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Leading Practices of Application Management Webinar for January 2009
Our webinar series on Leading Practices of Application Management is entering its third month, and we have an exciting lineup of topics to cover: - Business Intelligence Management Pack Overview - Siebel Maximum Availability Architecture Best Practices - PeopleSoft Performance Tips and Techniques - E-Business Suite Install and Cloning Best Practices You may register at this crm.ittoolbox.com | 05-Jan-2009 21:42

The Recession, the Cloud and Salesforce.com
Google, Yahoo, Cisco, Intel, AMD and other companies are slashing employees and cutting expenses. And then there's Salesforce.com. During Thanksgiving week, the San Francisco-based software company began driving a big white truck -- a traveling billboard -- up and down Highway 101 as part of a major recruiting push.
Source : crmbuyer.com | 05-Jan-2009 13:00

7 Experts Paint Enterprise IT Landscape for 2009
Welcome to the latest BriefingsDirect Analyst Insights Edition, Vol. 35, a periodic discussion and dissection of software, services, SOA and compute cloud-related news and events with a panel of IT analysts. In this episode, our guests make their top five predictions for IT in 2009.
Source : crmbuyer.com | 04-Jan-2009 13:00

A Tale of Power, Money and Poor Customer Service
When Bob Pinion and his son bought a small sports bar in Palatine last year, they hadn't counted on paying to have their electricity hooked up. So it was a bit of a shock when ComEd asked for a $2,850 deposit to get the power flowing. Pinion paid the money because he had no choice. But he eagerly awaited the day when he would get the deposit back.
Source : crmbuyer.com | 03-Jan-2009 13:00

Outrage??? Some people are looking for controversy
Apparently this baby wearing ad for Motrin is generating some controversy. If this ad strikes you as offensive or problematic, in any way, YOU ARE NOT SPENDING ENOUGH TIME WITH YOUR BABY.. When I see the word "outrage!!" – I expect ...
Source : crm.ittoolbox.com | 02-Jan-2009 13:11

How to Shave Costs With Precision
The global financial marketplace has recently become quite volatile, as fears of an American recession affect economies all over the world. Such fears can be especially dangerous for businesses. In times like these, many top managers panic and make unwise decisions such as firing quality employees and slashing important programs.
Source : crmbuyer.com | 02-Jan-2009 13:00

Creating Information - What to Take Offline
Last time we talked about online forms. If you thought about it, too much information online defeats your purpose. So what to do? It can be extremely difficult to determine what information is relevant at what period of time. Here's an odd example - in my spare time I am working to create a website devoted to Finnish pagan philosophy and history. I literally have hundreds of pages, quotes, references,
Source : crm.ittoolbox.com | 31-Dec-2008 18:56

Live Chat's Not Just for Sales Anymore: Q&A With Conversive CEO Robert Williams
For many e-tailers, online chat is a closer. Packaged and offered up to site visitors as a service, it provides an opportunity to close a sale when an uncertain customer wavers. Retailers were early adopters of this technology precisely because of the distinct return on investment, Conversive CEO Robert Williams told CRM Buyer.
Source : crmbuyer.com | 31-Dec-2008 13:00

Survey: Customers Give E-Tailers Low Service Marks
E-commerce has certainly not been immune from the recession battering the U.S. economy, but for reasons that can only be guessed at, most of the leading e-tailers have not stepped up their efforts to retain customers by providing improved service, according to a recent customer satisfaction survey.
Source : crmbuyer.com | 31-Dec-2008 00:02

Payday Lenders Thrive on Wild Web
CashNetUSA.com isn't your typical financial-services business. For one, at a time when 140,000 industry jobs have been lost nationally year to date, the Chicago-based online payday lender is hiring. For another, the headquarters' vibe conjures up the freewheeling tech-boom era.
Source : crmbuyer.com | 30-Dec-2008 18:25

Bundled Service, Unbundled Customer Service
Memo to telecom service providers: "We never thanked you, but you did a great job offering us consolidated billing. It is hard to remember now, as for the last few years you have been so aggressive in promoting bundled services, but five years ago, this was a major pain point. Three bills for ISP, cable and telephone, and usually three different due dates as well."
Source : crmbuyer.com | 30-Dec-2008 13:00

