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Articles by Alexa Schirtzinger
Working from home? Use these 6 tips for better video calls
Read this post in Italian, Spanish, French, German, Russian, Chinese (traditional), Chinese (simplified), Korean, Thai, Indonesian, and Vietnamese In the life of a working mom or dad, flexibility is key. And in the life of a sometimes-work-from-home working mom or dad, technology is the reason I can be flexible. Sometimes my kid gets sick, or I need a plumber to come fix the toilet.
Salesforce Debuts on Fortune 500 List
By Alexa Schirtzinger Today, we’re thrilled to announce that Salesforce has joined the ranks of the Fortune 500 — Fortune Magazine’s annual ranking of the largest corporations in the United States. Today, we debuted at No. 483, up from last year’s rank of 599. So why is this such a big deal? It all goes back to our origin story. Salesforce was founded in 1999 with a vision to reinvent customer relationship management in the cloud.
Hotshot Trots
When called to a fire, hotshots are mostly on their own. Each team is self-sufficient with food, water and equipment, exposed to the elements for long durations. Individuals carry packs loaded with up to 50 pounds of gear—hand tools, power saws, communication equipment. Under these conditions, a hotshot has no time to wonder if he's prepared to meet the challenge. His training braces him for the grueling task of subduing unruly fires with only the necessary fear that nature demands.
NEW E-BOOK: 100 Ways to Run Your Business from Your Phone
For the past few months, we've asked Salesforce users to show us how they run their business from their phones. Using the hashtag #salesforce1selfie, they responded with hundreds of screenshots showing how they use the Salesforce1 app to do business on the go—from sales to marketing and customer service to custom apps. We've assembled 100 of the best ones into an e-book: 100 Ways to Run Your Business from Your Phone.
7 Lessons from Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, the Decade's Top Innovator
Today, Forbes published a sweeping profile of Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, dubbing him “Tech’s Mad Genius” and “The Decade’s Top Innovator.” It’s an unusual look inside the busy life of Salesforce’s dynamic leader — and whether you’re a budding entrepreneur or an experienced manager, there’s a lot to learn. (The article hits newsstands Sept. 13, but in the meantime, you can find it here.) Here are seven of our favorite takeaways.
7 Lessons from Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, the Decade's Top Innovator
Today, Forbes published a sweeping profile of Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, dubbing him “Tech’s Mad Genius” and “The Decade’s Top Innovator.” It’s an unusual look inside the busy life of Salesforce’s dynamic leader — and whether you’re a budding entrepreneur or an experienced manager, there’s a lot to learn. (The article hits newsstands Sept. 13, but in the meantime, you can find it here.) Here are seven of our favorite takeaways.
The Marketing Cloud July 2016 Release is Now Live!
The July 2016 Release is Now Live in the Marketing Cloud! The wait is over--powerful Content Management and the all-new Content Editor are now live with this release. All new customers will be provisioned with these tools beginning July 18th, and existing customers will be provisioned on a rolling schedule starting at the beginning of August, continuing over the next few months.
Sharketing 101: 8 Lessons From Sharks On How To Create A Killer Marketing Strategy & Devour Your Competition
Sharks have come a long way. The earliest sharks evolved more than 400 million years ago — before insects, mammals, or dinosaurs. They survived five mass extinctions and looked pretty weird (image credit: Dorling Kindersley/Getty Images via Discovery.com): But longevity has made the shark brand anything but stale. Today, sharks rule the news cycle. Recent white shark sightings in California have led to “shark selfies” (mostly in aquariums).
Why Are Marketers Always Talking About TOFU?
If you hang around marketers, you’ve probably heard them talk about TOFU. You’ve probably guessed that they’re not referring to jiggly soy protein, especially if you’ve heard them mention MOFU and BOFU in the same sentence. So what exactly do all these acronyms mean, and why do they matter? For marketers, TOFU stands for top-of-funnel. MOFU is shorthand for middle-of-funnel, and BOFU — you guessed it — stands for bottom-of-funnel.
