Friday, May 09, 2008
CRM Who and What? (Oct. E-News from 2SS.Com)
[[Contact:26]]
[[Company:25]]
Dear [[Salutation:40]],
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‘ E – N E W S from ‘
‘ 2SS.Com ‘
‘ Compiled and Edited by ‘
‘ Mailed on: 10/01/1999 6:47 PM Number 15 ‘
‘ Int’l Standard Serial No. - ISSN: 1523-3537‘
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‘ In this issue (4 Items): ‘
‘ ================ ‘
‘ 1--CRM WHO AND WHAT? ‘
‘ 2--QUESTIONS ‘
‘ 3--PRODUCT WATCH ‘
‘ 4--FOUR STRATEGIC / USEFUL / ‘
‘ INTERESTING LINKS ‘
‘ 5--WHY SUBSCRIBE?, 2SS.Com and YOUR ‘
‘ SUBSCRIPTION. ‘
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‘ --------------Item One----------- ‘
‘ CRM WHO AND WHAT? ‘
‘ -------------------------------------- ‘
‘ Customer Relationship Management has been ‘
‘ getting tons of attention in the electronic press ‘
‘ and rightfully so. ‘
‘ International Data Corp. (IDC) has labeled CRM ‘
‘ (Customer Resource Management) as a key ‘
‘ driver of growth in cross-industry applications. ‘
‘ They estimate it in 1999 as a $33 billion market.
‘ One cited example is CRM supplier Siebel ‘
‘ Systems who raised revenues in 1998 almost
‘ 188% to $332 million. ‘
‘ IDC estimates this market that will swell to
‘ over $7.5 billion in the next five years. As a ‘
‘ result enterprise resource planning (ERP), ‘
‘ customer relationship management (CRM) ‘
‘ and smaller sales force automation (SFA) ‘
‘ vendors have jumped in to provide solutions ‘
‘ WHAT IS CRM? ‘
‘ A good starting place is the following glossary ‘
‘ of CRM-related terms developed by InfoWorld ‘
‘ a technology industry weekly newspaper: ‘
‘ CIS (customer interaction solution): coined by the ‘
‘ Aberdeen Group ‘
‘ CRM (customer relationship management): ‘
‘ coined by the Gartner Group; encompasses ‘
‘ sales, marketing, customer service, and ‘
‘ support applications ‘
‘ ERP (enterprise resource planning): software that ‘
‘ links back-office computer systems such as ‘
‘ manufacturing, financial, human resources,
‘ sales-force automation, supply-chain ‘
management, data warehousing, document ‘
management, and after-sales service
‘ and support ‘
‘ MES (marketing encyclopedia system): stores ‘
‘ all product information, information about ‘
‘ competitors, collateral, and any other
‘ information supplied by the marketing
‘ department to assist in the sales cycle ‘
‘ OMS (opportunity management system): provides ‘
‘ users with the tools to track opportunities and ‘
‘ predict possible closed deals; can guide sales ‘
‘ representatives through a sales cycle to ensure ‘
‘ that the best methods are used ‘
‘ SCS (sales configuration system): a ‘
‘ module or system used for configuring complex ‘
‘ products and services, such as necessary ‘
‘ components and pricing ‘
‘ SFA (sales-force automation): software that ‘
provides IT to a field sales force to automate ‘
‘ sales process ‘
‘ TES (technology-enabled selling): coined by the
‘ Gartner Group ‘
‘ WHAT PRODUCTS ARE AVAILABLE? ‘
‘ Info Word has reviewed CRM extensively in three ‘
‘ installments. ‘
‘ FIRST, they compared workgroup sales-force ‘
automation tools -- Symantec's Symantec
‘ Act 4.0, GoldMine Software's GoldMine 4.0, ‘
‘ Multiactive Software's Maximizer Enterprise 4.0,
‘ and Sage's TeleMagic Enterprise 3.5. ‘
‘ These workgroup SFA and contact-management ‘
‘ packages are the low tier of the market. They are ‘
‘ limited in scope, but they are a viable alternative ‘
