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| Study Finds Increased Collaboration Between Marketing and Finance |
In their efforts to increase brand awareness and drive sales, marketers are still struggling to create accountability programs that effectively measure the impact of marketing efforts, according to a new study from the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) and Marketing Management Analytics (MMA).
Although the majority of companies with a marketing accountability process tend to house this function within the marketing department, there is growing collaboration between marketing and finance. Overall, marketing accountability has a presence in nearly every company; however, a growing number of these programs are siloed within marketing departments. Forty-five (45) percent of respondents indicated that their accountability programs were based within the marketing group, a jump of 14 points over the prior year.
Despite accountability programs becoming more entrenched within marketing departments, this year's survey showed progress in improving the relationship between marketing and finance. Thirty-three percent reported "full cooperation and an open dialogue" in establishing metrics and methodologies for marketing ROI – up from twenty-two percent in 2007 – and nearly half of respondents found "some cooperation." Increasingly, participants in the survey said they believed that marketing and finance "speak with one voice" or "share common metrics."
Goals for marketing accountability varied greatly in the survey:
Forty percent of respondents said that marketing ROI goals were based on internal benchmarks within the marketing department.
Approximately one-third reported that marketing ROI goals were closely aligned with overall corporate goals.
However, one-third indicated that there were no written goals for marketing in their companies.
Where marketers had established accountability metrics:
Sixty-one percent measured marketing's impact on sales, and 73 percent viewed them as useful in establishing marketing budgets.
Sixty percent looked at consumer attitude, but only 39 percent considered these metrics to be useful.
Overall, twenty-three percent of respondents expressed dissatisfaction with accountability metrics.
Marketers are investing in accountability programs such as brand and customer equity models (53 percent); predictive models for direct response (43 percent); recency and frequency monetary value models (45 percent); and customer lifetime value models (27 percent).
Importantly, over half (57 percent) use their marketing accountability programs as a factor in increasing or maintaining their marketing budgets.
Key strategic marketing accountability challenges are:
Understanding the impact of changes in consumer attitudes and perceptions on sales (45 percent)
Understanding the offline impact of online advertising (26 percent)
Understanding the impact of experiential marketing, such as event sponsorships, on sales (23 percent)
Measuring long-term ROI for a time period greater than one year (19 percent)
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[Full Article]
Jul-21-2008 |
| Can Traditional CRM Systems Operate in an On-Demand Delivery Model? |
It's no secret that the heavyweight client/server CRM publishers, including Siebel and Oracle, initially made multiple attempts to protect their turf, chastised the on-demand business model and attempted to link on-demand CRM applications to FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt). History also shows that once they figured out they couldn't beat the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model, they chose to join it --- at least in part.
Because of the great popularity and success of the historical client/server CRM applications, the on-demand hosting market is experiencing SaaS solutions from two platform sources; Web-native thin client CRM solutions and traditional client/server CRM systems.
In a recent survey conducted by CRM Labs, the overall conclusions of the thin-client vs. client/server CRM systems are:
Most respondents did not feel that the two platform solutions will each have a place in the market or would live harmoniously together. Instead, there was a strong feeling that the client/server manufacturers were simply 'force fitting' their software products into a new delivery model --- either to supplement their traditional revenue stream or to act as a stepping stone until they ultimately get to a more hosting-friendly technology.
Respondents using client/server CRM systems in a hosted model cited increased hardware, software and IT labor costs as compared to thin-client CRM systems. Specifically, client/server respondents felt that to achieve acceptable hosted delivery, they were forced to procure more hardware (web server farms and database clusters), more bandwidth and complementary software products (Citrix) simply due to the non-Web-native architecture. Further, the client/server products incurred some common shortcomings, including limited performance over the Web and certain functionality deficiencies (printing problems were mentioned multiple times).
Lastly, while respondents were fairly negative toward client/server CRM products in a hosted delivery model, they did believe that most of those software publishers would ultimately get to the SaaS model with Web-native CRM applications.
Several respondents commented that client/server solutions offered as a hosted delivery is nothing more than a marketing ploy or an attempt to get into a sales cycle and ultimately steer the prospect toward traditional client/server products.
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[Full Article]
Jul-18-2008 |
| Enterprises Must Create Separate Marketing Strategies for Generation Virtual |
As community marketing continues to evolve, organizations can target "Generation Virtual" by providing socialization tools to customers and prospects depending on their purpose and the level of customer engagement, according to Gartner Inc.
Unlike previous generations, Generation Virtual (also known as Generation V) is not defined by age --- or gender, social demographic or geography --- but is based on demonstrated achievement, accomplishments and an increasing preference for the use of digital media channels to discover information, build knowledge and share insights. Generation V is the recognition that general behavior, attitudes and interests are starting to blend together in an online environment.
Gartner has identified four levels of engagement within Generation V, addressing both the extent to which customers will engage with other customers, as well as the level of engagement needed from businesses to enable the community. The four levels of engagement include: creators, contributors, opportunists, and lurkers.
By recognizing and accommodating these levels, companies can harness their influence for marketing purposes, and ultimately, for transactions.
Up to 3 percent of individuals will be creators, providing original content and can be advocates that promote your product and services.