The 5 Building Blocks of a Successful Content Marketing Strategy
As Director of Content Marketing at Salesforce, I get a lot of questions about how smaller companies should go about building a content marketing strategy from the ground up. Usually, my answer surprises people. It seems like the easy answer would be to start a blog, populate it with as much content as you can, and then think about how to publicize, optimize, and grow it. In my view, that’s exactly what you shouldn’t do.
The World's Leading Business App Marketplace Turns 10
Today is the 10th birthday of the Salesforce AppExchange. Think about that. Ten years ago, Salesforce had a vision that customers and developers could package and sell apps on top of the Salesforce platform. The vision was huge — and the task immense. And what’s emerged 10 years later is a first-of-its-kind marketplace geared to help companies find everything they need to run their businesses in the cloud.
Social Selling for the Modern Sales Professional
The social selling revolution is upon us. And as the B2B landscape evolves, strategies need to adapt accordingly. The social selling approach has been bouncing around the sales space for a while now, but what does it really mean? In short, social selling refers to placing focus on building relationships and adding value to prospects selflessly. Sales increase because of genuine trust and personal capital.
7 Secrets To A Successful Job Interview
Job interviews are like a more awkward, less immediately gratifying, form of speed dating. You don’t get a nice dinner out of the deal, but the tension is the same: each person is evaluating the other to see if they match. Add to that intoxicating cocktail of discomfort the fact that, in a job interview, one person has almost all the power.
Sharketing 101
Sharks have come a long way. The earliest sharks evolved more than 400 million years ago — before insects, mammals, or dinosaurs. They survived five mass extinctions and looked pretty weird: Credit: Dorling Kindersley/Getty Images via Discovery.com But longevity has made the shark brand anything but stale. Today, sharks rule the news cycle. Recent white shark sightings in California have led to “shark selfies” (mostly in aquariums).
6 Major Reasons Your Salesforce Environment Needs Governance
CIOs and their departments are under increasing pressure to align with the rest of the organization. The more effectively IT can provide innovative apps and workflows that meet the needs of the Business, the faster an organization can go. To achieve the necessary speed and agility, companies often use a Governance framework.
5 steps for a quick and dirty (but awesome) content marketing strategy
This sponsored post is produced by Salesforce. Not long ago, it was acceptable to refer to content marketing as a buzzword. It has since acquired its own subset of buzzwords (as outlined in this LOL-able post by Contently Editor-in-Chief Joe Lazauskas). But businesses are increasingly making content marketing a core tenet of their marketing strategies — and for small businesses especially, this is good news. Why? Content marketing is cheap, and it’s relatively easy.
Get off the spreadsheet: 5 lessons from sales leaders
Consider this: In your job, whatever role or industry you may occupy, you have a moral imperative to create value. Then take that a step further: You also have a moral imperative to capture the value you create. That's how Anthony Iannarino, the CEO and founder of B2B Sales Coach Consultancy, explained it last year during a joint conference session with Mark Hunter, CEO and Founder of The Sales Hunter.
Marc Benioff: "The Revolution in Data Science Will Fundamentally Change How We Run Our Business"
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff is known for being a visionary — and today, in an interview with Fortune, he gave us a preview of his vision for the future of technology and business. “We’re in an AI spring,” Benioff told Fortune’s Adam Lashinsky.
How Clean Data Will Power 2015 [VIDEO]
Get clean customer data and rich insights lightning-fast with the tap of a finger. Know your customer’s businesses even better than they do, and sell faster than the competition. It’s all possible with Data.com — the trusted source of B2B customer data for sales. Watch the video to learn more about what Data.com can do for your business and visit salesforce.com to learn more. Want to learn about the new age of analytics? Download the free e-book.
