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BSkyB and EDS Face £45m Legal Bill Over CRM System
The combined legal costs of a dispute between British Sky Broadcasting and EDS over a customer relationship management system are expected to approach £45m - almost as much as the original £48m price of the project. BSkyB filed a claim against EDS in August 2004, but it has taken more than two years for the case to reach the High Court. It began this month with BSkyB outlining its claim against EDS for £709m, part of which is compensation for alleged lost benefits. There were more than 700 box files of material, such as expert reports, contracts, EDS internal standards and witness statements, in the court room. The case is expected to last more than six months.
[Source: Computer Weekly]
Microsoft Drops Price of CRM
Microsoft is reducing subscription prices for its Dynamics CRM 4.0 software by 40% to attract hosting companies to offer the application as a web-based service. At its Convergence event in Copenhagen recently, the firm said the price drop would help partners develop services around the software. “Microsoft were late to the CRM marketplace, but they have learned from other vendors and used experienced CRM developers to build a quality product,” said Karl Newman, service delivery director at Microsoft partner ConsultCRM.
NetSuite Releases New SuiteBuilder Version
NetSuite Inc., a vendor of on-demand, integrated business management application suites that provide Accounting/ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning), CRM (Customer Relationship Management) and e-commerce functionality for small and medium-sized businesses and divisions of large companies, has announced SuiteBundler, the newest and a key component of SuiteFlex, NetSuite's application development and integration platform. The new SuiteBundler tool delivers numerous technology breakthroughs that enable the creation of third-party vertical applications within NetSuite, as well as end-to-end business process customization for any end-user company.
CallMiner and Clarabridge Align
CallMiner, a developer of advanced speech analytics software, and Clarabridge, a text analysis software company, have announced a partnership to offer companies complete insight into their customers’ verbal and written communications to improve customer retention and satisfaction. Joining CallMiner’s advanced speech analytics solution, CallMiner Eureka!, with Clarabridge’s Content Mining Platform, CallMiner and Clarabridge will provide businesses with the ability to combine multi-channel business intelligence, including both written text and recorded customer/agent conversations, to gain a complete understanding of their customers’ needs, wants, preferences and concerns.
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| CRM Market to Reach $6.6B by 2012
As an increasing number or organizations understand the importance of positive customer experiences and strong customer relationships, the market for CRM applications continues to expand. In 2006, the global CRM software market was worth just under US$3.6bn in license revenue alone. In a new report, independent market analyst Datamonitor predicts this will reach US$6.6bn by year end 2012, growing by a compound annual growth rate of 10.5%. The report attributes growth to increasing deployment of CRM in new vertical segments as well as new flexibility in modes of deployment. Nevertheless, within the next 18 months Datamonitor expects on-demand CRM specialists to come under pressure as the CRM arena becomes substantially more competitive.
Whether acquiring new, servicing current or keeping in touch with old customers, an organization needs to relate to its customer base. CRM is a methodology facilitating such interaction and includes all processes, approaches and technologies that support the CRM methodology. Implementing CRM should enable enterprises to capitalize on the client interactions through nurturing client relationships, supporting sales processes, exploring customer behavior and tailoring customer service according to the feedback received and cost constraints.
Reliance on subscription revenues and service capabilities will mean that the Telecommunications industry will continue to be the heaviest investor in CRM technologies along with Energy and Utilities and Financial Services. However, Datamonitor expects CRM investment by the Healthcare, Public Sector and Life Sciences to exceed the rate of growth in the Telecommunications sector, fueled by the adoption of a customer-oriented approach to public sector services and the relative success of applications supporting a relational, not transactional, approach to customers.
The composition of the CRM market is also changing in terms of the typical size of enterprise deploying CRM. Once a preserve of very large organizations, Datamonitor estimates that in 2006 CRM application spending by enterprises with less than 1000 employees accounted for one third of all licenses sold. By 2012, however, the sector will account for over 42% of the market.
On-demand relieves businesses of the maintenance and daily technical operations of software, offering companies the choice to let someone else host their applications for them. Datamonitor considers on-demand as an important element of CRM strategy since subscription-based licensing and hosted architecture can address many inhibitors to CRM adoption.
Recent success of on-demand CRM providers, as well as the fact that most of the major vendors are having some on-demand strategy means that this innovative paradigm is clearly here to stay. Datamonitor estimates that by year end 2007, the global on-demand CRM market will be worth US$1bn, and such applications will drive CRM adoption, particularly within SMEs.
Nevertheless, within the next 18 months the market will be substantially more competitive. Established on-demand CRM specialists will find themselves under increased pressure both from smaller hosted solution providers and established on-premise vendors offering on-demand versions. The implications are that subscription prices could decrease, particularly among the less differentiated entry-level solutions.
http://www.datamonitor.com
E-Mail ROI High, Response Rates Low
Next to search, e-mail spend is tiny. But that’s okay. Spending on direct marketing commercial e-mail in the United States will hit $600 million in 2008, according to the Direct Marketing Association. That number represents an increase of nearly one-quarter over 2007.
The numbers are dwarfed by spending on non-e-mail Internet direct marketing—such as search and display—which is expected to hit $23 billion. But judging by the DMA's data, the spending figures belie e-mail's low cost and high ROI.
