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Top Articles
The Power of Traditional Marketing Channels
[2012-01-23] While new marketing channels are probably here to stay, don't disregard the power of traditional marketing channels. Direct mail with targeted GIS marketing, trade shows, newspaper advertising, radio and television, Email and telesales won't be out of the picture soon, if ever.
Social CRM Needs Clarity
[2012-01-03] As the headline implies, even though Social CRM exists as an official category, what it is and what it is not is blurry and hotly debated. No, it doesn't need a new definition. And, no, it doesn't need new leadership. sCRM, and now "social enterprise" as categories could however, benefit from clarity around what it is they're solving for, which companies actually provide solutions against those objectives, and ultimately, how everything works together for the benefit of customer engagement and relationships.
New Thought Leadership Is Needed For Social CRM
[2011-12-12] For the last year, I have tried to engage with the small circle of social CRM influencers. I have followed many of them on Twitter; retweeted their good content, linked to them from my blog posts and tried to engage with them on a variety of different levels. Not to debate but to learn. I am trying to figure out what it is they know that I don't know. Is there some secret formula to social CRM that's hidden in their brains that they only share with each other, like the Illuminati?
How to Make Customer Service Matter Again
[2011-11-29] Part 13 in a series introducing my new book, The End of Business as Usual…this series serves as the book's prequel.
CMO's are at the Crossroads of Customer Transactions and Engagement
[2011-10-31] Digital Darwinism is the evolution of consumer behavior when society and technology evolve faster than the ability to adapt. At the intersection of relevance and obsolescence is the ability to recognize opportunities for change based on shifting consumer behavior and the subtle coalescence between emerging and disruptive technology. Businesses must realize that change is taking place today with or without them. And, to what extent varies from company to company. But without an understanding of how technology and society are evolving and how decisions are influenced and made, businesses are either left to make decisions in the dark or change simply for the sake of change. We all know how difficult, if not nearly impossible, it is to change. We also realize that once we do begin the inevitable process of transformation, the distance between where we are and where we need to be is not expeditious in any sense. In the era of digital Darwinism, the journey toward evolution and revolution is in fact, the destination. It is perpetual.
BroadVision’s Clearvale Offers Integrated Enterprise Social Networking Platform
[2011-10-17] Many organizations are implementing both external facing social networking programs, as well as enterprise social networking tools. However, these are often different programs using different tools that are not integrated. BroadVision has introduced Clearvale to address this issue. I recently spoke with Richard Hughes of BroadVision to better understand their Clearvale offering.
Social Media's Impending Flood of Customer Unlikes and Unfollows
[2011-10-04] There's an old saying that carries renewed meaning these days: Give the people what they want. Brands are furiously creating profiles in social networks such as Facebook and Twitter in the hopes of building engaging communities with customers and giving people what the brands think they want. The main activity in this effort is to spur consumers to "like" and "follow" a brand's Facebook and Twitter streams. But are these companies developing effective campaigns to build engagement and give the people what they want? From where I sit, I'd say many are not. If businesses are unable to change course, a very real - and likely very painful - lesson lies ahead. Once-willing consumers will soon become reluctant to connect with brands or will completely sever social ties to brands once they deem the connection fruitless.
Using Gmail as a Simple CRM Tool
[2011-09-06] CRM systems are great and powerful marketing workhorses capable of funneling leads into campaigns, automating nurturing routines, tracking conversion metrics and interfacing with ordering and accounting systems to create a complete sales machine, but sometimes you just need to keep track of who you contacted and when.
A Customer As an Expression of Your Commitment
[2011-08-15] Most businesses are started with the customer in mind and eventually, often through toil and trouble, get around to figuring out how to serve the needs of the owner. I get that; there is no business without a customer.
The Power of Dynamics CRM and Bing Maps
[2011-07-28] Mapping is changing the game in CRM. In fact, it is putting companies ahead of the game.
Qontext.com Brings Greater Context to Enterprise Collaboration
[2011-07-07] When Gartner named Qontext a cool vender in the context-aware computing space they wrote, "one of the holy grails in the collaboration market is the ability to embed collaboration services directly into business processes." This allows you to "build the collaboration service directly into the business process and make historical collaboration content accessible from the application." I could not agree more. I have long been a proponent of this approach going back to building process-aligned knowledge management systems beginning in the early 90s. Now Qontext has taken the approach a step further with its pinning concept. I recently spoke with Samir Ghosh, Qontext, VP, Business Development & Strategy, about their capabilities.
