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Arthur O'Connor

The Rise and Fall of CRM, Part 1

The CRM fad is now officially dead. May it rest in peace. Contrary to the writings of some industry pundits, the demise of CRM is not greatly exaggerated. It’s real. The party’s over. The fat lady sang. It’s DOA. Companies…

Curing Corporate Schizophrenia, Part 1

Many corporations exhibit bizarre behavioral extremes when dealing with consumers. Some businesses spend a fortune striving to engage, attract, and sell prospects — only to take extreme measures to avoid interacting with these same people after they become customers. In…

Revenge of the Bean Counters

These are strange times indeed. Much to my surprise, I now find myself on another team entirely in the classic creative (marketing) versus bean counter (accounting) versus nerd (technology) versus suit (executive) political landscape. I should start with a confession:…

Knowledge: The Key to ROI

In my last two articles, I discussed the “Myth of ROI.” In this installment, I’ll disclose the key for achieving return on investment (ROI) in customer relationship management (CRM). I have suggested that the success of a CRM initiative is…

The Myth of ROI, Part 2

In the first part of “The Myth of ROI,” I discussed the truth behind the customer relationship management (CRM) package myth: Installing a CRM software package doesn’t generate ROI. Successful business practices do — specifically, those that use software in…

The Myth of ROI, Part 1

One of the greatest misconceptions about CRM software packages is the popular belief and expectation that, by installing them, purchasers will experience a sufficient increase in profit. This increase is typically expressed as a percent of the investment required over…

The Three Most Valuable Lessons Learned, Part 3

Based on prevailing practices in Corporate America, one would think the key to effective management in an unstable and unpredictable global economy is for executives to pound fists on tables, scream at subordinates, and issue terse, threatening memos about increased…

The Three Most Valuable Lessons Learned, Part 2

In the first article of this three-part installment, we looked at the most valuable lesson learned to date from customer relationship management (CRM) implementations. That is, implementing new technology without changing underlying processes, incentives, skills sets, and reporting structure constitutes…