Predictive Intelligence is becoming a trend in today’s world. But, we need to know what predictive intelligence is all about. It is a method of delivering experiences unique to each individual. It also enables marketers to observe customer behavior, and build customer preferences. This information is then used across any web-based channel like the web, email, mobile or even a call center. Read more at: http://www.business2community.com/brandviews/salesforce/what-is-predictive-intelligence-and-why-should-every-marketer-care-01312444

Marketers are facing challenges in leveraging data to deliver relevant and personalized ads, messages and customer experiences. Most digital marketers relied on third-party data to reach prospective customers. Third-party data have been an easy way to reach a large section of consumers. But in today’s environment, it’s no longer enough. Instead, first-party data has become important for a majority of marketers. Columnist Mike Sands in his article writes that there are three main categories of data currently available to marketers: First-Party Data (any data created by a brand’s direct interactions with customers). Second-Party Data, and Third-Party Data.  But, what makes first-party data important, why are marketers prioritizing it over third-party data, and how can it help them achieve more effective people-based marketing? Read on: http://marketingland.com/can-marketers-find-best-customer-data-noses-139308

Nowadays, CRM focuses on SaaS customer relationship management solutions. Researchers at Gartner found that 53% of companies with CRM use on premise systems. On-premise solutions help companies in maintaining control over security, avoiding vendor lock-in, handling maintenance and support in-house.  But, having control over security doesn’t mean that on premise solutions are secured. Companies need to follow security best practices for on premise CRM. Read more at: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/security-best-practices-for-onpremise-crm-69663

It is predicted that enterprise mobility and BYOD market predicted to hit over $270 billion by 2019. It is also found that 81% of CRM user access software through multiple devices, ensuing in a productivity increase of more than 20% when mobile and social network features are integrated into the CRM. So, you need to choose the right mobile hardware and CRM solution for your sales department. To know more about how to choose the right mobile hardware and CRM solution for your sales department, follow the link: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/choosing-the-right-mobile-tools-for-crm-in-the-field-69662

Landing pages help any business in taking inbound marketing steps which in turn helps in increased conversions. It is better when paired with good campaigns via paid search and social advertising. Rose de Fremery (founder of lowercase d consulting) writes in her blog about some ways to create a convincing landing page. Read more at: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/thinking-of-setting-up-landing-pages-here-are-5-things-you-should-know-first-69632

Everyone prefers email. It’s also effective for lead generation and other sales activities. In a research it was found that emails have a 50% higher rate of qualified leads than other avenues, and 20% of income directly comes from emails. CRM tool gathers extensive information on customer contact through email, phone, chat, social media, and other channels. An email-based CRM solution is very important for small & medium sized businesses. Nowadays, several CRM solutions integrate with email and bring benefits to any organization. They are: An integrated view; increased responsiveness; integration with other apps; quick installation and deployment; and unified contact list. Read more at: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/5-benefits-of-crm-solutions-with-email-integration-69633

Business intelligence can provide visions to businesses which helps them with decision making, in becoming more responsive to their customers and business partners. Cloud-based visualization software is now offering better business value. Rose de Fremery (founder of lowercase d consulting) writes in her blog about the four key benefits that it can bring to businesses. They are: Rapid Time to Value; Flexible Data Integration; Mobile Access to Data Insights; and Expert Guided Analysis. Read more at: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/4-key-benefits-of-cloudbased-business-visualization-69631

Customers or clients are important in today’s world. If a customer doesn’t have a good experience, they will not only leave your company, but also tell about their negative experience. That is why customer experience has become important for any competition. Jeanne Landau (Director of Marketing, 800response), in her article writes about four things companies need to do to satisfy their customers and earn repeat business. They are: Engage in a dialogue with customers; properly train your employees; provide a seamless cross-channel experience; and invest in the right tools. Read more at: http://www.callcentertimes.com/Home/tabid/37/ctl/NewsArticle/mid/395/CategoryID/1/NewsID/1020/Default.aspx

Supervisory roles are important in any contact center. These roles require the ability to lead and inspire both in personnel management and operational competence. “The supervisor role in the call or contact center is the most critical and demanding of all and often gets the least attention,” says John O’Brien, CEO and founder of Sales Talent Group. But, being good at job will not hold good for supervisory role. It was found that contact center turnover rates averaged 30 to 45% in 2014. The costs associated with combating employee attrition are the reason for high turnover rate. These losses can be prevented by implementing strategic supervisor training. Read more at: http://www.callcentertimes.com/Home/tabid/37/ctl/NewsArticle/mid/395/CategoryID/1/NewsID/1037/Default.aspx

Workforce management is needed in every company and is very important for contact center success. A contact center is at risk of losing revenue if there is no workforce management. But, in spite of this, there are still confusions that discourage companies from investing in a quality workforce management solution. Bob Webb (VP Sales) writes in his article about some common myths about workforce management. They are: Workforce management is an ancillary application; all workforce management solutions are the same with algorithms that can produce a statistically valid forecast; only large centers benefit from Workforce Management - WFM is cost prohibitive for small centers; internal productivity metrics cannot tie in with workforce management tools; supervisors lose control of at-home agents; and customer data is at risk with hosted solutions. Read more at: http://www.callcentertimes.com/Home/tabid/37/ctl/NewsArticle/mid/395/CategoryID/1/NewsID/1027/Default.aspx

