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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
By my reckoning, we’re now in the third stage of the customer relationship management (CRM) evolutionary cycle: the agonizingly painful rebuilding phase following the second stage (the horrible crash). The second stage, in turn, was preceded by the first stage:…
This represents the third and final part of a three-part open letter to corporate executives who are struggling with the issue of making CRM successful in their organizations. In the previous Parts I and II of this column, I outlined…
This is the second of a three-part open letter to corporate executives who are struggling with making CRM successful in their organizations. In Part I of this installment, I outlined the qualifications of the three-point pledge and described in detail…
This is an open letter to all you corporate executives out there who are grappling with the hoary task of designing and implementing CRM in your organization. Despite all of what you’ve heard and read about in surveys, research reports,…
While nearly every business would claim that the information it gathers about its customers is a mission-critical, strategic asset, many don’t treat this “asset” accordingly. Most customer data is left lying around in different systems, and in various stages of…