Kickstart 2015 With These 5 Tips for Business Success
It's a brand new year, and change is in the air: the gyms are packed and people are buzzing with the promise of making improvements and embracing the opportunities that the next year may bring. When it comes to business, a new year presents the possibilities of new prospects, new ideas, and new ways to grow. Businesses who take advantage of these opportunities at the beginning of 2015 are setting themselves up for success all year long.
8 Tips for Amazing Customer Service in 2015
In an age in which customers are more connected and informed — and their expectations are higher, than ever before — customer service is quickly becoming the key differentiator among brands. Every company, regardless of size or industry, must prioritize the customer experience. That's why we wanted to outline eight key ingredients of amazing customer service.
5 essential tips for business success in 2015
It's a brand-new year and change is in the air: The gyms are packed, people are buzzing with resolutions for self-improvement, and businesses are crafting their strategies for success. But 2015 is different. Individuals and companies alike are more informed, more connected, and more empowered than they've ever been. When it comes to doing business, this sea change in connectivity can be both frightening and exciting.
12 Inspirational Quotes to Kick Off the New Year
January can be rough. You've committed to going to the gym every day before work, never eating chocolate or drinking beer again, and acting happier and more balanced despite these somewhat terrible life changes. Given all that, we put together some inspirational quotes to help you start 2015 on the right foot.
This Is How Customer Service Should Be
Recently, I met up with a friend for drinks, and she asked me to recommend some new apps. (With friends like these, who wants to spend all day combing through AppStore reviews?) “You always have good apps,” she said. “What’s your favorite these days?” Before I reveal it, let’s take a step back. Here at Salesforce, we write a lot about customer service.
12 Inspirational Quotes to Kick Off the New Year
January can be rough. You’ve committed to going to the gym every day before work, never eating chocolate or drinking beer again, and acting happier and more balanced despite these somewhat terrible life changes. Given all that, we put together some inspirational quotes to help you start 2015 on the right foot.
The Future of Service in 2015 [VIDEO]
The Service Cloud keynote at Dreamforce ‘14 featured all sorts of exciting additions to Service Cloud — including SOS for Apps and a brand-new Smart Agent Console. With Service Cloud, customer service is faster, smarter and more personalized than ever before. Connect your customers and products with the right experts lightning-fast from any app on any device. Join the customer service revolution in 2015. Watch the video to meet the new Service Cloud and visit salesforce.com to learn more.
Best of 2014: 10 Highlights from This Year in Salesforce
So long, 2014. You were a good year, and we'll think of you fondly. But before it's all over, here's a last hurrah: the top highlights from 2014, tailored to those of you who (like us) might be a tiny bit over-enthusiastic about Salesforce. And in true Letterman style, we'll count down from 10 to 1, where 10 = awesome, but 1 = most awesome. Here at Salesforce, we tend to get a little blasé about releases. Why? Because they happen all the time.
12 Business Days of Salesforce: 12 People On Our 'Nice' List This Year
We’ve made a list, we’ve checked it twice — and now, you get to find out who’s naughty and nice. Well, actually, just the nice ones. To sum up our series of posts for the 12 (Business) Days of Salesforce, we took a look back at all the big events of 2014 to identify some of the best and brightest humans around. Whatever you’re celebrating this holiday season, let’s take a moment to recognize the good in our world.
What’s In and What’s Out in Email Marketing in 2015
As we look to transition into the New Year, it’s time to reevaluate our programs and our priorities. With that in mind, I recently spoke with Natasha Smith of DM News about what’s in and what’s out in email marketing for 2015. Here is some of what we spoke about, plus some of our conversation that didn’t make it into the article. Batch-and-blast.For most brands, broadcast emails will probably always represent the majority of the emails they send.
12 Business Days of Salesforce: 8 Ingredients of Amazing Customer Service
In an age where customers are more connected and informed — and where their expectations are higher, than ever before — customer service is quickly becoming the key differentiator among brands. Every company, regardless of size or industry, must prioritize the customer experience. That's why, for our latest installment of the 12 (Business) Days of Salesforce, we've chosen to outline eight key ingredients of amazing customer service.
