CRM News

economitimes.indiatimes.com
November 30, 2007

::: Touch points :::

Customer-facing ,firms, for whom service is the key, have realised over the years the need for effective customer care that would help them retain clients. However, a recent US survey has revealed that expectation levels of clients from their customer contact points is pretty low implying that the quality of service is below par. Moreover, with multiple interaction channels — email , chat, voice over IP, SMS — the volume and complexity of customer transactions have only multiplied. This is a problem tailor-made for Dan Vetras, president and CEO of Talisma, to step in and solve.

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searchcrm.techtarget.com
November 29, 2007

::: CRM job market improving :::

Things are looking bright for CRM professionals over the next year, according to a number of recent reports, job boards and industry developments.

Companies looking for people with CRM skills may be in a bind, however. Speaking at the Gartner CRM Summit in September, Scott Nelson, managing vice president with the Stamford, Conn.-based research firm, predicted that through 2008, 25% of CRM projects will be cancelled or postponed because of the skills shortage in consultants and systems integrators. Analytics skills particularly will see a significant skills shortage, and many marketers are unprepared to capitalize on Web 2.0, he added.

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destinationcrm.com
November 29, 2007

One of the central arguments for the value of software-as-a-service (SaaS) may be losing at least some of its potency. In a research note published earlier this month, research firm Gartner outlined several trends that will, among other things, reduce software license fees over the next decade. The average applications vendor will find technology buyers looking to reduce software costs in the same way they have with hardware and services costs.

Software vendors must therefore establish more realistic margins to guarantee long-term survival in what will become an increasingly competitive market, according to the document. “Up until now the unique nature of the software market has meant that buyers had very little negotiating power after the initial purchase of a software license,” said William Snyder, research vice president at Gartner, and report author, in a statement.

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callcenterinfo.techtarget.com
November 29, 2007

::: Oncontact CRM 6.1 Web Released :::

Oncontact Software has released Oncontact CRM 6.1 Web, a customer relationship management (CRM) product that allows users to access data via the Web, network and synchronization.

The product gives customers “a consistent user experience feature set no matter how they wish to access their CRM system,” Oncontact officials say.

“CRM users are constantly evolving with more people traveling and working remotely,” said Jon Zimmerman, president, Oncontact Software. “Users can view their Oncontact CRM system through a Web browser, a traditional Windows network or on the road in a disconnected environment by easily syncing their database anytime, anywhere.”

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emediawire.com
November 27, 2007

::: Scribe Powers Integration Between WennSoft and Microsoft Dynamics CRM :::

Scribe Software, a provider of configurable data integration and migration software technology for leading enterprise business applications, announced that WennSoft has developed an integrated solution between its Service Management Series and Microsoft Dynamics CRM. WennSoft, a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, is leveraging the Scribe Insight tool, extending their solutions’ value by integrating critical customer information across the Dynamics product line.

“WennSoft solutions empower organizations engaged in field service to execute more efficiently and profitably,” explains Julie West, WennSoft president/COO. “We were looking to expand our offering by bringing together sales, service and finance operations, providing a seamless experience throughout the customer lifecycle. With Scribe Insight, we were able to bring a solution to market quickly, using the tool of choice for the Microsoft Dynamics partner channel and customer base.”

Read more about Scribe Insight>>>

eyefortravel.com
November 26, 2007

::: CRM Technology for Travel Special :::

According to Patrick Grubbs, Industry Director - Aviation & Hospitality, Oracle Corporation, “Airlines need to invest in unifying customer information across their systems for marketing, reservations, operations, revenue management, and financials. With a unified customer profile airlines can up-sell/cross sell additional travel options and services leading to customer retention, lower costs of customer acquisition, and enhanced marketing that is relevant and useful to the customer.”

Grubbs spoke to Ritesh Gupta about Oracle’s expertise, optimal use of customer data repositories and much more.

Get the rest of the story here>>>

money.cnn.com
November 25, 2007

::: RightNow November 07 makes its debut :::

RightNow November 07 is the new enterprise class on-demand offering from RightNow Technologies.

RightNow November ‘07 includes a new knowledge syndication widget that enables organizations to easily syndicate and distribute dynamic content, such as frequently asked questions, product specifications and warranty information, across multiple Web sites. By syndicating dynamic content from the RightNow knowledge foundation to anywhere consumers may need it — an e-commerce or distribution partner’s Web site — RightNow November ‘07 helps organizations provide consumers with consistently current, relevant information when and where they are most likely to seek it.

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networkworld.com
November 26, 2007

::: DirecTV tunes in to mobile CRM :::

Erik Walters, project manager for DirecTV’s sales operations in El Segundo, Calif., faced a difficult challenge: Help 45 area sales managers stay competitive by spending more time with the 5,000 dealers in the company’s nationwide retail channel. “The reality of those numbers alone is very daunting,” he says. What made the task of staying in touch with their customers next to impossible, however, was the complexity these sales managers faced when remotely accessing customer data.

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computerworld.com
November 13, 2007

::: Tackling Security for Mobile CRM :::

Another enterprise application made its way onto our radar screens this past week, and it comes with its own unique security requirements.

“To speak in acronyms, its a move from PLM to CRM. About two months ago, I finished up my security architecture review and requirements for a product life-cycle management application. The PLM project is still in the development phase, and I continue to contribute to it from time to time to ensure that my requirements are being built into the application. My real work with PLM will start in the validation phase, when I’ll conduct an audit to ensure that my requirements have been properly addressed. But for the moment, I’m not doing much on the PLM project and can concentrate on CRM.”

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customretailer.net
November 26, 2007

::: New CRM Product From Storis :::

Storis Management Systems has announced that its latest customer relationship management software product has been released. The new version, from Storis’ InTouch line of products, allows store managers to better keep track of customer relationships and other business information.

New features in the latest update of the software include sales lead creation, easier addition of follow-up assignments and direct integration with the Customer Shopping Cart feature. The system also makes it easier to generate price quotes for customers, and e-mail or fax them.

Learn more about Storis>>>