There is a myth that online selling means competing on price. But, this is not true. The truth is that every purchase decision comes down to a perceived risk. The online retailers focus only on justifying consumer doubts while tempting shoppers with additional discounts. Sometimes that means low prices and discounts. Columnist David Rekuc writes in his article about some ways one can lower your customers’ perceived risk. They are: Reduce Risk; Offer a free trial; Establish credibility with third-party endorsements; and seek out in-depth, transparent product reviews. Read more at: http://marketingland.com/biggest-myth-online-retail-137618

Companies are giving importance to their online presence. But, the online presence of any business must attract  prospective buyer. But, how a company communicates is important. Nowadays, marketers use different technologies like marketing automation, content management systems etc. to market themselves. But, still some marketing effort of some companies fails. Columnist Mary Wallace in her article writes about four of the biggest reasons why online presence is failing to drive sales. Read more at: http://marketingland.com/online-presence-failing-4-reasons-138017

Importance of data increases upon the usage of data. It is said that customer relationship management system is only as useful as the quality of the data it contains. Good data or high quality data can provide the most recent picture of a customer. In contrast, bad data i.e. data that are of low quality are incorrect or inconsistent. Good data is important for any company because it provides you with important information and you can use to personalize customer experience, improve customer satisfaction, and gain customer confidence, while bad data interfere with your ability to meet customer needs, therefore creating a divide between you and your customers. They are: decreased confidence; lost opportunities; and missing the big picture. Read more at: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/3-ways-bad-data-hurt-customer-relationships-69607

Sometimes, marketers find it difficult to attract new customers. But, it is found that there are several ways to attract new customers with the help of CRM software. It is predicted that e-Commerce and CRM will be the fastest growing business applications in the next few years. The key is to maintain a balance between your budget and the need to reach to new customers. But as customer expectations rise, proper investments in CRM systems will help any business. Read more at: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/updating-your-crm-system-to-maintain-and-gain-customers-69604

Predictive analytics make better use of data. Nowadays, predictive analytics using CRM data deal with anticipating customer behavior. Mobile CRM is playing an important role to deploy predictive analytics. If mobile CRM and predictive analytics are merged, it is required that the right information is sent to the mobile app. It is predicted that in the future, mobile CRM might include the apps that customers use on their mobile devices and it is also predicted that smart devices and mobile CRM apps could listen to conversations that salespeople have with customers, which will in turn produce a pop-up message to the salesperson to recommend a product based on that discussion. Read more at: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/mobile-crm-considerations-with-predictive-analytics-69606

Authenticity is very important for any brand and it relates to how you are perceived, and how much t potential and existing consumers rust you. But, companies must have a definition for authentic brand. According to author Lucy Rendler-Kaplan, “an authentic brand is one that is relatable, doesn’t seem like a large corporate entity but does business on a personal level, and is one that I feel comfortable spending money on because I feel I can trust in the company and the people that make up the company.” She also suggests few strategies about how to measure where your brand stands. They are:  Don’t be afraid to show your brand’s personality; use images; keep scheduled posts to a minimum; be available; admit when you’re wrong; and tell true stories. Read more at: http://www.socialmediatoday.com/marketing/lucyrk78/2015-08-13/7-ways-build-authentic-brand

According to a research, 60% of people interact with brands through social media. Social media is important nowadays as it is an effective sales tool. It is also an important channel for post-sales support. Hence, social CRM facilitates lead engagement across social channels. It also allows the sales team to track prior communication and follow up with additional information. It also helps in customer communication and also improves customer visibility. Read more at: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/how-to-use-social-crm-for-sales-68572

Customer Relationship Management is important in any sales department. But, if CRM is integrated with predictive analytics, then it maximizes sales productivity. Predictive analytics take the help of big data to predict customer behavior and they take the help of historical trend to predict customer-specific behavior. It helps the sales department in providing the right customized content at the right time to push leads into conversion. In a nutshell, the sales team benefits from CRM integration by improving productivity and generating leads. Read more at: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/are-you-coupling-predictive-analytics-with-your-crm-68571

A bad CRM can affect the sales team in many ways. If there is no co-operation between sales and IT departments, it may affect CRM deployment. Poor vendor selection is another reason for CRM failure. If the CRM selected doesn’t work in accordance to the existing sales pipeline, then it may lead to productivity loss. Lack of training resources is another reason for failure in CRM deployment. Read more at: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/5-ways-a-bad-crm-trips-up-your-sales-team-68540

Social media advertising helps businesses to find new clients. It is estimated that the revenue of social media advertising revenue would reach to $8.4 billion in 2015. Social media advertising targets relevant users before they even begin their search. Every business house uses online advertising, but, after the decline of banner ad, they are searching for alternatives. Nowadays, paid search is gaining importance. Advertisers look up to social networks because of advanced targeting option reliable conversion tracking, and prevalence of mobile devices. Advanced targeting include: Interest targeting, Behavioral or Connection targeting, Custom targeting, and Lookalike targeting. Read more at: http://marketingland.com/social-media-advertising-set-explode-next-3-years-121691