CRM - July 2008 - (Page 15)

Insight Analysts and vendors alike agree that the growth of business-side social networking can be attributed to consumer demands. And while real-time application of “social CRM” remains foggy, integration of enterprise and CRM software with social-networking platforms seems to have a sunny future. This is evident in solutions such as Faceforce, which puts Salesforce.com data side-byside with Facebook profiles of customers, and that of Sales Social, a collaborative mashup from Kapow Technologies and Wavemaker that presents LinkedIn, Facebook, Salesforce.com, and Technorati customer data in one place. (See “Making Mashup Masterpieces,” June 2008, page 14, for more about mashups.) Other CRM products, such as Microsoft Dynamics CRM, are toying with social media in certain sectors before wide deployment. Microsoft Dynamics Connect Beta for Facebook, for instance, began with a community site for the finance unit of Dynamics. “The idea was that we were building up a unique set of communities tightly integrated to the product we use,” says Craig Dewar, director of community marketing for Microsoft. “The assumption is that end users gain insight about [the] product by talking to other end users similar to themselves. They can talk about marketing campaigns, ask about CRM, and gain self-help,” Dewar adds. (See “Is Microsoft Winning the CRM Race?” on page 20 for CRM magazine’s extensive look at Microsoft and its Dynamics CRM offerings.) Happe says that linking CRM data with consumer-networking profiles will be the next step for CRM providers. Doing so can provide a lot of a value, particularly in gathering insight into the consumer mind. “CRM applications are clearly taking things more seriously,” Happe points out. “In sales and marketing, it’s all about building trust and getting in to talk to people. What we’re learning is that you can use [networks] to build trust before you ever make an explicit request to speak with [prospective customers].” —Lauren McKay www.destinationCRM.com ON THE SCENE: SAPPHIRE 2008 SAP Looks to ‘Change the Game’ One analyst believes the latest from the German juggernaut propels the company squarely back into the CRM 2.0 battle E xecutives from enterprise application provider SAP have been throwing around words and phrases such as “coinnovation,” “power unleashed,” and “game-changing” to describe the company’s latest initiatives. During May’s Sapphire 2008, the company’s annual user gathering, 15,000 attendees in Orlando, Fla., listened as SAP executives reinforced their view of the future of business—and CRM—with forwardlooking keynotes and sneak peeks at upcoming offerings. Paul Greenberg, president of CRM consultancy The 56 Group (and a CRM columnist; see page 48), believes SAP’s patter about progressing and shifting with the organic business atmosphere is more than mere talk: The company’s backing up its claims, he says. In the last 12 months, he adds, “SAP actually transformed its thinking, roadmap, application strategy—and its way of focusing on customers. The deep commitment is clearly real.” So real, in fact, that Greenberg believes SAP has reinserted itself back into the battle for CRM 2.0 supremacy. “One year ago, I’d say the leaders for CRM 2.0 would be Salesforce.com Just because you’ve got a star and a rock, doesn’t mean you’re a rock star. Just as patching contact center tools together doesn’t yield true contact center performance. Calabrio One™ is the only software suite that truly integrates a unified desktop with workforce optimization. It aligns people and processes, driving continuous improvements to meet your business objectives. Interested? Learn more at www.saynotoducttape.com. ©2008 Calabrio, Inc. All rights reserved. http://Salesforce.com http://Salesforce.com http://www.saynotoducttape.com http://www.destinationCRM.com

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

CRM - July 2008 Contents Front Office Reality Check Customer Centricity The Tipping Point CRM’s a Social Animal SAP Looks to ‘Change the Game' CRM on Twitter CRM to the Max A Prescription for Satisfaction Required Reading Cover Story: Is Microsoft Winning the CRM Race? Jumping into the SaaS Pool Say What? Another Bright Idea Out of Edison A Small Biz Blossoms Biting Off the Right Amount Something for a Rainy Day Connect Re:Tooling Pint of View

CRM - July 2008

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