New CRM Blog Launched

One of the better CRM blogs on the web has moved and undergone a redesign. crmblogger is now at http://www.insidecrm.com/blog/. The same quality commentary and test-drives have returned. The new CRMinsider also features whitepapers and articles.

Has Technology Killed CRM Strategy?

Great post at CRM Daily about the impact of technology on CRM strategy.

Back in those dim and dark times, I spent a lot of my time talking to end users about how CRM was a set of corporate policies and procedures, with the chosen technology just there to enact and support these. I spoke with retailers about how the owner of the corner shop inherently understood the relationship between themselves and their customers, knowing what their names were, what they would buy on a regular basis, giving help as and when required and so on.

Ah, the good ole days.   As the article points out, CRM vendors deserve some of the blame here.  I will go a step further.  They deserve a lot of the blame.  Committing to unrealistic ROI numbers and software-as-strategy sales approaches, many companies were suckered in to CRM and were burned quickly.   Companies, in turn, hired consultants to implement the magical software as quickly and cheaply as possible, thus overlooking the key component: strategy.

Customer Managed Relationships

Saw a great quote on an old Seth Godin post on why CRM is dead.  He mentions that Disney Destinations Marketing had killed off the old CRM in favor of CMR – Customer Managed Relationships.  I like it.

Small Business CRM Resources

From time to time, I hope to provide links to sites I believe are valuable to other small business owners.

For small businesses looking for quality marketing tips and techniques, check out Duct Tape Marketing. It also has a wealth of information, links, and resources for small businesses operating on a limited budget.

Turning a Negative Customer Experience into a Positive

Major League Soccer has stumbled into an unfortunate situation. Only weeks after David Beckham arrived to bolster the fledgling league, it looks as though an ankle injury will force him to miss a game in Dallas. Why is this so significant? FC Dallas had jacked ticket prices up to $65 each for this single game.

Organizations often shine brightest when faced with such a such a customer service nightmare. How will the club and league make sure these fans who dared try attending a game have a great experience? Since just playing the game and sending everyone home after will leave thousands of potential lifetime customers feeling ripped off, it will be interesting to see how FC Dallas and MLS respond. Stay tuned.

CRM 2.0

I’ve seen considerable dialogue online on CRM 2.0 – what do you think defines CRM 2.0? In my opinion, CRM 2.0 puts the customer in the driver’s seat of the relationship. The customer dictates everything from how they are supported (phone/web/email/chat/walk in your front door), to how they will receive communication, to how their ordering experience will take place.

CRM is being revolutionized by the considerable technology advances of recent years and we are only scratching the surface of what could be accomplished.