CX Demo

Author: Franz Malten Buemann

  • Books unread

    I was sitting in a friend’s study the other day, and noticed that he had hundreds of books I’d never read.
    Each was written, perhaps over the course of a year (or a decade), by a smart, passionate person with something to share. All of that focus and insight, generously shared with anyone who wants to take the time.
    It reminded me of how much is out there, just waiting for us to explore and understand. We have a chance to learn and move forward if we care to.

  • Marketing as a service

    Some folks think of marketing as something that is done to people. A hustle, a hype, a stealing of attention.

    We need a name for that, but I don’t think that’s marketing.

    On the other hand, calling dinner, “cold dead fish on rice,” while accurate, doesn’t really help people enjoy their sushi.

    Human beings aren’t information processing machines. We’re not hyper-rational or predictable. Instead, we find joy and possibility in stories, in connection and yes, in tension and status roles as well.

    When you care enough to see your audience with empathy, you’ll realize that they’re not happier if you simply recite a list of facts. Almost everything we engage with is a placebo at some level, and bringing a human-friendly story to the interaction is a way to serve people.

    We need to not only have the ability to imagine what others see, we have to have the guts to go where they are and talk with them on their terms.

    This means that we’re willing to be wrong on our way to being useful. We need to make assertions and show up with consistency, making promises and keeping them. Promises not just about the atomic weight of nitrogen, but about experiences and expectations that are sometimes hard to pin down.

    Don’t make something that you would buy.

    Make something that they would buy.

  • Netcall’s latest research: 50% of leaders worry they will fail to engage with customers

    The latest research by Netcall, a leading provider of customer engagement solutions, in collaboration with Davies, a professional services and technology business, reveals some interesting results. This paper uncovers both drivers and obstacles of further CX transformation. As a team dedicated to preparing CX professionals for upcoming challenges, we gathered the most important insight from…
    The post Netcall’s latest research: 50% of leaders worry they will fail to engage with customers appeared first on Customer Experience Magazine.

  • Salesforce CPQ Trailhead Badges to Achieve

    I began my journey with CPQ (Configure, Price, Quote) in 2017, about a year after Salesforce purchased Steelbrick, which became Salesforce CPQ. Salesforce had just moved the Salesforce CPQ Certification from beta to generally available. Unfortunately, there were no materials on Trailhead, and only a… Read More

  • 16 Pardot Tips for Salesforce Admins [Updated 2021]

    Pardot is the go-to choice for Salesforce customers looking for a B2B Marketing Automation tool. Not only is it tightly integrated to Salesforce core objects, Pardot’s reasonable price point makes it accessible to many organizations, and is appealing to new users as an intuitive tool… Read More

  • The HubSpot Blog’s 2022 Marketing Industry Trends Report: Data from 1,000+ Global Marketers

    The only constant in the world of marketing is that things are always changing. And, if you’re a marketer, business leader, or entrepreneur aiming to plan an effective 2022 strategy that puts you far ahead of your competitors, you probably want to know:

    Which trends are marketers leveraging today? And, which do they plan to start leveraging in 2022?
    Which marketing channels are they using?
    What are the top content-marketing formats?
    What challenges are they facing?
    And, most importantly, what are their plans and expectations for 2022 and beyond?

    As the HubSpot Blog’s Research Analyst, I launched our Marketing Industry Survey to help fellow bloggers and readers answer the questions above — and gain further industry insights into 2022 planning.

    Our Survey Sample
    We surveyed 1,067 global marketers from across B2B and B2C companies from small to large employee sizes. The sample included professionals at varying experience levels from seven countries: the U.S., Australia, Canada, Germany, UK, France, and Japan.
    Read on to learn about some of the most interesting key findings, get strategic recommendations based on our data, and find even more blog content that dives even deeper into our research.

    Which trends are marketers already leveraging today?
    Influencer marketing, mobile-friendly website design, short-form video, virtual events, and experiential marketing are the top trends marketers currently leverage.

