E-Commerce News: Getting Started

Coaching a Killer Sales Force
September 10, 2009

With a variety of options available for training their revenue-seeking professionals, today's sales leaders need to carefully select the methodology that will most directly impact their bottom line. Ongoing Aberdeen research of over 500 companies surveyed in July and August of 2009 provides significant insight into how Best-in-Class organizations select and deploy sales training modalities.

Automation: A Lube Job for a Sluggish Economy
July 14, 2009

Companies are now in the third stage of "economic downturn syndrome." Having passed through Panic and Denial, they're firmly in Acceptance. Panicky knee-jerk responses such as cost-cutting, layoffs, tightening budgets and resources are a thing of the past. Most companies have had a quick breather and segued to the stage of a more carefully considered response.

The Carrot, the Stick and Other Sales Effectiveness Strategies
July 09, 2009

Companies seeking to organize and centralize customer, account and opportunity information are leveraging sales force automation and customer relationship management tools to provide sales managers with better visibility into internal operations and improve overall sales productivity.

The Crucial Difference Between Contact Management and CRM
January 29, 2009

The budget cuts and spending freezes resulting from the current economic downturn have reduced the number of legitimate opportunities for sales representatives; therefore, organizations are placing a renewed emphasis on cutting costs and customer retention to combat certain economic realities.

Loyalty Lab: The Key Is to Keep Adapting
November 11, 2008

Five years ago, Mark Goldstein and three partners recognized that loyalty programs were becoming a cottage industry. Coming up with the right way to manage those programs, he believed, would be a neat trick. So would finding an effective way to lure in customers. "The toughest part of the business is the selling," Goldstein, founder of San Francisco-based Loyalty Lab, told CRM Buyer.

The 5 Things Your ERP Sales Rep Doesn't Want You to Know
October 13, 2008

Enterprise Resource Planning systems have become the core platform for both internal and cross-company business processes. By integrating business functions, data and interfaces, they can bring many benefits, process efficiencies, improve customer service and -- if coupled with the right business strategy -- amplify business advantage.

Packaged CRM Solutions: Kind of Like Baking Soda
August 25, 2008

The real beauty of baking soda isn't what it does in the oven but what it does outside of the oven. It's flexible. It's dynamic. It does everything it does extremely well. In addition to playing a key role in cakes, breads and pastries, it keeps refrigerators smelling fresh, can clean a bathroom or kitchen better than any chemical and can even be used as toothpaste.

Still Plenty of Juice in the On-Premise, On-Demand Debate
June 15, 2008

So you've decided to buy your solution instead of build one. This doesn't mean that it's easy to choose which product, or even what kind of solution to purchase. Take the choice between installing software on your own equipment -- the "on-premise" solution vs. leasing a solution that runs on the vendor's servers, or getting your software "on-demand."

Vote Your Data Off the Island and Onto the Mainland
June 06, 2008

As a company grows in size, various information sharing challenges appear that can stifle that growth. One such speed bump sets in a few years into the growth cycle, when the company expands and each department develops its own information needs. That problem is called "Islanditis."

How to Avoid Spreadsheet Suffocation
May 30, 2008

Growing companies encounter various bottlenecks that inhibit growth and cause them to plateau. It starts innocently enough. Everyone reaches for a spreadsheet to make lists. Things are fine while there are only three or four of you. Then the new hire in sales creates his own list of customers.

'C' Is for Collaboration
April 29, 2008

Fittingly, the Google-Salesforce.com tie-up is many things to many people. The message for the larger industry is that CRM has to make room for collaboration in its suite set, says Rebecca Wettemann, vice president of Nucleus Research. "It is no longer just about the workflow -- it is about getting the right people together to solve a problem or address an issue."

Customer Communication: Meet Them on Their Own Turf
April 27, 2008

Look closely at any effective customer relationship management strategy. Look beyond the technology, beyond the hype, and what will you see? What you'll see is a company that knows how to effectively communicate with its customers. Ask yourself, "What do CRM solutions actually do?" To put it very simply, they collect and manage customer information.

CRM in Law Firms: The Jury's Still Out
April 24, 2008

Law firms stand to gain as much as anyone from the advances being made when it comes to CRM systems, and CRM software providers are keen to fill this potentially lucrative market niche. LexisNexis, Microsoft and Salesforce.com are among the firms out there offering CRM systems specifically geared for professional services organizations.

Getting It Right the First Time: Better First Call Resolution With Analytics
April 03, 2008

In recent years, First Call Resolution has emerged as a critical element for contact centers looking to become more customer centric. The FCR metric focuses on how well a contact center handles customer requests the first time, and most organizations agree that it is the only true metric that delivers a clear measurement of their effectiveness and customer satisfaction level.

Save on CRM Dev Costs: Go Off-the-Shelf
March 28, 2008

Companies now have many options when it comes to packaged applications for CRM, and these applications are helping companies reduce development time, in some cases by as much as 65 percent, which in turn helps save money. These resources are now freed up to explore greater CRM customization that ultimately helps companies focus on aligning their CRM systems with their core business objectives.

Enterprise Recruiting, Part 2: Adding Web 2.0 Spice
February 01, 2008

Database vendors, as well as human resources, customer relationship management, enterprise resource planning and specialist recruitment management systems developers are all working with organizations to improve their recruiting and personnel management capabilities -- and they're taking advantage of Web 2.0 technology in doing so.