Since we’re looking at the sales process today, let’s finish with a study from the Content Marketing Institute about buyers’ content preferences. They most want information related to their specific needs and product/service specifications. Testimonials and case studies were less useful. Nearly all buyers start their research before talking to vendors.
Hmm, a single API for all-channel personalization? Sounds great. LiftIgniter offers one, and just raised a $6.4 million Series A to promote it. But they apparently use data only from whatever channel they are personalizing, instead of building a unified customer profile. That will limit their effectiveness.
Then again, some companies can’t even protect their data from their own employees. Uber’s lax security policies led to a 2014 data breach, and has now settled with the Federal Trade Commission. It’s required to implement a comprehensive privacy program, submit to 20 years of data audits, and not misrepresent how it protects consumers’ personal data.
Salesforce’s Dreamforce mega-conference is next week and the company’s publicity elves are already working overtime. In the first of what are sure to be daily announcements this week, the company announced 100+ industry-specific prompts, data models, and AI capabilities across its fifteen industry clouds. It also launched an AI Use Case Library to house its industry-specific AI offerings.