Marketing and sales
Marketing spreads awareness of your organization to its potential customers, while sales transforms them into actual customers. Read about the latest advances in marketing and sales force technologies, the different strategies each requires and the ways the two fields intersect.
Top Stories
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Feature
07 Feb 2025
Video marketing SEO: How to rank on search engines
Videos can improve SEO, but only if they add value to the page. Explore five tips, such as optimizing thumbnails, to help marketers create videos that improve search ranking. Continue Reading
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Tip
04 Feb 2025
8 free SEO keyword research tools to explore
SEO keyword research tools can help marketing teams create the content their audiences want to see. Free options include Google Search Console, Keyword Surfer and Semrush. Continue Reading
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Podcast
27 Feb 2018
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
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Feature
26 Feb 2018
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
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Feature
09 Feb 2018
Salesforce gets a blockchain distributed ledger tool
Blockchain technology is the ultimate connectivity layer, and it can be used to help solve thorny customer service issues when paired with Salesforce, according to one vendor. Continue Reading
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Feature
08 Feb 2018
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
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Feature
08 Feb 2018
Smart contracts on blockchain the next wave of CRM automation
Sales and service contracts get automation from blockchain platforms as applications become more user-friendly and infrastructure evolves to support them. Continue Reading
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Feature
25 Jan 2018
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
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Feature
23 Jan 2018
Artificial intelligence technologies a boon for customer insights
AI can help companies shrink the gap between customer data and actionable insight by feeding intelligence into CRM, marketing automation and other operational tools. Here's how. Continue Reading
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Podcast
23 Jan 2018
Salesforce-Oracle breakup on the horizon? Some say it's possible
Whether or not Salesforce is building out its own infrastructure is the first big CRM story in 2018, but it won't be the only one. Continue Reading
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Tip
17 Jan 2018
Comparing Salesforce Einstein AI across the clouds
What do you get when you pay for Einstein features in the Salesforce Sales, Service and Marketing clouds? We put it all in one chart. Continue Reading
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Tip
11 Jan 2018
Survey marketing leads to sales insights for outdoor association
After decades of catering to the needs of known customers, outdoor retailers now see the light and are targeting old and new customers with data-driven marketing and sales initiatives. Continue Reading
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Feature
08 Jan 2018
Retail AI predicts consumer behavior for targeted marketing
Not all of travel club Secret Escapes' members want to see all 140 last-minute sales it runs every week. AI marketing personalization tool Jetlore helps prevent over-messaging. Continue Reading
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Feature
22 Dec 2017
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
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Feature
07 Dec 2017
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
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Tip
06 Dec 2017
Einstein AI drills deeper into Salesforce clouds
Einstein AI tools show great promise and are expanding deeper into the Salesforce clouds. Many smaller companies still need some convincing, but have high hopes for the future. Continue Reading
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Tip
29 Nov 2017
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
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Answer
02 Oct 2017
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
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News
26 Sep 2017
Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM takes center stage at Ignite 2017
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella kicks off Microsoft Ignite with talk of future products, use cases for AI and continued bundling of Microsoft products. Continue Reading
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News
13 Sep 2017
How enterprises can take advantage of social media mapping
If your company wants to tap into the emotion and sentiment customers display on social media, social media mapping may be the answer. Learn about one company's approach. Continue Reading
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News
06 Sep 2017
On tap for Microsoft Ignite conference: Adobe, Dynamics 365, LinkedIn
New Adobe integrations and further integrations of existing products are possible announcements from Microsoft Ignite 2017. Continue Reading
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Opinion
31 Aug 2017
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
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Tip
31 Jul 2017
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
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Opinion
20 Jul 2017
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
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News
07 Jun 2017
Customer data mining rules changing in Trump's corporations-first era
As Trump negates regulations against mining of customer data, consumers are mixed when it comes to trusting AI to act on those insights, Pegasystems research shows. Continue Reading
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News
10 May 2017
Salesforce AppExchange releases vendor-facing upgrades
The improvements to the Salesforce AppExchange benefit companies and ISVs building on AppExchange, with lower pricing and more tools. Continue Reading
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Feature
05 Apr 2017
Are businesses ready for AI applications?
