CRM - February 2008 - (Page 23)

CRM GETS SERIOUS Customers today are in control of your company—whether you realize it or not. When visualizing an ideal business model, a well-oiled machine might come to mind: intricate parts running in harmony, tended to and maintained by a skilled chief executive. A modern company, however, is more akin to a speeding car, with the customer holding onto the steering wheel and pressing hard on the gas. With the level of informationsharing now available to consumers, what once might have been a minor business mistake can now be a devastating blunder. “Your errors are what define your service to the clients,” says Rosalee Allen, senior vice president and chief operations officer of Pathology Associates Medical Laboratories (PAML). Six years ago, PAML, which facilitates medical-specimen sample testing, had made a few small mistakes: an error on a bill, a late supply shipment, a lost specimen sample. Because there was www.destinationCRM.com BY JESSICA SEBOR no infrastructure in place to track these mistakes, PAML had no idea the slip-ups had all involved the same customer.“We lost a milliondollar client,” Allen says. “And we stood there flat-footed saying, ‘What happened?’” (See sidebar, “PAML Pushes Forward.”) Customer attrition has destabilized the old business model. Even for a company with reliable products, pricing, and service—a company that hasn’t committed any serious missteps—a rock-steady customer base is no longer a given. Scott Nelson, vice president and distinguished analyst at industry research firm Gartner, explains that, in the past, companies could rely on loyalty out of sheer convenience. If you wanted a bank account, for example, you went to the branch closest to your home or office. Not anymore, Nelson says: “I can bank with somebody in Ohio if I’d rather, [instead of] with the bank across the street.” Loyalty is now driven primarily by a company’s interaction with its customers and how well it delivers on their wants and needs—and customers have grown increasingly 23 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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