‘ for sales forces of less than 30 people that ‘
‘ principally require contact- and account- ‘
‘ management capabilities. ‘
‘ At 2SS.Com we recommend both ACT and ‘
GoldMine for different reasons. If you’re ‘
‘ interested in why please just ask? ‘
‘ SECOND, in another Info World issue they ‘
‘ compared middle tier solutions dominated by ‘
‘ sales- and marketing-automation software for ‘
‘ companies with 30 to 300 salespeople. ‘
‘ These mid-tier products lack the business ‘
‘ comprehensiveness of the larger enterprise ‘
‘ products. Info World based its evaluations on ‘
‘ a group of 50 salespeople working in a small ‘
‘ to midsize company or in a division of a large ‘
‘ organization three mid-tier solutions -- Applix's ‘
’ Applix iEnterprise 7.4, Epicor Software's ‘
‘ Clientele 7.0, and Moss Software's ‘
‘ ActiveSales 3.1 -- ‘
‘ THIRD and finally, the top tier of the market ‘
‘ includes enterprise-wide SFA products that offer ‘
‘ contact- and sales-management, customer- ‘
service, marketing, and executive-reporting ‘
‘ capabilities. Vendors include Vantive Onyx
‘ Software, Trilogy Software and Siebel Systems ‘
‘ as well as companies such as Baan and Oracle ‘
‘ which are expanding the market with products
‘ that add ERP to an enterprise-wide SFA
‘ software solution. ‘
‘ Does CRM interest you? Let us know here ‘
‘ are E-News and we’ll poke into how to put it to
‘ use in more detail. ‘
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‘ --------------Item Two----------- ‘
‘ QUESTIONS ‘
‘ --------------------- ‘
‘ HOW DO YOU DO CRM? ‘
‘ In preparing to do this issue we asked strategic ‘
‘ systems advisory panel member DAVE LJUNG ‘
‘ for a review of what his firm ‘Gilbert Accountancy’ ‘
‘ is doing. He responded….
‘ Here are some thoughts on our use of ‘
‘ Goldmine. We are moving towards Gold- ‘
‘ mine as the origin and tracking point for all ‘
‘ for all our client communications. We have ‘
‘ integrated E-Mail and fax so that those ‘
transmissions are stored in the client ‘
‘ database. There is a neat linking feature ‘
‘ that allows Word/Excel documents to be ‘
‘ retrieved from within the contact record. ‘
‘ We also use it to track clients by "Industry ‘
‘ Team", for use in mailings or data collection. ‘
‘ Naturally, it is used extensively as a phone ‘
‘ bank and for contact management. We have ‘
‘ recently begun to use the scheduling feature ‘
‘ which allows easier access and modification ‘
‘ than our old paper distribution method. ‘
‘ Another feature is a synchronization function ‘
‘ to update our laptops with fresh data. ‘
‘ I can't think of any particular new features I ‘
‘ would like to see, at this time, but if any ‘
‘ ideas come to me, I'll let you know. ‘
‘ HOW ABOUT YOU? ‘
‘ Do you have a unique or just valuable way of using ‘
‘ a contact manager or sales process tool at your ‘
‘ firm? Please share it with us in a paragraph or ‘
‘ we’d be delighted to benefit from your expertise. ‘
‘ IS THE DELIVERY HERE? ‘
‘ On 7-8-99 2SS.Com ordered via a WWW page a ‘
‘ network hub from the distributor, Merisel, Inc., we ‘
‘ use. On 7-9-99 I got onto the WWW to ‘
‘ check the status of it’s delivery. Merisel provided ‘
‘ a FedEx link for my order. FedEx gave me the ‘
‘ following message. ‘
‘ ______________________________ ‘
‘ From: [email protected] ‘
‘ [mailto:[email protected]] ‘
‘ Sent: Friday, July 09, 1999 11:14 AM ‘
‘ Subject: Online FedEx Tracking ‘
‘ Here is the FedEx tracking Info. to complete ‘
‘ the story....