As the amount of data grows exponentially and computing power strengthens, now is the time for business applications to get a boost from artificial intelligence. Continue Reading
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News
23 Mar 2017
AI advances can slow a Salesforce cloud migration
Showing incremental improvement and investing over time are keys to successful cloud implementations, especially in government. Continue Reading
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Podcast
02 Feb 2017
Enterprise AI to target attention deficit-addled customers
AI will define the next 12 months, says consultant Brent Leary, because it can help capture the consideration of attention-taxed customers, and can put companies a cut above their competition. Continue Reading
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Feature
19 Jan 2017
Horizontal CRM vs. vertical CRM: What do you really need?
Cloud-based computing is making it easier to customize CRM applications for vertical industries -- but would a horizontal CRM app work just as well for you? Continue Reading
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Podcast
12 Jan 2017
Flurry of technology M&A foreshadows 2017 trends
As the market continues to undergo a series of major mergers and acquisitions, some observers say to expect more technology M&A in 2017. Continue Reading
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Podcast
03 Jan 2017
Three key 2017 technology trends to know
Predictive analytics, voice-activated devices and artificial intelligence will take shape as significant technology trends in 2017. Some still await further maturity. Continue Reading
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Tip
30 Dec 2016
How to safeguard Microsoft Dynamics CRM security
Microsoft Dynamics CRM security can be onerous if you try and lock things down too much. Here is a rundown of features that can help you make Dynamics CRM 'usably secure.' Continue Reading
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News
14 Nov 2016
Inside the Salesforce strategy: Acquisitions, AI and Commerce Cloud
Salesforce Einstein and Commerce Cloud are at the forefront of this year's Salesforce strategy, but the company works to gain momentum around IoT Cloud. Continue Reading
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News
26 Oct 2016
Abacus aims to find missing data in marketing expenses
By combing CRM data, Abacus looks to provide finance teams with a clearer picture on costs accrued during marketing campaigns and events. Continue Reading
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Feature
14 Oct 2016
Salesforce Einstein still on its way to personalization perfection
The artificial intelligence platform Einstein can help organizations mine data for leads and direct targeted marketing at customers. But there are some things it can't do yet. Continue Reading
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Tip
13 Sep 2016
Can Salesforce AI with Einstein catch the next AI wave?
Salesforce Einstein is the next installment of intelligent sales, marketing and service systems -- but this is one of numerous Salesforce acquisitions. How will it fare? Continue Reading
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Answer
31 Aug 2016
How will Microsoft Dynamics 365 benefit the enterprise marketplace?
Is Microsoft Dynamics 365's role in the enterprise marketplace actually beneficial for users? Expert Brent Leary discusses Microsoft's upcoming product. Continue Reading
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News
18 Aug 2016
Salesforce Inbox adds another layer of integration Calendar
Salesforce hopes to reduce the need for sales reps to toggle between apps while on the go by combining email and calendar events in one app. Continue Reading
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Podcast
09 Aug 2016
NetSuite acquisition may fill out pieces of CRM puzzle for Oracle
The CRM market has undergone another shift with Oracle's acquisition of NetSuite. Whither NetSuite's fate? Continue Reading
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Podcast
21 Jul 2016
Customer experience gathers steam with IoT analytics
Companies are moving from gut feel to rely on scientific tools, such as IoT analytics data, to develop customer experience strategy. Continue Reading
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Tip
30 Jun 2016
In customer personalization, explicit data matters
By utilizing explicit data, companies can increase brand engagement and enhance the customer journey through customer personalization. Continue Reading
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Podcast
27 Jun 2016
LinkedIn purchase may signal new era of open APIs
Microsoft's LinkedIn purchase may open up APIs and enable new competitors to take advantage of the treasure trove of social CRM data in LinkedIn. Continue Reading
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Tip
25 May 2016
Consumers still waiting for Godot on personalized marketing?
