2004-04-29
The state of CRM - part 1
"Gartner has argued for many years that CRM is not a technology, but a business strategy built around the concept of customer-centricity," says research director Scott Nelson. Now, fortunately, it seems as though the market is catching on ... See the Full Story
Source: cio-today

2004-04-26
"We never say no"
I work with a client in the North of England. Whenever I visit them I always stay at the same hotel. At this hotel their slogan is “We never say No”. All the employees wear badges saying “We never say no”, and there are even posters and flyers in your room saying the same thing. So ask yourself this, do you think the people “never say no”? Of course not! This is marketing hype, and so far from reality it’s ridiculous ... See the Full Story
Source: ecustomerserviceworld

2004-04-23
CRM on the move
Amongst this year’s planned launches, Microsoft's Business Solutions unit will include new versions of the Navision suite and Great Plains accounting package, and a Pocket PC complement to its recently introduced CRM program. The CRM sales module for Pocket PC to be released this summer adds the ability for users to synchronise with desktops. Known as Sales for Pocket PC 2003, it will allow sales executives on the move to review data and capture information gathered during sales calls. Linked to a Microsoft CRM system, data will be automatically uploaded. So far, MS CRM has about 1,600 customers with from five to 2000 users ... See the Full Story
Source: eccs

2004-04-23
Successes at European regional user conference
Several companies will share best practices and highlight successful implementations at a European user conference April 27th in London. Presenters include: ebookers, Halifax Royal Bank of Scotland, BAT, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Swisscom Fixnet, UK Trade & Investment, and others  ... See the Full Story
Source: businesswire

2004-04-23
Finds a niche in the enterprise
Hosted CRM providers like Salesforce.com, NetSuite, and Salesnet have long been seen as ideal offerings for small companies that need modest customer management functionality with minimal IT overhead and a small up-front commitment. Now these hosted services are showing up on the radar of the Global 1,000, and are seeing increasing uptake among large organizations looking to plug holes in their CRM deployments. Many companies spent $30 million or more on their CRM implementation, only to find ... See the Full Story
Source: destinationCRM

2004-04-23
Multi-year CRM support services
C3i will continue to support the sales force with help desk services, Siebel Pharma Tier 2 application support, hardware break-fix, asset management, and rollout services. "We are very excited to continue our partnership with one of the leading companies in the pharmaceutical industry ... See the Full Story
Source: businesswire

2004-04-22
Focus on coalition loyalty schemes world-wide
There are un-partnered loyalty programmes, and there are partnered programmes (coalitions). Within the coalition category, there are two main types of multi-partner programme that have proved their value time and time again: true coalition programmes, and single operator programmes that include other partners. Tesco's Clubcard is an example of a single operator programme that involves other partners. The programme is owned and run by Tesco. However, Clubcard holders can collect points when buying from various partners in the programme, such as Alders, Beefeater, Marriott, and National Tyres. There are also points or voucher 'redemption partners' (such as Vidal Sassoon in Clubcard's case). But Air Miles and Nectar are both true coalition programmes. The programme management is independent of any of the partners; the partners have contracts with the operator to issue and/or redeem the 'loyalty currency', and only have access to data harvested by the programme through the operator ...  See the Full Story
Source: thewisemarketer

2004-04-19
Who's leading the customer crusade
Examine any successful customer-focused strategy and you'll always find an internal champion leading the charge. These champions are more than enthusiastic; they're evangelical about putting customers front and center. These skilled negotiators and communicators come from all corners of the organization and aren't afraid to take chances. We call them customer crusaders ... See the Full Story
Source: 1to1

2004-04-19
Climbing the e-mail relevancy ladder
Think of marketing message relevancy and the recipient as rungs on a ladder. The lowest rung is an untargeted offer sent to an list of unknown recipients. The highest is the most targeted offer, sent to the recipient most likely to respond. The lowest rung nearly always has the lowest response rate, lowest effective CPM, highest unsubscribe rate, and most complaints. The highest rung is the opposite; it boasts the highest response rate, highest CPM, and lowest unsubscribe rate ... See the Full Story
Source: Clickz

2004-04-19
Delivers CRM
The caller was angry. He'd called ahead to request that FedEx pick up an important package, and the shipping giant had failed to do so. At least, that's what the customer thought. After he phoned the FedEx call center to complain, a service representative was able to tell him what had really happened. "They were able to say, 'Sir, a courier went by your office at 11 o'clock this morning. And Pam at the front desk said there was no package,'" said Scot Struminger, FedEx's vice president of IT, in a speech at last month's Gartner CRM Summit ... See the Full Story
Source: SearchCRM

2004-04-19
A9: The future of information access
Amazon.com finally launched its super-secret A9 search engine. Why would Amazon go into the search biz? And why would Google lend its results to a brand with as much (if not more) clout than it has, and with it the potential to suck users away from its main site? A9 does serve up Google AdWords, so Google's obviously generating some revenue from the venture. But if people start thinking "A9" or "Amazon" when they think of search, isn't Google potentially losing market share ... See the Full Story
Source: Clickz

2004-04-19
Mobile's dissatisfied customers
The US wireless-telecom industry is number one - in complaints. In 2002, more dissatisfied customers complained to the Better Business Bureau about their mobile operators than about any other type of company. Interestingly, customers complained not about the service itself or areas of weak coverage but rather about their carriers' business practices. Billing problems were the most common kind, followed by the carriers' responses to customer complaints and concerns that carriers had acted deceptively ... See the Full Story
Source: mckinseyquarterly

2004-04-16
The next context
If you follow search marketing, you're likely exhausted by the changes over the last few weeks. Between dueling local offerings, pricing changes, personalization, and trademark issues - not to mention Gmail and A9 - my brain is beginning to overflow like an overfilled (and over-caffeinated) mug of java. Amid all the excitement, I thought I'd speculate on news that might keep our heads spinning in the months to come. Google's recent announcement of changes to its AdWords pricing model really got me thinking ... See the Full Story
Source: Clickz

2004-04-16
CRM best practices: Creating a shortlist
When choosing a CRM application, you want to feel confident that you have made the best possible decision -- that you have considered all of the options, within reason, and selected wisely. On the way to making that final selection, a best practice is to create a shortlist of promising alternatives. The shortlist process involves conducting a broad search for possible solutions and then quickly and efficiently eliminating alternatives that do not merit deeper investigation ... See the Full Story
Source: crmdaily

2004-04-15
Something ventured, something gained
Roger Sippl is a veteran Silicon Valley entrepreneur and executive, well known as a founder of CRM software company Vantive and database pioneer Informix. But that was then; now venture capitalists want to know the prospects of Sippl's latest startup, a Web services company called Above All Software. To find out, VC group J.P. Morgan Partners turned to its Technology Council, a group of 20-plus CIOs and CTOs who gathered in Las Vegas ... See the Full Story
Source: cio

