CRMOutsiders

While running around doing Christmas shopping, I happened to hear an episode of the BBC’s “Global Business” on the local NPR station. It was about what they called “the Business of Kindness.” What they really were talking about was the idea of building relationships with customers, with suppliers – with all the people one does … Continue reading →

Do you have a visual representation of your CRM system? I think companies have this early on, but that drawing gets put away as the work of implementation begins and is never seen again. That’s a pity, because a visual representation is a great way to see how your CRM is working, who it’s touching … Continue reading →

By Chris Bucholtz Some things are more digestible in numbered groups: the five stages of grief, the 12 days of Christmas, the seven habits of highly effective people, the four horsemen of the apocalypse. Here’s one for you: the six ways people screw up social CRM. That’s not just a random grouping I came up … Continue reading →

By Chris Bucholtz I was a gamification skeptic – but, as I wrote on CMS Wire earlier this year, I became a convert, at least for some things. Gamification can certainly help smooth transitions, establish good habits and provide training to people on the fly, even when those people may not wish to be trained. … Continue reading →

By Chris Bucholtz Last night, I was seated at the bar of the 1400 in Alameda (housed in the historic pre-1900 Croll’s building), battling a crab dinner to the death. It’s hard to be dainty when eating a whole crab, what with the cracking and slurping and clinking of tiny forks and whatnot. Luckily, the guy … Continue reading →

By Chris Bucholtz Customers don’t buy from companies, generally – they buy from people. That goes especially for return customers; if they interact with the same salesperson, and a relationship grows, the potential for recurring sales and up-selling increases exponentially. This doesn’t have to stop with your sales efforts – it’s something you can carry … Continue reading →

By Chris Bucholtz Customers are starting to become more aware that the experiences they receive from the businesses they buy from are the result of deliberate decisions. They’ve felt the effects of good and bad experiences, but today a newly aware class of customers is starting to consciously understand how those experiences come about. Part … Continue reading →

By Chris Bucholtz (Editor’s note: this is the fifth and final entry in our series on features in CRM that can expand your ROI – but which frequently go forgotten or ignored. Parts 1, 2 and 3 can be found here, here, here and here. Now, we say final – but if you think you have another feature that … Continue reading →

By Chris Bucholtz (Here’s number four in our five-part series on features in CRM that can expand your ROI – but which frequently go forgotten or ignored. Parts 1, 2 and 3 can be found here, here and here.) When many first-time users envision CRM, many of them see this: a system that allows them … Continue reading →

By Chris Bucholtz I learned long ago that, for businesses to make significant changes or significant investments, it requires significant pain. I learned this while covering the telecommunications industry, a collection of enormous corporations that saw change as an opponent of revenue. Back in the 1990s – around 1996, and the signing of the Telecommunications … Continue reading →