Broadening the Contact Center Platform: Q&A With Avaya VP Bob Lyons
This summer, Bob Lyons was tapped to lead Avaya's contact center division. The new general manager and vice president of customer service applications joined the company at a crucial time. It was in the midst of reorganizing its operations around three business units: the contact center, unified communications, and small and mid-sized business applications.
Source : crmbuyer.com | 29-Dec-2008 13:00

Resolving your resolution anxiety
People always feel the need to make new year's resolutions.  I really never do – although I had some for last year – partially met and some disbanded. The reason I don't pick a day to resolve is that the artificial demarcation is always in the ...
Source : crm.ittoolbox.com | 29-Dec-2008 09:44

Running the Holiday Return Gauntlet
If there's anything we've learned this year, it's that nothing can be taken for granted. Any number of retail wild cards make it hard to give consumers a complete shopping strategy scoop. How can I tell you where to jab when retailers themselves don't even know how they'll bob and weave? Return policies are no different.
Source : crmbuyer.com | 28-Dec-2008 13:00

Why Customer Analytics is Crucial to Success
Customer and Marketing Analytics allow you to figure out the marketplace dynamics, understand and dialogue with your customer, and design and execute your next strategy.
Source : crm.ittoolbox.com | 28-Dec-2008 11:57

Ask for Too Much Information, Watch Customers Flee
The game has changed for retail. In an era of increasingly competitive online business, failing corporate giants and consumer fear over the state of the economy, it's clear that small online retailers will face an uphill battle over the next several months. The good news is, e-commerce may be the one bright light in an increasingly dismal world of retail, and there are steps retailers can take to improve profits online.
Source : crmbuyer.com | 27-Dec-2008 13:00

Since When Is the Customer Always Right?
You knew it was a bad time of year to go to that store, but you went in anyhow and you wished you hadn't. The lines were long and filled with grumps and kids, both way past nap time. You couldn't find anything because the place was a mess. The sound system was broken, and the same Christmas song was playing over and over and over till you thought you'd scream. You couldn't wait to get out of there.
Source : crmbuyer.com | 27-Dec-2008 13:00

3 Low-Cost or No-Cost Customer Management Tips for Uncertain Times
There is little doubt that these are increasingly uncertain times for managers. In 2008, U.S. businesses cut nearly 2 million jobs -- amounting to 11 straight months of shrinking payrolls -- and some economists predict that we could lose another 3 million jobs in the next two years. In the past four months, we've seen continued triple-digit fluctuations in the Dow.
Source : crmbuyer.com | 26-Dec-2008 13:00

Welcome 2009: Rough Ride Ends Fine?
What a great time to be thinking about the future. Seriously. This is my last column of the year, and traditionally I try to forecast some movements in the market for the year ahead. This year it takes a special kind of fortitude to even read a piece like this, let alone write it, but if you think about it, this really ought to be a good time for prognosticating and for optimism.
Source : crmbuyer.com | 24-Dec-2008 13:00

Web Self-Service can be Convenient, Cost-Reducing, and Revenue Generating
While preaching web self service for most organizations is passe, most are yet to fully grasp the significance self-service can have on the bottom line.
Source : crm.ittoolbox.com | 23-Dec-2008 13:07

Contact Center Double Whammy: More Calls, Fewer Reps
First, the caller screamed about not receiving her unemployment check. Then, she began hurling F-bombs in a breathless barrage of profanities until claims rep Dale Whitman, unable to ascertain her problem or to quell her outburst, hung up. "I felt bad for her, but she wouldn't calm down and she had actually cheated her way in through the foreign-language line," said Whitman.
Source : crmbuyer.com | 23-Dec-2008 13:00

Privacy Policies: The Good, the Bad and the Witty
Lorrie Thomas does not "sell, share or whore out" the personal information of any visitor who comes to her Lorrie Thomas Web Marketing site -- and she backs up this no-share promise in her privacy statement. Indeed, the entire document is a straightforward description of what the company will and will not do with personal data.
Source : crmbuyer.com | 23-Dec-2008 13:00

Closing the Sale With Live Video Chat
The Internet provides opportunities for businesses to interact with customers in new ways. As innovations in social media appear, enterprises slowly adopt those same trends to offer alternatives for making the sale online. Some companies are attracting potential new clients through live video streaming or open chat channels.
Source : crmbuyer.com | 22-Dec-2008 13:00

Merry Christmas and Peace
Two songs, same event. Christmas in the Trenches by John McCutcheon http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJi41RWaTCs   Belleau Wood by Garth Brooks http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTl0S37CIXU
Source : crm.ittoolbox.com | 22-Dec-2008 06:45

Keep in Touch With Customers - but Not Too Much
Have you noticed your inboxes are filling up faster lately with promotions from businesses desperate to get your attention? If you're like me and getting bombarded with multiple promotions, then your first inclination is to just tune them out, click delete and move on to the business of the day.
Source : crmbuyer.com | 21-Dec-2008 13:00

Gentle Reminder: Bad Call Center Policies Lose Customers
Dear Mr. CEO: I just hung up on your customer service representative -- and I doubt we'll talk again. I'll be canceling my service contract in person because I want a written record that our relationship is over. If you really monitored my call "for quality and training purposes," you already know why I'm writing you.
Source : crmbuyer.com | 20-Dec-2008 13:00

Oracle Profit Slip May Signal Deepening Recession
In yet another sign of weakening in the technology sector, enterprise software giant Oracle announced a decline in profits on Thursday. The Redwood Shores, Calif.-based company reported $1.29 billion in earnings during the fiscal quarter ended Nov. 31, down 1 percent from $1.3 billion in earnings during the same period last year.
Source : crmbuyer.com | 19-Dec-2008 20:42

Study: Shoppers Swayed by Each Other's Online Reviews
Two-thirds of online shoppers carry out Internet-based research about retailers before making a purchase, yet only half of retailers actually monitor their own reputation, according to new research by 1&1 Internet. The hosting firm surveyed over 1,500 consumers and over 400 companies and found that nearly half of UK shoppers read online reviews or recommendations about specific products before buying them.
Source : crmbuyer.com | 19-Dec-2008 18:47

Creating Information Step 4
Once you're on a roll and have created data you need a method to deliver information as well as collect it for use later. Today we look at the various means to present information to your users that will affect positive change in their working day. Here is the first choice and a few words about it: Online forms Users want data online. Let's not talk about outside customers
Source : crm.ittoolbox.com | 19-Dec-2008 15:24

BI Boost: Conquering Massive Data Sets With MapReduce
Internet-scale data sets and Web-scale analytics have placed a different set of requirements on software infrastructure and data processing techniques. More types of companies and organizations are seeking new inferences and insights across a variety of massive data sets -- some into the petabyte scale.
Source : crmbuyer.com | 19-Dec-2008 13:00

Credit Card Firms Wail, Gnash Teeth Over New Consumer-Friendly Rules
The Federal Reserve Bank has issued new rules that will take effect in 2010, radically changing the way credit card companies treat their customers. Essentially, they are strong protections that regulate interest rates and billing methodologies. For instance, card companies will be prohibited from charging interest on balances that were paid off in the previous cycle.
Source : crmbuyer.com | 19-Dec-2008 00:25

Medicare Offers Docs E-Prescription Incentive
The push for paperless prescriptions is about to get a boost: Starting in January, doctors who e-prescribe can get bonus pay from Medicare. For patients, the benefits are obvious -- from shorter drugstore waits to increased safety, as pharmacists no longer squint to decipher doctors' messy handwriting.
Source : crmbuyer.com | 18-Dec-2008 17:39

Is the Ship Really Sinking? B2B Budgeting for Post-Slump Growth
The economic downturn is top of mind for every organization. Pick up a newspaper or turn on the TV and it's hard to dismiss the facts: Recession looms and nobody knows when or how it will end. As a Research Director in the Customer Management Technology Group at the Aberdeen Group, I'm constantly getting asked what I think about the economy and how it will impact sales and marketing spending over the next year.
Source : crmbuyer.com | 18-Dec-2008 13:00

Are Banks Short-Changing You on Security?
Given the financial fallout we've all been treated to this year, online banking and investment transactions may face increasing risks from hackers and sub-par network security. Buying and selling via the Internet is the most common form of trading stock -- and the most vulnerable. With so much money changing hands through the Internet, bank security risk is critically high.
Source : crmbuyer.com | 18-Dec-2008 13:00

