Enterprise Communications Featured Article

While it seems like everything runs in the cloud today, it may be surprising to realize that some functions are lagging far behind others when it comes to enterprise solutions. Given the fact that customer relationship management (CRM) was one of the first applications to move to the cloud – and is still by far the most widespread enterprise cloud application – other marketing functions such as marketing automation have been far slower to migrate off the premises.

Many organizations looked at only the cost benefits of cloud-based solutions. Now that these are well known, and companies expect these cost benefits, many companies are moving to take advantage of the feature set the cloud can offer them. This is particularly compelling for companies striving to offer an “always-on” multichannel customer experience in an effort differentiate themselves from competitors.

In a recent interview with the Web site TechRadar, Paige O'Neill, chief marketing officer at customer experience management solutions provider SDL, noted that what’s attracting many marketing departments today is the speed with which cloud solutions help them operate and respond.

“The ability to turn on campaigns in real time, to get up and running in minutes, rather than months—this can significantly impact productivity and revenue,” said O’Neill. “Marketers also like the ability to reduce their up-front expenses and flexibly navigate their ever-changing budgets with technology that turns on and off.”

It’s a well-known fact, O’Neill said, that many companies still plan and manage their marketing campaigns using spreadsheets. With other customer-facing functions such as the contact center already using cloud-based solutions, keeping the marketing function in the twentieth century is a bit like trying to climb onto a speeding bus. In the end, an important function gets left behind when it comes to the customer experience. O’Neill notes that companies are experiencing increasing demand for a cloud-based marketing software platform that spans all phases of the customer's buying journey—from pre- to post- purchase.

“When it comes to accessing software via the cloud, the ease of use and implementation has really gotten marketing's attention and I also think the marketing department tends to be less risk averse,” she said.

As the customer expects a more multichannel customer experience, with issues resolved on the first call or contact, it’s more critical than ever that every part of the organization that touches customers is looking at the same picture at the same time. When there are large gaps in the resources available to provide customers with what they need when they need it, customer relationships and the bottom line both suffer.