Nowadays,Ice Bucket Challenge has gone viral in social media. According to the author, Gabrielle Boko (Executive Vice President of Marketing at Sage North America), startups, established firms and marketers can learn from the success of the Ice Bucket Challenge. Those companies who are trying to develop a viral campaign can take into account the following points: 1 Identify the goal or cause. 2 Make it fun and easy. 3 Add immediacy. 4 Understand the power of multiplication. 5 Share on many platforms. 6 Give participants a chance to feel good. Read more at: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/236843

Contact centers are making the transition towards cloud technology from premises-based solutions. In a premise-based solution, companies make a huge investment, whereas in a cloud based solution, there is quick deployment, and less investment. It is more flexible. The operational cost is also less in cloud based solution. Updates of the contact center software can be delivered quickly through the cloud. Unlike premises-based solutions, a cloud hosted contact center is not a fixed solution. Call centers are developing beyond phone support to also handle customer interactions. Customer services are now given via chat, email, SMS, and social media. For contact centers call reliability and security are major concerns while moving to a cloud based solutions. But, due to flexibility, reliability, and future-proofing, companies are looking forward to move to cloud based solutions. To read more about the benefits of cloud based solutions, follow Carl Noblitt (VP Account Management, AireSpring)’s article link: http://www.callcentertimes.com/Home/tabid/37/ctl/NewsArticle/mid/395/CategoryID/1/NewsID/850/Default.aspx

According to Pernille Bruun-Jensen (leader in marketing efforts for NetBase) both digital marketing and customer care have moved beyond the Web to social media. Marketers have advanced technologies at their disposal. Social data is providing the higher returns on investment that business leaders are asking for. Similarly, emergencies can be detected and prevented before it is too late. To successfully lead in social media and henceforth in digital marketing, marketers need a strategy based on accuracy and speed using real-time tools. Next-generation social analytics reveals not just who is engaging with your brand and what they are engaging with, but why they are engaging. To know more about what next-generation social analytics can do for a brand go to: http://www.adweek.com/brandshare/next-gen-social-analytics-are-transforming-digital-marketing-160064

According to Jayakanthan Chidambaram (Associate Technical Architect, Aspire Systems), sustaining in the market with a persistent growth is considered to be one of the greatest challenges in any industry. Companies are focusing their investments on business intelligence technologies in order to predict behavior and consequences from patterns found in large volumes of data. Predictive analytics transforms data into important and useful information. Data analysis can be broadly categorized into 4 types - Descriptive, Simple Statistical Summations, Prescriptive and Predictive. Personalization based on location, behavior and preferences are driving how organizations should cater to customer needs and grow their business. When organizations adopted Business Intelligence, they took the first step towards understanding what is currently happening in their business. Now is the time to take that maturity to the next level where the need is not only to know what is happening but also be able to predict what is about to happen. Read more at: http://www.informationweek.in/informationweek/perspective/298003/predictive-analytics-future-business-intelligence?utm_source=referrence_article

According to Stephanie Miller (customer advocate and a champion for marketers), to develop the results of content marketing, one needs to apply an analytics-based approach that focuses on topic, network and content. Choice, Customization, Connect and Communicate. By concentrating on these four "Cs" marketers can evolve from offers to solutions. Yet, at the end of the day there are performance metrics to be met and revenue targets to be reached. A successful content program will also invest in analytics to ensure that one is using the messaging, offers, format, and channels most likely to drive the major visitors and interactions. There is never a data quantity problem as such. The best results will come from a blended approach of channels and content types that are both satisfactory to the most valuable client members as well as wide-ranging enough to appeal to all other customers. Read more at: http://www.clickz.com/clickz/column/2371279/content-and-analytics-a-strategic-combination

Branding is just not selling to your customers but also to connect with them. You have to make yourself trustworthy and have to build a fan base. So how do you make them coming back each time? You create brand FOMO or the fear of missing out. Katie Leimkuehler (Social Media Strategist, Author and Speaker) writes about four strategies that will help to create social media presence that people want to miss out on. They are: 1Make your fans feel important.  2. Make your content so amazing they won’t want to miss a post. 3.  Offer exclusive benefits to your fan base. 4. Be innovative. Read more at: http://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/4-key-strategies-create-social-media-brand-fomo