Email Marketing Insights from Green Monday
Green Monday, which is typically the second Monday in December, is feeling more and more like Cyber Monday in its early days — which means it’s an emerging opportunity for retail marketers. Just like “Cyber Monday” was coined by the National Retail Federation in the 2005 to describe — and rally around — an existing spike in sales, the term “Green Monday” was similarly created by eBay a number of years ago to describe its best sales day in December.
12 Business Days of Salesforce: 7 Habits of Highly Influential Salespeople and Marketers
Here at Salesforce, we have the good fortune of coming into frequent contact with some of the most influential salespeople and marketers in their respective industries. Many are well-known authors, speakers, and social media luminaries — not to mention members of our guest blogger program. This year, we asked these influencers to share some of the most valuable insights they've gleaned from decades of work experience.
INFOGRAPHIC: Top 5 Ways Retailers Can Win the Holidays
Since the holiday shopping season has officially begun, we've put together a handy guide for retailers looking to finish strong in 2014. Below, we've included five of our top tips for retailers this holiday season — including not overthinking email (seriously!), enabling your seasonal employees, and developing a killer customer service strategy. Read on to learn everything you need to know about doing business during the holidays. Want more tips?
Salesforce Ranks #10 Among Top 50 Content Marketers
This week, content marketing company Kapost released its list of the Top 50 Content Marketers — and Salesforce came in at #10. That's a big jump: Salesforce ranked #39 last year and did not make the list in 2012. "We've worked hard over the past year to make our content useful and interesting to our customers and community," says David B. Thomas, Senior Director of Content and Engagement at Salesforce.
12 Business Days of Salesforce: 2 Secrets to a Stellar Interview
As a former journalist, I've spent a lot of time interviewing. Along the way, I've learned that it doesn't matter whether you're talking to a U.S. Senator, a feminist icon, or an eager job applicant: interviewees share certain characteristics. Think about the situation. The interviewer is there to get information — whether it's the background she needs to make a hiring decision, the quotes she needs to write a story, or the information she needs to sell her product effectively.
Santa's Little Helper: The Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Managing billions of customers isn't easy — and no one knows that better than the man charged with delivering toys to billions of children around the world — all in a single night. In the latest video from the Salesforce Marketing Cloud, the Marketing Cloud team interviewed Mr. Claus himself to see how he optimizes and personalizes the customer journey for the 2.2 billion kids in the world.
What Social Media Trends Say About Holiday Shopping
Well, that's it. America's biggest shopping weekend is finally wrapping up — and now, those of us who aren't into battling the hordes at midnight on Thanksgiving can go about our holiday shopping in relative peace. But that doesn't mean we should ignore the record-setting volume of business that happened this weekend.
An Audience of Users
I’ve always written for myself. I guess I thought one day I’d have a kid and he’d read all my stuff and think, Whoa, the Peace Corps was pretty hard-core. Until I became a journalist, I didn’t really care if anyone read what I wrote; in fact, I preferred the nonjudgmental pages of my journals. But journalism commoditizes writing. That’s not a bad thing; it just means that what you write serves a more concrete purpose.
This Is How Customer Service Should Be
Recently, I met up with a friend for drinks, and she asked me to recommend some new apps. (With friends like these, who wants to spend all day combing through Apple Store reviews?) “You always have good apps,” she said. “What’s your favorite these days?” Before I reveal it, let’s take a step back. Here at salesforce.com, we write a lot about customer service.
Everything I Know About Customer Service, I Learned From Waiting Tables
If you’ve ever worked in a service industry, you know that it can be a formative experience. Recently, a friend and I got to talking about what our early restaurant jobs taught us about delivering great customer service—and, really, about life and work in general.
