Archive for B2C

Chaos Theory Invades CRM

Chaos Theory Invades CRM

If your sales reps are forced to spend some part of their day inputting information about their prospects into a CRM system, but without gaining any value from the process, they are going to resist, get demotivated, and wind up selling less. Too many vice presidents of sales ask me what the trick is for getting their salespeople to cooperate and use their CRM system. I ask them a simple question: “Do they understand precisely how using the CRM system will help them sell more?” The lack of a response is quite revealing.

Great article that exams how to bring value to a CRM system. Sure there is value from a management perspective, but how do you make it valuable to those who must use the system? That is a key part to the process. You would think that we would learn by now, the key stakeholders can’t be ignored or neglected.

14 November, 2006 | No comments

Can a day without DSL be too far off?

Can a day without DSL be too far off? | InfoWorld | Column | 2006-08-25 | By David L. Margulius

Speaking of DSL, did I mention that I hate companies that make you fight to do business with them? My one-year contract on DSL expired this month, and the company promptly jacked the rate from $19 to $34 a month (for the slowest and the only-available service they offer on my block — I think its 2,400 baud). I know you have to wait until your contract expires and call to negotiate, which I did, only to reach a literal-minded sales rep who said there was no way I could keep the $19 rate. Only after 10 minutes of huffing and puffing and insisting on talking to a supervisor was I put on hold and told, OK, $19.

I found this article entertaining for 2 reasons. 1) It highlights our dependence on technology and 2) It shows how companies can still provide horrible customer service if they do not think about the customer.

29 August, 2006 | No comments

You’ve Got Nerve: AOL Won’t Let Customers Go

destinationCRM.com: You’ve Got Nerve: AOL Won’t Let Customers Go

Trying to sell to a customer at the moment of cancellation is a notion that Arussy has always disputed. “At that point the customer has already given up on the company’s ability to deliver up to the value you’ve promised them.”

Customer Service? Is that an oxymoron? Seriously, I have gotten so much poor customer service that my habits are changings. Before I would complain about poor customer service, but now I compliment good customer service. It seems that poor customer service is the norm, so I just tired of complaining.  Besides it is more fun to compliment (people seem to like that better and it puts me in a better mood too

But to the technology side of this thing. CRM has the potential to enhance digital stakeholder relationships, to remove barriers between the customer and the organization. But if used improperly it can create yet another layer, another frustration for the customer. In many ways the use of the technology can be a paradox. By its very nature technology can be sterile, it can create a disconnect with the customer. But when used strategically it can do the opposite. It can create a closer relationship. Last night as I was watching an insurance company commercial I saw a great example of how this can be done. I think it was Progressive, they explained how a customer could start a quote online and then chat with a rep or pick up the phone with the rep. The rep could start right where the customer was and walk through the rest of the process. How cool is that! Most companies would make you start at ground zero. But this is leveraging technology to enhance custome relations.

Perhaps AOL could learn something from Progressive?

29 June, 2006 | No comments

To Charge Up Customers, Put Customers in Charge

To Charge Up Customers, Put Customers in Charge - New York Times

Over the last few years, though, Mr. Fluevog hasn’t just been presenting ideas about shoes and style to customers; he has also been soliciting ideas from them — encouraging brand enthusiasts to submit their own sketches for leather boots, high-heeled dress shoes, even sneakers with flair. He posts the submissions on his company’s Web site (fluevog.com/files_2/os-1.html), invites visitors to vote for their favorites and manufactures and sells the most promising designs. He calls it all “open source footwear.”

Great article in the NYT (registration required) that addresses how companies are not just meeting customers needs, but through digital technologies they are involving stakeholders in the process.

20 June, 2006 | No comments

Hybrid CRM deployments trickle in

Hybrid CRM deployments trickle in

“I’m surprised it’s taken this long for companies to deploy hybrid CRM,” said Liz Roche, managing partner with Stamford, Conn.-based Customers Inc. “I’ve always believed that hybrid deployment architectures were the only way to go. It’s taken the software vendors three to four years to figure out it’s not an entirely hosted or an entirely on-premise world. In fact, this is the promise of next-generation composite applications.”

Hybrid CRM, it has potential and offers the best of both worlds.

23 March, 2006 | No comments

Collaboration, CRM v.2 and the Truth about Chat - Weigh In

Collaboration, CRM v.2 and the Truth about Chat - Weigh In - weighin - CIO

While self-service models, new-age knowledge management and more flexible on-demand deployment models are driving this next wave of CRM, an increasingly important foundation is collaboration. From blogs and wikis to IM and user forums, collaboration applications are undergoing a bit of a renaissance, especially as a business tool. At the same time, there still are a sizable number of “old-school” collaboration tools like Lotus Notes in many large organizations.

Blogs, wiki, chat, and CRM, oh my! It is great to see all these technologies converge in support of customer-organization digital stakeholder relationships.

23 March, 2006 | No comments

CRM On Demand Is In Demand

CRM On Demand Is In Demand

It has take a few years for On-Demand CRM Solutions to find it’s place and acceptance in the marketplace. The improvement and reliability of the Internet, faster deployment, easier support, improvement in the functionality, and integration capabilities have fueled rapid growth. But, hold on, this is just the beginning!

I must agree with the authors summary. On demand CRM is still in the early stages, but if certain things happen it will be a winner. But with that said there is strength in the ASP model in general. Businesses are not in the business of running software. They are in the business of producing their product and service and anything that can help them focus on the core service in a cost effective manner is a winner.

