Customer experience management specialist Sitecore announced the availability of the Experience Platform 8, which helps marketers create, deliver and optimize digital experiences with prospects and customers.
Sitecore XP 8 is designed to shorten the time it takes to gain insights, with data analytics built in, giving marketers feedback on content effectiveness and performance, and recommending actions accordingly.
All content changes can now be automatically A/B tested by any content creator, and personalized content can be tested against its default control base content.
In addition, optimization experts have all the tools they need to set up sophisticated test scenarios, like multi-variant tests, built into the platform.
Automatic testing and continuous content optimization mean everything can be refined and improved, and the platform also boasts an updated user interface.
In addition, Experience Profile provides a single view of each individual customer, used for real time personalization, segmentation analytics.
"User experience is the centerpiece of the platform. We've built Sitecore 8 to be more customizable, comprehensive and automated, removing complexity that might otherwise hold marketers back," Mark Floisand, vice president of product marketing for Sitecore, told eWEEK. "The platform is unique in the industry in that it integrates customer data across all touch points, making it simple to offer personalized user experiences. Sitecore 8 gives our customers the foundation they need to deliver exceptional customer experiences, which we believe will separate the winners and losers in this new, highly competitive economy."
The platform collects and connects data about the whole customer experience, wherever it happens, making it available to marketers to continue ongoing conversations and provide personalized experiences for their customers.
It also harnesses and analyzes data from non-Sitecore sites, customer relationship management (CRM), enterprise resource planning (ERP) and point of sale (POS) systems.
Sitecore customers can now use the platform as a central hub to manage all of their digital properties, even non-Sitecore sites, while new customers can start to leverage the platform's functionality on existing sites, and marketers inheriting legacy sites can bring them under the brand umbrella.
The company also enables target segments to be created based on any information in the Experience Profile, such as demographic data and behavior, for real-time content personalization, email communication and automated nurturing campaigns.
"The convergence of mobile and social, along with the 'always on' mentality of consumers, offers marketers opportunities to develop highly personalized experiences tailored at the device and location level," Floisand explained. "For example, if I go to my regular coffee shop and order my 'usual' beverage each day, the barista will recognize me and should know what I want."
The platform can also be used to segment and target audiences using any demographic and behavioral information collected by Sitecore, to personalize individual content and offers in real time, and segments are directly usable with Sitecore's automation and email marketing capabilities.
"It all starts with the data; the more a marketer knows about someone, the more intimate and personal the conversation can be. Marketers must have a single view of customers and prospects in order to tailor their interactions for each individual," Floisand said. "Whether it's today or in a year, marketers must have actionable data that relates to each consumer in order to create sophisticated segments and personalized experiences."
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