June 2004

Magazine Features

Dow Corning's Extreme Makeover

The new approach shook up a drowsy company, giving it a renewed spark and focus to face a more competitive landscape.

5 Ways to Get More From Your CRM Investment

Here are the five strategies of five companies that have turbocharged their CRM initiatives.

10 Strategies for Customer Service Success

Here's how companies can deliver stellar service at the many touch points available to customers today.

Cashing In on Customer Loyalty

Harrah's results are so impressive that other casino operators are copying some of Harrah's more discernible methods.

Front Office

Don't Get Comfortable

Don't overlook new strategies your competitors are using to grow market share at your expense.

Reality Check

The Bake-at-Home Version of CRM

These executives had a clear understanding of exactly what part of the sales process needed to be improved.

Customer Centricity

Offshore Versus Onshore Contact Centers

Offshoring will succeed if it results in a more productive customer service operation.

Insight

Hosting Hits Call Centers

Application service providers are building on their success with hosted CRM applications and jockeying for position in the budding computer telephony service provider market.

Ensuring the Success of Insurance Companies

CRM vendors have come around to a new way of addressing the needs of insurers.

Making Sense of Marketing Automation Options

Marketers have done a lot of house cleaning and are better positioned and able to effectively garner more budgets internally.

Required Reading: Tom Osenton on the "Death of Demand"

Tom Osenton, author of The Death of Demand: Finding Growth in a Saturated Global Economy, however, consumers have reached their limit; also, a novel about sales.

CHART: Just About Time for Real Time

Is your company using or evaluating real-time IT solutions initiatives?

Heard and Overheard

Just 1 Question

Was your CRM initiative successful because of the technology you selected?

REAL ROI

Bridging the Channel With Online CRM

Having registered 550,000 customers as of March, Georgia-Pacific's AllYourRooms.com is currently 15 percent ahead of expectations.

Build Customer Relationships--Just Don't Call It CRM

Ultimately getting buy-in from both management and users will take a successful pilot.

CRM in Action: Turn Agents Into Experts

The right script can make a general customer service agent appear as an expert.

CRM in Action: Paramount Gets Customers to Talk Back

Employees had conducted one-on-one customer satisfaction research within its parks for years, Paramount wanted to implement a less intrusive solution.

How to...encourage channel partners to adopt CRM

It is vital to bring partners into the overall CRM strategy as completely as possible.

CRM in Action: ON Semiconductor Knows When the Price Is Right

Benefits have translated to a more than 100 percent ROI in less than one year.

Chart: Getting a Lock on Customers

What is the primary driver of your customer support implementation?

Secret of My Success

The Key to Growing Sales at Master Lock

Getting critical information in the hands of customers and reps faster is a key contributor to our sales growth.