reduce product returns

  In previous years, Azumi Mobile was overwhelmed with customer calls after the holiday season as users attempted to return smartphones. This year, chatbots helped address that issue.Continue Reading

• Helpshift offers five Salesforce GDPR tips for customer support

  How much does the service and support team affect GDPR privacy mandates? Turns out, more than a little. A chat app developer's compliance journey uncovers some compliance tips.Continue Reading

• Colorado modernizes with Salesforce for government projects

  Colorado licenses Service Cloud and other Salesforce technologies to improve its citizens benefit program.Continue Reading

• Meet your friendly service agent -- The sales chatbot

  AI chatbots enable companies to automate some sales and service tasks, but the combination of people and smart machines creates better outcomes than either one alone.Continue Reading

• Salesforce Pardot certification opens doors, boosts salaries

  Pardot consultant Stacey Cogswell talks about the opportunities and challenges when obtaining Salesforce certifications.Continue Reading

• Marketing reporting software is dying, says InsightSquared CMO

  InsightSquared CMO discusses the importance of vendor-agnostic reporting and why marketing-only reporting software is dying.Continue Reading

• Ten tips for implementing virtual agent chatbots

  Think you're ready to turn over some of your customer service responsibilities to virtual agents? An expert offers 10 tips for implementing chatbots.Continue Reading

• Salesforce Marketing Cloud certification helps Aussie make bank

  When considering which credentials in the Salesforce universe are the best investments, one marketing consultant makes the case for Salesforce Marketing Cloud certification.Continue Reading

• Future of artificial intelligence in CRM rests with the bots

  Chatbots may seem basic or rudimentary now, but just wait: AI advancements will take virtual agents to new levels of competency to engage customers.Continue Reading

• How to define Scrum team roles in a Salesforce world

  Organizations could find greater efficiencies and finish projects faster by assigning Scrum roles to members of their Salesforce teams, advises expert Geneva Stephens.Continue Reading

• Looking ahead at trends in CRM in 2018

  More AI capabilities, intelligent security and augmented reality should gain prominence for CRM users in 2018.Continue Reading

• AI in retail delivers next-generation online personalization

  Today, many companies market to broad segments because it's more efficient than one-to-one outreach. But each consumer has specific needs and wants. AI promises to fix this.Continue Reading

• Do customer service chatbots need to pass the Turing test?

  Experts say organizations should focus on enhancing the customer experience with chatbots -- not so much on passing the legendary Turing test for artificial intelligence.Continue Reading

• Digital experience management: What it is and how it will change WCM

  Static content is a thing of the past. It's no longer about just managing content, expert Geoffrey Bock explains. Organizations need to be ready to manage digital experiences.Continue Reading

• The four social media CRM best practices you should know

  As social media begins to play a larger role in customer interactions, social media CRM best practices are an increasing must-have for any organization trying to keep up.Continue Reading

• Eight must-have call center systems for customer service

  It can be challenging to pick a call center technology, implement it and optimize it for the best results. Here are the top eight call center tools to deliver the best customer experience.Continue Reading

• Experts weigh in on the future of blockchain CRM technology

  As blockchain technology makes its way into more industries, how will it affect CRM? We asked three experts what they foresee for blockchain CRM.Continue Reading

• Consultant's 15 Salesforce certifications about more than pay

  Chris Gardner has 15 certifications and plans on getting more. While that's paying off for his bottom line, he says, they can also help give clients peace of mind.Continue Reading

• Benefits of predictive lead scoring: Where AI meets sales

  Adding artificial intelligence to lead scoring can help companies increase sales by better prioritizing customers and aligning sales messaging and resources with clients.Continue Reading

• Pipeline podcast: Exploring the growth of the martech stack

  The marketing technology field has exploded, as have ways to organize a martech stack. This episode of the Pipeline podcast recaps highlights from the MarTech Conference.Continue Reading

• How to make your Dreamforce conference experience less overwhelming

  The annual Salesforce user event has grown from a small conference to overrunning San Francisco's city center. Expert Brent Leary has advice to get the most out of Dreamforce.Continue Reading

• AI integration with CRM tools boosts lead scoring processes

  Integrating AI technologies into CRM platforms is beginning to pay off for sales teams as they start to see the benefits of predictive lead scoring.Continue Reading

• Tell-all book puts HubSpot inbound marketing to the test

  Every startup's worst nightmare happened to HubSpot when 'Disrupted' hit shelves last year. The company put its own marketing tactics to the test and, by all accounts, it worked.Continue Reading

• What features can users expect from Salesforce Einstein AI?

  Expert Scott Robinson explains how Salesforce Einstein AI tools augment the vendor's CRM functionality, and how lessons learned from IBM Watson will affect the platform.Continue Reading

• How training, seven Salesforce certifications helped reboot a career

  John Coppedge became a Salesforce admin almost by accident -- and then he got laid off. Seven Salesforce certifications later, he's on a different career path.Continue Reading

• Top four CRM platforms for your budget

  There are several factors that go into deciding where to spend your CRM budget. Here's a breakdown of the big four CRM platforms to help you better understand your choices.Continue Reading

• Cloud CRM wars feature Microsoft Dynamics vs. Salesforce

  Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM makes sense for some shops, while Salesforce is better for others. The right choice need not rest with the flip of a coin.Continue Reading

• Salesforce certification training can lead to well-rounded employees

  Daniel Peter believes Salesforce certification training helps him be a better all-around employee, a step he once again took most recently with a CPQ Specialist accreditation.Continue Reading

• Tech vendors cite TOS violations to push hate groups off their clouds

  'Alt-right' groups put to the test marketing and CRM cloud vendors that promote employee diversity and forbid users from hosting hateful or offensive content on their platforms.Continue Reading

• What problems need solving to create smoother customer interactions?

  While many factors can make or break a sales-service platform merge, three challenges stand out when combining service, sales strategies.Continue Reading

• Create and implement an all-purpose multichannel contact center

  It's hard to prescribe exactly how to integrate social channels with CRM. Your business model -- and finding where your customers hang out -- will show the way.Continue Reading

• The importance of integrating social CRM tools into a CRM strategy

  Customer engagement is no longer about simply handling a phone call or letter. Organizations must also be at the ready to address issues on social media.Continue Reading

• The integration of CRM with cross-channel marketing breeds agility

  Leading enterprises searching for ways to bring agility to the market need look no further than cross-channel marketing.Continue Reading

• How AI marketing can make the most of CRM data

  Find out how enterprises can use CRM data to move from customer journeys toward AI marketing and engagement strategies.Continue Reading

• Recipe for lost customers: Flight cancellations and AI algorithms

  As companies enjoy the benefits that automation and AI algorithms bring to next-generation CRM, leaders must closely examine the legal and customer retention ramifications.Continue Reading

• Salesforce Architect Certifications pay off for Nashville developer

  A slew of Salesforce certifications have given Doug Ayers a leg up: He earns more and reaps recognition. Learn more about his journey to become a Salesforce certified architect.Continue Reading

• How the role of a CMO has evolved to include analytics and data

  When navigating the ever-changing marketing technology landscape, Emarsys CMO Allen Nance first asks how emerging technology can help customers.Continue Reading

• Chatbots creeping into omnichannel strategy for CRM

  Siri, home voice assistants, we're talking to you. We discuss how companies are using the voice channel for CRM in these early adoption days.Continue Reading

• Combining DAM and DX for digital experience management

  Digital asset management systems predate the web. Cutting-edge digital experiences, however, depend on keeping DAM in order, with rich media served in a timely manner.Continue Reading

• The science vs. the art of predictive analytics techniques

  Organizations can benefit greatly from applying predictive analytics to contact center data. Here's a look at four areas ripe for upgrades in those workflows.Continue Reading

• What's the right mix of people and marketing automation tools?

