These days marketing automation goals are to shift as much of the routine work from sales or marketing to the CRM system. This is an area where CRM systems are improving at a fast pace and it can save your effort and hassle since marketing automation aims at resolving one of the major pain points that slows down CRM. Read more at: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/easing-the-pain-of-crm-with-marketing-automation-79032

Social media has grown into with much more potential. Nowadays, businesses dedicate significant resources in maintaining a positive presence on social media, because that is where their consumers, clients are spending a significant amount of their time. You can turn that positive online presence into real world sales leads by the following ways. They are targeted social media listening, host interactive video presentations, create quizzes and surveys. Read more at: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/accessible-bi/3-ways-social-media-can-generate-leads-79042

Recent reports tell us that artificial intelligence will change business, and chat bots might be one of the first rollers of this game-changing technology that will make its way to consumers. According to a research, it was found that the global bot services market is expected to grow from 458.4 million today to 1,783.9 million by 2022. Here are five ways that bots will affect CRM soon. They are: Bots as sales staff, Automatic social media interaction, CRM access across more channels, routing and directly handling customer interactions, improved efficiency. Read more at: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/how-chatbots-will-change-crm-78997

These days, business houses implement reputation management. An organization needs an authentic and projecting digital presence to protect against unforeseen circumstances that require Online Reputation Management (ORM) repair. A positive reputation management is important to communicate effectively. Hence, updates, promotional advertising, and digital assets that are found on search engine results naturally and require a conscious investment time and resources as your online reputation is a strategic asset. Read more at: https://www.business2community.com/digital-marketing/7-steps-successfully-manage-online-reputation-01958363#oeksVQacYzupdz0z.97

Business houses know the importance of and benefits associated with an Enterprise Resource System that can be integrated across departments. So, taking full advantage of your ERP's capabilities is important. Most business houses keep their staff engaged with the system and thereby they update and expand as your business grows as an effective ERP system have a positive impact across your business - from the accounting department to the sales teams to the warehouse managers. If you use proper trained teams and individual employees, the benefits of the ERP system are immense. Read more at: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/inside-erp/5-tips-for-teams-using-erp-systems-78967

While planning ERP installation, time is an important factor for a successful implementation. But, sometimes a realistic schedule for an ERP project can be very difficult to construct as some parts of the project require planning, process scheduling and testing and are difficult to assess accurately. The major part of an ERP project is planning and scheduling and the requirements phase of the project generally takes place before the actual scheduling takes place. Read more at: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/inside-erp/implementing-a-successful-erp-program-78966

Everyone these days are aware that the cloud has something to do with the internet and that it where the information is stored and when there is a need for the information, all they should do is recover it from the cloud. But the question is how perfect is it?  And if one person can retrieve the information stored on the cloud, can others gain access to it? So, securing data before storing it is important. Read more at: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/tech-advances-business/top-ways-to-keep-your-data-secure-on-the-cloud-78952

Voice over Internet Protocol or VoIP is becoming the defacto communication tool for both small and big businesses houses. It is available in a variety of formats, including hosted and cloud and can be tailored to suit the needs of almost any company as the cost advantage of having one phone and data provider is often important. There are four new trends in VoIP technology that are sure to change the industry for the better. They are: 5G technology, VoIP Mobility, CRM Integration and IoT. Read more at: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/voip-news/4-new-trends-in-voip-technology-78578

Consultative selling is a type of sales style where the sales person acts as a consultant to the customer, thus adding value through expertise in the product and discriminating the customer’s needs. These days, it is a common way of selling as products become more complex and sales cycles stretch out. The consultative selling consultants relies on building trust between the customer and the sales person and the customer also relies on the sales person to guide the selection process. The key difference between consultative selling and other kinds of selling is that in consultative selling, the sales person is more knowledgeable than the customer and the customer trusts that knowledge. Read more at: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/consultative-selling-with-crm-78912

These days drip marketing is an important tactic for modern marketing campaigns and aims to apply a slow-but-steady approach to winning customers through a carefully custom-made series of messages. Though drip marketing is usually applied to email campaigns, it is also applicable to direct mail and phone campaigns as well. It uses timed messages to build interest and willingness to purchase in the recipients of the messages. Read more at: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/drip-marketing-for-crm-78920

A study found that adults in the USA spent 87 hours per month consuming mobile media in the USA and between 50 and 70 hours in European countries, while desktop navigation is done on an average of 30 hours monthly by each user. So, IT specialists and business professionals have developed hybrid optimization. Business must address the needs of their audience effectively; managers and marketers also need to include hybridization in their plans. Discover some more reasons to switch to hybrid optimization at: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/scingularity/5-ways-hybrid-apps-will-impact-your-business-78890

