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9/8/06 - Visiting a Reference
If you are making a strategic buy, a visit to the reference might be in order. When should you consider a visit versus a phone call? There may be many reasons that apply to each situation. However, going 'deep' with a particular reference means that you will probably go 'less wide.'
Logistically, it is difficult to visit as many installations as you can contact via the telephone. But it doesn't have to be one or the other. A two-step approach can often be very effective. Step one is to contact a range of references via the telephone. Step two is to take the most appropriate reference from step one and set up an on-site visit.
One reader suggested that a reference visit might "help sell the senior management team. They can discuss issues and benefits with the reference's senior management."
Gary Lemke, Publisher
(Share your thoughts)
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TOP NEWS OF THE WEEK (more)
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Sage Software unveiled the new ACT! by Sage 2007 product family comprised of ACT! by Sage 2007 (9.0), ACT! by Sage Premium for Workgroups 2007 (9.0), ACT! by Sage Premium for Web 2007 (9.0) and ACT! for Palm OS(r) 2.0. Sage Software is announcing a simultaneous upgrade of the entire ACT! product family, enabling users to utilize the latest ACT! features from their desktop, laptop, Web browser or Palm OS device.
Intervoice announced that it has purchased the assets of Nuasis, a leading provider of Internet-enabled, customer contact software. As part of the agreement, Intervoice has purchased Nuasis' products, intellectual property, customer and channel contracts and other assets, and will assume certain obligations. Also, Intervoice hired many of Nuasis' employees who joined the company effective September 1, 2006. Based on the transaction, Intervoice will continue to serve Nuasis' customers and will now have an opportunity to distribute the IP contact center suite to existing and new Intervoice customers.
Rainmaker Systems said it would acquire assets of privately held ViewCentral Inc. for about $4.3 million in stock. Rainmaker, which provides business-to-business sales and marketing services, said the acquisition would help enhance its solutions. ViewCentral provides modules for training and marketing event management.
SpeechCycle announced a partnership with Convergys in which SpeechCycle's speech applications are hosted on Convergys' patented SpeechPort VoiceXML platform.
Empirix launched an alternative solution for Mercury customers who are worried about getting lost in the fallout of Mercury's acquisition by HP. Known as the "Mercury Customer Conversion Kit," the program offers qualifying customers up to 100% trade-in credit of their net Mercury application licenses when purchasing Empirix's e-TEST suite.
LiveTime Software announced immediate availability of LiveTime Help Desk 4.0 and LiveTime Support Desk 4.0. Both products now incorporate the same core technology platform that powers LiveTime's flagship ITIL product, LiveTime Service Manager.
Jacada announced that Embratel has selected Jacada to help unify its customer service desktop to reduce call times and improve the customer experience.
The top 1,000 U.S. companies liberated $72 billion of cash from working capital in 2005 by enhancing the way they collect bills from customers, pay suppliers, and manage inventory, according to results from the 9th Annual Working Capital Survey conducted by Hackett-REL, the Total Working Capital practice of The Hackett Group, an Answerthink company.
Witness announced that LogicaCMG is successfully using its workforce optimization (WFO) technology to help develop a next generation approach for its outsourced customer helpdesk service. Witness Systems' software enables LogicaCMG to predict the type and volume of calls, calculate the availability of resources, and ensure there is an accurate skills match across the skill sets identified for successful sales and service. As a result, LogicaCMG helpdesk analysts are now able to answer 90 percent of inbound calls within 10 seconds.
eGain announced that KMWorld has named eGain OnDemand as a recipient of the KMWorld "Trend-Setting Products of the Year" award for 2006.
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 Research Notes (more)
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Evaluating Maturing in Contact Centers: A Performance Management Research Study - Ventana Research undertook this research study to evaluate the maturity of contact centers worldwide, assessed by region, industry and size. We determined maturity by communications channels and services supported, how performance is measured and what technologies are deployed. In the analysis, we applied the Ventana Research Maturity Model, placing centers at one of four levels for increasing maturty: Tactical, Advanced, Strategic and Innovative.(Ventana Research)
|  | | Get a Starbucks Card loaded with $5 and qualify to win an iPod nano when you participate in a survey! - Performance Scorecards and Dashboards - A Ventana Research survey - Do scorecards, dashboards and performance alerts really bring about strategic alignment? Do they facilitate the best use of a company's resources and coordinate the efforts of every member of the organization? Ventana Research, our trusted research partner, is conducting a short survey on the topic of Performance Scorecards and Dashboards. Get a Starbucks Card loaded with $5 and qualify to win an iPod nano when you participate in our survey!(Ventana Research)
| | | Why Microsoft CRM Is the 3rd Choice - In this document, Microsoft CRM is given a comprehensive review including "Global Perspective" by CRM expert, Mr. Paul Greenberg, auther of "CRM at the Speed of Light" and Executive VP of CRM Association US.(GCCRM)
| | | Siebel + Oracle > SAP? - Oracle just announced to acquire Siebel. Technically speaking, this will make Oracle the number one CRM vendor in the world, even though the official legitimation has to wait until early 2006. There is however, another saying that SAP is catching up fast that she will likely replace Siebel as the CRM leader one day or the other. Would Siebel + Oracle > SAP in CRM in the coming years? We don't know yet. But it makes sense to have an individual review on each of them to see how they are doing so far and listen to what 443 survey respondents have talked about their image and product.(GCCRM)
| | | Why Oracle CRM Is Only the 4th Choice - An Independent Survey and Perspectives from Global / China Experts on Oracle(GCCRM)
