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Customer Service, CRM, Customer Portals

• Cloud Computing in 2015

  End-Customers’ Priorities Will Drive Companies’ Customer Cloud Implementations

  by Patricia Seybold

  Customers want access to their information from anywhere and from any device. The best way to provide that access is via the cloud. By 2015, we predict that customer clouds will abound. Will you be ready?
  Dec. 13, 2013

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• Next IT Alme

  Virtual Agents that Can Answer Complex Questions in Any Language

  by Mitchell Kramer

  Alme (All me) is the virtual agent product from Next IT. Use Alme to deploy virtual agents on web and mobile channels. Its virtual agents can deliver answers in any language, can speak answers, and can integrate application data into their answers.
  Dec. 13, 2013

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• Customer Service Supplier and Product Update 3Q2013

  Review of Ten Social Monitoring, Case Management, Self-Service, and Virtual Agent Suppliers

  by Mitchell Kramer

  3Q2013 was a good quarter for customer service. Customer growth and financial performance were up. Product activity was light. Four companies expanded into new markets. Moxie and Salesforce.com earned Customer Service Stars for 3Q2013.
  Dec. 5, 2013

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• Oracle Service Cloud Social Experience

  Built-In Social Monitoring, Analysis, and Interaction

  by Mitchell Kramer

  Oracle Service Cloud Social Experience provides social customer service by monitoring and analyzing social posts and interacting with social posters. Social Experience is an integral component of Oracle Service Cloud in packaging, pricing, and functionality. See the details in the full report.
  Sep. 27, 2013

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• Four Reasons Why Customers Prefer Twitter for Customer Service

  Quick Response, Fast Action, Public Shame, & Instant Updates

  by Patricia Seybold

  Twitter is becoming the preferred customer service channel for many people. But many companies aren’t paying attention. Providing good customer service on Twitter could differentiate your firm and reduce support costs.
  Sep. 19, 2013

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• Customer Service Supplier and Product Update 2Q2013

  2Q2013 Was a Mixed Quarter for Customer Service

  by Mitchell Kramer

  2Q2013 was a mixed quarter in customer service—mixed in customer growth financial performance, products, and company activity. Impressively, Clarabridge, IntelliResponse, and Salesforce.com all earned our Customer Service Stars for the quarter.
  Sep. 6, 2013

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• Good Service, but Missed Opportunity for Greatness

  A Recommendation for Peapod Grocery Delivery Service

  by Ronni Marshak

  Peapod grocery delivery service does a fine job of customer service, but a recent experience revealed a barrier between what they know about a customer and the customer service department.
  Aug. 30, 2013

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• Salesforce Radian6: An Insight Ecosystem

  The Social Monitoring, Analysis, and Interaction Application of Salesforce Marketing Cloud

  by Mitchell Kramer

  Radian6 is the Salesforce Marketing Cloud component that does social monitoring, analysis, and interaction. It’s easy to learn and use; its analytics are powerful and flexible; and it integrates tightly with Salesforce Service Cloud.
  Aug. 1, 2013

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• Customer Service Supplier and Product Update 1Q2013

  1Q2013 Was a Good Quarter for Customer Service

  by Mitchell Kramer

  1Q2013 was a good quarter for customer service. Customer growth was the highlight, and it drove good financial performance resulted. Product and company activity were high. M&A was big news as Nuance acquired VirtuOz.
  May. 30, 2013

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• Clarabridge Analyze, Collaborate, and Engage

  Voice of the Customer Monitoring, Analysis, and Interaction

  by Mitchell Kramer

  Clarabridge's Analyze, Collaborate, and Engage monitor and analyze customer conversations on internal and social channels. NLP-based monitoring and analysis are the key strengths. Read our evaluation.
  Mar. 28, 2013

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• Customer Service Supplier and Product Update 4Q2012

  4Q2012 Was a Very Good Quarter for Customer Service

  by Mitchell Kramer

  4Q2012 was a very good quarter for customer service. Customer growth was the driver. Very good financial performance resulted. Product activity was up. M&A was big news as Nuance acquired VirtuOz.
  Mar. 6, 2013

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• Salesforce.com Service Cloud Winter ’13

  Cross-Channel Case, Knowledge, Account, and Social Network Management

  by Mitchell Kramer

  Salesforce CRM Winter ’13 offers a broad and deep array of customer service capabilities anchored by the Ser-vice Cloud. Read our in-depth evaluation.
  Jan. 24, 2013

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• Customer Service Supplier and Product Update 3Q2012

  3Q2012 Was a Quiet Quarter for Customer Service

  by Mitchell Kramer

  3Q2012 was a mixed quarter for customer service--mixed across customers, products, company activity and fi-nancial performance: two suppliers had very good customer growth; four had good financial performance; two new products; two M&A announcements.
  Dec. 13, 2012

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• Next IT ActiveAgent

  Virtual Agents that Deliver Sophisticated Answers to Complex Questions

  by Mitchell Kramer

  Next IT ActiveAgent’s virtual agents can deliver sophisticated answers to complex questions on web, mobile, and social channels. Read our evaluation.
  Nov. 29, 2012

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• Creative Virtual V-Person

  An Offering from a Virtual Assisted-Service Pioneer

  by Mitchell Kramer

  Creative Virtual V-Person can help deliver very good virtual assisted-service on web, mobile, and social channels through strong knowledge management and reporting. Read our evaluation.
  Sep. 20, 2012

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• Customer Service Supplier and Product Update 2Q2012

  2Q2012 Was Another Mixed Quarter for Customer Service

  by Mitchell Kramer

  2Q2012 was another mixed quarter for customer service--customer growth and financial performance were mostly flat or down.
  Sep. 6, 2012

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• VirtuOz Intelligent Virtual Agent

  Powerful and Flexible Cross-Channel, Cross-Lifecycle Virtual Assisted-Service

  by Mitchell Kramer

  VirtuOz Intelligent Virtual Agent can help deliver excellent virtual assisted-service, delivering direct or guided answers to customers’ questions or performing tasks in case management and CRM systems on behalf of customers. Read our evaluation.
  Jul. 26, 2012

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• Customer Service Supplier and Product Update 1Q2012

  1Q2012 Was Another Mixed Quarter

  by Mitchell Kramer

  1Q2012 was not a good quarter for customer service; customer growth and financial performance were down; product activity was mixed; companies were quiet. Salesforce.com, however, had a big quarter.
  Jun. 7, 2012

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• KANA Experience Analytics

  Powerful Analytics, Tight Integration with KANA Service Experience Management

  by Mitchell Kramer

  KANA Experience Analytics monitors, analyzes, and acts on customer conversations on the social web and customer conversations on internal channels. Analytics that categorize customer conversations and classify their sentiment are its key strength.
  May. 24, 2012

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• Social-Service Evaluation Framework

  Products that Monitor Social Posts, Identify Customers’ Questions and Problems, and Help Deliver Answers and Solutions

  by Mitchell Kramer

  Our framework for evaluating social-service products that help organizations deliver customer service to the social web has four top-level criteria: customer service best fit, analytic functionality, customer service integration, and viability.
  Apr. 5, 2012

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