Between the decision to implement an enterprise-wide software solution and it implementation and acceptance, lies perhaps the most treacherous ground in the corporate IT landscape… Research group after research group report that an extraordinarily high percentage of software projects either fail to meet their goals after completion, are delivered over-budget or late, or are simply [...]

By Sharla Sikes Today’s tough economy has made it more important than ever that businesses build close relationships with their customers. Some companies haven’t caught on yet, though. 

If we look at why CRM initiatives fail, we can get a sense of why success will require better planning. Perhaps you’ve read the myriad of articles that state the high failure rate of CRM projects. Typically, survey results say that anywhere from 60% to 80% of CRM projects fail. What exactly do these studies [...]

There can be many reasons why CRM initiatives fail but here we’re going to focus specifically on six of them pertaining to small businesses and startups. Brian Halligan has been implementing and using CRM systems for his whole career and has some good points. "Most small businesses I deal with have either tried and failed [...]

Bad workmen blame their tools and bad salespeople blame their CRM, according to research from Microsoft Business Solutions. The findings of a poll of 100 SME organisations with CRM implementations revealed that while 60% of sales directors insist that CRM is fundamental to their sales processes, a quarter have lost customers directly through their ineffective [...]

This week I went to a new bank to open a savings account. After telling the bank teller why I was there, I was told that someone would be with me shortly. As I took a seat, I noticed the tellers give each other a high-five and say, “That’s two new accounts already!” Boy, did [...]

Here’s what keeps CEOs awake at night: Their companies are spending billions on customer service , loyalty programs, new CRM initiatives, and technology tools. Yet customer satisfaction levels are decreasing, defection rates are increasing, and most CRM programs are forecast to fail. After decades of relentless effort in putting the customer first, it seems that [...]

CRM was supposed to bring companies closer to their clients. The basic idea was to; find out what a client wants and needs, give it to them, and get them to be your client for life.

For years enterprises have tried to combat customer service issues with technology. In some cases, the organizations do not have a central location to keep all of a customer’s data. The e-mail requests are stored in one location while records of phone conversations are located someplace else. When this happens the call center manager approaches [...]