‘ Airbill Number : 459225934645 ‘
‘ Delivered To : Recept/Frnt desk ‘
‘ Delivery Location : FAIR OAKS CA ‘
‘ Delivery Date : 07/09 ‘
‘ Delivery Time : 10:36 ‘
‘ Signed For By : M.AVILA ‘
‘ Status Exception : Pre-routed meter pkg ‘
‘ picked up ‘
‘ Scan Activity: ‘
‘ Delivered RANCHO CORDOVA CA 07/09 ‘
‘ 10:36 ‘
‘ Placed on Van RANCHO CORDOVA CA 07/09 ‘
‘ 08:25 ‘
‘ Arrived at FedEx Destination Location RANCHO ‘
‘ CORDOVA CA 07/09 06:47 ‘
‘ Left FedEx Sort Facility OAKLAND CA ‘
‘ 07/09 00:54 ‘
‘ Left FedEx Origin Location UNION CITY CA 07/08
‘ 16:22 ‘
‘ Pickup Exception UNION CITY CA 07/08 16:21 ‘
‘ ---------------------------------------------------------------- ‘
‘ Note on the 12th line above…..’
‘ “Signed For By : M.AVILA” ‘
‘ ---------------------------------------------------------------- ‘
‘ THE PACKAGE WAS ALREADY DELIVERED!!! ‘
‘ ---------------------------------------------------------------- ‘
‘ Does your business work this way? ‘
‘ Does it plan to? ‘
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‘ -----------Item Three---------- ‘
‘ PRODUCT WATCH ‘
‘ --------------------------- ‘
‘ PHONE, PAGER, OR MUSIC PLAYER ‘
‘ In the 90’s people have increasingly and rather ‘
‘ matter-of-factly expected more and more inform- ‘
ation. Portals on the World-Wide-Web took one ‘
‘ approach that many of us have come to expect. ‘
‘ Informational Department stores that lure us in ‘
‘ with free E-Mail, companionship and shopping ‘
‘ and keep us coming back with search engine ‘
‘ answers to our every question on stocks, ‘
‘ business, medicine, travel, you name it! ‘
‘ ZDNet editor Stephen Howard-Sarin suggests
‘ the next big thing will be at the other end of the ‘
‘ information management spectrum. A hand-held ‘
‘ device that can handle a multitude of tasks, “—a ‘
‘ phone, pager, or music player.” (a device that) ‘
‘ …wants to be the pocket portal to your most ‘
‘ personal information.” He suggests that in 12 ‘
‘ months we’ll see a variety of devices that fit this ‘
‘ ‘next-big-thing’ prediction. ‘
‘ INTERNET DATA ACD ANYONE? ‘
‘ ACD (Automated Call Distribution) is tried and ‘
‘ true telephone technology, but now we’re ‘
‘ beginning to see the idea transferred to the ‘
‘ world of date and the Internet. ‘
‘ What is believed to be the industry’s first switch- ‘
‘ based Internet call center can handle audio, ‘
‘ video, and data together as one contact,. This ‘
‘ conjures up the idea of a completely a new level ‘
‘ of personalized, interactive customer service ‘
‘ over the Web. ‘
‘ Best of all the PNX ACD doesn’t require a large ‘
‘ investment in hardware infrastructure. It’s
‘ Windows NT-based and runs on any multi- ‘
‘ media PC with a Web browser and Internet ‘
‘ connection. Also required are a desktop camera ‘
‘ and H.323-compliant Internet phone. ‘
‘ This may not be the customer relationship ‘
‘ management answer your business needs ‘
‘ today. But you probably agree that the day is ‘
‘ coming when you will want to have access and ‘
‘ proficiency with customer-oriented multi-media
‘ data. And, now with PNX ACD you can! ‘
‘ VIRTUAL INK MIMIO DIGITAL MEETING ‘