2004-04-15
Marketing and CRM budgets are on the up
For the first time in three years, marketing-related and CRM technology budgets have seen an increase across the board, according to a survey of visitors to the UK "Technology For Marketing 2004" event in February 2004. A corresponding survey in 2003 noted a 7% decrease from 2002, while this year's figures have revealed a 2% increase over 2003; in fact, visitors to the event this year had an average marketing-related and CRM technology budget of ...  See the Full Story
Source: thewisemarketer

2004-04-13
Is your web site getting the credit it deserves?, part 2
My last column on how to justify your Web efforts offered ways to calculate the direct value of your Web site. But direct value measurements - sales, lead generation, and customer service efficiencies - are only half the story. Time now to focus on the indirect value a site can add and how to claim credit where credit's due. Granted, charting indirect value means focusing on visitor behaviors that are harder to track, value, and quantify. Many site owners don't even try. They often tell me, "Oh, we don't sell products on our site, so we can't really come up with a dollar value for our Web site." Or they do sell online, but only take credit for the direct revenue dollars they generate, never mind the influence they likely had on purchases made via other channels ... See the Full Story
Source: Clickz

2004-04-13
Personalization helps online fundraising
According to a survey from Luth Research and Kintera, people respond well to non-profit fundraising efforts if the message comes from a friend or family member ... See the Full Story
Source: emarketer

2004-04-12
Customers' call center experience affects loyalty
Consumers are much less likely to buy a company's products if they have a poor call center experience when calling for assistance, according to a study released today by Portland Research Group.
- The quality of a call is everything to retaining customers, says Bruce Lockwood. Analysts at Portland Research Group discovered a 55 percentage point difference in future purchase intent when comparing the intent of respondents who were happy with their phone experience against those who were not ... See the Full Story
Source: destinationCRM

2004-04-12
New program offers flexibility
Salesforce.com has expanded the capabilities of its customer information systems, adding programs designed to let companies keep tabs on customer contracts and product catalogs. Clients can now browse and modify their product catalogs online, Salesforce said. They also let businesses review, approve and renew contracts over the Web and offer online customer self-service, the company said. The move indicates that Salesforce, which has specialized in applications designed to help salespeople track customer accounts and sales prospects, is reaching into new niches ... See the Full Story
Source: zdnet.com

2004-04-09
Analytics drives CRM success
Do you think the "big bang" approach to CRM implementation is ready for a comeback? You'd have been better off putting Gigli in your Oscar pool. Tony LoFrumento, executive director of business intelligence and CRM with financial services giant Morgan Stanley, weighs in on the big bang bust, why some CRM projects crash and burn while others flourish, and how user-friendly analytics software could unleash greater CRM success for his company. SearchCRM.com interviewed LoFrumento last week at the launch of SAS 9, where he was a featured speaker ... See the Full Story
Source: SearchCRM

2004-04-09
Uses CRM to insure success
There has been an influx of private life insurance companies in India after the liberalisation of the Indian insurance sector. When Aviva entered India in 2002, it was one of the last players to enter the market. The key to success lay in knowing potential customers better, and in bringing out products and services tailored to customer requirements. To do this, it went in for an enterprise-wide deployment of Talisma’s e-CRM suite even before it launched Indian operations in June 2002 ... See the Full Story
Source: expresscomputeronline

2004-04-09
Responds to e-mail challenges
Marketers have plenty of concerns with e-mail these days, from aggressive spam filters to CAN-SPAM compliance. Still, forecasts show promising growth ahead for e-mail marketing. eMarketer talks with Dan Springer, the new CEO of Responsys, about his company's role in e-mail's future ... See the Full Story
Source: emarketer

2004-04-08
Top concern among legitimate marketers and their consumers
According to a recent report by Jupiter Research, delivery-related or erroneously blocked permission-based e-mail cost marketers $230 million last year. This is expected to increase to over $410 million by 2008. Continued prevalence of e-mail filtering technology, changing ISP requirements, and the associated risk of blocked legitimate e-mail requires a level of expertise not often found in-house ... See the Full Story
Source: Clickz

2004-04-08
Report on customer loyalty
The Loyalty Guide 2004, a 470-page research report on customer loyalty, theory, principles, methods, strategies, global best practice and case studies is just finalised. It even comes with web updates, and online tools you can use. The publisher worked this past year to pack it with practical insight and workable data, formulae, models, metrics, reports, and more, from cover to cover. There is an 'earlybird' discount ...  See the Full Story
Source: thewisemarketer

2004-04-08
Hosted Applications
Hosting, application service provision, on demand computing - whatever title is given to it, the undeniable reality is that the model for licensing and implementing and running software applications is changing. The traditional methods of licensing are giving way to new, more user-centric and potentially budget friendly approach. It’s an approach that makes perfect sense - and one that’s giving a few companies some serious corporate headaches as they try to adapt ...  See the Full Story
Source: crm.insightexec

2004-04-06
Integrated B2B marketing
Are you under pressure to deliver higher quality leads for in Q2? Do you need to flexibly outsource tactical lead-gen execution? Are you getting the detailed, real-time metrics needed to optimize results? Do you just need a more streamlined way of tracking and managing lead generation? LeadGenesys is announcing the LeadGenesys KickStart Program. It's well-known that a well-timed, integrated B2B marketing campaign nets far better results than disjointed one-off efforts ...  See the Full Story
Source: LeadGenesys

2004-03-30
Is your web site getting the credit it deserves?, part 1
New client the other day, but the same old problem: an underperforming Web site, a vague mandate from management to "make the site more effective," and a small budget. First question: What do you mean by "more effective"? I quickly learned the client is focusing on just a fraction of its Web channel value. You're not the only professional communicator battling constantly to justify your Web efforts. If you haven't identified and quantified your Web site's value in real dollars, it's high time you did. Value comes in two flavors: additional revenue and reduced costs ... See the Full Story
Source: Clickz

2004-03-22
The best offense is a good defense
Muhammad Ali and his daughter Laila face off in a boxing match. She lands the first punch. This innovative commercial is part of the "impossible is nothing" campaign that adidas-Salomon, maker of adidas brand athletic apparel and equipment, hopes will win back customers. But the company knows that it takes more than clever advertising to build long-term success ... See the Full Story
Source: 1to1

2004-03-22
Benchmarking the correct metrics in your call center
Caller perception is the reality that you must deal with – it’s more real than your Service Level or Average Length of the Call. The list of metrics you watch on a daily basis is most likely missing the caller. Your callers are critical to the dashboard you are monitoring. Does it really matter what your operational metrics look like without knowing if you are also effective to the callers? Without the customer you really do not know if your operational metrics are out of line ... See the Full Story
Source: ecustomerserviceworld

2004-03-22
Finding gold in the value chain
Take Southwest Airlines. The upstart airline is proof positive that a company doesn’t have to be a behemoth to cash in on the bottom-line benefits of supply-chain efficiencies. In fact, it doesn’t even have to be dealing in physical goods. Tapping the same principles that enable, say, Dell’s inventory management prowess, Southwest found creative ways to trim turnaround time between flights and configure aircraft maintenance schedules so the firm’s fleet of planes-its primary asset-spends more time in the air earning its keep ...  See the Full Story
Source: chiefexecutive

2004-03-19
Seven steps to knowing what today's consumer wants
Staying in touch with "what customers want" is difficult - but not impossible. And marketing departments that are keeping track of changing customer attitudes are outpacing the competition, says Michael Fassnacht of Loyalty Matrix...  See the Full Story
Source: thewisemarketer

2004-03-11
Analyst: Self-service may outdo SFA
A retailer must be able to view trends in demand through all customer touch-points to make adjustments to an affiliate-marketing program most effectively. And enterprises must help their affiliates support customers -- not just in the acquistion phase, but also in retention and reactivation ... See the Full Story
Source: crmdaily

2004-03-10
Why businesses say they don't deserve loyalty
Nearly half of executives polled say their companies don't deserve their customers' loyalty, according to a year-long global poll of corporate bosses by New Jersey-based customer relationship consultancy, Strativity Group Inc. "Even as companies spend millions on customer initiatives and customer relationship management software and declare the importance of listening to customers, many executives acknowledge their customers are becoming strangers," warned Lior Arussy, CEO for Strativity Group ... See the Full Story
Source: thewisemarketer

2004-03-10
Web-centered CRM helps a little guy
It is somewhat refreshing to see companies focus on building customer loyalty the good old-fashioned way-through the Internet. Ray Rodriguez is the advertising director at Victus. He believes that the Internet’s interactive nature makes it an ideal tool for creating a dialog with potential and existing customers. And even though the company’s site has only registered 5,000 potential customers since being redesigned two months ago, Rodriguez tells the journal that he will build his market share gradually by engendering loyalty for the product, a nutritional supplement called Enterex, over time ... See the Full Story
Source: crmcommunity

2004-03-10
CRM set for spending explosion
Investment in CRM software is set to explode this year, according to the latest study from AMR Research. The firm has predicted CRM spending will hit $10.8bn globally in 2004, representing a $1bn increase compared with 2003. Nigel Montgomery, European research director at AMR, said CRM technology is a necessity for any organisation attempting to improve business processes. "In the past people were buying CRM just to improve customer relationships and not management processes," he said ... See the Full Story
Source: crmdaily

2004-03-09
CIOs link spending to business recovery
A recent survey of more than 950 CIOs by Gartner Executive Programs reveals their outlook on IT spending, business process outsourcing, and other trends. According to the survey, CIOs' top-three business priorities are security breaches, operating costs, and data protection/privacy. "What we see is that IT is back, but with a difference," says Mark McDonald, group vice president for Gartner EXP, a membership-based organization of more than 1,900 CIOs worldwide that is a unit of Gartner, the research and analyst firm. "There is very focused spending around business growth. In fact, two-thirds of CIOs see CRM and a single view of the customer as important to very important for 2004 ... See the Full Story
Source: destinationCRM

2004-03-05
Search engine marketing
As a marketing tool Search is anything but sorted out. Tim Armstrong, Google's vice president of advertising, told me, "Ninety percent of the technology hasn't even been developed yet." That's what keeps things interesting. Just this past week, Yahoo! and Overture changed their paid-inclusion program; Ask Jeeves dropped its XML paid inclusion and dropped $343 million on Interactive Search Holdings. Meanwhile, the very acquisitive ValueClick was dropping strong hints about still being very much in buying mode. People under NDA are all but bursting with what they can't yet reveal about big changes with big players. Even people who do this for a living admit they're having trouble keeping up ... See the Full Story
Source: Clickz

2004-03-04
Winning CRM companies reflect the industry's growth
The CRM industry is evolving and growing, and this year's Top 15 CRM Software Awards reflect these trends.
ISM presented the awards yesterday during the DCI CRM Conference & Expo, held at Chicago's Navy Pier. Before revealing the winners Goldenberg explained the criteria to a packed house. ISM invites hundreds of vendors to participate (at no cost); any invited company that chooses to apply then goes through the rigorous testing process at ISM's Software Lab. Each software solution is rated according to 202 criteria: 105 business functions, 47 technical features, 33 implementation capabilities, and 17 user-support features. The enterprise and SMB categories are rated using the same criteria, but different weighting, to reflect the differences is such areas as implementation time and depth of functionality, according to Goldenberg ... See the Full Story
Source: destinationCRM

2004-03-02
Full view of the customer cuts churn
Reducing customer turnover, or churn, always has been a priority for wireless carriers - and with wireless number portability making carrier switching easier than ever, turnover has become an even greater concern. The churn rate has a dramatic impact on financial results. A carrier can save tens of millions of dollars by decreasing its churn rate just a fraction of a percent. In addition to the bottom line impact, churn rates are an important reflection of customer satisfaction. High churn rates often indicate customers are not pleased with a carrier's service and coverage offerings. Low customer turnover ... See the Full Story
Source: Ittoolbox.com

2004-03-02
Justice files suit to block Oracle-PeopleSoft deal
As expected, the U.S. Department of Justice last week sued to block the proposed merger of Oracle and PeopleSoft, citing antitrust issues. In a press statement, the department said that if the merger were allowed to proceed, it would eliminate competition between two of the three largest providers of enterprise software and that it would result “in higher prices, less innovation and fewer choices for the businesses, government agencies and other organizations that depend on this type of software.” The third competitor is considered to be SAP ... See the Full Story
Source: crmiq

2004-02-27
Fallacies behind the 'science' of CRM
A recent "customer satisfaction" survey - focusing on such issues as ROI and ease of implementation - included as respondents current users, previous users, other analysts and prospective users. Only the current users truly were qualified to answer the bulk of the questions, so the results were skewed ... See the Full Story
Source: crmdaily

2004-02-27
The most influential thinkers in marketing
The Chartered Institute of Marketing in the UK recently cited Don Peppers and Martha Rogers, Ph.D., founders of Peppers & Rogers Group, a Carlson Marketing Group company, among the fifty "most influential thinkers working in marketing and business today." To help advance the interests and viability of the marketing field, the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) established a team to review and profile the industry leaders around the world who have shaped, molded and influenced modern marketing, and who continue to make advances in strategic concepts. Peppers and Rogers were chosen for their strategic thinking on CRM, for their business publications illustrating how customer-based initiatives have strong bottom-line impact, and for their ability to aid clients with both vision and implementation ... See the Full Story
Source: realmarket

2004-02-17
The privacy fallacy
Businesses don't typically greet privacy as a money-making or ROI-generating imperative - but those that leverage it appropriately often find it bolsters the bottom line, according to Larry Ponemon at Peppers & Rogers Group. "If you do it right, you turn hazard and risk into opportunity," he said. At the Smart CRM conference, Ponemon said that companies that communicate their privacy policies and take an "advocacy role" toward their customers make those customers less likely to jump ship ... See the Full Story
Source: SearchCRM

2004-02-14
Don't believe all of what you hear about CRM
At the Smart CRM conference, a noted return on investment (ROI) expert turned a widely held notion about CRM failure on its ear. Tom Spitale, principal at Peppers & Rogers Group, wiped clear the CRM industry's biggest blemish by arguing that most projects actually generate ROI. "It was easy to hype the failures because many of them were high profile," he said. In actuality, Spitale contended, many projects were deemed duds because organizations failed to establish metrics to measure their success ... See the Full Story
Source: SearchCRM

2004-02-10
Expert advice
CRM magazine investigated the depth of CRM expertise and adoption at the companies selling the technology by interviewing executives at several leading developers, ranging from large, traditional vendors to up-and-coming hosted providers. And just as their products differ, so do their strategies for CRM success ... See the Full Story
Source: destinationCRM

2004-02-09
Hosted CRM success stories
RightNow Technologies product manager Jason Mittelstaedt told CRM Buyer that hosted CRM allows customer-service departments to dig out of the e-mail avalanche that can threaten to overwhelm them. "They actually see blue sky now," he said. "They're able to sit back and think about how they can improve customer service ... See the Full Story
Source: ecommerceTimes

2004-02-03
Ranks hosted SFA solutions
Forrester Research has announced the results of its 2004 Hosted Sales Force Automation (SFA) TechRankings assessment of four key solutions. The TechRankings assessment is an objective, scenario-based product testing-and evaluation-process that attempts to determine which hosted SFA solutions have the best functionality ... See the Full Story
Source: destinationCRM

2004-01-29
Customer retention - a simpler approach
Terri Schepps provides a seven-step 'how to' for effective retention. A web search for the phrase "customer retention" results in thousands of web sites, all claiming to have the real solution for customer retention. Researchers, analysts and consultants have developed a vast array of theories, programmes, and practices for customer retention. Businesses today readily share their experience in improving customer retention. Most solutions point to business culture, staff training, and sales methodology, along with tracking and responding to customer demographics. In simple terms, customer retention is all about the customer - and the customer's experience ... See the Full Story
Source: thewisemarketer

2004-01-28
Sweepstakes comes up a winner
Thinking about a sweepstakes to generate a bigger e-mail list? Wonder if it's worth upping the stakes by going from an instant-win to a daily instant-win campaign? If United Air Lines' experience is any indicator, the idea is definitely worth considering. Susie Obst, director of Internet marketing at UAL Loyalty Services has to say about her experience with sweepstakes promotions:
- We did a daily instant win with ePrize in September 2003, and it was the most successful campaign to date for driving unique, permissionable e-mails ... See the Full Story
Source: Clickz

2004-01-27
Launches a hosted midmarket edition
Although PeopleSoft is hardly known as an ASP, the company has introduced a new portfolio of midmarket hosting- and application-management services for its front- and back-office solutions. In addition to hosting applications, the new service includes database, storage, and hardware solutions designed for companies with fewer than $1 billion in annual revenues, according to the company ... See the Full Story
Source: destinationCRM

2004-01-26
Now is the time to look for ways
A recent study by Accenture shows that the average utility with $2 billion in revenue could increase its pretax profits by $250 million to $360 million by improving its CRM capabilities. Profit increases could be even greater for larger utilities ... See the Full Story
Source: ecommerceTimes

2004-01-22
Bank launches major CRM drive
Abbey is implementing a major CRM project, covering 13,000 users across the High Street bank. The system centres on technology from CRM vendor Siebel, with software installation due for completion in April.
The bank has undergone lengthy planning procedures and risk analysis, using tools from Mercury Interactive, to make sure the rollout is a success. Abbey staff will receive training in how to use the system, which forms a crucial part of the company's ongoing reinvention and change programme ... See the Full Story
Source: computing

2004-01-21
Analysis: The multichannel myth
Retailers, for their part, do not really want to make the commitment to a true multichannel CRM initiative. Sure, in theory they do. But when confronted with the costs involved, they opt for more limited projects ... See the Full Story
Source: crmdaily

2004-01-20
Delivers comprehensive functionality, Microsoft Outlook integration and low cost
A federal contracting management consulting firm, Apex Strategies was looking for a CRM solution that could provide direct access to current customer data and information for company employees regardless of location. It wanted a hosted CRM solution that could be flexibly customized to match how its business was structured. With salesforce.com, all employees share a unified view of customer information that can be accessed online at any location. Apex is using salesforce.com's document management and sales force automation features to better manage new business opportunities. The company also has customized salesforce.com for its specific business needs, including tailoring the Microsoft Outlook integration to closely manage critical government compliance issues ... See the Full Story
Source: salesforce.com

2004-01-19
Steps into the smart retailing arena
Microsoft has revealed the beginnings of its plans for a more high-technology retail world with the unveiling of its 'Smarter Retailing Initiative', which focuses on technology-based improvements for retail shopping, selling, and business operations. But not stopping there, the Redmond giant has also teamed up with METRO Group's Future Store Initiative ... See the Full Story
Source: thewisemarketer

2004-01-16
Creating a CRM action plan
The problem with using a technology implementation method - even one that addresses "business issues" - is that the technology, and not the customer-centered business transformation, becomes the design point. The result will be the CRM project's failure to meet bottom-line revenue and expense goals ... See the Full Story
Source: crmdaily

2004-01-15
Office door is now open
Hosted CRM provider Salesforce.com has released Salesforce.com Office Edition, which integrates with Microsoft Office 2000 and 2003. Building off the past release of customizable APIs available through Salesforce.com's application server, Sforce 2.0, the newest offering takes these XML Web service capabilities and automatically ties together Office applications, including Outlook, Word and Excel, with Salesforce.com's CRM service.
- Microsoft got it right. Office 2003 is really a development tool, and we've taken that foundation and integrated it into Salesforce.com, said Marc Benioff, Salesforce.com's CEO. Salesforce.com discussed a partnership with Microsoft at its user conference in November, and now the fruits of that partnership are available ... See the Full Story
Source: SearchCRM

2004-01-15
Industrial strength CRM
While CRM generally conjures up images of the retail, financial, or service sectors, a growing segment of manufacturers and industrial users is emerging. The benefits include more streamlined production, lower inventories, and better service for high-profit customers. And to better manage their factory forecasting and identify their most profitable products and customers ... See the Full Story
Source: CRMCommunity

2004-01-15
Self-check-in kiosks network expanded
Continental Airlines today announced it has completed the installation of eService Center self-check-in kiosks in all of the airline's airport terminal check-in areas in the continental United States. The last airport to receive Continental's eService Center kiosks was Reno, Nev., where one unit was placed on line on Dec. 31. The airline now operates 779 eService Centers in 130 U.S. airports.
- Continental's domestic customers now have the option of checking themselves in at an eService Center kiosk or at continental.com, no matter where in the United States their trips begin or where in the United States they're going, said Christopher Frawley, Continental's managing director of eCommerce ... See the Full Story
Source: Continental Airlines

2004-01-14
Sender line more important than subject line
Although most of us have been working on crafting brilliant subject lines that both create impact and elude spam filters, the unsung hero of the day is the humble sender line. This is counterintuitive for most of us in direct marketing who have relied on compelling teasers to get envelopes opened. But Ruth Stevens cites research showing the sender line drives 65 percent of open rates. Subject lines drive just 35 percent ... See the Full Story
Source: Clickz

2004-01-14
Analytics tops 2004 CRM priority list
CRM systems as they have been implemented thus far have captured lots of customer data, says AMR Research analyst Laura Preslan. But using it to advantage is problematic. Companies often find that they are sitting on a pile of numbers with no way to evaluate past actions or craft new and better plans ... See the Full Story
Source: crmdaily

2004-01-13
Career sites cutting into newspapers’ niche
Job seekers used to turn to the employment section of their local newspapers, now they turn on their computers and log on to the Net. Borrell Associates finds that online recruitment advertising revenues hit $3.1 billion last year ... See the Full Story
Source: emarketer

2004-01-13
Sales forces not meeting expectations
CSO Insights, a research firm that specializes in benchmarking sales and marketing excellence, says in its 2004 "Sales Effectiveness Report" that more than 50 percent of sales reps are not meeting quota. These results represent the poorest performance levels in the 10 years CSO Insights has been conducting the annual study. The report includes responses from more than 1,300 sales executives ... See the Full Story
Source: destinationCRM

2004-01-13
Bumps in the sales road, part 3
This is the last in a series about snags customers hit in the online sales process. My extended online shopping spree (brought to an end by the recent arrival of my American Express bill) was fraught with obstacles. Between holiday shopping and a home spruce-up, I had many items to purchase in a short period of time. I was dismayed to find how difficult it was ... See the Full Story
Source: zdnet.com

2004-01-12
Winning vacation shoppers online
In their “Vacation Packages, A Consumer Tracking and Discovery” study, Vividence Corporation and PhoCusWright report most US consumers (73%) find travel packages offered online are inflexible ... See the Full Story
Source: emarketer

2004-01-09
Is CRM innovation dead
The CRM applications market is maturing, and it seems the speed of change has slowed dramatically over the past year to 18 months. Have the small vendors stopped innovating? Or have they all been acquired - or their ideas been co-opted - by the larger vendors? Has the economy squeezed all of the R&D money out of the market? Or are we poised for a new round of innovation? If the latter, what are the hot new areas to watch ... See the Full Story
Source: crmdaily

2004-01-09
Jumpstarting auto ads online
There's no better source of product information than word of mouth, right? That's not always the case. Take a look at the automotive industry. According to a Forrester Research survey, advice from friends is important to new car buyers, but Consumer Reports and the non-car company Web sites are held in even higher regard ... See the Full Story
Source: emarketer

2004-01-08
Hot growth areas for CRM
If 2003 was the year of CRM-spending retrenchment, 2004 looks like it will shape up to be the year of strategic CRM purchasing. Although the tattered economy of the last two-and-a-half years finally is showing signs of life, companies are not yet set to invest significant sums in I.T. projects. Actual projections by consulting firms vary, but their statistics all point to the same trend for 2004: modest growth. The most recent findings come from AMR Research, which estimates that the CRM market will grow to US$10.8 billion in 2004 - a $1 billion leap from last year ... See the Full Story
Source: crmdaily

2004-01-08
Who are your best customers
Do you know who your best customers are? Those of you who do say you know who your best customers are: Are you using revenue as the sole method of calculating customer value? It's a no-brainer to sort a customer list from highest revenue to lowest each month, then see who's tops, who's increased, who's decreased, who's disappeared. I challenge you to look deeper. Yes, we are all looking for revenue. Revenue is a means of reaching the end goal: profit. Customers contribute to profit in varying degrees, and not on a strict revenue basis ... See the Full Story
Source: Clickz

2004-01-08
How many customers are really profitable
Many retailers are already aware that most of their profits come from one group of their customers, and that some other customers are completely unprofitable. But how many are aware of the actual scale of this phenomenon? The difference in contribution to profit is caused by several factors; many of them already well known to forward thinking retailers. Better customers visit the store more often, they spend more on each visit, their purchases are spread over more departments, they are more loyal and don't defect as often, their processing costs are lower and they 'cherry pick' less ... See the Full Story
Source: thewisemarketer

2004-01-07
Many happy returns
In his parting letter to shareholders, Louis Gerstner, who as CEO led IBM to a glorious comeback in the 1990s, spoke of a "massive shift" occurring in the technology industry. Technology companies, he explained, must become increasingly "customer-driven" and "service-led" if they are to address the emerging demands of the market, and find success. As he elaborated in his recent book, "Who Says Elephants Can't Dance?," the tech industry maintains a "remarkable detachment" from its customers. It tends "to ignore human behavior, human preferences, human biases, and personal and institutional demands that emanate from the non-technical parts of people's and companies' lives." Gerstner added that if today's technologists were to truly stand in their customers' shoes they would find "the promises overblown and the returns more difficult than promised ... See the Full Story
Source: SearchCRM

2004-01-07
Enjoy food you love
McDonald’s restaurants in the New York Tri-State area today are launching McDonald’s Real Life Choices, an educational campaign that lets consumers stick to their diets while enjoying the food they love. The program shows consumers how to order their favorite McDonald’s menu items and stay on track, whether they’re watching calories, fat or carbohydrates. McDonald’s restaurants in the New York, New Jersey, Connecticut Tri-State area will showcase posters and brochures featuring information on McDonald’s Real Life Choices. McDonald’s worked with nationally renowned nutritionist and best-selling author, Pamela Smith, R.D., to develop the McDonald’s Real Life Choices initiative ... See the Full Story
Source: Mcdonalds

