Social & Mobile

DNN, formerly DotNetNuke, unveiled DNN Evoq, a suite of applications designed to integrate social functionality such as blogs and customer comments into existing web sites. The suite also features a web-based user interface that provides a unified management console for creating and controlling web content, according to company officials.

“With this rebranding and new suite of applications, we have made it easier to add community elements to a web site and optimize it for user engagement,” Will Morgenweck, VP of Product Management, told Demand Gen Report. He added that interactive web sites can help companies acquire and retain customers, drive product innovation, improve customer service and reduce overall support costs. “A web site is the first place anyone goes to learn about your company.”

Marketing software company Volacci has integrated Facebook and Twitter into its Automatr marketing automation platform. Added as part of the software’s Socialize update, this feature enables users to post directly into Facebook and Twitter through the application.

“Socialize is just the latest in a series of marketing automation integrations unveiled by Volacci this year,” said Ben Finklea, CEO of Volacci. “We launched with several integrations like Salesforce.com, SugarCRM, GoToMeeting and UnBounce. We’ve since added integration with Drupal, which puts marketing automation tools right inside the admin interface of the content management system.”

Microsoft is set to release the latest version of its Microsoft Dynamics CRM platform this fall that will focus on integrating its CRM with the MarketingPilot marketing solution it acquired last year. While many industry observers have speculated that Microsoft is shopping for a marketing automation vendor, this move could be an indication that the company will instead look to bolster its current marketing automation technology.

The company has not disclosed any precise details of the new features that will be available, but company officials noted that the changes will center around developing a personalized experience for consumers through improved marketing automation and mobile access.

Design Within Reach (DWR), a retailer selling furniture online and through a contract sales force, has been using Salesforce.com to enable employees to connect and collaborate, and will soon be using the system to hone its quoting methods and targeted marketing efforts.

The company has been using the Salesforce Chatter feature to create an employee social network that has enabled the company to expand from individual sales to doing business with purchasing agents for major hotel chains, architectural firms and small interior design firms.

The Sales Enablement Portal from Brainshark now includes an interface that is optimized for access by iPhones and Android smartphones so that mobile sales reps can efficiently find, view and share content.

“With everything we work on, mobility is now part of the primary thought process,” Kristin Simonini, Director of Product Management, told Demand Gen Report.