Chicago-based SPSS Inc. has released the newest version of its data mining software — Clementine 6.5, which includes a new Clementine Application Template (CAT) that was specifically developed for CRM. “Organizations are now coming to realize what many market analysts…
Research released by advisory and analysis firm Gartner, Inc. indicates that companies who aim to be successful in CRM must adopt an image of what a customer-centric enterprise looks and feels like. The report, “Creating a CRM Vision,” outlines the…
Seagram Spirits And Wine Group will power its recently launched Tequila Don Julio with an opt-in sweepstakes promotion from CentrPort, Inc., designed to serve as an interactive direct marketing vehicle that delivers targeted banner advertisements, e-mail messages and encourages Web…
“Your call is very important to us. Please hold on.” If you hope to never hear that phrase uttered again, chances are your customers feel the same. Such is the premise for noHold Instant Support — a Web-based customer service…
Standard customer relationship management takes an animated leap with interactive characters from Headpedal. The software development company delivers a product line of “agents” — quick deploying self-contained character interface solutions for Web-based customer service applications. The virtual agents are designed…
Market analysis firm Aberdeen Group reviews some of the advances in CRM software and methods, and outlines the evolution of business solutions in the report “What’s Next in CRM: The Learning Relationship.” The report represents more than eight years of…
E.piphany, Inc. rang up a couple of major customers for its call center and customer relationship management solutions — both Harley-Davidson and Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse Corporation will take advantage of E.piphany’s flexible, open architecture solutions to enable improved support…
Salesforce.com added another win to its growing client list. Most recently, USA Today and Dow Jones Newswires have implemented salesforce.com CRM solutions and according to investment firm Morgan Stanley, more companies have chosen salesforce.com than any other vendor over the…
Getting customers involved through interactive elements is an effective method for cultivating relationships while also garnering critical feedback from your visitors. Surveys, questionnaires, and polls can reveal a lot about your visitors and offer insight on how your site can…
Boston-based research firm Aberdeen Group has released a new report, “Worldwide CRM Spending Forecast and Analysis 2001-2005,” that reveals resumed growth for the CRM market, despite current economic conditions. The report outlines the expected spending for critical CRM market segments,…
Professional services firm Braun Consulting, a company that provides its clients with the strategy and technology to deploy customer-centric solutions, has released a report that looks at the future of customer relationship management. “Top CRM Trends for 2002” outlines what…
Increasing emphasis on customer relationship management (CRM) issues necessitates that all e-commerce sites have effective methods for customer satisfaction. Toll-free numbers and quick response e-mail are effective for the shoppers that have a few extra minutes to wait for information…
A new report from e-business solutions provider, Unisys Corporation, entitled “Getting Started with CRM” provides an overview of some of the key strategies and principles that can help an organization implement a customer relationship initiative. According to Richard A. Fredrickson,…
Bill the virtual Brewmaster will be tending the pages at Miller Brewing Company’s Web site, providing online customer service and answers to visitors’ questions. The beer company has implemented vRepsTM from NativeMinds — automated online personalities that interact with customers…
In what is becoming a trend among local agencies, Metropolitan Nashville Government and Davidson County (Metro Nashville) will implement a comprehensive CRM solution for its residents. Most recently, the City of Chicago deployed BroadVision self-service applications and New Hampshire Department…
One of the great things about the Internet is the ability it gives individuals to be truly creative and innovative. However, when it comes to site usability, it is better to stick with what’s familiar. First time site visitors should…
Big businesses are not alone in their quests for effective customer relationship management techniques. New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) utilizes solutions from Seneca Corporation to improve its customer service satisfaction rating from 4.85 to 4.97 on…
PwC ConsultingTM, a division of financial services organization PricewaterhouseCoopers,has released CRM ACCEL — a complete CRM program designed to help companies reduce the cost of serving customers while increasing revenue. “With economic conditions tighter than they’ve been in decades and…
Customer 360° Conference & Expo Fall 2001, formerly CRM/Support Services, is scheduled for November 12-15, 2001 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Presented by Key3Media Group, Inc., in partnership with META Group, Customer 360° was developed to deliver essential strategic information and…
Online shopping is a world away from the comfort of an old fashioned Mom-and-Pop store where a kindly suggestion from the owner was enough to prompt a sale. While e-business technology tries very hard to replicate the personal assistance that…
Siebel Systems, Inc. has introduced its newest offering — Siebel 7 — a fully integrated suite of applications for customer relationship management (CRM), partner relationship management (PRM) and employee relationship management (ERM). Siebel 7 extends the reach and functionality of…
Customer service representatives, who are often on the receiving end of consumer dissatisfaction, now get the respect they deserve. The first week of October signifies National Customer Service Week — a time devoted to recognizing the importance of customer service…
Customer relationship management (CRM or eCRM) has become critical to e-commerce and companies that are successful at implementing these strategies are likely to achieve profitable results. However, with so much emphasis on customer retention, what often gets overlooked is that…
Forbes.com, the online component to the business magazine, will power its sales force automation (SFA) with PurpleCRM from Purple Solutions, Inc. PurpleCRM capitalizes on the intuitive interface of Outlook, using its contact forms to capture information that includes customer communication,…
To meet the round-the-clock demands of the Internet, e-commerce sites have to make extra efforts to provide customer support. Unless you can afford a 24/7 staffed call center, you’ll have to make preparations for middle of the night shoppers and…
