Zoho CRM for Everyone affords every team in any company its own space to actively contribute and accelerate customer growth and improve CX

Zoho Corporation, a leading global technology company, has announced the launch of Zoho CRM for Everyone, a new set of capabilities designed to democratize CRM access across all teams involved in customer operations. This initiative aims to enhance visibility, coordination, and the overall quality of customer experiences by integrating various customer-related functions into a single platform.

Key Features of Zoho CRM for Everyone

1. Unified Customer Operations

   • Centralizes communication and coordination for sales, solutions engineering, contract management, sales enablement, customer onboarding, and advocacy.
   • Enhances visibility and collaboration among all stakeholders in the customer journey.

2. Improved Coordination and Efficiency

   • Mitigates gaps in coordination and reduces turnaround time.
   • Ensures a cohesive and high-quality customer experience.

3. Team Modules

   • Allows business teams to create their own team-level data modules, with specific fields, permissions, workflow automation, and customization.
   • Modules are governed by IT teams and housed within dedicated spaces for each team.

4. Requester Profile

   • Enables team members to raise requests for deliverables or contributions from colleagues in different teams.
   • Requesters can track the status of their requests, eliminating guesswork in collaborative work.

5. Refreshed User Experience

   • Redesigned interface for better usability across roles and functions.
   • Supports no-code or low-code workflow management.
   • Enhanced accessibility features for vision, motor activity, and interactions.

Statements from Key Individuals

• Liz Miller, Vice President and Principal Analyst at Constellation Research: "Zoho’s vision for CRM for Everyone addresses modern CRM strategies by integrating collaboration and project management into revenue-driving activities, placing CRM at the core of building profitable customer relationships."

• Mani Vembu, COO of Zoho: "Zoho CRM for Everyone breaks down silos, enabling different teams in the sales process to contribute productively by reducing CRM complexity and encouraging participation, thereby enhancing the customer experience."

Benefits to Businesses

1. Cross-Functional Collaboration

   • Facilitates seamless coordination among various teams involved in customer operations.
   • Ensures all teams have access to comprehensive customer context.

2. Autonomous Workflow Management

   • Empowers teams to manage their workflows independently within the corporate IT framework.
   • Enhances efficiency and productivity by allowing tailored workflow automation and customization.

3. Enhanced Customer Experience

   • Provides a holistic view of customer interactions and processes.
   • Improves the quality and consistency of customer engagements.

Real-World Applications

• Account Managers:
  • Coordinate product demonstrations with solutions engineers.
• Specialists:
  • Track the rollout of onboarding experiences.
• Marketers:
  • Perform win-loss analysis for specific deals.
• Community Specialists:
  • Manage advocacy engagements like case studies.

Early Access and Future Developments

Early access to Zoho CRM for Everyone is now available upon request for Zoho customers worldwide. Zoho plans to release additional capabilities over the coming weeks, further transforming CRM into the nucleus of all customer operations.

Zoho Privacy Pledge

Zoho upholds a strong commitment to user privacy, operating its own data centers to ensure complete oversight of customer data. With a user base exceeding 100 million across hundreds of thousands of companies, Zoho remains dedicated to privacy and security, avoiding an ad-revenue model in any part of its business.

Zoho CRM for Everyone represents a significant step towards democratizing CRM, enabling cross-functional collaboration and enhancing customer experiences. This innovative approach places CRM at the heart of customer operations, driving more profitable and enduring customer relationships.

NIQ Brandbank is excited to announce significant advancements in their solution that empowers brands to unify, digitalize, and control both Business to Business (B2B) and Business to Consumer (B2C) content through GDSN integration. This end-to-end solution has now expanded into the Poland region, further enhancing its global reach.

Key Features of the Solution

1. Unified Content Management

   • Centralized platform to manage B2B and B2C content.
   • Supports both GDSN and non-GDSN content recipients.

2. Shopper Experience Platform

   • Manages the entire product content lifecycle.
   • Ensures consistent content creation and distribution.

3. Single Master Record

   • All content needs are based on one unique master record of the product.
   • Guarantees accurate and up-to-date information for recipients and end-consumers.