Cloud ERP nowadays is helping businesses from retail to manufacturing in developing more complex, agile supply chains that will be able to share information across suppliers and dynamically adjust when manufacturing, shipping or other logistical challenges arise. Cloud-based ERP is making it easier for all parties within the supply chain to get more visibility. It also helps in quality control and traceability. Read more at: : http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/inside-erp/how-cloud-erp-is-improving-supply-chain-management-78881

Storing and managing data is changing every day.  Now, most of the world's data are stored on physical drives. But, in recent years, flash storage and solid-state drives (SSD) have become much more popular. Flash storage has no moving parts and all operations are performed silently and electronically and flash storage offers many benefits to business users, such as: Faster data access, Durable, Reduce Energy Consumption, Portability etc. Read more at: : http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/itmanagement/five-benefits-of-flash-storage-for-the-business-world-78885

People spent the maximum amount of time online as they buy stuff online. So, many business owners should launch their own eCommerce website. Business owners must put effort and time in launching their e-commerce site. But, before launching an e-commerce site, you must research well about which platform to use, get the right design for the website and your website must be mobile friendly. Read on to discover more tips for launching a successful eCommerce website at: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/hosting-facts/5-tips-for-launching-a-successful-ecommerce-website-78859

 If you are thinking about transiting from your legacy system to ERP system or if you are in the process of implementing it, there are some things you can do to confirm that it works well for your enterprise. They are: identify any problems with your business processes and consider what you can do to improve them before you roll out your ERP system, engage with your key employees, consider On-Premise or cloud-based ERP, Implement ERP through different stages, embrace change management, have a maintenance plan and have a project communication plan. Read more at: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/inside-erp/7-steps-to-ensure-your-erp-is-a-success-78849

Nowadays, the presence of technology has changed the way we think, communicate and plan events with friends. Today, expansion of the internet broadband connectivity, and variety of software and hardware tools has major changes in our lives. In other words, technology has become a vital part in people’s lives. Read more about the advantages and disadvantages of technologies. Read more at: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/marketing-strategies/the-impact-of-technology-on-peoples-social-relationships-78826

Mixed reality or MR is a new technology which is coming up and will soon become a buzz-acronym within the CRM industry. In a nutshell, mixed reality combines the best elements of virtual reality or VR and augmented reality or AR and both AR and VR headsets are expected to flourish in terms of sales over the next five years, but it is expected that the value of these headsets will go beyond their utility with gaming platforms. As the demands on CRM teams to deliver a more personalized service is increasing, the mixed reality technology is being trialed in certain segments of the travel sector as MR can allow staff to match client data to the person they are seeing as part of their day-to-day activities. Read more at: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/mixed-reality-will-bring-crm-to-the-front-line-of-the-hospitality-market-78818

You can improve user engagement by using your customer relationship management (CRM) platform. It should become an ongoing process as new features are available, and your business thereby can improve your sales and marketing practices. Here are some ways to improve user engagement with your CRM solution: Involve Stakeholders at All Levels in the Design of the CRM Solution, Roll Out Features Incrementally, develop a CRM Journey for Users, Provide CRM Training Support, reward your CRM Advocates and Power Users and Promote Information Sharing Within the CRM User Base. Read more at: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/improve-crm-user-engagement-78815

It is reported that 61% of small and mid-sized businesses found that more than half of their revenue comes from repeat customers rather than new business. You should not ignore the future revenue potential of an existing customer. There are some distinct advantages in strengthening relationships with current customers. A 5% increase in customer retention can increase a company’s profitability by 75%. The advantages of existing customers are: Important for up-selling and cross-selling opportunities; Less focused on price than new customers; Already confident and trusting in your ability to solve their problems; and often willing to become brand ambassadors. Customer relationship management (CRM) systems can help you to move prospects from lead to close by a simple dashboard adjustment. Read more at: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/use-your-crm-application-to-build-repeat-customer-sales-78814

As per a survey, it was found that 39% say that social networks provide the main inspiration for their purchases. Customers are already there actively engaged in conversations about your brand and your competitors. You should notice whether they are complaining or recommending or asking questions about you. You have to find the answers, solutions, and resolutions they need on their chosen platforms. Social customer relationship management helps you to integrate traditional CRM tools with real-time updates so that you can gather data and find solutions with your customers and prospects. Read more at: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/moving-from-social-media-to-social-crm-78781