22 March, 2006 | No comments

West Sussex gets big benefits from CRM

PublicTechnology.net

“Our Help Points currently sit at the core of our citizen information service, providing the personal touch as well as linking the council services”, explains Stephen Gray, West Sussex Accessible Services Partnership Organiser. “No-one in the county is further than 5 miles away from a Help Point. If you work in Crawley and live in Shoreham you can report issues local to work or home and be sure that they will be dealt with.”

Not was we normally think about when we talk CRM, but Citizen Relationship Management is basically the same thing. What is great about this case study is it shows how using the technology properly can not only fix the problems with managing customer, but can actually improve the relationship. That is what CRM is all about.

17 March, 2006 | No comments

Get Your CRM to Work the Way You Do, Not The Other Way Around

CRM Today: Get Your CRM to Work the Way You Do, Not The Other Way Around

In his book, CRM at the Speed of Light, Paul Greenberg faces the question, how do you avoid lagging and ultimately the loss of customers when they are moving lightning fast, demanding constant changes in the speed required to complete their transactions? The answer, Customer Relationship Management (CRM). Most businesses and business owners are familiar with the potential functionality of this solution-the challenge is getting your team to use it.

Some good points on how to make CRM work for you. IMHO CRM is not a fad, but it is here to stay. Companies that utilize the technology effectively will do well. Others who just mess with it or do it to be like everyone else will find themselves out of business.

16 March, 2006 | No comments

The Changing Face of Customer Relationship Management

Intelligent Enterprise Magazine: The Changing Face of Customer Relationship Management

Customer relationship management (CRM) has been a topic of conversation dating back to early discussions about why and how companies should become customer-centric. Preaching that in a highly competitive market “the customer is king,” analysts and consultants called on companies to realign both their organizations and their processes from being internally focused to being focused on the customer. Furthermore, they said, companies should establish better relationships with their customers by building better profiles of them, getting a clearer picture of the business each customer transacts and a better understanding of how customer and company interact. The result would be a more proactive approach and more personal interactions.

While this article probably does not present anything new to the readers of DS, it does provide a nice summary of what CRM is, why it is important, and where is it heading. In my opinon a good CRM strategy is necessary for all organizations. Companies that just concentrate on the initial sale will soon lose out to those that see sale as simply a part of a broader relationship. Numerous studies have shown that it is much more cost effective to maintain relationship as opposed to starting new ones. So in today’s competitive environment where every penny counts, it just makes “cents” to leverage relationships.

14 March, 2006 | No comments

destinationCRM.com: A New Platform Could Power Up Corporate Blogging

destinationCRM.com: A New Platform Could Power Up Corporate Blogging

Analysts agree that tying this type of information into other systems can be the next phase of customer relationship success. “In the old days, you’d have a conversation at tradeshows and shoot the breeze. A blog automates that,” says Guy Creese, managing principal at Ballardvale Research. “People have conversations with the loyal customers, but a lot of times these conversations don’t filter back within the company. It’s hard to get feedback from frontline employees; you have all these impediments. Blogging lets you get comments. It’s an ongoing customer satisfaction plan.”

Blog tools being built into CRM systems? Now that is a huge step forward and will help blogs reach deeper into organizations.

31 January, 2006 | No comments

Ebay Adds Immediacy to Shoppers’ Carts

destinationCRM.com: Ebay Adds Immediacy to Shoppers’ Carts

Ebay is supplementing its auction approach to e-commerce with its plan to introduce a specialty site that allows customers to make purchases instantly at fixed prices. The site, Ebay Express, will feature an online shopping cart that will let visitors select items and pay for them all at once, paralleling the Internet shopping experience of online retailers like Amazon.com. Payments will be accepted via credit card and PayPal. It is scheduled to launch in spring 2006.

this would indeed be a great addition and would further solidify their place in the e-commerce arena.

30 January, 2006 | No comments

Customer Reference Management and the Self-Service Imperative

destinationCRM.com: Customer Reference Management and the Self-Service Imperative

Since the mid-1990s the trend toward self-service has accelerated at a dizzying pace. In some cases it’s been merely a cost savings measure with more attention being paid to the self (read: not our people) than service. That began to change in the late ’90s as more self-service moved online. The trend has been to improve service by improving access to real-time data, extending the range of online capabilities, and giving customers 24×7 access points to their bank accounts, health insurance records, and of course retailers. Web self-service has become a way of life, personal and business. Click here to learn more!

A good article with some excellent insights on what some call “self service” and others would call do it yourself. Many compaies have take the self service approach in an attempt to reduce costs, but have forgotten about the service component.

16 November, 2005 | No comments

The New IT Professional

destinationCRM.com: The New IT Professional

Versatility, initiative, and business knowledge are essential for success; professionals will need to focus on business processes and relationships, as well as technology.

Have they bugged my office? I regularly have conversations with colleagues about this topic and it seems the author of this article agrees with me…or do I agree with the author? Anyway, the basic idea is technology is cool, but technology in business has to help the business. This the term digital stakeholder. We all have a vested interest in the technology use of our organizations.

16 November, 2005 | No comments

Web Firms Offer a Stage for Business of Self-Expression

Web Firms Offer a Stage for Business of Self-Expression - Los Angeles Times

Last year she found CafePress.com, a service that turns people’s ideas into merchandise. She designs the T-shirts, and the Web company does almost everything else in exchange for a cut of the proceeds. The El Camino College student has already netted nearly $18,000 this year, selling clothes that generally feature 1950s-style images of women with ironic slogans, such as “Men, Coffee & Chocolate: All Better Rich.”

CafePress is an excellent niche player that leverages digital stakeholder relations. It is often difficult to drive potential customers to a vendors website, but a marketplace like CafePress or eBay is a whole different story.

14 October, 2005 | No comments

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