With the exception of live chat, customers have always preferred to deal with a human being when it comes to business. The introduction of online marketplaces and social media has provided us with more options than ever before when it comes to customer service. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it does make it more difficult to know how your customers are interacting with your brand. What is more, customers are now able to share their experience with others online, which can prove quite damaging to your reputation if you aren’t monitoring the conversation.

Live Chat

Livechat is one of the oldest forms of customer service online. Originating in the early 1990s, live chat has been used mostly for one-on-one interactions between company and customer. Thanks to technological advancements and the increasing demand for instant gratification, live chat is now being used to take the place of numerous other communication channels. Some of the more prominent companies that utilize live chat are Amazon, Starbucks, and Subway. Having a dedicated agent available to take your call can help you identify potential problems before they become serious issues.

Social Monitoring

Social media has forever changed the way we do business. Thanks to platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, it’s now possible to track customer behavior online and even better – monitor what people are saying about your company. The advantage of this is that you can identify which tactics are working and which ones aren’t, allowing you to refine your strategy and make necessary adjustments as you go.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

Customer relationship management (CRM) is a process by which a business maintains good relationships with past, current, and future customers. In the digital sphere, CRM software helps businesses store customer information, track interactions, and analyze trends and patterns. There are several tools available to help you with your CRM needs. Some of the more prominent ones are Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics. With these tools, you are able to create custom dashboards that can track customers, sales leads, and social media activity, all within one place.

Website Analytics

Website analytics is the measurement, analysis, and reporting of interactions with a website. This may include things such as the number of visitors, how long they stay on the site, what pages they visit, etc. Having website analytics at your fingertips can help you gauge the effectiveness of your web content and identify any areas in which you could improve. Some of the more prominent website analytics tools are Google Analytics and HubSpot Analytics. These tools can be integrated easily into your existing CMS, meaning that you don’t necessarily need to have a separate reporting dashboard to access your analytics data.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

SEO stands for search engine optimization, which is the practice of enhancing the relevance of a website or web content for a specific search engine. Search Engine Optimization is quite difficult to do correctly, and it can take a lot of trial and error to find the right approach for your particular business. However, with a little bit of research, dedication, and patience, you will be able to successfully implement an SEO strategy that will significantly increase your website’s traffic and revenue.

Marketing Automation

Marketing automation is the use of software to perform all or part of the tasks associated with marketing and communications, including email marketing, social media marketing, and advertising. Thanks to platforms like HubSpot and Marketo, which were both founded in the early 2000s, marketing automation has become a popular way for businesses to generate more leads and make more sales. Some of the better-known marketing automation software include HubSpot, Marketo, and Pardot.

E-commerce

Online marketplaces, Shopify, and BigCommerce are the perfect places for entrepreneurs and small businesses to sell their products. These platforms were built for online merchants who want to access a large audience and make sales. E-commerce provides a number of advantages for online marketers and businesses, not the least of which is the fact that all the tools and resources available to build a brand, attract customers, and convert them into paying customers are right at their fingertips.

In today’s world, the line between marketing and sales has blurred. Marketers are now responsible for driving in new customers while salespeople are expected to convert those customers into paying customers. Thanks to the internet and digital marketing, both roles can be performed from the same location, allowing you to be more efficient and decrease overall employee turnover.

To find the best online competitive intelligence tools for your needs, consider the following: