"Our Take" - SuperCRM

(Past Editions by: Date, Title, Topic)

 
About "Our Take" 
"Our Take" is a collection of daily vignettes covering a wide range of CRM topics. It's an attempt to add our own spin to the world of CRM. We will use the column to share our perspectives, opinions, epiphanies, web nuggets, or quite frankly anything that moves us. Get ready to expect the unexpected. And, don't be shy about sharing your thoughts.
 
 
1/29/07 - SuperCRM
For U.S. football fans, this is the biggest week of the year - Super Bowl week. For Colts fans like me, this is the biggest week since the Colts played their first home game in Indianapolis. I remember the day well. It was Sunday, September 2nd, 1984 - the day after my wedding.
 
As a youngster, I was very familiar with the Chicago Bears since they were most often on the television. At the time, Indianapolis had not yet "acquired" a professional football team. Somewhere in between, I had season tickets to the San Francisco 49ers. Those were certainly magical years with Joe Montana and the gang.
 
Regardless of the past, I think it is safe to say I'm a Colts fan for life. I've even owned a full size bus painted blue and white for those all day tailgate parties. So “Go Colts” and bring home the NFL championship trophy. Although I bleed blue this week, I wanted to share what "the other side" is doing with CRM. The Bears are using the sales module of Microsoft CRM to track and manage sales of their corporate sponsorships and stadium skyboxes. Do you know of a SuperCRM implementations?
 
Gary Lemke, Publisher
(Share your thoughts)
 
1/30/07 - SuperCRM - Part II
Yesterday, I shared a bit about my hometown NFL team - the Indianapolis Colts. I hope you understand and tolerate my enthusiasm. Thanks to those that asked about the tailgate bus (photo).
 
I also shared the Chicago Bears' CRM effort in hopes of maximizing sales of sponsorships and sky boxes. I don't have access to the impact of their CRM initiative. Regardless, I think it is safe to say that the link between CRM done well and getting to the Super Bowl is quite possibility non-existent. If there is a link, it is indirect at best: more revenue creates more money for salaries which enables signing better players which can increase the chance of getting to the Super Bowl. (Even I have a hard time defending that value proposition.)
 
But profits are profits and that is still a good initiative. I think the sports industry is doing many innovative programs that create loyalty that exceeds the effectiveness of other industries like travel (airlines, lodging) and most retail entities. Do you agree?
 
Gary Lemke, Publisher
(Share your thoughts)
 
1/31/07 - SuperCRM - Part III
I wanted to thank all the Chicago fans that have taken the time to send me an email to express their support for their Bears complete with confident jabs that the Colts will certainly lose. I believe all the comments were good spirited. At least that is the way I took them.
 
One person wrote, "The Bears CRM efforts are truly impressive. Once I provided my personal information to them, I regularly received invitations to special events, offers of discounts, and news/announcements that I was actually happy to see cropping up in my email inbox. Since they thought I was a new fan when I first signed up, I was invited to a seminar for women to learn how the game is played ... and an opportunity to meet some players, too. Now, you might not think that relates to Super Bowl Sunday. But at Soldier Field, the fans are the 4th Phase, and we feel like we do our part, screaming and cheering, to help our team win and to deafen their opponents at the scrimmage line. Behold, the power of CRM."
 
Now that's loyalty as derived through CRM in action. Regardless, go Colts (I couldn't resist).
 
Gary Lemke, Publisher
(Share your thoughts)
 
2/1/07 - SuperCRM - Part IV
OK, we won't take this column to its natural conclusion - SuperCRM XLI. Enough already. But I want to thank you for indulging me this week. You have to savor the moment because you never know when it will happen again. That brings me to a word that is so important in the world of CRM - opportunity. And to put verbs with the word, we should include "recognize" and "exploit."
 
Developing customer relationships is so dependent on recognizing and exploiting opportunities. The consultant world sometimes calls this "moments of truth." Moments of truth are those instances when your organization has a chance to influence customer loyalty - up or down. We often don't know when those moments of truth come. However, we cannot exploit those opportunities if we have not first prepared ourselves. So while many of us think in terms of immediate payback, often the big winners are those that can put themselves in the right position for their moment(s) of truth.
 
Yes, this is the moment of truth for two good teams. They didn't just happen to arrive in Miami in February. It is the result of years of preparation mixed with split second decisions. What a great blend of vision and execution. What is your SuperCRM story?
 
Gary Lemke, Publisher
(Share your thoughts)