Statements from Key Individuals

• Marsha McGraw, Global Managing Director at NIQ: "I am thrilled to announce the release of our B2B2C content management solution with GDSN integration utilizing the Shopper Experience Platform. Brands can now easily navigate the multichannel minefield and distribute their product content to all types of recipients, through one central ecosystem based on one unique product master record. We are proud to be offering this capability to both existing and new clients empowering them to deliver unparalleled experiences to consumers in today's digital landscape."

Benefits to Brands

1. Efficiency and Accuracy

   • Simplifies content management across multiple channels.
   • Reduces errors and ensures consistency in product information.

2. Enhanced Digital Presence

   • Supports the digitalization of the shopper experience.
   • Enables brands to meet the evolving needs of consumers and recipients.

3. Global Reach

   • Now available in the Poland region, expanding the solution’s accessibility.
   • Serves a diverse range of global retailers and brands.

Industry Context

For the past 25 years, NIQ Brandbank has been a notable force in the product capture and content management industry, specifically serving the global fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) market. Their solutions are widely recognized for their value and strength in supporting clients to digitalize the shopper experience.

Real-World Applications

1. Content Creation and Distribution

   • Brands can create, manage, and distribute content seamlessly through one platform.
   • Supports various use cases and ensures all content needs are met.

2. Multichannel Management

   • Navigates the complexities of multichannel content distribution.
   • Provides a unified approach to managing product information across different platforms.

NIQ Brandbank’s enhanced solution with GDSN integration represents a significant advancement in B2B and B2C content management. By leveraging the Shopper Experience Platform, brands can now manage their entire product content lifecycle through a single, unified platform. This expansion into the Poland region underscores NIQ Brandbank’s commitment to providing cutting-edge solutions that meet the evolving needs of global retailers and brands.

Study from Fetch reveals CPG, retail and restaurant marketers prioritize retention ahead of acquisition, in light of fragmented consumer spend and attention

Fetch, America's Rewards App, in partnership with Wakefield Research, surveyed 500 Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) to explore their focus on consumer loyalty and the challenges they face in nurturing existing relationships. The survey revealed a growing emphasis on long-term consumer connections amid a competitive advertising landscape and tight marketing budgets.

Key Findings from the Survey

1. Increased Importance of Consumer Loyalty

   • 90% of CMOs acknowledge the growing importance of forging long-term consumer relationships over the past five years.
   • 60% prioritize building a loyal consumer base over acquiring new customers.
   • Despite this focus, 22% of brands are investing less than necessary to establish enduring relationships.

2. Challenges in Capturing Consumer Attention

   • High prices of consumer goods drive Americans to seek value through private label products and brand switching based on discounts.
   • CMOs face pressure to demonstrate ROI on campaigns (99%).
   • The impending end of third-party cookies adds to the complexity of effective consumer targeting.

Insights from Industry Leaders

• Wes Schroll, CEO and Founder of Fetch: "The role of CMO is more challenging than ever. Marketing leaders are juggling strained budgets and an uncertain cookieless future as they search for the silver bullet to reach inflation-battered consumers. We believe that brands can build lifelong consumer connections and win in the market with personalized rewards. Rewards, like those found on Fetch, keep consumers coming back to the brands that provide them with tangible value for where they shop, what they buy, and more."

Key Challenges and Solutions

1. Hurdles in Building Consumer Relationships
   • 69% of CMOs cite the lack of loyalty/rewards programs or the inability to "break through the noise" as significant obstacles.
2. Data-Driven Campaigns
   • 74% of CMOs are pivoting to collecting and managing data to develop their campaigns and understand their current audiences.
   • 77% consider behavioral data crucial for identifying audiences with high purchase intent.

Emerging Channels for Consumer Engagement

1. Retail Media Networks (RMNs)

   • 80% of respondents plan to increase the use of RMNs in 2024.

2. Retail-Agnostic Media Platforms (RAMPs)

   • Over three-quarters of respondents plan to increase the use of RAMPs.
   • Consumer engagement is a top benefit reported by 67% of those using or planning to use RAMPs.

The Role of Fetch in Modern Marketing

Fetch offers a unique solution for brands to foster lasting consumer relationships and create new connections. With the ability to capture $152 billion in cross-vertical consumer spending annually, Fetch enhances the marketing strategies of CMOs using RMNs. By leveraging purchase-based data, Fetch provides a comprehensive view of consumer behavior beyond the limitations of a single RMN ecosystem, paving the way for effective consumer relationship management and increased market share.