With all the thousands of details swirling around an e-commerce site, there are bound to be mistakes — sometimes at the customers’ expense. When your e-business inadvertently makes an error that affects customers, don’t expect a canned e-mail to suffice.…
You know that excitement you get when the big box with your latest online purchase arrives? You’ve tracked the package repeatedly, willing it closer and closer to your home and now it’s finally here. With great enthusiasm, you open the…
Music, DVD and video direct marketer, The Columbia House Company, has chosen CoremetricsTM, Inc. to provide customized analysis of online customer behavior. With Columbia House’s heavy reliance on targeted marketing, the data-driven business intelligence solutions from Coremetrics will allow for…
According to a white paper titled, “The Insider’s Guide to Customer Service on the Web: Eight Secrets for Successful e-Service,” companies that don’t develop effective customer relationship management (CRM) strategies can wind up spending up to 20 times more per…
Got too many visitors? Profits climbing? Becoming too successful? Have way too much money? If so, here are some techniques for driving away business: Promote the site to entice visitors, only to have them find “Under Construction” signs plastered on…
The goal of successful technology implementation is to systemize as much as possible while maintaining the flexibility of personalized human interaction. Often, it is the coupling of automation and humanization that brings about the most customer satisfaction. However, that is…
The manner in which your e-tail site addresses and resolves customer complaints could determine whether they come back or not. If the customer has a history of pleasant experiences at your e-commerce site, they might be willing to overlook little…
At least according to FORTUNE magazine. The magazine has compiled a list of “Cool Companies of 2001” and two organizations that provide customer relationship management (CRM) solutions have wound up among the top 25 — Comergent and Salesforce.com. The honorees…
Voice over the Internet, live chat, Net phone, Web meetings, etc. These and other new forms of communication technology often cause us to overlook a little invention that we’ve been using for more than one hundred years – the telephone.…
Digital marketing provider ResponseLogic, Inc. will offer version 2.0 of its ADAPTe solution to mid-sized businesses for $25,000. ADAPTe, a campaign management solution, is regularly priced from $5,000 to $10,000 per month, depending on the platform and the amount of…
Professional services giant PricewaterhouseCoopers and customer management solutions provider ATG (Art Technology Group, Inc.) announced their collaboration on a global alliance. Focused on providing Global 2000 companies with customer relationship management (CRM) solutions, the alliance hopes to enable businesses to…
Research and advisory firm Best Practices, LLC is offering free white papers from its CRM research for prospective sponsors of the company’s upcoming consortium study, “Customer Relationship Management (CRM): Building the Customer-Centric Organization.” The study was initiated at the request…
The Web has spawned dozens of rewards and incentives programs that e-commerce merchants can use to inspire loyalty among online shoppers. In some cases, the rewards program acts like a portal and customers can accumulate points for patronizing any of…
California State University, Fullerton is incorporating electronic customer relationship management (eCRM) into the University Extended Education (UEE) curriculum for the Fall 2001 semester. The new 66-hour eCRM Certificate Program will run from September 2001 through March 2002 as a continuing…
When I shop online for something specific, I have a general idea of what I consider to be an acceptable price and expected delivery time. I certainly can be flexible if there is a good enough reason – for example,…
Forget the data mining, number crunching, high technology tools for a moment and personally thank some of your valued customers. With simple expressions of appreciation, you can convert a one-time customer to a long-term loyal shopper. Post a sign in…
The 2nd Annual Customer Relationship Management Solutions Conference and Exposition, held May 1-3 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York featured some of the key CRM players, but not many others. Aspect, Kana and PeopleSoft had the…
The San Francisco Giants will be utilizing the customized e-mail marketing and relationship management solutions of TouchScape Corp. in an effort to increase loyalty and sales among their fans and customer base. TouchScape’s affordable Web-hosted solutions are quickly implemented and…
Customer-focused solutions provider Broadbase Software, Inc. will be mapping the way for the visitors of randmcnally.com, the online component of Rand McNally & Company. By implementing Broadbase’s customer interaction technology, randmcnally.com hopes to identify complex data about traffic and the…
Vignette Corp. and E! Online secure the leading roles in a venture that pairs the content management supplier with the entertainment news and celebrity gossip Web site. E! Online features extensive coverage of events such as the Oscar® and Grammy®…
FairMarket, Inc.(sm), a developer of e-business solutions that incorporate dynamic pricing, will utilize the technology of eSupportNow, a multi-channel customer care solution provider. The implementation of a hosted e-mail response solution provided by eSupportNow’s eSP Platform will allow for a…
To be really effective with your customer relationship management (CRM) efforts, it’s important that all the support channels work cohesively. Here are some common mistakes that businesses make when their customer service isn’t integrated across all channels: E-mail to a…
Customer relationship solution provider, Quaero, LLC, announced the release of a new product designed to help key decision-makers make fully informed software choices, quickly. Quaero CM Advisor™, a three-week campaign management software selection service, enables marketing and technology executives to…
Minimalism and simplicity are in, according to Oracle® as they make great strides in "Winning the War on Complexity" – the name of the press conference they held on Tuesday. The Internet software and services giant presented its simplistic methods…
Online customer care solutions provider eSupportNow has released a series of electronic customer relationship management (eCRM) tools designed to help online financial institutions implement multi-channel support strategies. eSupportNow’s Retail Banking Solutions will enable retail financial institutions to establish, maintain and…