2004-01-07
CRM spending to rise in 2004
CRM license revenues will grow 5-10 percent through 2005, a marked improvement from last year's drop of 20 percent, according to new statistics from Forrester Research. However, some analysts question whether the industry will indeed fare so well this year. "Actually, five to ten percent might be a little optimistic," Yankee Group CRM analyst Sheryl Kingstone told CRM Daily. "We are definitely seeing an upturn this year, and a lot more evaluations right now." Still, her best guess as to how the market will grow this year is more in the 2-3 percent ... See the Full Story
Source: crmdaily

2004-01-06
Highest customer retention rates in the industry
The customer retention rate for Chevrolet is the highest in the industry, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2003 Customer Retention StudySM released today. The inaugural study measures the ability of nameplates to retain their owners who are once again in the market for a new vehicle. On average, the study finds that about one-half of consumers will repurchase the same nameplate. Chevrolet ranks highest in customer retention, retaining 60.8 percent of its owners. Chevrolet models with the strongest retention rates include the Avalanche, with 74.5 percent of owners purchasing another Chevrolet model, TrailBlazer (73.8%), Impala (70.1%) and Silverado 1500/2500 (68.7%). Chevrolet is followed in the ranking by Toyota (59.3%), Mercedes-Benz (58.7%), Ford (58.1%) and Honda (57.1%). Isuzu trails the industry, retaining only 3.5 percent of its customers ... See the Full Story
Source: J.D.Power

2004-01-06
How to grow a known and trusted brand
The challenge is to manage your reputation so that the opinion that people form about your company is positive - this goes a long way to creating a powerful brand image. Brands have a number of strategic functions, enabling you to: Differentiate yourself from your competition ... See the Full Story
Source: thewisemarketer

2004-01-06
A stronger CRM market
The New Year got off to a positive start for the CRM software industry on Monday, when Siebel Systems Inc. announced it was raising its guidance on earnings and sales for the fourth quarter.
The positive early returns could be a sign of better things to come. While many analysts are predicting little growth for 2004, any increase is far better than the declines in CRM spending during the last three years.
According to Gartner Inc., the CRM market will grow by 1% in 2004 and reach $2.9 billion in 2007. Those figures represent spending on software applications only and do not include maintenance, updates and service ... See the Full Story
Source: SearchCRM

2004-01-06
CRM 2004: Sales and marketing forecast
From the need to respect customers' desires about being contacted to the need to be more focused and cost-effective with marketing campaigns, to the need to increase the sophistication of industry-specific marketing applications, 2004 will see marketing evolving to be more customer-centric and less product-centric ... See the Full Story
Source: crmdaily

2004-01-05
Users warm up
PeopleSoft is earning guarded praise from customers of its latest acquisition, former rival J.D. Edwards. A survey IDC released Monday showed that more than 80 percent of J.D. Edwards software users retain a positive view of PeopleSoft and the manner in which the company handled the merger. Only 9 percent of respondents to the survey said they harbor a less favorable view of the combined vendor. However, the report said 69 percent of former J.D. Edwards customers have no immediate plans to buy new software from PeopleSoft ... See the Full Story
Source: news.com

2004-01-02
Government CRM the next big boom
While chairing a recent DCI CRM conference, an FBI agent came up to me and presented his badge. "Oh dear," I muttered, "what could I have done?" Turns out that this fellow was simply seeking advice regarding his bureau's CRM initiative. A few hours later, a woman whose card read Defense Logistics Agency (a part of the Pentagon), also approached me seeking advice for its ambitious CRM initiative ... See the Full Story
Source: destinationCRM

2004-01-01
The 3G Tokyo time machine
Recently, my colleagues and I hopped in an elevator, trundled into a taxi, and embarked upon a "field trip" to Tokyo. We returned in time for lunch. Needless to say, it was no ordinary journey. Our visit to Tokyo took place via NTT DoCoMo's Manhattan showroom, which is rigged up to recreate the 3G wireless environment people in Japan, and those in some European countries, can experience. It felt like not only a virtual trip halfway around the world but also a trip forward in time. The visit was a unique opportunity ... See the Full Story
Source: Clickz

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2003-12-30
Bumps in the sales road, part 2
This is the second in a series about snags customers hit that prevent them from giving you their money. We spend megadollars on marketing, and often it works. Qualified prospects, armed with credit cards, arrive on your home page ready to spend. Too often, however, bumps appear along the way that prevent them from purchasing. Bumps may drive them to your competitor ... See the Full Story
Source: zdnet.com

2003-12-29
Expert predictions: Surprise mergers in store for '04
Oracle throws in the towel. This will have more to do with the rising stock market taking PeopleSoft's stock price beyond Oracle's willingness to pay than any other action. Larry's attention will turn to the numerous other targets in the market - top of the list being Onyx and (you heard it here first) Siebel.
Microsoft splits. This doesn't mean it won't succeed in CRM, but it makes little sense for Microsoft to continue selling enterprise solutions alongside desktop products and operating systems. A breakup is, at this point, the best way for Microsoft to unleash shareholder value. Competitors should not be encouraged because Microsoft's CRM business will be, if anything, an even more fierce competitor after this occurs ... See the Full Story
Source: SearchCRM

2003-12-29
Interactive marketing
Total marketing expenditure - including interactive marketing - across the top seven national markets will see a strong upturn in 2004, with a predicted growth of 3.4%, according to London Business School's 'Marketing Expenditure Trends' (MET) report, conducted in collaboration with the Paris-based global communications group, Havas. There is evidence that the recent growth in interactive marketing is accelerating, and is likely to continue long-term. According to the report, cutbacks in marketing expenditure in recent years reflected short-term market and economic conditions but, as conditions improve, marketing budgets will grow again ... See the Full Story
Source: thewisemarketer

2003-12-26
How to choose a web analytics solution
Clarifying the issues involved in managing and measuring Web analytics is critical to e-business success. My goal isn't to recommend one product or another. I want to arm you with the right questions so you can make up your own minds. The four basic factors we use to evaluate the best provider follow, with a little added detail. They'll help you determine which is the solution that best meets your needs ... See the Full Story
Source: zdnet.com

2003-12-25
Merry Christmas, and Happy CRM
The holiday shopping season is the best opportunity retailers have to build deep customer loyalty that will lasts throughout the New Year. With millions of consumers visiting websites and shops in search of the best deals and the hottest new items, holiday season shopping is a 'make or break' time for retailers. Smart retailers have used their CRM to build closer customer relationships, attract new customers, and ensure that their customers' holiday shopping experience is both enjoyable and rewarding ... See the Full Story
Source: ccworldnet

