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10/12/05 - Benchmarking to the Best
One key thought from yesterday's discussion on benchmarking is the trap of comparing yourself to averages - mediocrity. One reader wrote:
"Benchmarking by definition needs to be done with respect to the 'best'. If benchmarking is being done with the objective of scoring "brownie points" with the boss / management then should we call it a benchmarking exercise?"
In this column, we've suggested that benchmarking should be a tool to improve business processes not simply to compare metrics. Perhaps, we need a different way to describe the practice of metric comparisons so as not to cloud the good merits of true benchmarking. Any suggestions how we delineate the two?
Gary Lemke, Publisher
(Share your thoughts)
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TODAY'S NEWS (more)
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Primary Matters and salesforce.comv announced the availability of The Primary Matters Guide for AppExchange Service & Support 1.0. Built on salesforce.com's Appforce on-demand platform, The Guide for Appforce is currently available, and will be generally available via AppExchange at the same time as the Salesforce Winter '06 release.
Witness Systems announced that Teligence has selected its Impact 360 Advanced Workforce Management package to streamline contact center operations and reduce costs.
The Service & Support Professionals Association (SSPA) announced the 2005 SSPA STAR Award for Service Excellence winners. SSPA STAR Awards provide peer recognition of excellence in eight unique categories.
Salesforce.com and LivePerson announced LivePerson Chat for AppExchange Service & Support 1.0. This solution enables customers to simplify and speed the process of deploying a multi-channel support organization.
Courion announced that it closed Q3 2005 with record sales and record revenue. Courion achieved a 54% increase in sales over Q3 2004 with the company's Enterprise Provisioning Suite(tm) accounting for over half of Courion's sales.
Siebel Systems announced the launch of the "CRM Index" (www.crm-index.com) for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). The CRM Index is based on data from independent research conducted by Datamonitor, the findings of which are published today as a report entitled "Going for Growth: Are European SMBs Ready to Meet Customer Demands?"
MicroStrategy announced that Manor Care has selected the MicroStrategy Business Intelligence Platform as its enterprise reporting standard.
Genesys and IBM announced a new technology and reseller agreement in which the Genesys Voice Platform (GVP) technology offering has expanded to include the addition of IBM WebSphere Voice Server (WVS) speech solutions. With the addition of IBM WVS, customers and managed service providers now have more product options and can fully leverage the industry expertise of Genesys and IBM.
Pegasystems announced that Highmark Life & Casualty Group has deployed Pega Customer Process Manager solution framework to support the company's sales and service throughout the U.S.
SPSS announced that holidays and financial services provider Saga has purchased SPSS' campaign optimization software to further increase campaign profitability. As the company has achieved significant cost savings and a revenue increase of £1 million due to their current use of SPSS' Predictive Marketing, implementing the new software from SPSS will enable Saga to further improve profits on direct mailings.
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 FEATURE WEBCAST (more) |
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"From Tactical to Strategic: The Workforce Optimization Maturity Model"
Bill Durr, Principal Solutions Consultant, Witness Systems
Asking about the maturity of a contact center is certainly a delicate matter. But it is a question that has to be asked. In this webcast, we explore a maturity model that gives you new insights into your own organization and explores how you can make your contact center a change agent for the entire business. What you will hear will help you move from a tactical to strategic way of thinking, especially in the area of workforce optimization. So if you are dealing with the unprecedented pressures brought on by the Internet, hyper-competition, and voice over IP along with the familiar demands of cost-cutting and employee retention, this webcast is for you. Register now to receive your complimentary copy of Witness' latest white papers: "Reinvention of Workforce Management" and "Reinvention of Quality Monitoring."
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| CRMAdvocate Stock Index |
| CRMSI | 40.79 |  | -1.12% |
| Dow Jones | 10,253.17 |  | 0.14% |
| Nasdaq | 2,061.09 | | -0.87% |
| S&P 500 | 1,184.87 | | -0.21% |
| Top Gainers |
| NCR | 32.18 | | 1.23 |
| HP | 27.22 | | 0.55 |
| ICT Group | 12.29 | | 0.35 |
| Top Losers |
| SPSS | 22.98 | | -0.69 |
| Sykes | 13.39 | | -0.66 |
| RightNow | 13.13 | | -0.61 |
| Complete Stock Index |
| As of close 10/10/05 | |
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February 27 - March 01, 2006: Linking Customer Feedback to Business Results - Looking for new ways to get more actionability out of your customer data? Interested in innovative ideas for responding to your customers to drive business improvement and profitability? Welcome to IIR's 10th annual Linking Customer Feedback to Business Results.
|  | Nov 7-9, 2005: The Customer Contact Conference - Join the Customer Care & Services Forum (CCSF) and DCI at the Scottsdale Plaza Resort in Scottsdale, AZ, November 7-9, 2005, for the premiere of the Customer Contact Conference: Turning Strategy into Action.
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