    These trends will see continued growth in 2022 as most marketers will increase their investment in them or continue investing the same amount.
    Let’s dive into each trend and how marketers are thinking about them moving into the next year.
    1. Influencer Marketing
    While influencer marketing was once less accessible to small brands that couldn’t budget a high-priced celebrity or a top-tier social media user, the growth of social media has led to an abundance of influencers with nano to macro followings.
    Now, as more businesses invest in influencer marketing, they’re beginning to see solid benefits. In our survey, Influencer marketing was the most popular and most effective trend with the biggest ROI.
    By working with an influencer that’s gained trust, expertise, or notability in a specific industry, brands can gain awareness, traffic, and potentially conversions from that influencer’s audience.
    2. Short-Form Video
    As TikTok’s virality grew in 2020 and 2021, other social media platforms like Instagram and YouTube rushed to get into the short-form video game. And, as more platforms continue to shift to prioritizing quick, fast-paced content, so have marketers.
    Our Marketing Strategy Survey results show that short-form video is popular, effective, and still growing, especially among social media marketers.
    In fact, 30% of social media marketers plan to invest more in short-form video than any other social media marketing strategy in 2022. Meanwhile, 33% plan to leverage short-form video for the first time in 2022.
    3. Virtual Events
    Virtual events are popular, effective, and will continue to be a top trend marketers leverage in 2022.
    However, 17% of marketers who leverage virtual events will decrease their investment in 2022, the second-highest decrease of any trend marketers invested in during 2021. Additionally, while 31% of marketers currently leverage virtual events, just 9% of marketers plan to leverage them for the first time in 2022.
    If you have virtual events planned, don’t let this research panic you. Virtual events are still the third most prominent trend marketers will invest in throughout the next year.
    Additionally, the decreases noted above could signal a natural transition from virtual to hybrid or physical events as more public venues fully re-open in the next year. As an event marketer, it will be important to weigh all of your options and local mandates to determine which event type will be most effective and comfortable for your audience in the coming year.

    Which trends do marketers plan to leverage for the first time in 2022?
    Short-form video, social responsibility, and inbound marketing are the top trends marketers plan to leverage for the first time in 2022.
    While I explained some of the appeals to short-form videos above, here’s a quick snippet about the other two trends.  

    Brands Will Take More Social Responsibility
    In 2020 and 2021, consumers paid more attention than ever to how companies treated their customers, audiences, employees, and the world around them. And, many companies used this time to take a stance on their values. As these brands took on more social responsibility, they found that current or new audiences shared their values and gained trust, credibility, memorability, and awareness from those consumers.
    Moving into 2022, more marketers are recognizing the importance of social responsibility. Investment in social responsibility will continue to grow from those already leveraging it and from marketers using it for the first time.
    Digital Transformation Will Boost Inbound Marketing Use
    As we move into 2022, consumers will be more connected to the web and digital platforms than ever. And, outbound strategies have gotten even more out of date.
    To meet customers and audiences where they are, 23% of marketers will leverage inbound marketing for the first time.
    To read more about short-form content, social responsibility, and other key trends analyzed in this survey, check out these posts:

    The Marketing Trends of 2022: The Ultimate Guide
    The Top 5 B2C Marketing Trends of 2022

    Which marketing channels are businesses leveraging?
    The top channels marketers currently use are social media, website/blog, and email marketing.

    1. Social Media
    Social media is the most popular and most effective marketing channel, with the highest ROI.
    The use of social media will continue to grow, with 39% of those who don’t use social media planning to leverage it for the first time in 2022.
    Additionally, 26% of marketers plan to invest more in social media than any other channel in 2022
    In 2022, 51% of marketers who leverage social media plan to increase their investment in social media marketing, and 37% will continue investing the same amount.
    The Top Social Media Platforms
    1. Instagram
    Instagram is the most popular social platform, just ahead of YouTube and Facebook.
    However, Facebook has the biggest ROI of any platform, and 25% of social media marketers say they will invest more in it than any other platform in 2022.

    2. YouTube
    YouTube is No. 2 in terms of usage, but ROI lags behind Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok. Still, expect to see the platform continue to see marketing growth as brands continue to leverage it for its ginormous audience and growing brand opportunities.
    3. TikTok
    While TikTok is the No. 6 platform in terms of usage by social media marketers, 62% of those who leverage it plan to increase their investment in 2022, the highest of any social platform.