2003-12-24
Restaurant.com's gift certificate with a twist
A new gift certificate concept - with a twist - has been launched by the US restaurant marketing firm, Restaurant.com. While usually offering online restaurant deal certificates for up to 75% less than their face value, the firm's new 'Megacertificate' offers consumers one big gift certificate that can be exchanged for many other restaurant-specific certificates. This approach allows the recipient of the gift to choose their own gift certificates from thousands of individual restaurants, rather than being tied to just one chosen by the person giving the gift ... See the Full Story
Source: thewisemarketer

2003-12-19
Fraud resulting from spam
Lawsuits in New York state and indictments under a tough new Virginia anti-spam law are among the latest round of legal actions designed to reduce the flow of fraudulent and unsolicited bulk email. On Thursday, New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and officials of Microsoft said they would file lawsuits against several well-known email marketers ... See the Full Story
Source: emailuniverse

2003-12-19
What every marketer should know about Sarbanes-Oxley
While most discussion about the Sarbanes-Oxley Act focuses on financial management, it is becoming clear that marketing professionals must focus on how the legislation will extend to marketing and customer-facing functions... CRM-related processes such as marketing discretionary spending, sales revenue recognition, service credits, and product returns each have a direct impact on financial reporting ... See the Full Story
Source: thewisemarketer

2003-12-18
Poor service dogs financial services companies
More than 40% of consumers in the UK have experienced bad service from their primary financial services provider in the past 12 months, and almost 90% do not feel entirely valued, according to a new report from market analysts, Datamonitor.
Up to 60% of the UK's white-collar population feel overburdened and would welcome less complicated products and less hassle from their bank. Datamonitor points out that this will only be possible in a competitive environment in which bankers and insurers are able to make more personal contact with customers and improve the targeting of their direct marketing efforts ... See the Full Story
Source: thewisemarketer

2003-12-17
Five ways to be a good customer
CRM is so complex that it's easy to blame problems on vendors or consultants or resellers. However, CRM users must take responsibility for their own success during all phases of an initiative - planning, product selection, implementation, and ongoing maintenance and improvements. Here's what every CRM project leader must do when dealing with internal staff, vendors, integrators, and consultants to ensure the CRM initiative is truly fruitful ... See the Full Story
Source: destinationCRM

2003-12-17
Retrieve customer data at the shop floor
Dunhill hopes to boost Christmas sales and customer loyalty by implementing CRM technology from IBM and CSG. The luxury goods retailer said that its CRM system will allow 'soft' customer information to be captured and stored both in back-office technology systems and at till points. This quantitative information, difficult to collate using loyalty card schemes, will enable shop assistants to retrieve customer data from the shop floor and to make recommendations based on previous purchases. For example, a woman visiting a store in search of a last minute Christmas gift for her husband could be reminded of a previous briefcase purchase and shop assistants could suggest that she buy a matching wallet ... See the Full Story
Source: Vnunet

2003-12-17
Can spam law
President Bush signed the "Can-Spam" bill Tuesday, creating the first federal law regulating spam. Backers call it a major step in the war against the plague of junk e-mail. I call it a travesty, hatched by politicians who are out of touch with technology and, more specifically, with the underpinnings of Internet e-mail. Our Special Report covers the latest developments in the war against spam ... See the Full Story
Source: zdnet.com

2003-12-17
Notable changes in the CRM services
EDS today announced that IT services analyst firm IDC ranked the company as one of six leading global services providers in the CRM Services market for 2003. IDC's report is based on in-depth research of the worldwide services market focused on companies that are solid examples of leadership and innovation. Overall ranking considered market share, thought leadership, innovation and growth potential. IDC estimates worldwide CRM IT services and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) revenues at more than $21 billion.
- The past 24-30 months have seen notable changes in the CRM services landscape, says Brian Bingham, program manager, CRM and Customer Care Services for IDC ... See the Full Story
Source: biz.yahoo

2003-12-16
Change management
"If we build it, they will come." For much of the 1990s CRM initiatives chanted this discredited mantra. Companies purchased enterprise CRM software, spared no expense on the supporting technology, and hired the world's leading consulting firms to deploy the applications. Years later many of these programs have still failed to deliver an adequate return on investment ... See the Full Story
Source: destinationCRM

2003-12-16
Reaches for the CRM toolkit
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) released 13 CRM products on 10 December 2003, four months earlier than planned, in response to fears that some local authorities are falling behind schedule in attempting to get services online by the end of 2005. Developed by the ODPM backed CRM National Programme (UK), the tools have been designed to save local authorities time and money when it comes to improving customer care and services. They are intended to make it easier for citizens to communicate with their council as well as allowing councils to identify and deal with most service requests at the first point of contact ... See the Full Story
Source: Kablenet

2003-12-16
Bumps in the sales road 1
I've been conducting as much of my shopping online as possible for the last two months, including holiday purchases, furniture, and other high-ticket items for my home renovation project. There's logic behind my online shopping bender. The more I shop online, the more I learn as a marketer through experiencing as a consumer. The results aren't very pretty. My last column included some of Jupiter Research's conclusions on the topic. Clearly, consumers everywhere are hitting snags along the online purchasing path. Those snags affect future purchase decisions ... See the Full Story
Source: Clickz

2003-12-15
Getting user buy-in for CRM
You can roll out the most effective, user-friendly technology and still have problems getting people to adopt it. Why? In many deployments there is a tendency to focus on the technology, instead of explaining its value to the user. The strategies below will help employees to embrace change.
1. Communicate a clear vision ... See the Full Story
Source: destinationCRM

2003-12-15
Autoresponder renaissance
We've been using autoresponders for years as an integral part of our systems. Now, autoresponders present a way to avoid violating spam laws. Used creatively, they offer new methods for responding to prospects from wherever you advertise, including e-mail.
"Direct consent" is when someone signs up at a Web site or sends an e-mail message to a specific address requesting more information. You can respond with one or more e-mail messages with information only about the product or service requested. It doesn't matter whether a machine or a person responds. Marketers should ask, "How can I use one or more autoresponders successfully ... See the Full Story
Source: Clickz

2003-12-13
Will drive loyalty
The North American Sales and Marketing arm of auto industry giant Mazda has implemented E.piphany E.6 CRM software suite in the call center which is now providing efficient response to customer call requests resulting in increased customer satisfaction and measurable return on investment (ROI) for Mazda ... See the Full Story
Source: epiphany

