April 2018

Magazine Features

The 2018 CRM Service Awards: The Top Customer Service Software, Technology, and Leaders

Our 15th annual recognition of innovation and success in customer service

The 2018 CRM Service Leaders: The Top Customer Service & Call Center Software and Solutions

Our picks for the top customer service and call center solutions. The 15th annual CRM Service Awards recognizes the leading companies in customer service.

Best Customer Case Management: The 2018 CRM Service Leaders

Best Call Center/Contact Center Infrastructure Software: The 2018 CRM Service Leaders

Best Interactive Voice Response (IVR) Systems: The 2018 CRM Service Leaders

Best Web Support Software: The 2018 CRM Service Leaders

Best Workforce Optimization Software: The 2018 CRM Service Leaders

Best Contact Center Search: The 2018 CRM Service Leaders

Best Enterprise Feedback Management (EFM) Software: The 2018 CRM Service Leaders

Best Contact Center/Call Center Analytics: The 2018 CRM Service Leaders

Best Call Center/Contact Center Outsourcing Companies: The 2018 CRM Service Leaders

The 2018 CRM Service Rising Stars

Our 15th annual recognition of innovation and success in customer service

The 2018 CRM Service Rising Stars: Amazon

Amazon's AI connects with contact centers

The 2018 CRM Service Rising Stars: CallDesk

CallDesk takes virtual agents farther

The 2018 CRM Service Rising Stars: Clarabridge

Clarabridge spans the customer feedback divide

The 2018 CRM Service Rising Stars: noHold

noHold simplifies launching chatbots for businesses

The 2018 CRM Service Rising Stars: UJET

UJET speeds customers through channels

The 2018 CRM Service Rising Stars: Zendesk

Partnerships bring the Zendesk platform to more devices and apps

The 2018 CRM Service Elite Customers

Our 15th annual recognition of innovation and success in customer service

The 2018 CRM Service Elite Customers: athenahealth

athenahealth improves its prognosis with Salesforce Service Cloud

The 2018 CRM Service Elite Customers: Boscov's Department Stores

Boscov's bounces back with Moxie's Kbot

The 2018 CRM Service Elite Customers: TechStyle Fashion Group

TechStyle gives a NICE boost to its agent and customer experience

The 2018 CRM Service Elite Customers: Vega

Vega takes its cause to social media

Front Office

Because We Thought You Should Know

To keep customers coming back, businesses today need to know as much as they can about them

Reality Check

WFO Solutions Must Be Rebuilt From the Ground Up

A truly multitenant architecture—supporting cloud, on-premises, and hybrid solutions—is becoming a necessity.

Customer Experience

There’s a Consumer Trust Crisis, and Smart Firms Will Shape CX to Address It

Being transparent and offering authentic experiences can help companies break through the murk.

Insight

Companies Face a Consumer Trust Crisis

As identity fraud hits an all-time high, the burden is shifting to companies to protect customer data

Customers Come with Baggage

Pre-interaction factors significantly affect customers' perceptions of service interactions

In Customer Service, Being Nice Only Goes So Far

Problem solving, rather than relational work, yields higher customer satisfaction.

Personalization Efforts Suffer from Data Issues

While identity theft is definitely on the rise, consumer awareness of the risk has seen a comparable increase, and companies' attempts at personalization might be the ultimate victims.

The Next Step

The CRM Adoption Paradox

CRM systems are stronger and more packed with features than ever, but users aren't always rushing to use them. Here's how one firm changed that