According to a recent study, it was found that 90 per cent of the information transmitted to the brain is visual and we can absorb information more quickly from visuals. Rebecca Swift (Director of Creative Planning at iStock by Getty Images), writes in her article link about the top design trends of 2015: http://digitalmarketingmagazine.co.uk/articles/2015-s-top-design-trends-how-to-keep-your-business-visuals-looking-fresh/1527

Nowadays, mobile CRM is in much demand. Another emerging trend is the convergence of mobile devices, CRM, and big data. In the retail sector, convergence of mobile devices, CRM, and big data enable mobile marketing and mobile apps to gain more insights of customer to drive more sales. To know more about mobile CRM, follow: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/5-mobile-crm-trends-to-watch-65634

Personally identifiable information (PII) is needed when a caller personally needs to give credit card or Social Security number. In these scenarios IVR technology can’t be used. So, a new technology is emerging that uses dual tone multi-frequency signaling (DTMF) to capture PII securely while remaining on the same call , eliminating the risk of exposing data to the agent, the organization or the call recording system and improves call center efficiency and security, and in turn reduce costs and improves customer trust, satisfaction and loyalty. Read more at: http://telecomreseller.com/2015/02/09/new-dtmf-capture-technology-will-revolutionize-call-center-security/

According to a recent study it was found that company websites remain the top digital channel for B2B marketers, with 81% rating their sites effective, email ranked second with 71% of B2B marketers saying it was effective in helping to achieve marketing goals in 2014, and search engine optimization is the only other digital channel rated very effective by 54% of the B2B marketers. Read more at: http://www.marketingprofs.com/charts/2015/26985/top-b2b-marketing-channels-and-tactics

According to a study it was found that 91% of consumers check their email daily, and 66% of consumers have made a purchase online after reading an email marketing message. To find out more about the benefits of including email, social media, and online reputation management in your marketing plans, follow: http://www.marketingprofs.com/chirp/2015/27013/three-digital-marketing-tactics-you-should-adopt-in-2015-infographic

According to a study by the NPD group, mobile gamers are playing for longer periods of time than they were two years ago and the study also found that the average time spent playing in a day has increased 57 percent to over two hours per day in 2014 against one hour and 20 minutes in 2012. Cloud technology will change the aspects of the video entertainment sector. Read more at: http://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/why-mobile-cloud-will-become-great-disruptor-0

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) is in much demand nowadays. These SaaS platforms are subscription-based model and allow businesses to access their big data, analytics and other applications online from anywhere in the world, and are hosted in the cloud. But, enterprise-level SaaS platforms can cost thousands of dollars per month and is expensive. So, customer success manager (CSM) is gaining popularity nowadays. CSMs help manage the whole SaaS subscription process for businesses from marketing, to the initial sale of the subscription, to renewal. Read more at: http://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/rise-customer-success-management-saas-world-infographic

Inbound marketing is a strategy for online marketing. Ryan VanDenabeele (contributor to Business 2 Community), writes in his article link about some tips to attract new leads in business with the help of inbound marketing: http://www.business2community.com/inbound-marketing/7-quick-tips-become-inbound-marketing-machine-01145174

Nowadays, social media is important for any successful digital marketing strategy. ROI of social media marketing can be a great tool for optimizing web presence. Gary Dek (Blogger), writes in his article link about how to avoid social media marketing mistakes, and ways to ensure campaign’s success: http://www.business2community.com/social-media/10-social-media-marketing-mistakes-businesses-must-avoid-01143556

Nowadays, there are data breaches by which customer information is leaked. CRM data are highly confidential. There is no perfect system to protect all CRM data. But, some basic security measures can go a long way in creating a CRM security system. Read more at: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/top-3-security-tips-for-your-crm-system-65549