‘ ASSISTANT ‘
‘ You can take a couple loose parts including: ‘
‘ * Special markers, and ‘
‘ * What looks like an architect’s drawing tool ‘
‘ with suction cups… ‘
‘ …out from a corner of you briefcase. Stick it on ‘
‘ any whiteboard and you’re ready to capture ‘
‘ onto a PC anything that gets written. PC ‘
‘ Computing October 1999 page 132 says the ‘
‘ markers are a little ‘cumbersome’ to use but ‘
‘ cheap at $499 compared to buying and ‘
‘ carrying with you the whole board, cables, etc. ‘
‘ as with more traditional models. (Virtual Link ‘
‘ (617) 623-8387. ‘
‘ OLD QUICKBOOKS VERSIONS? ‘
‘ If you are using QuickBooks or QuickBooks ‘
‘ Pro 4.0 version or earlier, please act soon to ‘
‘ get the free Year 2000 update or upgrade to ‘
‘ the latest version. ‘
‘ The version of QuickBooks software you may ‘
‘ be using has not been tested for Year 2000 ‘
‘ (Y2K) compliance. Versions of QuickBooks ‘
‘ and QuickBooks Pro 4.0 and earlier may ‘
‘ not continue to work properly beyond Dec. 31, ‘
‘ 1999. We have made two easy options ‘
‘ available to our registered users of QuickBooks ‘
and QuickBooks Pro: ‘
‘ 1. Intuit is offering a free Y2K update that has ‘
‘ been tested and meets Intuit’s Year 2000 ‘
‘ Compliant Standard. The update is available ‘
‘ to registered users of QuickBooks and ‘
‘ QuickBooks Pro versions 2.0, 3.0, 3.1 and ‘
‘ 4.0 for Windows, and versions 1.0, 2.0 and ‘
‘ 2.1 for DOS. ‘
‘ OR ‘
‘ 2. Upgrade to the latest version, QuickBooks 99 ‘
‘ or QuickBooks Pro 99 (both have many new ‘
‘ features and meet Intuit’s Year 2000 ‘
‘ Compliant Standard) at special upgrade ‘
‘ pricing. ‘
‘ Whichever option you choose, Intuit encourages ‘
‘ you to respond quickly. ‘
‘ GET A FREE Y2K UPDATE. ‘
‘ Intuit is offering registered QuickBooks and ‘
‘ QuickBooks Pro users a free Windows update ‘
‘ that has been tested to meet Intuit’s Year 2000 ‘
‘ Compliant Standard. By visiting ‘
www.order.intuit.com/qby2k you can download ‘
‘ the update free of charge, or request the update ‘
‘ be mailed to you on CD-ROM or 3.5-inch disks ‘
(shipping and handling fees apply to shipped ‘
‘ product). ‘
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‘ ------------Item Four----------- ‘
‘ FOUR STRATEGIC / USEFUL / INTERESTING ‘
‘ LINKS ‘
‘ --------------------------------------------------------------- ‘
‘ 1. Your Internet PC the Dictionary? Try going to ‘
http://humanities.uchicago.edu/forms_unrest/webster.form.html to find ‘virtually’ every word that Webster’s ‘
‘ has ever thought of. All of them. ‘
‘ 2. Also try WordSmyth at http://www.wordsmyth.net ‘
‘ where they have definitions and more. ‘
‘ 3. Quotations make a nice complement to ‘
‘ definitions, find them at ‘
‘ http://www.starlingtech.com/quotes/links.html ‘
‘ 4. Need new or special fonts? Try ‘
http://www.pcworld.com/fileworld/cat_index_sub/frameset/0,1460,desktop+fonts,00.html at the PC World Site ‘
‘ to add to your font collection. ;
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‘ ------------Item Five------------ ‘
‘ 2SS.Com and YOUR SUBSCRIPTION ‘
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