The Fetch survey highlights the critical role of consumer loyalty in modern marketing strategies. Amid challenges such as tight budgets and the phasing out of third-party cookies, CMOs are turning to data-driven solutions and emerging channels to engage consumers effectively. Fetch's innovative approach to rewards and consumer interaction positions it as a key player in helping brands build and maintain strong consumer relationships.

Partnership creates a new streamlined workflow for brands to seamlessly integrate with other tech stacks and tools

PhotoShelter, the premier digital asset management (DAM) and content distribution platform, has announced a new set of integrations with CI HUB. This development provides marketers and brands with enhanced capabilities to integrate DAM software with existing tools, significantly streamlining workflows and boosting team productivity.

Key Features of the Integration

1. Expanded Integration Options

   • New Tools: PhotoShelter now integrates with Figma, Microsoft Office, Google Workspace, and more.
   • Existing Integrations: Continues support for tools like Asana, Adobe CC, Canva, and more.

2. Streamlined Workflows

   • Efficiency Gains: Marketers can now connect all their tools seamlessly, reducing workflow friction.
   • Productivity Boost: Direct integration with CI HUB helps reduce workloads by as much as 40%.

Insights from Industry Leaders

• Monika Smyczek, SVP of Product at PhotoShelter: "Marketing leaders want to find new ways to free up time for their teams to be more creative and generate better ROI from their content strategies. Our partnership with CI HUB brings new integrations to help our customers scale and deliver an engaging brand experience without adding to current workloads. With these new integrations, creatives and marketers can experience easier, faster, and better content distribution across channels."

Impact on Creative Professionals

1. Reduction in Workflow Friction

   • A recent study showed that 65% of creative professionals experience significant revenue-impacting friction in their workflows. The CI HUB integration aims to address this by offering seamless connectivity.

2. Enhanced Content Strategies

   • Marketing teams can now produce and distribute content more efficiently, focusing on creating engaging campaigns that drive revenue and customer growth.

Recent Developments

• Lumen Interface Launch:
  • PhotoShelter recently introduced Lumen, its new library user interface, praised for its intuitive design and ease of use, further enhancing the DAM market.

Benefits to Marketers and Brands

1. Increased Efficiency

   • The integrations facilitate easier content development, distribution, and storage, freeing up time for creative tasks and strategic planning.

2. Better ROI

   • Streamlined workflows and reduced friction lead to better resource utilization, ultimately driving higher returns on marketing investments.

PhotoShelter's integration with CI HUB represents a significant step forward in digital asset management, offering marketers and creative professionals the tools they need to streamline workflows, reduce friction, and focus on creating high-impact content. This integration, along with the recent launch of the Lumen interface, positions PhotoShelter as a leader in the DAM market, committed to enhancing user experience and productivity.

Integration with TransUnion empowers agencies and brands with a better understanding of high-value audiences to drive better reach and results with addressable TV advertising

Comcast Advertising and TransUnion, a global information and insights company, have announced a new privacy-forward agreement to enhance addressable TV advertising capabilities. This partnership allows for the creation of custom, advanced audience segments by matching Comcast's extensive household data with TransUnion’s robust identity graph.

Key Features of the Agreement

1. Privacy-First Audience Matching

   • Data Integration: Comcast’s audience data is matched with TransUnion’s identity assets in a privacy-compliant manner.
   • Custom Audiences: Advertisers can create custom audiences to improve targeting and reach.

2. Enhanced Addressable TV Advertising

   • Precision Targeting: Advertisers can target intended audiences at the household level with greater accuracy.
   • Incremental Reach: Addressable TV ensures advertisers reach consumers that traditional TV might miss, with findings showing 1 in 3 target households are reached only through addressable TV.

Insights from Industry Leaders

• Carmela Fournier, VP and GM, Data, Comcast Advertising: "With growing issues of signal loss impacting the quality of data, advertisers are seeking more solutions to enable them to accurately target and reach their intended audiences. Addressable TV offers a powerful solution for advertisers to confidently reach their desired consumers that would not have been reached with traditional TV alone. Our new integration with TransUnion will allow advertisers and agencies to easily tap into valuable audiences delivering effective and efficient addressable advertising at the household level, while upholding the highest standards of consumer privacy."

