February 2007

Magazine Features

Not Fade Away

Exhausting customers in a fierce business environment erodes profits through loyalty loss; here, some winning ways to help combat customer fade.

Feedback Mountain

Enterprise feedback management solutions are replacing conventional surveying tools as companies seek a centralized surveying framework that leverages all data.

Mercurial Marketing

Social networking sites have bloomed in the past year or so, but just how valuable are they to marketers and how can that value be leveraged?

Front Office

Finding Customer Clarity

If business professionals would pause for a moment to analyze how their short-term actions can negatively affect long-term customer attrition rates, many would likely do things differently.

Reality Check

Execs, Not Tech

C-level personnel will drive the CRM industry to new heights in the coming years--here's why.

Customer Centricity

Decrease IVR Hang-Ups

Want a more effective interactive voice response system? Here, 10 do's and don'ts.

The Tipping Point

Keeping the Store

Information-based marketing programs deliver real value without companies having to spend millions.

Pint of View

Lazy Sheepdogs, Annoying Sheep

A CRMudgeonly view of the vendor-consumer relationship.

Insight

Marketing Dollars and Scents

New aroma-centered milk ads started a buzz, mostly among marketers.

Jamaica's In

Small companies find the island attractive due to its close proximity to the United States and its well-educated, English-speaking workforce

Hispanic Marketing Goes to Universidad

The first Hispanic marketing programs crop up in the Midwest and online, speaking to a need in the workforce for multicultural marketers.

destinationCRM Dashboard

North American Tech Companies Engineer Bolstered Service and Support Spend

Increased B2B emphasis on the customer experience and continued CRM investment from midmarket companies are two reasons behind expected 2007 spending of more than $1 billion.

Required Reading: Staying Out of the Spam Folder

The Pulse: Which group of workers in your company relies most on mobile technology?

Market Focus: Professional Services: Servicing the Law

Companies are now paying CRM vendors for complete comprehension when it comes to regulatory software products.

REAL ROI

Web Cruisiology

A discount vacation firm finds training heaven on the Web.

A Rose Garland for Customer Satisfaction

The Kentucky Derby host spurs its Web site's content delivery to gallop into the winner's circle.

Remote Support for the Masses

A $3.2 billion Arkansas telco turns to self-service and remote troubleshooting to better serve its nontechnical customers.

Secret of My Success: Watching the Wampum

An IT outsourcing advisor turns to Expensewatch.com to make sure that employees get reimbursed and that customers are worth the investment.

Re:Tooling

Tech Solution: Sales Forecasting Tools

Business Problem: The sales department lacks the ability to accurately forecast, hindering its ability to design sales plans, restructure the sales force, and leverage information from other departments.