CRM - March 2009 - (Page 15)

Insight already-distributed coupons are redeemed (or expire) and the funds attached to them are “de-obligated,” the NTIA can’t distribute any additional ones. A sampling of industry and citizen reactions indicates that any flaws in the DTV switchover effort may be systemic. “The government is not supposed to be doing things like this at all because they always mess things up,” says Emmett Smith, a sales and marketing consultant. “The government is not supposed to have the money to pass out coupons,” he adds, alluding to the trillion-dollar budget deficit and multitrillion-dollar national debt. (As with the rest of this process, the reality’s a bit more complicated: The funding for the coupons was borrowed from the government, but reimbursed by the sale of the broadcast spectrum that analog-TV broadcasts used to occupy.) “My only disappointment was that I was not told that the coupons would expire,” says Edward Siegel, director of marketing for SuperOffice CRM. “I acted early and got the two cards they offered about eight months ago. When I saw that they would expire shortly after I received them, I decided not to use them. I didn’t want to spend any money—not even with a discount—on a 25-year-old TV that undoubtedly cause a fuss, it’s the only might not have even lasted until February.” thing that will get them to act.” He notes “Talking about blame or mishandling that the coupon-subsidized boxes aren’t suggests some expectation has not been the only option. “Buying a new HDTV met. Which one?” asks Bill Matthies, of would be a better alternative for those who electronics consultancy Coyote Insight. can afford it, and prices are lower than “What criteria do we have for success/fail- ever,”he says.“And of course there’s always ure? If we need 100 percent of…this cable, satellite, and telco delivery.” Not everyone has those country to be aware of the transition, happy with their “The government is not options—and those who rely most on the analog sigoptions, etc., maybe we’re be- supposed to be doing nal may be the least able to ing a bit unreasonable.” things like this at all make the DTV switch.“UnMany feel that it’s better to fortunately, we as technical get the transition done and fix because they always professionals forget that the problems later.“I think the mess things up.” there is a whole world of original date for switching over to DTV should be respected,” says people who are not as connected as we are,” Tino Zottola, vice president of engineering Siegel says.“There are large sections of the at Genesis Technical Systems. “There will country where TV is still the primary delivery method for information. In these never be a perfect time.” “Basically, I think delaying the transition places access to TV may mean survival.” And yet the process marches on.“Delaywould be a blunder,” says Mark Fleischmann, author and home-theater expert. ing the transition helps no one and still “Only a small minority of the TV audience there will be upset folks in the end for the depends entirely on antennas, and of that same reasons,” Heiblim says. Broadcasters group, only a minority is unready. So we’re and manufacturers have done their part, talking about a subset of a subset of the he says. “It is quite easy to blow the issues total viewing audience. These folks are sit- up more than they are. People resented fax ting on their hands, and while letting their machines, but they got over it…. [L]et’s screens go dark may seem callous, and will move along.” —Marshall Lager STIMULATING CITIZEN EXPERIENCE Could an infusion of Web 2.0 in the public sector change the way we view constituent service? resident Barack Obama has many issues to deal with as he acclimates to his new role, arguably the most important being the economic recession. The specifics of Obama’s economic stimulus package were still being hammered out at press time—a bill passed in late January set the value of the package at $819 billion—but industry pundits believe there are some other moves Obama can make to help the country recover. The first opportunity? Putting the contents of the potential stimulus package online in a user-friendly manner so the public can review and comment. www.destinationCRM.com P “This is a great example where Obama believes it’s important to keep communication wide open,” explains Bruce Temkin, vice president and principal analyst for customer experience at analyst firm Forrester Research. “He knows it’s worth dedicating resources to people who will put that information up in a citizen-friendly manner.” Though still unclear at press time how (or even if) the contents would be posted online, the Obama campaign’s history of utilizing Web 2.0 technology offers a clue, and proves he understands the next wave in customer relationships. At www.barackobama.com Obama utilized on-demand customer experience vendor RightNow Technologies for the site’s Answer Center function, a knowledge base providing answers to commonly asked questions. But questions linger. At the end of 2008, Answer Center—and the collected information it contained—went offline as the Obama campaign transitioned its online constituent communication to www.change.gov. According to RightNow executives, the company had no involvement with the new transition site. Instead, Change.gov relied on another CRM vendor—San Francisco–based cloud computing company Salesforce.com—to foster more collaboration with the public. By building what was called a “Citizen’s Briefing Book,” any American was able to suggest ideas in several categories, including the economy, education, energy 15 CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT | MARCH 2009 http://www.change.gov http://www.change.gov http://www.Salesforce.com http://www.barackobama.com http://www.destinationCRM.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of CRM - March 2009

CRM - March 2009 Contents Front Office Reality Check Customer Centricity The Tipping Point Stay Tuned Stimulating Citizen Experience CRM on Twitter Retailers Face Reality Making Relationships Matter Required Reading We the People Innovation Nation CRM and the iPhone Looking to Score The Virtual Welcome Mat A Tough Transition Made Easier A Training Regimen Gets Rigorous A Battle Fought from Afar Secret of My Success Re:Tooling Connect Pint of View

CRM - March 2009

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