CRM - February 2008 - (Page 17)

CRM TRENDS AND NEWS ANALYSIS THE LOYALTY RIDDLE Customer loyalty is one of the first things on executives’ minds, and certainly first on their lips when asked about top business concerns. Studies indicate that customers will go to a competitor after just one or two bad experiences; there are few barriers to prevent customers switching; and social media have put the power of communication squarely in the hands of the consumer. Businesses are scrambling to come to terms with what look like new worlds of customer acquisition and retention. Despite the rise of the Internet and the mad rush of technology, the process of finding and keeping customers hasn’t really changed from the days when brick-and-mortar stores were the only valid option. E-commerce requires just as much connection with the customer as any other venue; it’s only the technology that’s different. But how a company uses its technology will make all the difference. “Loyalty is based on relationships. What’s interesting today is that relationships are now becoming virtual,” says Jim Kane, partner and senior consultant at customer loyalty consulting firm The Brookeside Group. “The same elements that exist in human relationships now [also] exist in virtual relationships.” Attempts to gauge loyalty are starting to appear, some (such as the Net Promoter Score, developed by Bain and Satmetrix) meeting with more success than others. It’s still Continued on page 18 CRM Drives Down-Market SAP and Microsoft make big moves to embrace smaller customers ecember was a busy month in the enterprise software field, with acquisitions, stock offerings, and new products galore. Two events in particular, however, signify big enterprise’s blossoming interest in providing smaller businesses with purpose-designed software instead of lobotomized versions of large-scale applications. On December 4, SAP announced the availability of SAP CRM 2007 at its annual Influencers Summit. While services-oriented architecture (SOA) was the main thrust of discussion, the new CRM was clearly on display as part of the larger initiative. SAP CRM 2007’s new user interface is Web-based, streamlined, and user-customizable, with navigation features that wouldn’t seem out of place on a social networking site. Analysts have suggested that SAP’s efforts are emblematic of the overall direction in which enterprise software is headed. “The next generation of CRM applications will be designed to appeal to sales, marketing, and customer service professionals,” Ed Thompson, vice president and distinguished analyst at research firm Gartner, said in a statement. “But they will also be able to support multiple different user interfaces with a clear emphasis on usability and ease of configuration for all types of users [and will] integrate more easily to form end-to-end processes to appeal to D Despite the Internet, the process of finding and keeping customers hasn’t really changed from the old days. both business users and IT.” Two we e k s later, Microsoft brought out the release version of Dynamics CRM 4.0, previously known by the code name Titan. Drawing heavily on the appearance and function of other Microsoft products such as Outlook, Office Communication Server, and Windows Workflow, this latest release suggests that Microsoft’s long and sometimes shaky development process has borne fruit. “They said they’d [release] by Q4, and Microsoft is infamous for slipping deadlines,” says Laurie McCabe, vice president for SMB insights and business solutions at research firm AMI 17 New offerings target the upper-midmarket, a relatively new playground for the two software giants. www.destinationCRM.com CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT | FEBRUARY 2008 http://www.destinationCRM.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of CRM - February 2008

CRM - February 2008 Contents Front Office Reality Check Customer Centricity The Tipping Point The Loyalty Riddle CRM Drives Down-Market Out of the Gate: Marketers Rate ’08 Traits The Pulse Consultants Adapt to CRM’s Changing Landscape Required Reading Cover Story: CRM Gets Serious Contact Center Solutions Always On Rumble in the Office The Smallest Slice Tying Up Cable’s Loose Ends Burning Up the Paper Trail Sunny Skies for Knology No More Bumps for BlueRoads Secret of My Success Re:Tooling Scouting Report Pint of View

CRM - February 2008

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