    The Top Marketing Content Formats
    Video content, blogs, images, and infographics are the top media formats.

    1. Videos
    Video leads across the board as the most popular and effective format with the highest ROI, and 30% of content marketers plan to invest in video more than any other format in 2022.
    2. Blogs
    Blogs are popular, effective, and have the 3rd highest ROI of any format.
    The use of blogs will continue growing in 2022, with 29% of content marketers planning to leverage blogs for the first time and 10% planning to invest more in blogs than any other format.
    3. Infographics.
    Adoption of infographics will continue growing as 45% of content marketers currently leverage them and 38% plan to leverage them for the first time in 2022.
    Additionally, 56% of content marketers who leverage infographics say it is the most effective content format they use.
    4. Podcasts and Audio Content
    Only one in three content marketers use podcasts or other audio content. While 51% of those who do plan to invest more in 2022, 43% plan to continue investing the same amount 
    Despite low ROI reports, 53% of content marketers who leverage podcasts and other audio content say it is the most effective format they use.
    5. Audio Chat Rooms
    Just 14% of social media marketers leverage audio chat rooms like Clubhouse and Twitter Spaces, but 68% of those who do say it’s the most effective social media strategy they use, despite low ROI.
    Additionally, 49% of those who already use audio chat rooms plan to increase their investment in 2022, while 47% plan to maintain their current investment next year.
    More Insights From the HubSpot Blog
    Has this data inspired you to build out or refine your marketing strategy in 2022? Be sure to keep following the HubSpot Blog’s data-driven content to dive deeper into current and emerging industry trends.
    Next, check out this post where I give 11 recommendations for marketers based on the data above, plus survey findings that didn’t make it into this post. 
    Below are a few blog posts that further break down the findings of our Marketing Industry Trends survey. We’ll continue to update this list as we publish more articles, so be sure to bookmark this page!

    More Marketing Industry Trend Insights

    The Marketing Trends of 2022: The Ultimate Guide
    The Top 5 B2C Marketing Trends of 2022 [HubSpot Blog Data]

    6 Short-Form Video Trends Marketers Need to Watch in 2022
    11 Marketing Recommendations for 2022 [Based on HubSpot Blog Data]

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    Bitcoin Cloud Mining is an easy way to mine bitcoins without buying them. Gain the power of online mining without the need for expensive hardware. The hardware is all solar powered. You can set your own prices and customize your mining process to the conditions you decide. VIDEO: https://youtu.be/LqEZmuIDSaM https://preview.redd.it/bzeb7gnz0c181.jpg?width=1125&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e37ac677bad91876b4e148493b726d86f9780a51
    submitted by /u/_Wadjet [link] [comments]

  • 4 Easy Ways to Make Call Center Training More Fun

    When you think of the phrase “call center training”, does the word fun come to mind?
    If it doesn’t, you’re probably not alone. After all, workplace training has a reputation for being dull with endless PowerPoint presentations and the occasional role-playing exercise. But now, with agent engagement becoming a growing priority for call centers, it’s a great time to reimagine your approach to training your team members.
    Contact Center Trends: Industry Predictions for 2022
    According to our most recent trends report, customer service expectations are at an all-time high — that means customer support must catch up through effective call center training. But the old textbook methods just won’t do! Luckily, there are lots of methods out there to make call center training engaging, and dare we say… fun!
    Agent training is more important than ever before.
    With the rise of remote and hybrid work environments, customers don’t always have access to brick-and-mortar businesses. That’s why customers rely more on contact center agents now more than ever for all the information they need.
    That explains the 600% increase in call volume across various industries’ call centers. Such an increase would overwhelm any normally staffed contact center. Imagine how much agents felt this increased volume when 20% of agent capacity dropped. That’s a big hit to an industry that already experiences a 30-45% agent attrition rate outside of COVID!
    On top of that, agents are reporting more negative customer interactions these days. Customers desire more empathy and immediacy, bringing their patience levels lower than ever.

