Web Experience/Engagement Management (WEM) Articles

Drupal cloud services provider Acquia has reported its revenue more than doubled in 2012, a sign open source implementations are reaching an all time high in popularity.

The last decade has seen major disruptions in software, completely reversing the power roles between vendor and user. It’s been said many times that the customer is king, and it couldn't be truer.

Online content, in store: TigerLogic's Postano on a screen at Nine West.

Consumers now have access to the Net wherever they go, and their customer experience extends from everywhere to almost everywhere. With online shopping blending into offline, CMSWire.com pinged customer experience management provider Empathica and enterprise data management/app development provider TigerLogic for their insights. 

Ever since SDL bought Fredhopper in January 2010 it has been developing the technology to optimize the online shopping experience offered by retailers. Today with the release of v7.5, it has tweaked the Fredhopper technology again to offer retailers the ability to adapt an entire product catalog to target specific shoppers.

It's that time again! We're a little over an hour away from this month's Tweet Jam on Customer Journeys -- How do we define them? What are the advantages to customer journey mapping, and how do you measure their value?

The mobile web is growing up. ClickTale, who just last year introduced ClickTale Mobile has evolved the mobile usability and analytics program into ClickTale Touch, which allows businesses to view their mobile customers’ “True-to-Life User Experience."

The tornado devastation in Oklahoma points to the need for mobile governmental response systems and, this week, Salesforce is releasing such solutions designed specifically for governmental needs. 

Over the last two years, Gartner considers the ecommerce space to still be dominated by the same leaders named in its last Magic Quadrant report, namely IBM, Oracle and hybris.

Understanding the experience that customers value tops the list of most strategic agendas these days. The power of the buyer being in control can no longer be ignored. Sales feel it as their cycles grow longer and become less predictable. Marketing struggles to deliver predictable ROI across a sea of interaction channels where conversations happen without their involvement. Service and Support feel it as customers turn to each other for answers and to share information.

The way customers shop through Google and retailers is changing, as the company begins to phase out Google Checkout in favor of Google Wallet.

Ever feel the need to use the apps already on on your mobile device instead of the work approved ones from your IT department? LogMeIn has developed a tool called AppGuru to help those IT teams organize the mobile apps people can't seem to resist bringing to work.

The customer experience is still a work in progress. We know that as social and mobile technologies become more advanced, the challenge isn’t necessarily about deploying them, it’s about getting them to seamlessly align alongside human capabilities. The mobile coupon fails to get scanned at checkout. The opportunity to enroll customers in a rewards programs is missed. Consumers receive irrelevant promotions that don’t meet their interests or activities. What if there was a better way to improve the customer experience without having to upgrade the human experience?

The current definition of the Customer Journey seems to consist of some version of Consider/Awareness leading to Research/Evaluate, and then to Purchase. Some models include the Out Of the Box Experience (OOBE) followed by Usage after Purchase. I particularly appreciate models that include those two pieces, as they take into account that the customer's experience needs to be favorable for some time after the purchase. Most customers are not in the market for the next new thing as soon as they purchase one (if so, there’s something wrong with the product!)

 Digital marketers have a strong interest in tuning and optimizing the search experience, which is why Sitecore has given search a front row seat in Sitecore 7.

A Pandora for relationship management. That’s how Nimble describes version 3.0 of its social relationship manager platform, because of a Rules Engine that curates engagement opportunities, birthdays, job changes and “people of importance.” Sort of like setting up a station on Pandora, but built around people you want to stay in contact with.