• Gareth Davies, SVP Product Management, TransUnion: "When it comes to audience data, advertisers need to activate at scale, and with speed, ease, and transparency to ensure success. Our integration with Comcast Advertising will provide advertisers with a better understanding of their high-value audiences, including the size of a specific audience, to activate against and deliver addressable campaigns to households via linear and streaming TV."

Benefits of the Partnership

1. Enhanced Data Quality and Targeting

   • The integration addresses the challenge of signal loss, improving the quality and accuracy of data used in advertising campaigns.

2. Improved Advertiser Reach and Performance

   • Custom audience segments enable advertisers to reach their ideal customers more effectively, driving incremental reach and better campaign performance.

3. Privacy-Forward Approach

   • The partnership emphasizes consumer privacy, ensuring that data integration and audience matching are conducted in a compliant and secure manner.

4. Scalable and Actionable Insights

   • Advertisers gain actionable insights into their high-value audiences, allowing for precise activation and measurement of campaign success.

The partnership between Comcast Advertising and TransUnion represents a significant advancement in addressable TV advertising. By leveraging privacy-compliant data integration and custom audience segments, advertisers can achieve greater reach, precision, and performance in their campaigns. This collaboration underscores the importance of innovation and privacy in the evolving landscape of targeted advertising.

OpenAsset, the leading digital asset management provider for the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry, today announced the launch of the OpenAsset plugin for WordPress. This innovative plugin connects OpenAsset’s asset management capabilities with WordPress, empowering marketers to publish, update, and optimize web content without requiring technical support.

Key Features of the Plugin

1. Seamless Integration with WordPress

   • The plugin allows users to publish projects, staff bios, and visuals directly to their WordPress websites.
   • Marketers can manage web content without needing to write code, significantly reducing reliance on technical support.

2. Centralized Asset Management

   • OpenAsset serves as the single source of truth for all web content, project details, and employee assets.
   • Ensures consistency and reliability of content across the website.

3. Real-Time Updates

   • The plugin enables real-time publishing and updating of web assets with just a few clicks.
   • Eliminates manual updates and data discrepancies, ensuring brand consistency.

4. Enhanced Efficiency for Marketers

   • Provides a user-friendly interface for managing content directly from the plugin.
   • Simplifies website management, allowing marketers to keep sites fresh and engaging without the need for developers.

CEO Statement

"We're delighted to provide a deeply impactful improvement to our customers' website management with our new plugin for WordPress," said Jason Janicki, CEO at OpenAsset. "This marks a new milestone in our mission to streamline time-consuming tasks for AEC marketers and offer innovative solutions that help them drive more business for their firms."

Benefits for AEC Marketers

1. Streamlined Workflows

   • Manage all web content and assets from a single platform, reducing complexity and saving time.
   • Simplifies the process of showcasing projects and employee experience on company websites.

2. Increased Productivity

   • Marketers can focus on creating and managing content rather than dealing with technical issues.
   • The plugin reduces the need for external technical support, lowering costs and improving efficiency.

3. Enhanced User Experience

   • Ensures that website content is always up-to-date and visually appealing.
   • Helps maintain brand integrity and consistency across all digital touchpoints.

4. Improved Business Outcomes

   • By streamlining content management, the plugin helps AEC firms present their projects and expertise more effectively.
   • Contributes to driving more business and improving client engagement through better online presence.

The OpenAsset plugin for WordPress is a game-changer for AEC marketers, offering a seamless and efficient way to manage web content. By integrating best-in-class asset management with easy-to-use web development tools, OpenAsset continues to support marketers in driving business growth and maintaining a strong online presence.

Amid increased state and industry regulations, BranchLab provides a new solution for healthcare and pharma brands to reach consumers in a privacy-compliant way

BranchLab, a data science company at the forefront of healthcare advertising, announces the successful closure of a seed funding round led by newark venture partners (nvp). The funding will expedite the development and expansion of BranchLab's innovative AI-driven advertising solutions tailored for the healthcare industry.

Key Highlights:

1. Founding Team and Vision:

   • BranchLab, founded by industry veterans Josh Walsh (CEO), Michael Parkes (President and Chief Revenue Officer), and Chris Cagle (Chief Technology Officer), pioneers advanced AI software for healthcare advertising.
   • The team anticipates and addresses impending challenges arising from cookie and ID deprecation, as well as evolving privacy regulations like My Health My Data.