In cloud based contact center market, various types of solution, service, application, vertical, and region are playing an important role. Applications like call routing, queuing, data integration and recording, chat quality monitoring, real time decision making and work force optimization are being provided. The vendors in this market provide customer related data with call recordings to monitor agent performance and provide customers with better experience. To know more about cloud based contact center solution market, follow: http://www.sys-con.com/node/3194060

Customer loyalty is very important for any organization. Organizations must focus on how to build customer relationship and create customer loyalty. Chris X. Moloney (Director of Market Development and Strategy for Maritz Loyalty Marketing) writes about some tips on how to build customer loyalty and improve customer retention. They are: 1. Forget Price, Quality and Service Levels. 2. Satisfaction does not equal Loyalty. 3. Know your Best Customers. 4.  Treat Different Customers Differently.5. Understand and Use Marketing ROI. To know more details about these tips, follow: http://www.customerfocusconsult.com/articles/articles_template.asp?ID=19#.VB-mgZSSyJI

According to Dermot O'Kelly (Senior Vice President for Oracle UK, Ireland and Israel region) for the past few years the stage is being set for an analytics based future in which large volumes of valuable information can be collected and used to take informed decisions more efficiently. The rise of big data has been rapid. But very little emphasis has been placed on trying to understand exactly how big data can impact and improve our lives. Big data tools help in linking all information together and assess it from various standpoints at once in the hope of detecting new insights, to approach difficult questions from a fresh angle, or to process huge data sets very quickly. They also make the collection and processing of this data exponentially faster than before. Read more at: http://www.in.techradar.com/news/world-of-tech/Big-data-in-the-real-world/articleshow/42649169.cms

Content Management System (CMS) is an important part of success of any corporate website. But, to choose CMS is a difficult task. Here are five points we can consider while choosing a CMS for an organization. 1. Open Source vs. Proprietary. 2. Know Your Business and Technical Requirements. 3. Editing and Workflow Functionality 4. Customization Support 5. Social Community Support. To know more about the above points, follow Will Kelly (technical writer and analyst focusing on enterprise mobility and analyst at Studio B)’s article link: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/5-things-to-consider-when-selecting-a-cms-62901

Cloud based Customer Relationship Management  system helps in follow ups after getting leads. Cloud-based CRM systems also helps in providing an overview of sales, customer service, and prospective clients. Some systems also contain features that provide guidance on what your sales team can say in relevant follow-up efforts. In some CRM system, one can set up automated follow ups that in turn helps salesperson minimize their work. Salesperson can capture, save, and upload customer data into a cloud-based CRM system and this helps to reach out to leads within minutes. Some CRM software is designed to filter cold leads based on time. To read more about cloud based CRM systems, follow Anthony Ortega (analyst with Studio B)’s article link: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/cloudbased-crm-helps-your-business-followups-62898

Everyone, whether a salesperson or CEO, wants to increase sales and achieve higher margins. There are lots of sales methodology nowadays and these methodologies requires changes to the Customer Relationship Management (CRM). A new trend is also coming up- it is to use existing CRM data to predict prospect conversion. This process can be explained as: know who is a good prospect. To know more about how CRM data can predict prospect to customer conversion, follow David Gillman (expert in CRM systems)’s article link: : http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/using-crm-data-to-predict-prospecttocustomer-conversion-62893

Customer Relationship Management is important nowadays. While considering  Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, one has to consider cost, whether the CRM software meets the standards of the users meeting users’ needs, whether it is user friendly or not, and whether the system portrays user feedback.  Price should be the top consideration while purchasing a CRM System. Return On Investment, adoption and feedback are other things to be considered. One has to listen to users and take action based on their suggestions. To know more about CRM, follow Jerri Ledford (writer of business technology)’s article link: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/does-your-crm-make-a-good-first-impression-62894

