Another week, another list! Before you are some great informative, thought provoking and even inspiring articles, covering everything from marketing automation to creative uses of CRM data and analytics so that you too can take your prospect engagement to the next level.

3 Reasons to Integrate CRM and Marketing Automation

This comprehensive, informative article published on Destination CRM, has some great insights in it for every marketing/sales manager or executive to consider: from closed loop reporting to your ability to fully customize a campaign. (Written by Peter Chase and Daniel Lynton).

The Key Difference Between Customer Success and Customer Service

Up next is an article from Salesforce’s ever-helpful blog, precisely outlining the common misconceptions regarding the term “customer success” and its’ (often very wrong) usage. (Credit goes to Douglas Hanna).

Why No One Is Going to Buy Salesforce

Speaking of Salesforce, this article- published on Beagle Research Group’s blog, contains a rather uncommon interpretation of the massive rumor mill regarding Salesforce’s possible acquisition, and has some razor sharp points and insights to back its argument. (Written by Dennis Pombriant).

 Analytics Equals Higher Marketing Performance

Published on Nimble.com, this one touches one of the most under-used (if not completely neglected at worst) tools of CRM and marketing in general- analytics. Easygoing and well written, this article will guide you through the benefits of thorough analysis- from data quantification to customer behavior prediction. (Written by Brigg Patten)

Top 8 Reasons Why Having a Socially Connected CRM is a Must

Published on CRMsoftwareblog.com, this article dives into an important aspect of CRM- the social one, and points out important facts and ways to avoid those potentially devastative bad reviews on the internet.  (Written by Brad Hoffmann)

How to Create a Revenue Winning Lead Nurturing Strategy

Did you know that to a 2012 Marketing Sherpa study, 73% of leads are not ready to buy when they first give you their contact details? Isn’t that number scary? Well, Superoffice’s blog has some comforting news for you- a good, well organized and data rich lead nurturing system might help you turn the tables and get the results you want, with the help of this great guide. (Written by Jennifer Lund)

How Smart Companies Use CRM Data to Predict Customer Orders

Another article about the importance of analytics, and the correct ways to convert the data you gather on your leads/prospect/customers to actual sales. (Written by David Gillman)

ProsperWorks CRM review

Closing this week’s list is my latest review of the ProsperWorks CRM system, going over the key features that make this software a powerful tool for virtually all business owners- from small companies to large-scale corporations. Be sure to check it out!