Trends

Social CRM Evolution vs. Mobile CRM Revolution
July 13, 2012

CRM technology -- along with the way we use it -- is going through an interesting patch of development right now. In part because mobile devices are now delivering on their potential, there's a renewed vigor around mobile CRM. At the same time, social CRM continues to gain attention and energy.

CRM Symbiosis
July 11, 2012

I have always been interested in the similarities between biology and economics and ultimately business. In the last few years we've adopted some of the parlance of biology when we talk about business, especially social business. Perhaps the best example is the analogy we freely make between a vendor and its partners and supply chain, i.e. "the ecosystem."

Satisfaction Survey: Airlines, Fast-Food Joints Less Despised
June 21, 2012

One would almost think we have entered a stage of customer service nirvana: Two industry categories not ordinarily associated with high levels of customer service satisfaction -- airlines and fast food -- have garnered relatively good scores in a new American Customer Satisfaction Index report. The operative word here is "relative," though.

Is Everyone Trying to Look Like Salesforce?
June 20, 2012

Last week I lamented how the legacy software establishment was focusing on the easy-to-sell parts of cloud computing without really providing the essence of cloud. Since then, I have been inspired by a couple of recent articles that point in a different though not opposite direction.

Fee-Crazy Airlines Losing Customer Satisfaction Points
June 14, 2012

Customer satisfaction with the airline industry took a dip in J.D. Power and Associates' 2012 North America Airline Satisfaction study after two consecutive years of improvement. The drop was not a large one; overall, passenger satisfaction dropped to 681 index points on a 1,000-point scale. In 2011, the score was 683.

CRM Gamification - a New Team Sport
June 05, 2012

Last month, open source CRM provider Zurmo released a beta version of a new app that staked out new ground in this mature software category: The app was built with gamification techniques and a game-oriented user interface in the hope of spurring user adoption. "It is a direction that is a bit contrarian to typical CRM product development," admitted Ray Stoeckicht, cofounder of Zurmo Open Source CRM.

The End of the Social Age
May 30, 2012

I was so looking forward to getting the Facebook IPO out of the way, and then splat, like a ripe tomato in the kisser, we have to learn that the underwriters might not have shared some pre-IPO information transparently. Enough already! Bankers appear to be tone deaf to the fallout from their gross behavior.

The Rise of Open Source
May 16, 2012

SugarCon, the SugarCRM user meeting held in San Francisco a couple of weeks ago, did some important things for Sugar. It was a coming out party of sorts for a company with a distinct business model and strategy, namely open source. It was also validation of that strategy and, for many, a new realization of what open source means.

E-Commerce Companies Pleasing Customers More Than Ever
May 09, 2012

E-tailers are getting better and better at making their customers happy, according to the annual E-Retail Satisfaction Index released by ForeSee. In this year's report, a record 36 online retailers out of 100 achieved the so-called "threshold for excellence," with scores of 80 or higher on the 100-point scale. That compares with 28 sites achieving this distinction in 2010 and 2011, and six reaching it in 2009.

Vendors Must Deal With More Federal 'Commodity' IT Purchasing
April 10, 2012

Federal agencies will be moving significant portions of their annual IT spending to "commodity" type procurement vehicles by the end of 2012. As part of continuing reforms in IT acquisition and management, the White House Office of Management and Budget has directed agencies to immediately begin the process of consolidating IT procurement, with a focus on shared service arrangements.

Think Bigger
February 22, 2012

I spent the best part of last week cruising up and down Silicon Valley, checking in with customers and would-be clients. The consensus from this non-scientific survey is that business is better than OK, and most people are expecting this year to be the best in a while. Of course, there is a cloud -- literal and figuratively -- to go with that silver lining.

The Talk of the Web
February 08, 2012

There's been a lot of activity on the Web and in our industry in the last week, and I thought it might be fun to try and tie at least some of it together. Much of it in one way or another involves Facebook -- or "FB," as the proposed ticker symbol suggests. It's widely assumed that its IPO will make the very earliest buyers a nice pile of profit, but what about those looking for a longer-term investment?

CRM in 2012: Big Changes in the Wind
January 09, 2012

The CRM landscape is shifting gears -- and it looks as though 2012 will be the year that will see investments in technologies to cash in on a veritable explosion of social media, mobile and integration opportunities. The winners in 2012 will be those that can figure out new ways to distinguish themselves on the customer service front, said Ajay Kapoor, vice president of customer service for Avaya.

The Beginning of the Bounce
December 21, 2011

There was an interesting article in the January 2012 edition of Vanity Fair, a magazine I've come to enjoy though for many years regarded as another of those things my wife would like more than I would. But VF carries an interesting blend of current events and politics, as well as the glossy pictures and stories of pop-culture icons that seem to be necessary to sell a magazine these days.

Choppy Waters Ahead for the Federal IT Market, Part 2
November 28, 2011

A special congressional panel is facing a deadline of Nov. 23 to propose more than a trillion dollars in federal budget reductions over 10 years. If the panel fails, an automatic budget-cutting mechanism will take effect. Either way, the U.S. government will be launching a major austerity program that will affect virtually all agencies -- and all government contractors.

Zuora and the Future of ERP
November 16, 2011

There was a guest post on the Forbes Magazine blog last month that I can't get out of my head: "For Enterprise IT, Time to Move Beyond SAP." For the record, I am an ERP dilatant -- I know about it but don't follow it with the same passion that I follow CRM.

The Next New Disruption
November 09, 2011

If you've been in this business any length of time, you've become accustomed to disruptive innovation. More than anywhere else you can name, the front office has been a hotbed for introducing game-changing new technologies since the mid-1990s, when CRM applications began coming on line. But what's next?

B of A Backtracks on Debit Fees
November 01, 2011

Bank of America has decided to back off from a controversial fee that it announced in September: a $5 ding every month for consumers who use their debit cards to make a retail purchase. The plan had endured sustained consumer outrage since it was publicly revealed.

The Advent of Digital Customer Relationships
October 31, 2011

The explosive adoption of the Internet has created a new kind of Web-savvy customer who expects a rich, efficient, personalized online user experience that's accessible 24/7 via any online access point -- Web, mobile device or social media -- and that provides consistent engagement across multiple channels. In order to succeed in today's online-centric world, you have to create positive digital customer relationships.

ERP's Disruptive Moment
October 26, 2011

At Dreamforce, Zuora, like many other emerging companies allied with Salesforce.com, decided to hold a user group meeting. As long as the customers jointly held by Salesforce and Zuora were in town, the logic went, why not have them in for a day of education, listening and a pep talk from the boss? It was a fine idea.