CRM - November 2008 - (Page BPS10)

10 November 2008 Sponsored Content What Every Marketer Should Know About Knowledge Management As marketers, we seldom consider Knowledge Management (KM) a top priority. But it should be. It is how we organize, manage, access, and distribute knowledge to help our customers, constituents, and prospects fulfill their wants and needs, while furthering our business goals. Effective KM enables us to deliver the right information at the right time, while learning from our customers, prospects and employees to drive continuous improvements. KM impacts Marketing in many ways. Here are some examples. ENSURING ACCURACY AND CONSISTENCY ACROSS CHANNELS Informational inconsistencies and gaps between channels erode customer trust and emotional equity in your brand. The right KM system enables all customer-facing channels to answer questions efficiently, consistently and accurately. It empowers contact center agents and enables Web sites to deliver efficient, high-quality and personalized experiences. This reduces interaction costs, increases satisfaction and retention, and protects and enhances the brand. OPTIMIZING SELF-SERVICE percentage of visitors abandon sites within the first couple of clicks. Against these odds, your ability to quickly understand and address specific needs becomes paramount. A Conversational KM solution enables you to: embed intelligence into the search and self-service experience; create a personal dialog; determine purchasing intent; deliver value-oriented messaging; facilitate informed decisions; and improve the quality of the experience. This dramatically impacts conversion rates, revenue growth, marketing effectiveness, and customer satisfaction. By enabling all channels to deliver the right marketing message at the right time, a Conversational KM system optimizes promotions, creates cross-sell and up-sell opportunities, and engages the customer with your brand. LEARNING THROUGH CONVERSATIONS them to it is the pathway to a purchase. A Conversational KM solution can do this for you 24x7. Leveraged throughout your site, it helps you uncover visitor needs quickly, create value around the solution, and improve the likelihood of conversion or purchase. KNOWING WHAT INFLUENCES, IMPACTS AND MOVES YOUR CUSTOMERS The burden of searching and digging for relevant information on Web sites has caused many visitors to become dissatisfied with Web self-service. Moreover, they draw conclusions about your offerings based on a long list of links--not on your marketing message. What if your KM and self-service solution could quickly uncover a visitor’s needs and deliver well-crafted responses that guide them to an optimal outcome? Conversational KM and self-service technologies enable your visitors to ask a question in their own words and receive a direct and precise response. When appropriate, they engage visitors in a “conversation” to better understand their needs, improve accuracy, and personalize responses. This ensures a unique and superior experience, while enabling you to deliver effective messages that drive revenue. INCREASING REVENUE AND REDUCING ABANDONMENT If you don’t want your customers to abandon you, don’t abandon them after their first question. Many search- and FAQbased KM solutions can only answer each question individually. But a Conversational KM solution can contextualize subsequent responses because it “learns” about the individual’s needs along the way. The result is a superior overall experience through more accurate and informed responses, and a greater opportunity to build value in your products and services. PERSONALIZING RESPONSES You can gain superior customer insight by viewing the raw, unsolicited input of your site’s visitors. The right KM system captures customer “conversations” word for word—the true “voice of the customer”— providing valuable real-time insight. Learn what they’re asking about, the intent behind their questions, and those that remain unanswered. This knowledge improves your search engine marketing, promotions, advertising, and Web content; while helping you get a leg up on competitors with new and targeted offerings. STREAMLINING ADMINISTRATION When a customer asks “When does my warranty expire?” they deserve the right answer--not a generic response or list of links. The right KM tool can access multiple customer and knowledge repositories, incorporate this information into a decision making process, and formulate personalized responses with precise answers and the supporting content you wish to push. BOOSTING SEM AND LANDING PAGE EFFECTIVENESS Your KM system should provide a centralized point of administration to push knowledge out to all channels (Web, intranet, email, chat, phone and IVR), while enabling you to differentiate responses by channel and by user roles. The right KM tools enable Marketing and subject matter experts to quickly create, edit and update content for all channels, while leveraging your existing enterprise content and systems. You’ll gain control over the messages being delivered, simplify information distribution, ensure information consistency across channels, and improve the overall quality of information. CONVERSATIONAL KM SOLUTIONS CAN PROVIDE NEXT GENERATION MARKETING CAPABILITIES WITH RAPID ROI Over 50 percent of online shoppers abandon their carts. An even higher We do a great job of driving potential customers to our Web sites through search engine marketing, advertisements, emails, etc., but we don’t always meet their expectations once they arrive. Engaging visitors in conversations, understanding what they want and guiding Think about it. And visit www.astutesolutions.com/marketingkm for an extended write-up on KM and Marketing. While you’re there, learn how our RealDialog™ Conversational Knowledge Management and self-service solution can help you. http://www.astutesolutions.com/marketingkm http://www.astutesolutions.com/marketingkm

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

CRM - November 2008 Contents Front Office Feedback Reality Check Customer Centricity The Tipping Point Working with the Years CRM on Twitter Virtual Spenders Contact Centers Chatting to Success The Complexity Chasm Required Reading Generational Spending: A Special Report Who, What, Where, When, Y The Slackers’ X-cellent Adventure The Boomer Boom The Matures Endure Boosting Productivity North of the Border Changing the Channel Invicta’s Thrill of Victory Secret of My Success Connect Re:Tooling Pint of View

CRM - November 2008

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