Three years after the advent of the Do Not Call lists (DNC), some companies believe ignorance is bliss. I don’t think the courts will agree with them……

Fixed Dialing
Telemarketers taking the ostrich approach to DNC compliance is a nonstarter for enterprises. Refresh marketing initiatives to ensure that the rules are followed and reach your target audience more effectively.

by Coreen Bailor

From CRM Magazine December 2006

It’s been roughly three years since the National Do Not Call (DNC) Registry legislation went into effect, yet many marketers continue to hide their heads in the sand when it comes to regulatory compliance standards surrounding their outbound initiatives. Two reasons for this avoidance are that some enterprises remain unaware of the laws and of the responsibility businesses have to meet the regulations, while other corporate leaders fear not being able to replace outbound telemarketing dollars. Either way, businesses are beginning to pay the price for refraining from compliance–the FTC has commenced leveling hefty fines on companies that disregard the statutes. Satellite TV provider DirecTV was slapped a year ago this month by the FTC with a stinging $5.3 million penalty, after the Commission charged that DirecTV and the companies it hired to promote its programs had been violating DNC provisions since October 2003. (more…)

Companies live or die by the results of Gartner’s Magic Quadrants in their market spaces. Check out the new results in the IVR and EVR space.

Gartner Eyes IVR and EVP Vendors
Magic Quadrant findings ping Avaya, Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories, Intervoice, and Nortel as leading the sector; reduced complexity and tight integration are hallmarks of advancement.

by Coreen Bailor

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

Gartner has revealed its “Magic Quadrant for IVR and Enterprise Voice Portals, 2006,” earmarking Avaya, Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories, Intervoice, and Nortel as leaders of the market. Players within the leaders quadrant are high-viability vendors with a strong voice response offerings, significant market share, broad geographic coverage, a clear vision for how voice self-service needs will evolve, and a proven track record for delivering IVR offerings, according to Gartner.
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Even now when I consult with Sales teams, I see them write customer notes on scraps of paper for later entry. Some things never seem to change.

10 Tips To Help New Reps Increase Sales with CRM
By Elizabeth Millard
December 6, 2006 11:42AM

It sounds simplistic, and in many ways, it is: create a digital version of a scrap of paper and have those notes feed right into the CRM system. “You’re looking for ways to streamline functionality and increase productivity,” says Gartner analyst Michael Maoz. It’s particularly important to save time and ensure that the right information is captured.

Automating the sales process is one of the most important functions of a CRM system. In fact, much of today’s CRM software has its origins back in the mid-’80s and early ’90s, not as “customer relationship management” software, but instead as “sales automation” software.
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This article wanders a little with subject matter, but if you stay with it you will see several very good examples of how Customer Service makes the difference in customer loyalty. As we are bombarded with competitive and bottom line messages, remember the reason we show up for work everyday. As the title says, “Good Customer Service for Dummies?”.

Good Customer Service for Dummies?
By Rich Tehrani
December 6, 2006 11:15AM

Part of the irony in Virgin Atlantic’s ascent to greatness is that when Richard Branson wanted to equip his existing airplanes with $8 million in built-in seat TV screens so passengers could watch whatever programming they wanted, he found that banks would not loan him the money for this endeavor. Instead, Branson got the banks to loan Virgin $2 billion dollars for a fleet of brand new planes — with the screens included! (continue reading)

Building Loyalty That Lasts a Lifetime

By Bruce Clapp

November 6, 2006 10:14AM

All the strategies in the world won’t have impact unless employees understand how to integrate them into their daily activities. Communication with customers, a focus on relevant offers and the ability to problem solve are attributes every employee should possess in order to facilitate the creation of brand loyalty.

For many banks, the issue of retention only shows up on the radar when customers begin to walk out the door. However, focusing on retention after an exodus has begun is typically too late.

Banks need to start work on retention long before customers enter the branch for their first interaction. Retention strategy should be woven into every aspect of the bank’s philosophy: How you attract customers, interact with them and keep them coming back all.

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Going End-To-End with CRM

By Elizabeth Millard

November 29, 2006 10:24AM

Implementing an end-to-end CRM system takes planning and a shared goal, but the actual technology doesn’t have to involve particularly heavy lifting, says Oracle’s Mark Woollen. Many CRM vendors have added integration tools over the last few years, and can work with companies to create customized end-to-end strategies.

Customer Relationship Management software, which is better known these days simply as CRM, can be beneficial to many parts of an enterprise, particularly by helping sales reps and service personnel track information about customers and prospects. But it’s putting the pieces together, extending beyond the basic functionality and establishing connections from end-to-end throughout the enterprise that can really make for more powerful processes.

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Prospect Development Management for On-Demand CRM

Can these new tools solve sales teams’ old problems?

by Timothy Ramos

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

In an effort to make your sales team more effective, you invest a chunk of money licensing a new on-demand CRM system. The result? Your reps don’t use it, or they use it just for forecasting because they are required to. So you spend more money buying market intelligence from a variety of data providers. The result? Your reps have to search multiple online and offline sources for the details they want. And because there’s no simple way to input their research into the CRM system, the market intelligence information never makes its way there either–therefore losing its value.

Sound familiar??? Read on….

Top Ten Success Secrets of Email Marketing

According to Jupiter Research, 93% of U.S. Internet users consider email their top online activity. Email is a fast, inexpensive, and effective way to communicate with your prospects, customers, and vendors.

But how do you use email marketing effectively, without irritating the receivers? In this white paper you’ll learn:

How often to send email
How to write messages that get a response
Why you must systematically deliver what your customers value, and quickly fix problems when you don’t
When to use HTML and when to use text only
How to build lists that perform

Get the best practices of email marketing drawing on the experience of some of the most successful industry practitioners. Get a clear picture of trends and patterns to aid you in mapping your email marketing strategy.

To gain access to this and many other valuable CRM whitepapers at RightNow’s CRM library, click here….

Marketing Solutions Inc. (MSI), known for its internet-enabled Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software systems, has launched another innovative, affordable, CRM (customer relationship management) solution called Nexus. Nexus will provide businesses in any industry an opportunity to build, retain, and attract customers. Nexus is specifically designed for small to mid-sized businesses as an affordable CRM (customer relationship management) solution with superior functionality and effectiveness. (more…)