 OUR TAKE -
CRM's Wake Up Call
 |
| |
| |
| Lasting Impressions:
Television enables you to be entertained in your home by people you wouldn't have in your home.
-
David Frost
|
For years, many consultants have said that CRM is less about technology and more about process and people. However, the message doesn't always sink in as many organizations have built their CRM initiatives around new technology solutions. But where the consultants came up short of getting the attention of the audience, it may be the economic realities of 2009 are finally ringing in CRM's wake up call.
One consultant and CRM author wrote in: "This month I have gotten about as many inquiries about my survey workshop as I think I got in all of '08. Could listening to customers be an initiative in a down economy? We'd all preach that, but who would expect companies to actually practice it?"
As the pocketbook offers little options for investment in technology, now is the time to put more emphasis on the people and process side. Maybe that is the way it should have been all along.
That's my take. What's your take?
Gary Lemke, Publisher
|
|
|
| Stock Ticker |
| Salesforce | 30 |  | 3.36 |
| ClickSoftware | 2.35 | | 0.24 |
| RightNow | 6.64 | | 0.53 |
| NetSuite | 7.34 | | 0.3 |
| HP | 36.1 | | 1.44 |
| Chordiant | 2.85 | | 0.09 |
| Interactive | 6.6 | | 0.2 |
| eLoyalty | 3.1 | | 0.08 |
| SAP | 36.54 | | 0.94 |
| Amdocs | 17.48 | | 0.42 |
| SPSS | 26.63 | | 0.48 |
| Pegasystems | 14.23 | | 0.25 |
| Oracle | 17.05 | | 0.15 |
| ATG | 1.79 | | 0.01 |
| NICE | 18.41 | | 0.03 |
| Epicor | 3.55 | | 0 |
| Selectica | 0.69 | | 0 |
| ICT | 4.48 | | 0 |
| LivePerson | 2 | | 0 |
| Tekelc | 12.78 |  | -0.02 |
| SupportSoft | 1.95 | | -0.01 |
| Astea | 2.73 | | -0.02 |
| Teletech | 7.84 | | -0.08 |
| Vignette | 7.01 | | -0.08 |
| NCR | 12.14 | | -0.2 |
| Convergys | 7.68 | | -0.13 |
| Sykes | 16.41 | | -0.31 |
| CDC | 0.73 | | -0.02 |
| APAC | 1.43 | | -0.06 |
| Rainmaker | 0.91 | | -0.04 |
| Unica | 4.66 | | -0.23 |
|
As of 4:00 p.m. on 2/3/09 |
| |
 NEW IN CRM
Article: Make Your Customers Feel Special: Learn Their Names
Every business plan mentions superior customer service as one of its competitive advantages. Set superior customer service aside, and assume that as a given. To distinguish yourself from competitors, you, as a small owner, must go beyond the notion of good service. You must appeal to innate desire of people to feel special. (CRM Daily
)
Article: How the Recession Increases Customer-Centricity
Reading through dozens of thoughtful posts on CRM portals, there seemd to be one common assumption: That the recession will automatically result in less customer-centricity. The reasoning seems to go somewhere along the lines that as cash is scarce in the recession, companies will be forced to cut costs, customer service will suffer, the customer experience will get worse and thus, customer-centricity must suffer as a result too. That may be true in some circumstances but it doesn't have to be. (CustomerThink
)
Required Reading - Time for a Change |
Sales and Marketing Alignment
. . . Or Integration?
Does this sound familiar?
"Our outdated organization model of dividing sales and marketing prevent us from achieving our objectives. "
"Compartmentalized sales and marketing creates incompatible behaviors with the customer centricity and financial performance we seek.
If so, learn about a new prescription for success and a demand generation model as authored by Marianne S. Hewitt.
Made available by:
| |
News: ARX Selects Astea's Service Management Software
Astea announced that ARX, a provider of pharmacy automation in the UK, has selected Astea's Service Management and Mobile software solutions - Astea Alliance. ARX plans to use Astea Alliance to drive accurate warranty tracking, SLA compliance, engineer optimization and tighter inventory control. Astea Alliance will replace a host of point solutions at ARX. The key areas identified for driving efficiencies include consignment stocks, consolidated pre-ordering, reduced shipping costs, reduced billing cycle, and a reduction in travel and vehicle costs.(Astea
)
Article: Best Practices to Leverage CRM and Collaboration Tools
The investment of most companies in their sales teams is high. Most of us implement SFA, CRM and mobile applications to provide our sales force with the ability to operate as efficiently as possible. At the same time these tools provide us with as much visibility as possible into our sales forecast and allow us to plan ahead. However, for most companies the reality is quite different. Sales executives are not leveraging the technologies that we put in their hands and they are not using information that we provide them with to the fullest extent possible. As a result, sales cycles extend, opportunities are lost or not identified, forecasts are off, and planning is misaligned. (DestinationCRM
)
Didn't read the last edition of CRMAdvocate? Click
here to see what you missed.
| |
| | |