The DMA also found that commercial e-mail's ROI will hit $45.65 for every dollar spent in 2008.
The group's separate study of direct marketing media response rates, said the company, did not indicate much about ROI because the cost to send additional e-mails is tiny compared with sending more pieces of direct mail. Just because a given media type is effective does not mean it should be used forever. Direct mail is so prevalent in financial services that marketers are looking at other media as a supplement.
Still, response rates remain one of the primary methods by which US marketers assess ROI, according to a Penton Media Custom Research study commissioned by PROMO Magazine.
That said, even with online marketing, some metrics remain out of reach. Market researchers have yet to determine lift, such as for brand awareness, from multimedia versus single-media campaigns.
More...
Bursting U.S. Housing Bubble May Increase Value of Homeshored Customer Care Solutions
In late 2005, IDC proposed an important irony embedded within the outsourcing model — that "offshoring's underestimated sibling, homeshoring," could play the role of safe-haven of sorts for American workers in a globalized world. Two years later, IDC research indicates an additional irony — that the bursting U.S. housing bubble actually may serve to increase the value of homeshored customer care solutions.
Housing's headwinds come at a time when American wage earners — a significant portion of which are customer care representatives working at bricks-and-mortar centers — are already facing a score of challenges to their productivity and their wallets, say IDC analysts. At the same time, service providers need productive, professional, dependable agents like never before. Intriguingly, with regards to the delivery of high-quality customer care, homeshoring therefore becomes even more compelling as a model. In fact, the American home may become increasingly valuable as compared to the American automobile that has long enabled customer care agents to commute to brick-and-mortar centers.
Among the key findings from IDC's most recent homeshoring study include the following:
- The current nationwide housing crash could contribute to a new contact center landscape that is already evolving in the United States. Creative destruction in the economy may provide additional momentum toward homeshoring's development.
- Service providers need productive, professional, dependable agents to enhance the customer experience. At the same time, wage earners are seeking ways to alleviate the stress of grueling commutes and are now being forced to become more assiduous savers.
- The homeshored model may become increasingly valuable, with the American home becoming an appreciating asset in the form of a new kind of contact center for the future.
More...
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| Keeping CRM Implementation Simple
Not too long ago, advice to keep a CRM implementation simple would have focused around due diligence for the application (you never buy a complex product unless absolutely necessary). It would have focused on negotiating the best deal with a systems integrator (these costs can add quickly unless the contract specifies otherwise). Most of all, it would have focused on a clear needs assessment driving the application (buying too many bells and whistles when they aren't necessary is a sure path to overly complicated implementation and a frustrated user base). That was then, though. The new generation of CRM software is built on platforms that are almost effortlessly customizable. In other words, "keeping CRM simple" is no longer the effort it once was.
Full Article...
Bringing 'Lean' Principles to Service Industries
Toyota and other top manufacturing companies have embraced, improved, and profited by lean production methods. But the payoffs have not been nearly as dramatic for service industries applying lean principles. In terms of operations and improvements, the service industries in general are a long way behind manufacturing.
Full Article...
The Steady Evolution of Online Customer Service
It's incredible how quickly technology, and the accessibility of the Internet and Web-enabled devices, have evolved. With these rapid advancements, both society and insurers are forced to adapt. Now that anyone can check claims status on their iPod, laptop or PDA from anywhere in the world, there's no excuse for carriers not to ramp up their online customer service offerings in an effort to better serve their Web-savvy client base.
Full Article...
CRM: Who's Doing What Very Well
Our industry is obsessed with awards and accolades — “best” this and “best” that. We seem to always be on the lookout for contact centers that “have it all” — veritable customer contact superpowers with nary a chink in their armor. But the fact of the matter is that, while numerous centers are doing many things very well, none are without their share of challenges and shortcomings. Unearthing all-around contact center innovation and success requires one to expand his or her view beyond individual operations.
Full Article...
IT Innovations That Generate Revenue and Get You More Customers
The accepted wisdom of the Internet is that customers want what they want, the way they want it, when they want it. Helping your customers do just that produces business benefits that go directly to the bottom line. So how do you make that happen? How do you empower your customer? And how do you prevent your own business processes from getting in the way?
Full Article...
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|  The Big Book of Customer Service Training Games
by Peggy Carlaw and Vasudha Kathleen Deming
Help your employees to excel in dealing with the public with this stimulating, fun-filled collection of customer service training games. Designed not only to teach important skills but also to spark enthusiasm and a high level of involvement in the participants, these games utilize entertaining and instructive techniques such as role-playing, charades, brainstorming, and debate. As a result of these exercises, employees will learn how to create a rapport with the customer, how to focus on the unique needs of individual customers, how to maintain a positive attitude, and more.
For
more information, or to order your copy...
You can find
more industry sepcific books at our web site:
http://www.crmindustry.com/
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| Check out the CRMindustry.com Blog!
The CRMindustry.com blog provides readers with access to the latest Customer Relationship Management (CRM) industry buzz, analyst data, and an in depth look at the tools that are shaping CRM. http://crmindustry.blogspot.com/
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