  Finding the right balance between marketing automation tools and personnel can be tricky, especially with so many options popping up. Here's how to do it correctly.Continue Reading

• Salesforce consultant certification is the rainmaker for CRM workers

  Hamza Abib has 18 Salesforce certifications and is aiming to earn all 25. But his Salesforce consultant certification provides a foundation that informs all of his work.Continue Reading

• GDPR and marketing: Keep an eye on European regulations in the works

  Companies selling to 27 European Union nations must monitor how the GDPR will affect marketing, as the EU creates new guidelines for CRM use of customer data.Continue Reading

• Customer data mining needs a governance plan to propel sales

  The difference between traditional data governance and rules surrounding the mining of customer data is an extra layer to prevent the 'stalker effect' that turns away business.Continue Reading

• Customer data governance policies: Stop stalking, start selling

  Customer data governance policies differ from traditional data governance in several ways. Finding that line between building trust among customers and stalking them is a start.Continue Reading

• The benefits of CRM blockchain technology applications

  Blockchain supports Bitcoin, but speculation has started about blockchain technology applications someday improving CRM due to their security strengths. That integration will probably take time.Continue Reading

• The case for click in Salesforce Developer Certification

  The Salesforce development certification measures click skills or code skills. Here is a guide to knowing the click skills necessary to pass the Force.com Developer Certification.Continue Reading

• Advisor sees better jobs and pay after Salesforce administrator course

  Jenn Sanders illustrates how the Salesforce administrator course can boost a career. The consultant saw an increase in pay, client respect and a teaching opportunity.Continue Reading

• Emotional analytics add layer of insight for call centers

  The emerging technology of emotional analytics is reinventing the way call centers will engage with customers in the future.Continue Reading

• Watson AI capabilities coming to business apps

  While gaining traction in the healthcare space, IBM's Watson is expected to start latching onto business operations in 2017 and beyond.Continue Reading

• Make your CRM more impactful than the latest tweets from Trump

  Twitter and other social media sites are powerful communication channels. But CRM should be a two-way conversation, not one-way, like the latest Trump tweets.Continue Reading

• How analytics in marketing can transform organizations

  Marketing is second only to sales in terms of analytics application -- and it's where the odds of business success can most effectively be changed for the better.Continue Reading

• Why you should care about Agile marketing

  For marketers, an accelerated pace of change is as inevitable as death and taxes. Get ahead of modern marketing strategies by choosing an experimental approach.Continue Reading

• What contact center software to buy in 2017

  If your contact center software needs updating, this tip will help you focus on some of the must-have technology to buy in 2017.Continue Reading

• Farmers Insurance turns to self-service capabilities with Salesforce

  Farmers Insurance transforms its digital platform with Salesforce Service Cloud. With enhanced self-service capabilities, Farmer's tries to target a new level of customer experience.Continue Reading

• Four ways to create the ultimate personalized customer experience

  As the demand for a more personalized customer experience grows, companies are scrambling to adapt. Follow these four tips to succeed with customer engagement.Continue Reading

• Navigate the challenges of location-based technologies

  Location data is used to not only provide navigation, but also to enhance customer engagement and improve marketing. But the path to success with location technologies can have bumps.Continue Reading

• Four myths about your sales management strategy -- and the realities

  Companies that want to grow often focus on the wrong tactics in a sales management strategy. Here are four myths on selling -- busted by Armando Mann of SalesforceIQ.Continue Reading

• Choosing contact center infrastructure software

  Contact center infrastructure purchases can be costly, but they also bring serious ROI through a boost in efficiency and customer experience.Continue Reading

• How to get started with Salesforce for small business

  Small business owners can get the same level of marketing automation and AI technology that big companies with deep pockets have access to, thanks to Einstein and Salesforce clouds.Continue Reading

• Chatbots benefit the customer service market, but not a cure-all

  Contact centers are searching for ways to bring efficiency to their processes without sacrificing customer-service quality. Chatbots offer one avenue.Continue Reading

• How using predictive analytics helps public agencies predict demand

  Predictive analytics aren't just for the private sector. Government agencies are tapping into analytics to gain more lead time in determining demand for services.Continue Reading