 OUR TAKE -
Hungrier and Better
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| Lasting Impressions:
Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small jobs.
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Henry Ford
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When I wrote about new hungrier standards, I predicted we would see a rise in customer satisfaction indexes because organizations are more keen than ever to keep the customers still buying. Some readers don't feel my optimism as staff gets slashed thus the resources available to help customers. One reader wrote:
"Although I agree with your position conceptually about companies being hungrier, I think the current economic headwinds in attaining corporate financial goals will cause a downward adjustment in available manpower that will not allow companies to climb further up the customer satisfaction scale. In fact, you may see the reverse effect if companies continue to reduce their workforce."
Indeed, there are multiple opposing forces at work. And, only time will tell what the net effect of those forces might be. And, of course, the net effect will be different for different organizations. There will be winners. There will be losers. But this "glass-is-half-full" guy believes that even with reduced staff, the remaining staff will have a higher average ability to satisfy the customer. And with more job cuts looming, they will have more incentive than ever to make the customer experience the best ever.
That's my take. What's your take?
Gary Lemke, Publisher
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| Stock Ticker |
| Epicor | 2.8 |  | 0.44 |
| ICT | 5.09 | | 0.75 |
| Teletech | 9.46 | | 1.35 |
| Unica | 4.63 | | 0.63 |
| Selectica | 0.42 | | 0.04 |
| Rainmaker | 0.7 | | 0.05 |
| Convergys | 6.72 | | 0.44 |
| eLoyalty | 4.5 | | 0.26 |
| Salesforce | 27.47 | | 1.47 |
| CDC | 0.83 | | 0.04 |
| Sykes | 15.59 | | 0.7 |
| Tekelc | 12.55 | | 0.55 |
| SupportSoft | 1.95 | | 0.08 |
| SAP | 34.26 | | 1.36 |
| NICE | 20.25 | | 0.72 |
| Oracle | 16.44 | | 0.58 |
| NetSuite | 8.52 | | 0.3 |
| ATG | 2.32 | | 0.06 |
| NCR | 8.67 | | 0.22 |
| Amdocs | 17.25 | | 0.39 |
| ClickSoftware | 2.9 | | 0.05 |
| Pegasystems | 15.17 | | 0.2 |
| Chordiant | 2.31 | | 0.03 |
| HP | 29.62 | | 0.34 |
| LivePerson | 2.02 | | 0.01 |
| Astea | 2.16 | | 0 |
| Vignette | 6.76 |  | -0.01 |
| SPSS | 25.7 | | -0.11 |
| RightNow | 7.72 | | -0.06 |
| Interactive | 9.43 | | -0.11 |
| APAC | 1.84 | | -0.11 |
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As of 3:58 p.m. on 2/24/09 |
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 NEW IN CRM
News: New Product Registration Capabilities in RightNow February '09
RightNow Technologies released the latest version of its on demand customer relationship management (CRM) solution, RightNow February ’09, which includes new product registration capabilities. A decade ago, manufacturers had little interaction with the end consumer, instead relying on experts at a local store who could tell consumers everything they needed to know about any product on the shelf. Now customers have a direct line to the name on the label, and they expect the manufacturer to be ready to provide information whenever they want it. With the product registration capabilities in February ’09, companies can empower gain a better understanding of customers and their buying behavior, build a personalized relationship with customers, and gather critical feedback to fuel future product development.(RightNow
)
News: Surado Announces Release of On-Demand CRM Solution
Surado Solutions announced the release of Surado CRM Online Professional Edition, an on-demand / hosted CRM solution. Combining the core Surado CRM suite including Contact & Account Management, Sales & Opportunity Management, Marketing and Customer Service, Surado CRM Online offers businesses looking to move beyond simple, single user and workgroup solutions. (Surado
)
News: Tech Support Salary Survey Shows "Selective Gains" In Pay
Despite recessionary pressures, salaries for senior tech support staff and managers rose modestly during 2008, according to the latest annual salary survey conducted by the Association of Support Professionals (ASP). But the gains were largely limited to senior support employees and managers, the report noted. Entry- level tech support and customer service reps saw no overall gain in pay during the year. (ASP
)
Article: Forget About "Lead Cost"…The Right Way to Figure Lead-Gen ROI
What's wrong with using "lead cost" as a B2B, lead-generation campaign measure? Oh let's count the ways: 1) activity after a "lead" is generated overwhelms "lead cost" in contributing to ROI; 2) "lead cost" doesn't affect campaign ROI sufficiently to serve as a KPI (key performance indicator); 3) fixation with "lead cost" enables laissez faire attitudes towards what really matters; and 4) "leads," as marketing and sales commonly use the term, are really inquiries, unqualified inquiries, and shouldn't be called "leads" prior to successful qualification. (CustomerThink
)
Article: That’s (Not) Entertainment
You know times are tough when Playboy cuts its entertainment and travel budget. The mid-October announcement of budget restructuring involved other penny-pinching measures, including spinning down its porn-to-DVD business branch. As recently as August, people were claiming the entertainment industry might be recession-proof, or at least resistant to the economic downturn. Television sales were still high, box-office numbers were still soaring, and publications had yet to experience the lay-off massacres now gracing headlines.(DestinationCRM
)
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