February 2010

Magazine Features

Helping Hands

The nonprofit sector needs CRM more than it knows, but its relationships are with donors, members, or activists—and technology is rarely a cause worth fighting for. Will the low cost of on-demand solutions finally allow nonprofits to embrace CRM?

Profiting from the Nonprofits

The for-profit world should heed the hard-won lessons of the nonprofits

Keeping Up with the (For-Profit) Joneses

Modern nonprofits can't afford to seem like technological backwaters

The Lowest Cost of All

Why the nonprofit sector should embrace social media and viral marketing

The Shotgun Marriage of Sales and Marketing

In this exclusive excerpt from the fourth edition of the industry bible, legendary thought leader Paul Greenberg explains why the unification of sales and marketing is finally upon us.

Required Reading: Greenberg at the Speed of Light

The author, thought leader, consultant, and industry expert chats with Managing Editor Joshua Weinberger and Associate Editor Jessica Tsai to reveal why he wrote the book he swore he'd never write.

Stressed and Distressed

Underappreciated. Overworked. Underpaid. Here's a shock: Stressed-out customer service agents provide lousy customer service. We've got ways to reduce the tension—and raise satisfaction—on both sides of the call.

Environmental Distress

Your basic processes can affect your agents' stress levels

Front Office

CRM Gives Back

Reality Check

Avoid the Disaster of 2009

Learn from your failures to fine-tune lead generation efforts

Customer Centricity

Customers Don’t Buy What You Sell

Your company is more than the sum of its transactions

The Tipping Point

The World Is Their Oyster

Give customers an opportunity to play an active role in customizing their customer service

Scouting Report

Speaking of Customer Insights

Speech analytics can help improve customer experience, cut costs, reduce attrition, and minimize risk

Pint of View

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Gala

How to survive the vendor events of last resort—no matter what resorts they're held at.

Insight

Google Wave Makes a Splash in CRM

Google Wave isn't the first to wade into real-time collaboration, but the tsunami of buzz may drown the competition.

On the Scene: SPSS Directions '09

Possibilities and Potentialities—After the acquisition by IBM, SPSS executives and customers alike predict a bright future for predictive analytics.

Adding the Persona Touch

With an eye on the user experience, some brands are inviting imaginary friends to the party.

Required Reading: Indecisions, Indecisions, Indecisions

The author of "How We Decide" discusses the essential role of customer indecision.

CRM on Twitter: February 2010

The word on the street.

REAL ROI

Food for Thought

RightNow Technologies helps Organic Valley feed information-hungry consumers

The New-Age Home

Aided by SiteSpect, a specialist in elder-care placement boosts Web conversions and better addresses client needs.

High Five for DB5

With InfoStreet, a consultancy gets enterprise-caliber efficiency on a small-business budget

Secret of My Success

Ciena Cozies Up to Its Partners

Community tools from Mzinga help a communications company communicate

Re:Tooling

Re:Tooling — Sales Enablement Tools: Make the Selling Simpler

Organizations want sales reps to have access to the right information at the most critical moments