Targeted marketing communications used to be something of a pipe-dream for many businesses.  Database analysis could establish an all round view of each customer, but the processes of translating this intelligence into targeted, personalised communications was either unwieldy or unaffordable.  However, three things have come to pass over the last two years.  Personalised colour printing [...]

Consumers have become less loyal and much more demanding of the businesses they purchase goods or services from. But it’s not just quality and convenience they want; consumers are ever more interested in the experience provided by organisations and the customer service they are receiving. Information is expected to be readily accessible online and the [...]

CRM investment is wasted if the intelligence it delivers fails to influence dispatched communications. How can businesses ensure that money spent on CRM analytics actually begins to benefit the messages that are delivered to customers and prospects? While the importance of getting targeted communications out of the door has achieved mainstream awareness, there is still [...]

I was sent an interested email the other day from a company called Hire On-Demand which is a recruiting firm for Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) companies. It was a pretty good bit of information related to salesforce.com admins so I thought it was worth posting here. Given the current climate, many companies are focused [...]

If your company sells any sort of product, chances are you have a support team or call center to deal with customers. Some companies outsource to countries like India where labor can be hired for lower costs. Others keep their support team close by and within the same country. Regardless of the structure or location [...]

For those of you who are looking for a CRM product, you’re probably overwhelmed with the number of choices available today. There is a huge range of solutions and most people just don’t know where to start looking. You could pay thousands of dollars and get a top-notch inhouse solution or subscribe to an on-demand [...]

The Gartner CRM Summit 2008 will be held Sept. 8-10 at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center, Washington, D.C. Aimed at customer relationship management professionals, the summit will focus on technology’s effects on the customer experience value of marketing, sales and customer service, while increasing profits and customer satisfaction, and lowering operating expenses.

By Sharla Sikes The Net Promoter Score can be a handy tool for businesses to monitor and manage customer relationships. Developed by a team headed by Fred Reichheld, the NPS bases its results on the answer to a single question asked of consumers: “How likely are you to recommend this company to a colleague?” Reichheld [...]

By Sharla Sikes Customer relationship management is an always-evolving industry, and today’s surge of CRM software options is driving growth in staffing needs, too. In a tightening economy, customer relations have become ever more important—hence the increase of careers based around building, protecting and cultivating relationships with customers for businesses in nearly every sector.

Unfortunately, many companies are keen to start a CRM program, yet woefully underestimate the cost. With IT budgets being slashed in many companies, your business might not be able to implement CRM without very careful planning. By following the three steps below, you can save a tremendous amount of money on your new CRM program. [...]