    Did you know that call center agents face a 30-45% attrition rate? #CallCenterEngagement #CallCenterTrendsClick To Tweet

    Clearly, call center staff members are stressed, overworked, and sometimes even burnt out. Agent performance levels are on the line, as well as agent retention.
    What does this mean for call center training? You may see a decline in agent engagement during regular training sessions compared to previous years. So call center managers and executives have to step up their game with more engagement, support, and incentives to keep their agents happy.
    Balancing education and engagement.
    The problem with a lot of call center agent training sessions is a lack of engagement. However, this doesn’t mean your agents aren’t suited to the job. In fact, it has a lot more to do with the way the information is delivered.
    Ask yourself:

    Is the information presented in a way that will appeal to our agents?
    Is there a way to make the training courses more interactive?
    Is the training leader delivering the information with enthusiasm and positive energy?

    Balancing education and engagement is essential if you want your training to sink in. You need to invoke human aspects into your training to get your agents engaged. That means making training more interactive and potentially using gamification tactics in your program.
    5 Best Practices for Training Remote Call Center Agents
    4 tips to improve agent engagement during training.
    1. Use a buddy system. 
    The buddy system is a tried and true training method that involves pairing up an experienced team member with a new agent. Allow the new agent to sit in or listen in on customer calls on the experienced agent’s schedule. This helps them see strong customer service skills in action rather than just in theory.
    Take this approach one step further by coaching your veteran agents on setting a positive tone and building a friendly mentor-mentee relationship with your new hire. You’ll be impressed how much further your training efforts go!
    2. More video, less text. 
    Dry call center training manuals are the bane of every agent’s existence! Nobody wants to sit through a 4-hour long reading assignment about call center techniques. A long lecture with text-dense slides won’t do either!
    It’s easy for call center agents to feel isolated, as their work is very independent. This is especially true for remote agents. Using interactive online training techniques with video conferencing can give them opportunities to engage with their team mates on a more personal level.
    3. Gamify your training. 
    Education + Engagement = Call Center Training games!
    Call center training material can get pretty dry. Why not spice it up with some competition and fun games for your agents? Offer rewards and competition throughout your call center training to keep your agents engaged.
    Rewards might look like a shortened workday for the person who answers the most questions correctly in the training, or an award of recognition for a game-winner.

    TIP:
    Why stop the fun? Continue the games onto the sales floor, virtual or in-person, with these engaging call center games.

    4. Share analytics with your agents.
    Call center training should use real-life examples to help employees see the results of good and bad techniques. This approach will help them feel more connected to the depart
    Involve your employees in data collection and analytics. You might share a live customer call with trained agents and then show your agents in training that customer’s CSAT score! Or, you might share a few metrics like FCR or abandon rate before and after your team uses Fonolo’s Voice Call-Backs!The post Blog first appeared on Fonolo.

  • Gartner’s latest research: 64% of customer service leaders will focus on business growth in 2022

    Last week, Gartner published the results of their survey on customer service support priorities for 2022. According to the research, 64% of customer service and support leaders named ‘grow the business’ as their most critical priority in the upcoming year. Besides business growth, there are three other aspects customer service professionals will consider when planning…
    The post Gartner’s latest research: 64% of customer service leaders will focus on business growth in 2022 appeared first on Customer Experience Magazine.

  • A freelancer’s dilemma

    What do you own?What are you really good at?What do you enjoy?

    Engaging with the marketplace requires creating value for people who have a choice.

    And deciding what to offer your customers is your choice.

    If you own something (a patent, a building, a process, a set of relationships) you can create more value than if you simply start over with new work each time.

    If you are really good at something, having amassed skills and a reputation, it’s more likely that you will earn the benefit of the doubt and more easily create value.

    And if you focus on being on the hook for work you actually enjoy, your days are better and it’s easier to do great work.

    The freelancer’s dilemma is to figure out what to say instead of, “you can pick anyone and I’m anyone.”

    And the entrepreneur’s job is to build enough assets that each transaction gets easier and more profitable.

    It begins by being clear about what you own, what you’re good at it and what gives you satisfaction.