2. Privacy-First Approach:

   • BranchLab's focus on privacy-safe advertising solutions aligns with the evolving regulatory landscape.
   • The company introduces an "ID-less" solution to bridge the gap between real-world health data and advertising, ensuring patient privacy while enhancing advertising effectiveness.

3. HealthGraph™ Database:

   • Leveraging the HealthGraph™ database, BranchLab aggregates anonymized data from over 300 million US residents and 2.1 million healthcare providers.
   • Machine learning algorithms are applied to create comprehensive audience models, enabling targeted TV advertising and in-flight campaign optimization.

4. Oversubscribed Seed Funding Round:

   • The seed funding round, oversubscribed due to investor confidence, underscores the market demand for innovative healthcare advertising solutions.
   • It positions BranchLab as a frontrunner in the privacy-first advertising landscape and will fuel the company's growth and market expansion.

5. Market Potential:

   • Healthcare advertising is a substantial market, with US spending reaching $23.5 billion in 2023 and projected to exceed $34 billion by 2032 according to IMARC Group.
   • BranchLab's innovative approach aims to capture a significant share of this growing market through privacy-centric advertising solutions.

Investor Perspectives:

1. Vaughn Crowe, Managing Partner at newark venture partners:

   • Expresses confidence in BranchLab's mission to transform healthcare advertising while prioritizing consumer privacy.
   • Emphasizes the company's potential to reshape the advertising ecosystem for pharmaceutical manufacturers.

2. Eric Franchi, General Partner at Aperiam:

   • Applauds BranchLab's commitment to privacy and safety in healthcare advertising amidst industry shifts.
   • Highlights the importance of supporting proven teams like BranchLab in revolutionizing healthcare advertising.

BranchLab's successful seed funding round signifies a significant milestone in its journey to redefine healthcare advertising through advanced AI solutions and a privacy-first approach. With strong investor backing and a seasoned team, BranchLab is poised to lead the evolution of advertising in the healthcare sector, addressing regulatory challenges and enhancing patient privacy while driving advertising effectiveness.

New Solution Empowers Shopify Brands to Engage Superfans and Maximize Lifetime Value

Okendo, the leading customer marketing platform, continues to innovate with the launch of Okendo Loyalty, the final component in its suite of customer engagement solutions. Designed to empower Shopify brands, Okendo Loyalty offers deep customization options and an intuitive interface, enabling brands to create tailored loyalty programs that maximize customer lifetime value. With features accessible across all plans and expert guidance from Okendo's loyalty specialists, brands like Dixxon, Luna Bronze, and Jordan Craig have already chosen Okendo to elevate their Loyalty initiatives.

As ecommerce competition intensifies and customer acquisition costs rise, Okendo emerges as a strategic ally, helping brands tackle these challenges head-on by driving engagement and revenue growth. At the heart of this strategy are Superfans, highly engaged customers who champion their favorite brands, fueling organic growth and fostering genuine community connections.

Matt Goodman, CEO & Co-Founder of Okendo, explains, "We believe that addressing modern ecommerce challenges hinges on cultivating and mobilizing a community of Superfans. Okendo's suite of five products — Loyalty, Referrals, Reviews, Quizzes, and Surveys — provides a unified platform to empower brands to grow rapidly and sustainably through customer-led marketing initiatives."

Okendo Loyalty empowers brands to offer flexible rewards and incentives, transforming customers into influential growth drivers through referrals, repeat purchases, and high-quality reviews. Furthermore, brands gain access to valuable customer insights, enabling personalized communications and enhancing overall customer experiences. This holistic approach not only enriches customer interactions but also accelerates brand growth by fostering authentic connections.

Rob Varon, Director of Marketing at Jordan Craig, shares his experience: "I've had a positive experience using all of Okendo's five products together. The tech just works. It's easy to streamline workflows with Okendo's connected suite of products. Ecommerce is a puzzle, and Okendo contributes many pieces to that puzzle."

With Okendo Loyalty, Shopify brands can unlock the potential of their customer communities, driving sustainable growth and cultivating lasting brand loyalty in today's competitive ecommerce landscape.