2003-12-12
Booms as firms go customer-centric
The CRM software market is expected to grow tremendously as these applications contribute to the bottom line, and as enterprises adopt increasingly customer-centric strategies to identify and retain high-potential customers, according to business growth consultancy Frost & Sullivan ... See the Full Story
Source: thewisemarketer

2003-12-10
CRM is a marathon
Even if you do everything by the book when implementing CRM, end-user adoption can be a sticking point. That's one lesson learned by Parametric Technology, which has rolled out software from Siebel Systems to its call center, sales force and marketing department.
- The technology works, and it works fine, said Steve Horan, PTC's senior vice president and chief information officer. - It does what it needs to do. The issue was adoption ... See the Full Story
Source: SearchCRM

2003-12-10
Consumers prefer loyalty programmes that 'fit'
Consumers are willing to work hard for loyalty programmes they perceive as being a 'good fit' with their personal needs and preferences, according to marketing research carried out by Itamar Simonson, Sebastian Kresge (Professor of Marketing), Ran Kivetz (Assistant Professor of Marketing, Columbia Business School) at the Stanford Graduate School of Business ... See the Full Story
Source: thewisemarketer

2003-12-10
Focus on marketing of CRM through 2005
Through 2005, META Group expects Global 2000 organizations to focus on the marketing component of CRM and to begin consolidating stovepiped marketing functions into marketing technology portfolios.
- The EMM market will continue evolving to support the customer as the CRM design point, said Elizabeth Roche, vice president with META Group's Technology Research Services and lead author of the report. - A well-constructed and channel-integrated EMM suite will reduce the risk of customer attrition. At the same time, it will increase flexibility to respond to the nascent strategy of providing segment-specific CRM treatments based on the segment's value proposition to the organization ... See the Full Story
Source: Businesswire

2003-12-10
SMB customers are key to CRM health
As the importance of the SMB segment in the CRM market increases, many vendors are jockeying for position in the burgeoning space. A report released this week by Aberdeen Group focuses on the how the distribution channel-partners, resellers, value-added resellers, and distributors-view the CRM market. It states that with enterprise markets for CRM nearly saturated, many of the established, big CRM vendors and service providers are expanding their businesses to include the SMB market ... See the Full Story
Source: destinationCRM

2003-12-10
The long-sought definition of 'CRM' revealed
Sometimes missed in all of the talk about customers is the fact that CRM is more than a strategy to provide customer value; it is first and foremost about bringing value to the enterprise in terms of revenues and profits ... See the Full Story
Source: crmdaily

2003-12-09
A winning formula
Sales and marketing often go together as well as oil and water. Yet without collaboration between the two, it is nearly impossible to create the single view of the customer needed to build a truly customer-focused company. At the recent Frost & Sullivan Sales & Marketing Strategies Executive Summit, executives from five leading vendors spoke out on the subject during the SuperPowers of CRM panel, a discussion on the importance of unifying sales and marketing, and how to use CRM to do so ... See the Full Story
Source: destinationCRM

2003-12-08
Compete with other big vendors
Microsoft will launch a global assault on the CRM market today with the release of multi-language software aimed at small and medium-sized enterprises CRM - a software category that helps companies to maintain contacts, market their products and invoice customers. The software has been sold heavily to large corporations by companies such as Siebel Systems, SAP and PeopleSoft.
The Redmond company's Business Solutions division will release Microsoft CRM 1.2, a more fully featured program than the 1.0 version launched at the beginning of the year in the US. It will also be available in French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Danish and Dutch ... See the Full Story
Source: Financial Times

2003-12-05
CRM first steps
Photographers, like most creative people, are often focused on their art rather than the commerce that comes with it. A small company called Pictage was founded on that proposition. Pictage is an online service provider for professional photographers, one that produces and delivers prints on behalf of photographers. Think of it as a Snapfish for professionals, complete with advanced color  ... See the Full Story
Source: line56

2003-12-05
The answer to video piracy
Media companies, broadband providers, and PC makers are stalled as they try to develop video-on-demand services. The copyright owners worry that pirates will steal their content unless protection schemes are in place. The broadband companies and hardware manufacturers are concerned that if they play the role of copyright watchdogs, consumers will reject their services and products. While these companies hesitate, unauthorized online services share millions of music and video files ... See the Full Story
Source: emarketer

2003-12-04
Loyalty may be 2004's main IT focus
Customer loyalty and service may be the central focus of 2004, with 38% of an IT spending survey's respondents claiming that customer-driven issues like loyalty and retention will have the greatest influence on IT investments over the next twelve months, according to AMR Research's quarterly IT spending figures ... See the Full Story
Source: thewisemarketer

2003-12-03
Surviving in the CRM space
Smaller providers stay competitive with lower costs and a vertical-niche focus. - There is a future for these companies, says Barton Goldenberg, president of CRM consulting firm ISM Inc. Small and midsize CRM vendors can offer a more affordable solution, he says. That may appeal particularly to the price-sensitive midmarket customers many of these vendors serve ... See the Full Story
Source: Informationweek

2003-12-03
The year in preview
Two thousand three was a year of rebirth for the CRM industry. Vendors released more vertical applications than ever before. Hosted CRM solutions became entrenched in the market. The mid-market became the new hot target. And marketing began to get its due attention from vendors. As these trends took shape-and then took hold-it became increasingly clear that they are not fads. In fact, what are hot trends now will likely be considered business as usual by the end of two thousand four ... See the Full Story
Source: destinationCRM

2003-12-03
Planning for CRM project success
When it comes time to deploy that carefully selected software, getting help is recommended by Deloitte senior manager Stephen Nyquist. Granted, he works for one of the firms that supplies such help, but he maintains that using the professional services group of the software vendor, or offshore outsourcing, or the assistance of a consulting firm like his are all options that offer considerable advantages over the DIY approach ... See the Full Story
Source: crmdaily

2003-12-03
Does net replace stores for online consumers
WSL Strategic Retail reports that most US consumers are not shopping online instead of shopping in stores, but rather in addition to shopping in stores as 63% say they either “strongly agree” or “agree” with the statement ... See the Full Story
Source: emarketer

2003-12-02
Deliver CRM ondemand for businesses in the UK
BT and Siebel Systems today announced that BT is the first UK-based company to introduce Siebel CRM OnDemand to businesses in the UK. The new on demand service enables small and medium-sized organizations and divisions of larger businesses to organize, manage, and streamline their sales, marketing, and customer service activity through a hosted environment. It can be used as a stand-alone to run a business or integrated with on-site deployments of Siebel enterprise applications. This gives customers the choice of running their CRM system in a hosted environment, on-site, or in any combination of the two ... See the Full Story
Source: realmarket

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This page was updated 2004-08-07