Marketing automation software and CRM software are complement to each other. Marketing automation software allows company to schedule e-mails, connect e-mail messages to specific landing pages, target customers based on demographics and behaviors, and track visitor behaviors. CRM solution helps in identifying the source of each lead that comes in and thus helps marketing department understand which campaigns are effective. Read more at: : http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/using-crm-to-complement-marketing-65552

Online advertising can be cost-effective or expensive waste of money for any company and their clients without any effective strategy. Advertising agencies should master the basics of online banner ads and social media advertising. To know more about how to handle the basics of online advertising in-house without the need to outsource freelancer or sub-contractor, follow Brian Hughes (Digital Marketing Director & Founder, Integrity Marketing & Consulting)’s article link: http://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/7-legendary-tips-get-any-advertising-agency-soaring-online

Travel companies are taking digital marketing approach, including a content strategy across platforms such as blogs, newsletters, dynamic websites and social media management. It is important for travel companies to get maximum people talking about them, mention them in pictures, even if people are not following the company on Twitter or Facebook? The answer is use of hash tags!  Frederic Gonzalo (Owner/Partner, Gonzo Marketing), explain the theory around the utilization of hash tags in destination marketing in his article link:  http://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/hashtags-coming-alive-destination-marketing

Contact center managers should improve efficiency, reduce costs, and get good agent training, reduce turnover and, above all, an outstanding service experience as defined by the customer. Matt Lautz (CorvisaCloud, President), writes in his article link about some contact center predictions for 2015:  http://www.callcentertimes.com/Home/tabid/37/ctl/NewsArticle/mid/395/CategoryID/1/NewsID/931/Default.aspx

2014 was the year of personalization. But, 2015 will be the year of contextualization. Marketers want to deliver the right experience, at the right time, to each user. The digital engagement tools make contextualization possible by combining real-time segmentation and personalization technology which helps to answer many questions about consumers. Sharing and capturing data across data sources like CRM, marketing automation, e-mail marketing systems, etc. and touch points like web, email, social, call center, online store, offline database, etc. helps an organization to create visitor profile that will improve target based marketing. Read more at:  http://digitalmarketingmagazine.co.uk/articles/moving-from-personalisation-to-contextualisation/1506

Billions of people can access the web anywhere because of the increased use of smartphones. Businesses are offering mobile apps to engage with customers. Earlier, enterprise mobile apps failed to take advantage of technologies that personalized the experience of consumers. So, next-generation mobility efforts require apps that personalize consumer experience based on identity and location. Read more at: http://digitalmarketingmagazine.co.uk/mobile-digital-marketing/five-signs-that-mobile-engagement-is-evolving/1493

In a research it was found that mobile use in 2014 surpassed desktop activity, and that means number of people are accessing internet through smartphones and tablets. There is an immense opportunity for online marketers to reach consumers with information on sales, specials, and events, and therefore it becomes important for businesses to have a mobile-friendly version of their site. Mobile users are now making up over half of Internet traffic, and the challenge is how to reach effectively to consumers in this growing market. Read more at: : http://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/put-your-brand-peoples-hands-literally-how-target-your-mobile-customer

Content marketing is the key if you want to grow your business. Sarah Quinn (Copywriter, Wyzowl), writes in her article link about some content marketing ideas that work: http://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/how-come-content-marketing-ideas-work

Social media for brands is to have two-way conversations with their customers. But, using social media as a means to broadcast or push messages is not attracting customers nowadays. Sofie De Beule (Community Manager, Engagor) writes in her article link about what type of data is valuable to create meaningful conversations and how brands can truly make sense of it: http://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/3-key-steps-make-sense-social-customer-data

The global cloud market is predicted to reach $180 billion by the end of this year, which means we will see new cloud unified communications adoptions. Unified communications (UC) is a system that joins voice, text, email, audio/video conferencing, and IM into a continuous user experience. The integration of mobile tech into the unified communication infrastructure allows businesses to multiply their productivity. Read more at: : http://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/cloud-collaboration-and-future-ad-hoc-real-time-communication-0