Personalized messaging can be an invaluable tool for marketers. Unfortunately, these marketing campaigns aren't living up to their potential, according to consumers. Continue Reading
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News
06 Apr 2016
Blockchain as a service may be in your future -- like it or not
Although consumers have been reticent about digital payments, new services -- such as Venmo and blockchain -- are making the benefits of mobile payments difficult to deny. Continue Reading
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Feature
03 Mar 2016
How marketers are reining in the sales funnel process
The sales process, captured by the sales funnel, is no longer as linear as it once was. How can marketing teams use sales funnel management to gain control of the customer journey? Continue Reading
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Opinion
29 Feb 2016
Sales intelligence tools prevent tone-deaf sales efforts
Sales intelligence tools are helping sales teams home in on truly valuable prospects, rather than waste time on duds. But they require some culture change. Continue Reading
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News
15 Feb 2016
Salesforce exec discloses plans to boost one-to-one marketing
Traditional mass marketing methods don't cut it anymore. Salesforce discusses its plans to bring one-to-one marketing to customers. Continue Reading
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News
22 Dec 2015
Emerging CRM technologies took center stage in 2015
New CRM technologies such as the Internet of Things and native analytics apps piqued interest in 2015. But adoption of these technologies has yet to reach critical mass. Continue Reading
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News
20 Nov 2015
Oracle Marketing Cloud updates mobile capabilities
Updates to the Oracle Marketing Cloud aim to give marketers and salespeople more mobile customer engagement options, as well as testing capabilities for marketing content. Continue Reading
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Feature
03 Nov 2015
What to expect from the Salesforce Sales Cloud platform
Salesforce Sales Cloud is a CRM platform featuring a number of sales and CRM tools, which help businesses of all sizes manage their B2B and B2C engagement and sales strategies. Continue Reading
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News
27 Oct 2015
Oracle Marketing Cloud updated, with focus on data
Oracle's latest updates to its Marketing Cloud are designed to help marketers make better use of data to segment and target customers, as well as manage campaigns more efficiently. Continue Reading
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Opinion
01 Sep 2015
Communication essential to sales and marketing alignment
A lack of communication between sales and marketing teams can derail internal processes. Here's how to ensure collaboration between the two factions. Continue Reading
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Feature
10 Jul 2015
Cloud-based marketing tools need integration to work
When companies don't integrate their cloud-based marketing tools, customer data can easily become out-of-date and out-of-sync among various systems. Continue Reading
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Tip
09 Jun 2015
Sales management software helps teams get a jump on leads
As customers become more knowledgeable about products, sales reps can't just rely on the gift of gab. Today they need sales management software that help target people who are ready to bite. Continue Reading
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Opinion
08 Jun 2015
The secret to selling more? Sales intelligence
Sales teams have a basic but ever-challenging task: Sell stuff and make money for the company. But they can't do that without proper insight into the business. Continue Reading
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Tip
15 Jan 2015
Want to get into mobile marketing? Know your customer
In this book excerpt, author and industry watcher Chuck Martin shows how customers' mobile behaviors should dictate companies' marketing strategies. Continue Reading
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Tip
12 Jan 2015
Are marketing automation tools the greatest asset in the sales arsenal?
The more your sales reps know about prospects, the faster they can close deals. Here's why marketing automation tools deliver real sales intelligence. Continue Reading
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Feature
22 Jan 2013
Oracle Siebel vs. Salesforce faceoff: Siebel is more versatile
In this Oracle Siebel vs. Salesforce faceoff, one consultant says Siebel users have more options without paying much more than Salesforce customers. Continue Reading
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News
26 Apr 2010
Switching your focus from B2B to B2C with social media and CRM
Getting the word out to your customers isn’t just a matter of buying simple advertising anymore -- it’s about engaging with them socially. Denis Pombriant explains the ideas behind this new trend. Continue Reading
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Feature
15 May 2008
Salesforce.com for dummies: Creating daily reports
Use this step-by-step guide to create daily reports from scratch in Salesforce.com. Continue Reading