The Flying Penguin: Linux In-Flight Entertainment Systems
If you've used an in-flight entertainment system, known in the airline industry as an "IFE," to watch movies, listen to music, or order food lately, chances are it used Linux as an operating system. You might not know that Linux is the operating system behind what you see on your screen, but it probably is.
Source : crmbuyer.com | 18-Dec-2008 13:00

Mud House has been demolished
Those of you who have read my blog for some time, know that we endured some challenges with our home in July 2007. Read: All Press is Good Press and take a look at Images from Mud House to get caught up... This past week, finally, the house was dem...
Source : crm.ittoolbox.com | 18-Dec-2008 07:56

A little gratitude and perspective
Hey folks.  I've been busy for the past week - still am it seems and that is a good thing. I saw this clip and had to laugh.  It's funny because I comment about my cell phone or MP3 players and other conveniences all the time.  We oft...
Source : crm.ittoolbox.com | 18-Dec-2008 07:12

Attention E-Shoppers: Thursday Is Free Shipping Day
Move over Black Friday and Cyber Monday, and make room for yet another retail-inspired shopping event. Free Shipping Day is here -- or rather, it will be here on Thursday, Dec. 18 -- the last day someone can order a gift online and have it guaranteed to arrive on Christmas Eve with free shipping.
Source : crmbuyer.com | 17-Dec-2008 20:03

Social Media Outsourcing, Part 2: Weighing Risks and Rewards
Social media outsourcing will be the next big business opportunity for India after business process outsourcing and knowledge process outsourcing, contends Gaurav Mishra, Yahoo fellow in residence at Georgetown University's Institute for the Study of Diplomacy.
Source : crmbuyer.com | 17-Dec-2008 17:00

2008: Good Riddance
I don't know about you, but I will be happy to write "The End" on the chapter we call 2008. Normally, at the end of a year I look back at some of my predictions from a year earlier and look for some indication that I was on track at least some of the time. This year is different. Who cares, really -- the big story in the economy was on no one's radar that I know of.
Source : crmbuyer.com | 17-Dec-2008 13:00

Oracle Likely to Bend to Recessionary Winds
Business software maker Oracle is scheduled to report its fiscal second-quarter results after the stock market closes Thursday. Oracle has been on a roll for several years as it snapped up dozens of its smaller rivals, but the Redwood Shores-based company will be hard pressed to keep the momentum going as more corporate customers curtail their spending on technology to weather the recession.
Source : crmbuyer.com | 16-Dec-2008 18:38

Everything Goes to the Cloud: Q&A With HP Exec Marc Olesen
Over the past eight years, HP has quietly built itself a solid constituency in the Software as a Service community. The company offers a huge range of applications hosted in the cloud -- almost its entire IT portfolio, in fact. That is why the company views the current economic crunch with equanimity.
Source : crmbuyer.com | 16-Dec-2008 13:00

Finding the Right Tech Model for Patient Care Management
The number of diabetes patients and those with the potential for diabetes has grown substantially over the past decade and continues to expand. This trend creates a tremendous demand for innovative care solutions and service models. New service innovations will take advantage of the latest monitoring and communication technologies.
Source : crmbuyer.com | 16-Dec-2008 13:00

Data Breaches: Ignorance Is Dangerous
A Countrywide mortgage employee working Sunday nights copied customer records from an office computer, then sold the personal information of an estimated 2 million mortgage applicants. A group of hackers "wardriving" managed to capture credit card numbers, passwords and account information for more than 40 million customers. Before 2004, consumers rarely heard about these kinds of thefts.
Source : crmbuyer.com | 15-Dec-2008 13:00

Contact Centers Must Adapt: Q&A With Noble Systems' Chris Hodges
Noble Systems recently introduced the Noble Composer Web Agent, an agent workflow design and desktop unification tool for Web-based agent environments. The company believes the solution can help companies improve agent productivity, reduce training costs, increase customer service quality, and leverage technology investments.
Source : crmbuyer.com | 14-Dec-2008 13:00

Creating Information Step 3
Let's revisit these thoughts from the prior information post: 1. What is the best way to present this data so that it can be used by the business? 2. What is the frequency of use? 3. What information are pure analytics and what information processors need? The absolute #1 pitfall to avoid when gathering and analyzing requirements for an informational system is to listen too much to the user's
Source : crm.ittoolbox.com | 13-Dec-2008 18:41