Web Engagement News & Articles

Today's website success metrics rarely include the quality of the site experience as a distinct concept and according to a recent report from Forrester, that’s a big mistake: "Without dedicated customer experience metrics, companies can’t tell whether the site experience actually got better or how changes in the quality of that experience affected the site’s business performance." Here's a summary of three practices you can start to fill this gap: 

This month we polled you, our dear readers, on the importance of mobile in your Customer Experience Management strategy. The results are in and what we see is that mobile is rapidly taking a seat right next to your normal websites, and will likely soon move out in front.

Customer communication is a fundamental part of holistic customer experience management (CEM). Traditionally, the goal of CEM programs has been to turn customers into loyal brand advocates by ensuring a positive experience with the product or service. But true CEM programs are also driven by the desire to give customers the best possible experience communicating with their providers.

Launched just this week, newcomer Totango (news, site) aims to be the next generation of customer engagement software for Software-as-a-Service heads. 

Engagement must be the next new thing in web marketing. I see the term used everywhere in print and at conferences, but it is usually referring to what marketing should have always been doing anyway -- involving potential customers so they increase communication, build trust and form commitment. The problem is that the old analytical tools just aren’t up to the job.

If we are going to increase our customers’ engagement over the web, we can’t use the same web analytics we’ve been using for over 15 years. We need metrics that measure our marketing effectiveness and how well we engage our visitors. We need engagement analytics.

As we all twitch in anticipation of the Google+ for business release, it's no surprise that Facebook has introduced a new site for highlighting the processes of advertising and marketing on the social network.

For many marketers, cross-channel marketing on the social web has been a dizzying, ad hoc and all-too-often unmeasured experiment. What many don’t understand is that the social web offers the greatest marketing opportunities we have ever seen, so it’s time to get serious.

Forms add interactivity to any website or application. Organizations can benefit from data and information received from clients, customers and other stakeholders. But this information is best digested with tools that make management of data easier. Adobe (news, site) has recently announced an update to its FormsCentral (news, site) service, which adds summary reports, ratings and social media integration, among other new features.

So what can go wrong if you don’t add that human touch in implementing a CRM technology for your sales efforts? Here are the top three ways that can bring you to ruin.

Today Webtrends (news, site) released its revamped marketing suite complete with a new name tag: Webtrends Social. The "social media command center" focuses on Facebook, allowing users to create and manage a presence on the network without integrating tools or writing any code. 

The hacking collective, Anonymous, has started a new campaign aimed at two of the web's biggest brands, encouraging users to close their accounts and use alternative services.

Tag management is the process of managing the various web analytics and campaign tags you place on your web pages to measure traffic, run campaigns and all that good stuff. It's unlikely you use just one application that uses tags, which means tag management can be a pain in the butt. Tealium introduces a solution for your tag management woes -- a single universal tag managed by the marketer, not IT.

 Today Optify (news, site) gave a hat tip to the littler guys with the announcement of a new Basic Edition of its marketing software for SMBs.

Today’s technology has certainly changed the way marketers reach potential customers. The internet, social media and mobile smartphones are just a few of the new ways to engage a target audience. But with all these increased opportunities also comes a need to convert that engagement into revenue. Successful marketing campaigns can lead to a boost in website visits. But visits don’t mean much without a final sale.

That’s where an effective content management system comes into play. Using a CMS as your hub for cross-channel marketing efforts can help keep messaging consistent and customized for your audience. 

As content strategy continues to emerge as an important UX discipline, alongside usability, interaction design, visual design and information architecture, content strategists will work with other UX professionals, closely and under scrutiny. What makes this challenging is that for many UX professionals, content strategy is still murky. While working with a content strategist for the first time, many UXers may not truly understand your role.

Here are five tips for maximizing your professional working relationship with an information architect (IA).