There is an increased demand for surveillance systems by civil and government agencies which has given rise to the global market for facial recognition. This is due to growing number of crimes and terrorist activities globally. Furthermore, acceptance of facial recognition in the entertainment industry and consumer electronics is expected to raise the demand for this kind of technology. Its international market comprises of 2D facial recognition, 3D facial recognition, and facial analytics. The demand for these facial recognition technologies is further influenced by increasing demand from various other industries like retail, banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI), and others. The global facial recognition market is dominated by players that develop facial recognition technology solutions. Read more at: http://insurancenewsnet.com/oarticle/2014/09/16/global-facial-recognition-market-an-overview-of-growth-factors-and-future-prospe-a-555987.html#.VBkPJPmSzo4

According to Perry Yeatman (Principal, Mission Measurement & CEO, Perry Yeatman Global Partners), the growing significance of social value drivers for consumers is one of many changes in the marketplace that CMOs of different companies are experiencing nowadays. Differentiating a brand based on price, quality or convenience is getting increasingly difficult. However, it has led to a new meaning for all marketers to find new ways to make their products matter. One of the most promising new set of benefits is inherent social benefits. Discrete choice analysis is implemented across categories to identify the most influential social value drivers. Many leading companies are already reaping the benefits from this. The benefits range from increased revenue to improved loyalty. These new social value drivers are thus powerful, which is why CMOs must embrace them to build uniquely relevant and meaningful brands. Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/perry-yeatman/new-research-simultaneous_b_5828710.html

You Tube has become an important part in our daily life. Over 6 billion hours of video are being watched on You Tube every month. It was found that You Tube reaches more adult viewers in the US than cable TV.  So, companies should think about You Tube as a part of their marketing plan. But, one needs to have the right content and target audience for You Tube. George Mathew (writer), in his article writes about how to find and win over your new audience.  To know about these techniques, follow: http://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/how-build-audience-youtube

Organizations have numerous options to get answers from customers about their product or services. To get answers they use live-chat, speaking directly to a customer-care agent, and another gradually popular service called self-service. Self-service is becoming an important tool for any business. So, companies should keep in mind some points while implementing self-service. In her article, Jodi Beuder (Customer Experience Advocate at Impact Learning Systems), writes about those points which are to be kept in mind while rolling out self-service. To know more, follow: http://www.icmi.com/Resources/Self-Service/2014/09/The-Roadmap-for-a-Successful-Self-Service-Rollout

Jonathan King (Vice President of Technology at K2) writes in his article that a new group of applications has emerged to meet demands, and therefore, making it easier to support business activities. They are called Smart Process Applications - or SPAs. In a recent AIIM study supported by K2, it was found that information professionals weighed in on the capabilities of SPAs and eighty percent reported that automated classification, recognition and routing of inbound content would helpful for their business. To know about SPAs, follow: http://www.icmi.com/Resources/Customer-Experience/2014/09/Improving-the-Customer-Experience-with-Smart-Process-Applications

According to a recent survey conducted by Insights West and iamota found that people are using their smartphones than before. They also found that people were taking pictures (96%), accessing social media (77%), reading online news (74%), and checking or comparing prices of products while in store (57%). It was also found that 73% people use their smartphones to research products or services and 42% do it weekly. So, now it has become essential for brands to connect with their clients via mobile technologies. To know more, follow: : http://www.smallbusinessbc.ca/growing-a-business/mobile-marketing-you-can%E2%80%99t-afford-not

According to Laura Cole (marketer and researcher based in the UK) content marketing has emerged as effective method for promoting products, sharing information and motivating brand recognition. It differentiates between Public Relation and social media. Social media offers an advantage in case of online brands as it is entirely free to access and enables you to share and promote your content easily. One can reach a larger audience through social media platform. It also allows messages to be tailored and therefore real-time interactions can be generated with customers. This is a huge boon for business owners, traders and entrepreneurs. Read more at: http://www.business2community.com/public-relations/social-media-marketing-represents-new-face-pr-01003698