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 White Papers (more)
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Empowring Faster Collections Through a Customer-Focused Open Receivables Management Environment - Let's face it: In today's environment, collection agencies or in-house accounts receivable organizations (primary credit issuers) can no longer remain satisfied with the status quo. Today's customers demand faster results, faster reporting, and better return on investment.(CR Software)
| | | The Proof is in the Call Center - Determining the ROI for contact center technologies can be a challenging task, particularly since it's so difficult to map direct correlations between a software implementation and intangible performance gains. In the paper, Richard Bucci, Associate Consultant, the Pelorus Group, interviews etalk customers to uncover tangible productivity gains specifically associated with the use of quality monitoring and recording products. (etalk)
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Fed up with IVR, firm answers all calls with humans - Scott Gaidano is fed up. He's fed up with Interactive Voice Response (IVR), automated answering systems and lengthy phone trees. In fact, he's been fed up for a while.()
| | | The Lack of Loyalty - When we talk about the customer experience, we aren't trying to replicate Disneyland -- though those folks have done a great job of understanding the customer to the point that they've turned CRM on its ear, preferring to call it "CMR," for the "customer managed experience."(CRMBuyer)
| | | Implemented the best CRM software? Now train the best workforce - As well as the typical barriers to successful CRM implementations, such as customisation or integration of new systems, IT directors need to address change in overall workforce behaviour, says Mike Cotton, Head of EMEA Alliances at OnDemand Software.(CRM2day)
| | | Banks Underestimating and Underutilizing Customer Account Statements - The long-touted "paperless society" is still a long way off when it comes to consumer banking statements. Financial institutions continue to spend millions of dollars annually on the printing and postage of periodic, paper-based account statements. Today less than 10% of deposit and 20% of loan accounts in the United States have been migrated to an electronic format.(CRM2day)
| | | Make marketing measurement count: Easier said than done - A very large company formed a task force to identify the value gained from the obscene amounts of money it spent on customer information, marketing analytics and reporting. No marketing representative was on the task force, even though marketing knew about the initiative and was consulted during deliberations. The person running the task force? An IT executive.(CMO Magazine)
| | | Google-UC Contract Unnerves Publishing Giants - The book-scanning contract between Google Inc. and the University of California has made the Association of American Publishers (AAP) even more distressed over Google's project to digitize millions of volumes from libraries.(ComputerWorld)
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 Case Studies (more)
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DoubleClick Increases Customer Satisfaction with Service Strategies - DoubleClick needed a way to quantify their stance as the industry leader with hard facts. DoubleClick's key vision is to differentiate from their competition through world class service. By adapting their organization to industry best practices they insure that they can leverage their unparalleled global support infrastructure to deliver customer driven, one-on-one service.(Service Strategies Corporation)
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October 17 - 19, 2006: Services Industry Summit - Successful Strategies for Service Innovation - Las Vegas, October 17 - 19, Paris Hotel. Learn how world-class organizations are improving their service operations. Presenting organizations include EMC, FileNet, Rockwell Automation, Sage Software, Sony Electronics, and others. Optional pre-conference workshops will also be held. Visit www.servicestrategies.com or call 858.674.4864. Register by 9/15 and receive a 10% discount!
| | | September 11th-13th, 2006: Gartner Customer Relationship Management Summit 2006 - Gartner Customer Relationship Management Summit 2006 - September 11-13 - Announcing the 7th Annual Gartner CRM Excellence Awards
| | | September 11th-13th, 2006: Annual Call Center Exhibition (ACCE) featuring the ICMI Knowledge Exchange - Annual Call Center Exhibition - The Global Gathering Place - Sept. 11-13, 2006 - Washington State Convention Center, Seattle, WA - $200 Early Bird savings through July 28, 2006 - For event details, or to register visit: http://www.ACCEicmi.com
| | | September 17-20: AFSM International's 2006 World Conference - AFSM International's World Conference brings together top-level corporate leaders in the technology services management industry. For over 30 years, this event has remained the largest gathering of technology services professionals from around the world. This is the only global event where you will find vast opportunities for learning, sharing and advancing your career as well as progressing your organization's ultimate goals and successes. For more information or to register, please visit www.afsmi.org or call 239 275-7887, ext 35.
| | | September 25th-27th, 2006: The 8th Annual Conference for Help Desk Professionals - Would you like to learn how to transform your Help Desk into a Service Desk, gain skills that will contribute to both your personal and professional development, and hear proven case studies that put theory in practice, AND do all this at a fabulous hotel on the Riverwalk in San Antonio? The 8th Annual Conference for Help Desk Professionals September 25-27 is where you can do all that and more. For more information, please visit our website at www.helpdeskconference.com or call us at 425-398-9292.
| | October 3rd-5th, 2006: Marketing Mobile Services - Targeting, marketing and delivering consistent customer experience to maximize AR
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| CRMAdvocate Stock Index |
| CRMSI | 50.57 |  | 0.55% |
| Dow Jones | 11,369.70 | | 0.11% |
| Nasdaq | 2,162.87 | | 0.52% |
| S&P 500 | 1,297.04 | | 0.16% |
| Top Gainers |
| ICT Group | 29.15 | | 0.89 |
| NICE | 25.02 | | 0.67 |
| salesforce.com | 33.5401 | | 0.53 |
| Top Losers |
| SPSS | 23.34 |  | -0.65 |
| Vignette | 13.78 | | -0.61 |
| Verint | 31.82 | | -0.43 |
| Complete Stock Index |
| As of close 09/07/06 | |
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