CRM vs Burger, and the Surprising Wisdom Therein

This week on Funnel Frontier: Unwrap the latest on data analytics, Salesforce’s new AI features, and Act! CRM’s new features.

This week on Funnel Frontier:

• Data vs McCulture

• More from CRM’s megacorp

• A brand new “Act!”

Stat of the Week 

Salesforce has the largest CRM market share, hitting 23.8% in 2021. (Statista)

Data, data everywhere

In marketing, knowing your customer's favorite burger is more valuable than an Ivy MBA. 

That’s today's lesson from Harvard Business Review. Data is great, but it won't tell you why so-and-so loves extra pickles. 

The article, penned by Marcus Collins, former head of strategy at Wieden+Kennedy New York, is a cheeky reminder that data analytics—in CRM or other marketing software—should be tempered by intimate research, or “cultural translation.” 

Collins embarked on a 'McEthnography' to understand the sacred rituals of McDonald's fans. Spoiler: stealing fries is a universal truth. 

But the big takeaway? In a world obsessed with big data, the real wisdom may be understanding why someone hacks the menu to make a 'Land, Air, and Sea Burger’… without judging them. 

As Collins says, it’s “not about what is factual; it’s about what is perceived.” And “you don’t have to agree with it; the aim is to understand it because the better you understand it, the better equipped you are to leverage in your marketing activity.”

Dashboards matter—but the quirky realm of customer culture matters too!

The Week @ CRM.org

Best Help Desk Software. When “I'll get back to you on that” goes from unfulfilled promise to automation-assisted reality.

Contact Management. Tools for turning the art of networking into a science.

Gmail CRM Integrations. How to transform your inbox into a customer-wooing machine.

Online Whiteboard Tools. Where stick figures and mind maps coexist in e-harmony.

Weekly Bloom 

1945 and Tech Today. If you saw Oppenheimer, you’ve heard of Vannevar Bush. Presenting the engineer-administrator’s surprisingly relevant legacy.

Salesforce keeps releasing stuff

As 2023 eeks to an end, Salesforce isn’t slowing its roll. 

Firstly, ADP and Salesforce, giants of HCM and CRM (respectively), have decided to join forces in an expanded partnership. 

The plan? Use Salesforce’s AI to turn ADP’s customer service into a well-oiled question-answering machine. 

Maria Black of ADP is all in, betting this union is just the thing to boost their human capital management game. Meanwhile, Salesforce’s Marc Benioff is throwing around phrases like 'AI-powered world' as if he has a vested interest or something. 

The goal is to make every ADP client feel like they're the one and only, thanks to personalized, rapid-fire responses. Basically, ADP's vast data meets Salesforce's AI brainpower for HR.

Next!

Salesforce is stoking more coal into its Einstein 1 Platform, in the form of their new Data Cloud Vector Database and Einstein Copilot Search. 

The big sell? No more spending a small fortune fine-tuning LLMs. This new database promises to synergize unstructured and structured data, making your AI prompts smarter without heavy lifting. 

Einstein Copilot Search, available in February, uses AI to dig through all of the data and spews know-it-all answers. 

The idea is to have a business assistant that gets your Beckett-esque, elliptical questions and fetches data-backed answers, complete with citations. 

For customer service, this could help link everything from chaotic email threads to neat support tickets, making life a tad easier for those on the front lines. 

And just so you know, before 2023 ends, we have to say “AI” as many times as possible. 

Don’t Act! surprised

Act! CRM just dropped a new bag o’ tricks for SMB users. They're calling it the Linktivity Bundle, and it’s a four-parter:

• First up, Link2quotes+, for whipping up snazzy online quotes that will hopefully have customers saying 'take my money!' (it can also process payments) 

• Then there's Link2forms+, turning form-filling into an art with lead segmenting, automated response, and deep reporting

• Link2events+  does event marketing, planning, managing RSVPs, et al for all-in-one event-ing

• For the grand finale, there’s Link2calendar (mysteriously devoid of a “+”) to connect the above three—because who doesn't love a bit of calendar-syncing

These are exclusive to users of the Act! Premium Cloud, btw. 

CEO Bruce Reading said this has been a “historic year” for the vendor, with the Linktivity Bundle being more-or-less just the cherry on top. 

And priced at “won’t break the bank” levels, he’s confident these new tools will keep users and draw new ones in. 

Intrigued? Disturbed? You can check out the new features in-depth here.

Tasty Tidbits

CRM blips from around the web

SugarCRM earns “Great Place to Work” certification. This is the third year in a row. 

LocatorX IoT platform now available on Salesforce AppExchange. The integration will allow IoT device data to join with CRM analytics.

Pipedrive earns ISO 27001 certification. The CRM vendor officially adheres to the globally recognized data security standard.

Stocks of the Week

Significant Moves (12/11-12/15)

^{DISCLAIMER: None of this is financial advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets. Please be careful and do your own research.}

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