Between 3 percent and 10 percent of individuals will be contributors, essentially followers, who add to the conversation, but don't initiate it. They can recommend products and services as customers move through a buying process, looking for purchasing advice.
Between 10 percent and 20 percent of individuals will be opportunists, who can further contributions regarding purchasing decisions. Opportunists can "add value" to a conversation that's taking place, while walking through a considered purchase.
Approximately 80 percent of individuals will be lurkers (and all users start as such), essentially spectators, who reap the rewards of online community input, but only absorb what is being communicated. However, they can implicitly contribute and validate indirectly reporting the value from the rest of the community.
Gartner recommends marketing organizations should:
Plan to segment and support all four engagement levels in the community. Each has significant business value, and each approach will dictate the technology you'll use to support them.
Establish goals and have a plan for determining return on investment (ROI). Many companies are initiating or connecting to communities without clear goals as to the value they provide to the customer or the company. What may have begun as a way to connect with customers can damage the company's brand.
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[Full Article]
Jul-18-2008 |
| Governments Increasing Spend on CRM Solutions |
Driven by the need to improve its management of constituent relationships, a new report from Datamonitor predicts that government spending on CRM technology solutions in the US, UK, Germany and France will grow from $2.9 billion in 2008 to $4.4 billion in 2013. In today's commercially-oriented world, it has become a trend among public sector agencies to treat constituents as customers who expect top levels of service.
CRM was initially used as a solution for private sector companies to better manage their sales, service and marketing channels. With public sector adoption of CRM, however, governments are using these features to meet their own unique needs. For example, CRM's service function facilitates the provision of information to constituents. One of the key drivers is the surge in government contact centers for constituent inquiries, such as the numerous non-emergency contact center initiatives that have been rolled out across North America and Europe.
In today's world, agencies are faced with the task of managing relationships with a diverse mix of constituents, whether it is providing top quality services, giving agency employees the tools they need to do their job well or attracting and retaining citizens and businesses. CRM helps manage all these relationships by making interactions more personalized and efficient. Governments are able to automate workflow and consistently track cases as they move through the system, agency to agency, in order to be resolved. For example, social services departments are using case management to improve efficiency and ensure consistency in how they track and record interactions with their clients.
Furthermore, CRM allows governments to inform constituents of relevant services and upcoming events or deadlines which might affect them. For example, sending out a reminder email about tax filing information in advance of the deadline can decrease the number of late filers. Not only does this bode well for revenue collection, it also reduces the costs of chasing after the late-filers. In some cases, innovative governments have taken this a step further, and are experimenting with Web 2.0 in CRM, through constituent surveys and interactive websites. CRM solutions also allow governments to increase efficiencies and reduce costs by tailoring message content for constituents.
In addition to the benefits it provides citizen-facing functions, CRM has a positive impact on improving operations and management decisions. By adopting a CRM strategy, government agencies can achieve a host of benefits when it comes to streamlining its business processes and analytical capabilities. With the increased emphasis on performance management in government agencies, CRM steps up to the plate by allowing government to track the nature of constituent inquiries; CRM solutions increasingly support multi-channel communications, including phone, email and in some cases, even text messages.
Despite the many obvious benefits to adopting CRM, implementation faces inevitable challenges which must be addressed in order for government to realize the full value of these solutions. The report notes that a key aspect of CRM as a solution is only as good as the agency that implements it. A successful CRM implementation involves buy-in from management and staff, as well as the adoption of constituent-centric business process, with the technology serving as the grand enabler in the equation. |
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[Full Article]
Jul-18-2008 |
| Professional Listeners: the Evolution of the Contact Center Worker |
Contact center professionals have an unfair stigma attached to them for being disloyal, unmotivated, poorly trained and having a "couldn't-care-less" attitude. Independent research, commissioned by Siemens Enterprise Communications, looks beyond the technology employed in UK contact center environments and into the habits, tips, thoughts and working practices of the workers themselves, and generates a 21st Century profile of the modern day "Professional Listener." The research questioned over 500 contact center workers in the UK, comprising a combination of inbound and outbound workers across both the public and private sectors.
The research concludes that there is a new breed of Professional Listener emerging who is loyal, motivated and highly satisfied, all set against a backdrop of ever-increasing processes and the proliferation of IT applications needed to do the job.
Key trends in the survey provide insights into where contact center improvements could be made, and how to achieve best practice. Significantly, it highlights that Professional Listeners have the same career aspirations as any professional worker in any other industry. These career aspirations have in turn created loyal employees who stay in the same job for more than two years, on average. They crave training, want to improve and, not surprisingly, want to be paid more.
Some of the characteristics of the Professional Listener include:
On average, 4.3 years of experience.
2.2 years average job tenure.
Loyal to company: 44% who would like to progress within the department of their current job.
Keen to work flexibly: 77% of non-home workers would like to work from home, or combine home and office working.
Overall satisfaction is high: 53% satisfied, and 17% very satisfied.
UK contact centers are responsible for employing almost 300,000 people in the UK --- this equates to 1% of the UK workforce. Through automation of processes over the past decade, contact center managers have a vast array of data at their disposal to inform strategy and business decisions.
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[Full Article]
Jul-18-2008 |
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