CRM- September 2008 - (Page 25) JOSH BERNOFF AND CHARLENE LI I N D U S T R Y A N A LY S T S A N D CO-AUTHORS OF GROUNDSWELL the Swells KEVIN BANDY PA RT N E R & M A N A G E R O F D I R E C T O R Y S A L E S A N D M A R K E T I N G T R A N S F O R M AT I O N , A C C E N T U R E the Rethinker Seeing the bigger picture is a struggle for many companies—how to rise above and truly see the competitive landscape. When they decide they can’t gain that perspective on their own, that’s where consultancies come in. For Accenture, a leader in the Consultancies category of this year’s Market Awards (see page 47), viewing the industry in both global scale and reach is a priority. Kevin Bandy, a partner with the firm’s CRM service line, is hardly new to global operations, and, unlike many consultants, he knows what it’s like on the front lines, having operated an outsourcing company for Fortune 500 organizations. He recognizes the value of the emerging market. Bandy’s vision is particularly helpful for high-tech companies eager to expand. He understands sales operations—and knows what’s wrong with them: “Many sales organizations are not designed to achieve and then sustain high performance,” he recently wrote. “Their quarterly perspective means they are focused mostly on today’s situation, instead of making a substantive contribution to the growth strategies they hear coming from their executive suite.” What CRM users need, he says, is a new approach, a new way of thinking—and his new approach to CRM consulting may change the playing field forever. At the core of the approach is the conviction that the biggest driver of growth and success is not operational efficiency—the stated goal of many consultancy engagements—but customer centricity. The consultant’s client needs to be able to know the impact of an initiative before it even gets under way, and Bandy developed a system that can play the “what if?” game to predict the future. The key to success? Bandy makes it sound simple: “Put the customer first, successfully equip employees with the right tools and messages, and mine their customer databases to drive profitability.” But sometimes the simple answer is the hardest of all. —Lauren McKay www.destinationCRM.com We’re in the Web 2.0 world and people are more connected than ever. An alarming byproduct is what Josh Bernoff and Charlene Li have identified as “the groundswell”—a phenomenon delineated in their acclaimed book of the same name. Written when both were analysts at Forrester Research—Li recently stepped down—the book’s insights helped the two industry heavyweights stand out, even among the all-stars at Forrester, which has a reputation at the cutting edge of technology market research. “Groundswell is the best book I’ve read about social media and social-media marketing,” says David Berkowitz, director of emerging media and client strategies at online marketing agency 360i. In just over 200 pages, Bernoff and Li cover seemingly everything—from blogs to social networks, from B2B to B2C, from the United States to China. Bernoff and Li are also able to communicate this complicated trend in a way that resonates.“People in the online industry sense that social networking is a really big deal, but we rely on folks like Josh and Charlene to articulate that,” says Craig Newmark, customer service representative and founder of craigslist.“They’ve done extensive research and let us know what’s going on, through blogs, public speaking, and so on.” Perhaps most significant is the commitment to quality research. “I find their analytical, data-driven approach refreshing and one that I wish were more pervasive,” says Steve Rubel, senior vice president and director of insights for Edelman Digital. The new key to holding onto consumers is letting them go—with extensive backgrounds in social technology and Web 2.0 research, Bernoff and Li are helping companies swallow this dose of reality and transform traditional business processes. The Internet has changed everything—and they double-teamed a tumultuous industry to provide a guiding light. —Jessica Tsai CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT | SEPTEMBER 2008 25 INFLUENTIAL LEADERS THIS YEAR’S RECIPIENTS ARE, IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER: http://www.destinationCRM.com
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