10 Lessons From The 10 Most Influential Content Marketing Brands
Content marketing is a tough nut to crack. According to a report by the Content Marketing Institute, 93% of B2B marketers use it—but only 36% consider themselves effective content marketers. Salesforce.com was recently named one of the 10 Most Influential Global Brands by LinkedIn—along with top media companies like Forbes and The Wall Street Journal. We figured this would be the perfect opportunity to dig into how these top brands stay ahead of the content-marketing curve.
Sell. Service. Market. Succeed.
Connecting marketers to the Forbes audience. What is this? Forbes BrandVoice™ allows marketers to connect directly with the Forbes audience by enabling them to create content – and participate in the conversation – on the Forbes digital publishing platform. Each BrandVoice™ is produced by the marketer. More on ™ here , or email us directly at brandvoice@forbes.com. Opinions expressed by Forbes BrandVoice™ Contributors are their own.
Building a new pipe
Media nerds like me spend a lot of time thinking about the “future” of news, entertainment, and information. We talk incessantly about “engagement,” “partnerships,” and “content.” But a recent email exchange with a friend helped me think about all of this in a new way: distribution—not content or even audience—is the real product. First, let’s take a step back. Historically, newsrooms had a firewall between the two key halves of the business: editorial and advertising.
NEW E-BOOK: 100 Ways to Run Your Business from Your Phone
For the past several weeks, we've asked Salesforce users to show us how they run their business from their phones. Using the hashtag #salesforce1selfie, they responded with hundreds of screenshots showing how they use the Salesforce1 app to do business on the go—from sales to marketing and customer service to custom apps. We've assembled them all into an e-book: 100 Ways to Run Your Business from Your Phone.
10 Lessons from the 10 Most Influential Content-Marketing Brands
Content marketing is a tough nut to crack. According to a report by the Content Marketing Institute, 93% of B2B marketers use it—but only 36% consider themselves effective content marketers. Salesforce.com was recently named one of the 10 Most Influential Global Brands by LinkedIn—along with top media companies like Forbes and The Wall Street Journal. We figured this would be the perfect opportunity to dig into how these top brands stay ahead of the content-marketing curve.
Todd Vogt’s Vision for Local Media in San Francisco
When it comes to buying newspapers, Todd Vogt has doubled down on print media in San Francisco. As the co-owner, president, and publisher of the San Francisco Media Company, he’s responsible for three local newspapers: the daily San Francisco Examiner, and weeklies SFWeekly and the San Francisco Bay Guardian. “I love print. I am a print guy — a newspaper guy first and foremost,” Vogt told me recently.
How Virtual Reality Can Transform the News
Recently, several Knight fellows visited the offices of Palo Alto, Calif., startup Jaunt, which produces virtual-reality software that is, in a word, pretty awesome. Jaunt founder Jens Christensen treated fellows to a demo consisting of several virtual reality scenarios, each of which placed the user at the center of dynamic environments (a skate park, a string quartet in a symphony hall, an alien invasion of a spaceship, etc.).
Thoughts On Journalism
Media nerds like me spend a lot of time thinking about the “future” of news, entertainment, and information. We talk incessantly about “engagement,” “partnerships,” and “content.” But a recent email exchange with a friend helped me think about all of this in a new way: distribution—not content or even audience—is the real product. First, let’s take a step back. Historically, newsrooms had a firewall between the two key halves of the business: editorial and advertising.
Building a new pipe
Media nerds like me spend a lot of time thinking about the “future” of news, entertainment, and information. We talk incessantly about “engagement,” “partnerships,” and “content.” But a recent email exchange with a friend helped me think about all of this in a new way: distribution—not content or even audience—is the real product. First, let’s take a step back. Historically, newsrooms had a firewall between the two key halves of the business: editorial and advertising.
Building a new pipe
Media nerds like me spend a lot of time thinking about the “future” of news, entertainment, and information. We talk incessantly about “engagement,” “partnerships,” and “content.” But a recent email exchange with a friend helped me think about all of this in a new way: distribution—not content or even audience—is the real product. First, let’s take a step back. Historically, newsrooms had a firewall between the two key halves of the business: editorial and advertising.
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