Oracle Integrates On Demand Marketing with On Demand CRM
[2011-06-06] Summary: Oracle has integrated marketing automation with its on-demand CRM product. Will competitors do the same?
Excellent Customer Service Drives Business Growth
[2011-05-23] A recent article posted on Think Customers: The 1to1 Blog, titled Good Service is Good Business, by Ginger Conlon, begins with the statement, "Customers are willing to spend more with businesses that deliver quality customer service."
Questions to Ask When Developing a Social CRM Strategy
[2011-05-09] Social CRM means different things to different people. If you ask three people to explain social CRM chances are that you'll get four different responses. The thing to remember is that all of this "social" stuff is about solving customer facing problems that address people's change in behavior, expectations, technological fluency, and communication methods. These problems are solved with strategies that include BOTH new technologies (such as Facebook, Jive, Lithium, Twitter) AND older technologies (such as CRM systems).
What Is Important To Your Customers?
[2011-04-26] Imagine this scenario: Company XYZ has developed a great business creating products and services, developing marketing programs that explain the features and benefits of those offerings and making sales. The mix of SEO, advertising and newsletter is focused on explaining the solutions offered with the intention of educating and persuading prospects to buy. This is the way it's been done in the past and it's what current marketing programs are based on. Pretty common right?
New Trends in Social CRM – Free eBook
[2011-04-11] The global rise of social media usage has presented a huge opportunity for companies that want to acquire new customers and retain existing ones. With the amplified voice and influence of the social customer, it's much easier today for companies to identify these prospects and customers and determine their needs and concerns.
Smarter Customers Require Smarter Business Practices
[2011-03-29] Your customers are getting smarter and more connected. They no longer want to do business in the traditional way - they want to interact with you on their own terms and in their own time. They connect through many devices and social media avenues and they expect you to be there and be responsive. They want you to be open to having a conversation with them. They expect you to be getting smarter too.
Measurement and Metrics or People and Relationships?
[2011-03-14] I was on a panel discussion at the Sales 2.0 conference last week and one of the questions the moderator asked was around dashboards, in other words, if you could create your metrics and dashboards for social engagement; what would you track and why? It's really tough to answer this type of a question because on one hand every organization is going to care about different things and on the other hand a part of me wanted to say, "who cares?"
The Increasing Importance of CRM for the Financial Services Industry
[2011-03-04] How important is CRM becoming for the Financial Services Industry? What are industry analysts saying about CRM and the benefits for the financial services industry? To get a better understanding, read the following excerpts from SearchCRM.com then review the linked articles.
ISM Presents 2011 Top 15 CRM Software Awards
[2011-02-16] It may be time again for enterprise CRM experts to start taking notes, or, depending on the situation, sending out resumes. ISM, whose clients include ExxonMobil, Giorgio Armani, IBM, Kraft, Nike, Pepsi, Samsung, T. Rowe Price, and the U.S. Department of Defense, has presented its 2011 Top 15 CRM Software Awards.
Can Vertical CRM Be The Solution For Your Enterprise?
[2011-01-31] Whenever I'm coaching a business through the process of selecting a CRM solution, one of the things that I always have my clients consider is whether or not they should evaluate vertical CRM solutions; solutions that have been designed specifically for their industry or organization type.
Microsoft Has A CRM Offering Worth Looking At
[2011-01-18] I'm not saying Oracle or Salesforce.com should be completely worried just yet, but they should be keeping an eye on Microsoft's cloud-based CRM service - Microsoft Dynamics. An event was held in Redmond, WA which saw the unveiling of Microsoft's new CRM solution. Microsoft Dynamics will be available in 40 markets, in 41 languages, with a price point of $34 per user per month.
Continuing Your Social CRM Through Holidays
[2010-12-28] A dog is for life not just for Christmas - and so is a Facebook Page. Well perhaps not so much "for life" but let me explain. It's been notable that over Christmas there have been a lot of Facebook Pages for brands and businesses that have been all to happy to host competitions and sweepstakes to attract more fans to their Page.
Making Current Client Relationships A Top Priority
[2010-12-13] Here is some great advice from Paul Bowkett, CRM Business Manager with Microsoft New Zealand, Five Tips for Building Stronger Customer Relationships. Be sure to check out the complete source article for more:
Holding Out On Social CRM Until Your Current CRM Works Correctly
[2010-11-29] If you are currently using a CRM system (hereafter known as CRM1.0), you've most likely heard about Social CRM, which is often being billed by many CRM services providers as something akin to a CRM 2.0.
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