OUR TAKE -  Thank You Service Economy     Lasting Impressions: There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle. - Albert Einstein When the story broke about Steven Slater and his famous thanks for the ride exit from the Jet Blue airplane last week, it seemed easy to recognize the popularity of the story for his dramatic version of "take this job and . . . " (you know the rest). My initial focus on the story was more about whether or not your service system brings out the best in your customers.   I recognized the story was hot and would soon be cold. But something kept gnawing at me. There was something bigger at work but I couldn't put my finger on it. Leave it to my favorite Wall Street writer Peggy Noonan to shed more light on the subject in her weekly column. She tackles the big of the big stories so her attention to this one told me this was more than a simple story.   She explains why this is a cultural story. A story of the service economy where we are forced to interact and everyone is getting on everyone's nerves. She asserts that "we pay them to be rude to us" is the anthem of the service economy.   Her summary: "In a service economy in the age of no manners, everyone gets on everyone's nerves. Everyone wishes they could take the chute. Everyone understands someone who did." That's her take. Do you agree? What's your take?   Gary Lemke, Publisher          Action Center         Free Subscription         Submit Content         Industry Events         Webcasts         Archive     Cool CRM                     NEW IN CRM   News:    IBM to Acquire Unica Corporation Unica has entered into a definitive agreement for IBM to acquire Unica in a cash transaction at a price of $21 per share, or at a net price of approximately $480 million, after adjusting for cash. A publicly held company in Waltham, Mass., Unica will expand IBM's ability to help organizations analyze and predict customer preferences and develop more targeted marketing campaigns. Unica has more than 1,500 global customers across a wide range of industries including financial services, insurance, retail telecommunications, travel and hospitality. Customers include Best Buy, eBay, ING, Monster, Starwood and US Cellular. (Unica )   Article:    8 Tips For Negotiating The Best Contract With A “Cloud” Vendor As a consequence of the ever-rising popularity of CRM solutions deployed through the software-as-service model (SaaS), more people are asking about pricing and contracting with vendors like Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, NetSuite, RightNow Technologies, and salesforce.com. Obviously getting a good price is important, but there are additional considerations to keep in mind. Here are some guidelines to help you to negotiate a sound agreement.(CustomerThink )   News:    Parature Releases Customer Service App on Facebook Parature announced the general availability of Parature for Facebook, a customer service application that enables direct customer engagement through Facebook. The Parature for Facebook application, delivered on-demand through Parature’s software-as-a-service model, helps companies, educational institutions and government associations directly engage with their Facebook fans to resolve service issues, answer pre-sales questions and conduct one-to-one customer interactions, all within Facebook and accessible through an easily installed Support Tab on a Facebook page. Several new and existing Parature customers have signed on as users of Parature for Facebook, but language learning software giant Rosetta Stone Inc. (NYSE: RST) became the first company to unveil support and service through Facebook to its more than 6,000 fans.(Parature )   Article:    The Guide To Social Media Etiquette For Businesses With the advent of consumer websites, watchdog organisations and the ongoing proliferation of new social media using more and more mobile and connected technology, customers are beginning to recognize that they wield more power over brands and organizations than ever before. They increasingly have the power to make their voice heard; they can make waves and, most importantly, they can play their part in making or breaking a brand through word of mouth. If companies don't take control or engage with their audiences to discuss how their brand is perceived and talked about, the conversations will continue to go on without them and they will be powerless to try and change opinion or resolve customer service issues. Entering the dialogue may not let brands control people's feelings (nor should it), but it does mean they can respond quickly and with credibility to any issues or queries.(MyCustomer )   Didn't read the last edition of CRMAdvocate? Click here to see what you missed.

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