Cloud contact center provider inContact has released the first of what will be three major upgrades to its flagship product this year. New features in the release touch upon many areas, from agent scripting to a Web-connect module, new unified agent desktop tools and an expanded blended dialer. Most...
Last week Oracle bought the HR SaaS company Taleo for $1.9 billion, which to me means it's time to do you-know-what to the fire and call in the dogs. This hunt is officially over and out. The hunt in question is for legitimacy and primacy of the SaaS and cloud computing model. Many people would ar...
Oracle has closed on its $1.5 billion acquisition of RightNow, developer of a cloud-based customer self-service application. Oracle announced the deal in October 2011. For Oracle, the deal makes eminent sense: It fills in a missing gap in its cloud-based CRM functionality and gives it a broader base...
Customer experience is leading off the year as an idea that we need to pay more attention to. In the last week, two important publications have surfaced that highlight this importance. SAP gurus Reza Soudagar, Vinay Iyer and Volker Hildebrand collaborated on a new book, The Customer Experience Edge...
Every year around this time, I write two columns -- one on the year that was and another on what I expect the new year to bring. There is no methodology for this process, and I believe this lack of method is important. I take a blank screen and fill it up with what has been on my mind for the last ...
Oracle has scooped up RightNow Technologies for a reported $1.5 billion. The acquisition price is a hefty 20 percent premium over RightNow's closing price last week. The acquisition fills a missing gap in Oracle's cloud-based CRM functionality. The deal also provides an excellent exit strategy for ...
As a CRM journalist, I always enjoy talking to integrators (or resellers, or VARS, or partners, or whatever term they choose to describe themselves). It's always an interesting contrast to speaking with vendors. The discussion you have with a vendor is like taking an anatomy course; the discussion y...
Whether you're a user or whether you purposely ducked the invitations to join, you've probably discovered that Google+ is all but inescapable as a topic of conversation. Responses run the gamut from rejection to an all-in embrace of Google's new social media platform; users are trying to figure ou...
To meet the growing demand for social CRM, RightNow positions itself as a provider of "customer experience management" solutions, a term the company prefers to use, said John Kembel, vice president of social solutions. "That's a bit more customer-focused." RightNow CX, the customer experience suite,...
ATLANTA -- This might be remembered as the Convergence where Microsoft finally began to converge. More specifically, it is the convergence where accounting and CRM met in the cloud. The big news coming from Convergence is the announcement that Microsoft AX, one of the company's three ERP systems, ...
Recently, a customer was using the Navy Federal Credit Union ATM and encountered some difficulty with his account. He whipped out his mobile device and tweeted to the world that he was having problems. You can probably guess what happened next: He received a return tweet shortly afterward. However, ...
What a week that was. I am still digging out from two snowstorms and dealing with bone-chilling cold, and so are friends across the country, except in the Bay Area, which only makes me envious. Perhaps none were as adversely affected as people on Lake Shore Drive in Chicago. I take solace in two f...
Beagle Research is exploring one of the few categories of online videos that thus far has escaped formal scrutiny: the marketing videos of software -- specifically, CRM companies. The research group has announced "The Beagle Short Tale Awards" for 2011. A panel of five industry experts rated about 1...
Microsoft did some smart things last week when it announced its Dynamics CRM Online service. Most of the headlines will focus on the teaser rate or introductory pricing of only US$34 per seat-month for 12 months. Until June, users of Oracle CRM On-Demand and Salesforce who switch will have an adde...
Recessions are always a good time to rebuild your competitive infrastructure, and the slow growth/recession of the last couple of years has been no exception. On the stock market, the technology sector seems to be doing quite well. After bottoming in the middle of the summer, the software companie...
Yes - I'm more likely to buy with flexible payment options.
Sometimes - It depends on the item and terms.
Rarely - I typically prefer paying upfront to avoid debt.
Not at All - My purchase decisions are based on need and budget.
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https://www.crmbuyer.com/story/customer-retention-by-extraordinary-means-is-not-crm-177075.html
Customer Retention by Extraordinary Means Is Not CRM
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https://www.crmbuyer.com/story/social-media-integration-the-new-crm-standard-177061.html
Social Media Integration: The New CRM Standard
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https://www.crmbuyer.com/story/is-generative-ai-the-next-big-cx-thing-despite-its-risks-177049.html
Is Generative AI the Next Big CX Thing Despite Its Risks?
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https://www.crmbuyer.com/story/customer-analytics-now-a-pivotal-piece-of-the-retail-sales-puzzle-177486.html
Customer Analytics Now a Pivotal Piece of the Retail Sales Puzzle
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https://www.crmbuyer.com/story/bridging-the-smb-enterprise-retail-gap-with-gen-ai-177751.html
Bridging the SMB-Enterprise Retail Gap With Gen AI
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https://www.crmbuyer.com/story/subscription-sales-spur-superior-selling-177636.html
Subscription Sales Spur Superior Selling
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https://www.crmbuyer.com/story/the-price-retailers-pay-for-flawed-product-information-177772.html
The Price Retailers Pay for Flawed Product Information
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https://www.crmbuyer.com/story/subscription-commerce-merchants-innovate-amid-rising-churn-rates-177730.html
Subscription Commerce Merchants Innovate Amid Rising Churn Rates
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https://www.crmbuyer.com/story/oracle-advances-177082.html
Oracle Advances
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