February 2006

Magazine Features

SOA Simple

CRM examines service-oriented architecture and its growing impact on the applications landscape.

6 Common Contact Center Mistakes

We tapped contact center industry experts to discuss common gaffes and ways to avoid them and get back on track.

How Sales Teams Should Use CRM

Different positions within a sales force require different functions from an SFA system, and tailoring to fit those functions is a big part of successful SFA strategies.

The Big Squeeze

Large-scale events like natural disasters affect the way people buy. Here, a primer on how to respond to customer concerns in tight times.

Front Office

Experiences Versus Relationships

Good relationships, over time, generate more value for customers and, as a result, more revenue for businesses.

Reality Check

The Future of CRM: Real Time

Always on, always connected, will be the prevalent way to conduct business in 10 years.

Customer Centricity

From Great to Gruesome

A superb customer experience takes a turn for the worse.

The Tipping Point

BPO's Next Level

Capitalize on the unexpected opportunities in CRM business process outsourcing.

Pint of View

Dear John Inc.

Celebrating the urge to merge, and the heartbreak.

Insight

Cleaner Page Loads with AJAX

The RIA refreshes an on-demand dashboard only with figures that have changed.

The On-Demand Influx

Industry pundits expect Google and Microsoft to shake up the market.

Tracking Customer Behavior

Understanding how individuals view Web sites can prevent them from going to competitors when transactions fail.

MarketScope: CRM's Professional Look

Professional services firms' adoption of CRM has been low; analytics functionality and the hosted model may help raise it.

On the Scene: Opting for Opt-in

Asking customers what kind of marketing materials they want helps build relationships and response rates.

REAL ROI

Scheduling Tool Traction

Agent hours have been reduced by 20 percent.

Furnishing Service Excellence

Taking the multichannel-service route delivers savings of roughly 40 percent.

Return on Rupees

An Indian bank maximizes its marketing success.

Secret of My Success: Getting Call Center Ducks in a Row

A large insurance provider turns to a state government and a local college to train agents before they come to the call center.

Re:Tooling

Tech Solution: Event-Based Marketing Tools

Business Problem: Marketing campaigns are failing to deliver targeted, relevant messages to customers.