September 2003

Magazine Features

The 2003 CRM Leaders: Introduction

The CRM Elite award showcases the best, recent results and ROI among CRM user companies in six categories. The Influential Leaders award highlights the movers and shakers in CRM who have left an indelible mark on either their industry or their company this past year. The CRM Market Leaders award reveal the market leading vendors in eight categories.

The 2003 CRM Elite

*Winners were selected from among companies that either nominated themselves or were nominated by their vendors.

The 2003 Influential Leaders

Here, we spotlight customer-company and vendor executives who have made a significant impact in their company or on the industry in the past year. Additionally, we introduce our inaugural CRM Hall of Fame, and induct three industry luminaries.

The 2003 Market Leaders (Part 1)

CRM magazine scrutinized CRM suite vendors and related categories to uncover the top-five leaders in each category: enterprise CRM, mid-market CRM, analytics, contact center outsourcers, and consulting firms. The results are based on a combination of weighted criteria, including revenue and revenue growth (last four completed quarters, ended March 30, 2003), market share, customer wins, and reputation for customer satisfaction.

The 2003 Market Leaders (Part 2)

CRM magazine scrutinized CRM suite vendors and related categories to uncover the top-five leaders in each category: enterprise CRM, mid-market CRM, analytics, contact center outsourcers, and consulting firms. The results are based on a combination of weighted criteria, including revenue and revenue growth (last four completed quarters, ended March 30, 2003), market share, customer wins, and reputation for customer satisfaction.

Front Office

CRM Goes Hollywood

The awards recognize superior performance in three areas: ROI excellence in customer companies (The CRM Elite); individual achievement (Influential Leaders); and vendor leadership (CRM Market Leaders).

Reality Check

Service Is the Long-Term Winner

CRM and the new customer service capabilities that it offers are becoming integral to companies using product/customer service excellence strategies.

Insight

You Can Take it With You

Millions of unhappy customers can shed the yoke of oppression and change carriers, while holding on to their phone numbers. This could create churn rates higher than the wireless industry could imagine.

Vertical Focus: Government

A recent study reveals that 92 percent of surveyed government executives consider it either "important" or "very important" to deliver "superior" service, but 90 percent of the respondents say their agencies are not yet delivering that superior service.

Don't Initiate CRM Until You Ask These Questions

CRM magazine Editor-in-Chief Ginger Conlon had the opportunity recently to meet with executives at five of the largest CRM vendor companies. They discussed vendor accountability and the one question companies must ask their prospective CRM vendors.

News in Brief

Demand for chief customer officers has surged; technology spending by North American banks will remain flat for 2003; mobile access to CRM solutions, not wireless connectivity, will see the most attention from systems integrators; and more.

Heard and Overheard

3 Ways to Capitalize on CRM

Getting the right product to the right customer at the right price is difficult in the automotive industry.

Required Reading

Author Russ Lombardo offers practical advice on gathering information to design and plan the right CRM strategy, getting buy in, and planning for ROI in "CRM for the Common Man."

Secret of My Success

Integrating Silos of Data

Balboa Insurance wanted to create a system where users would not have to toggle between screens, but would be able to access all data about a certain client in one user interface.