REPORT ANALYSIS ON CRM, CONTACT CENTRE & MARKETING...

IMPORTANT
Throughout this issue, we feature profiles of leading CRM, contact centre & marketing software vendors.

Further information on the following organisations is available, free of charge. To apply, please sign in (or register) with the site.

• Achiever Software
• Chordiant
• Cirquent
• Epicor
• FrontRange
• IBM Global Business
• Services
• JI Group
• Microsoft
• Nolan Computers
• Onyx Software

CRM, Contact Centre & Marketing Systems - Latest Report - June 2008
Project Portfolio Management & PSA Software - May 2008
Accounting & Financial Reporting Software - April 2008
Supply Chain & Manufacturing Systems - March 2008
Data Warehousing, Business Intelligence & CPM February 2008
HR & Payroll Management Systems - January 2008
IT Infrastructure, Security & Business Continuity - November 2007
ERP Solutions - October 2007
Enterprise Integration, SOA & Web Services - September 2007
Workflow, BPM, Content & Document Management - July 2007

Conspectus is the only independent report which authoritatively addresses a different IT topic every month. It is acknowledged as one of the leading journals in the IT industry and is used by many organisations to help them in their selection of IT software and technology. The software supplier profile content has been checked and validated by an independent industry expert. The content of the Conspectus website is fully searchable.

CRM, Contact Centre & Marketing Systems
Conspectus June 2008 - Summary

The jury’s out on CRM and marketing systems. Just over half the respondents to this year’s Conspectus survey say they have successful or very successful CRM systems. The rest have gained limited or no major benefits from their investment.

Is that glass half full or half empty? Whatever your view, it’s clear that customer management is no easy undertaking, no exact science. But it’s vital and so the money keeps being poured in.

How do you develop a customer management strategy? How do you know if you are actually ‘customer driven’? How do you exploit new opportunities like location-based information? How do you turn call centres into profit centres?

The consultant authors in this issue help with these and other issues as companies continue the battle to improve the return on their CRM spending.

Market Overview & Analysis
Companies continue to spend heavily on their CRM, contact centre and marketing software. Where has the investment paid off? Cliff Mills finds out from our latest user survey.
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Expert Opinion
Rob Brickle of CRM consultancy Bsquared highlights the gap between saying you are customer driven, and actually being customer driven.
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View from the Top
Mike Kenworthy was a rock drummer, now he runs the CRM systems at Castle Morpeth Borough and Alnwick District Councils. He describes the councils’ investment in IT for improved customer service and efficiency.
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Part of the Problem
A new sales system is often seen as the solution to a modern company’s needs. But without the right start, it can quickly become part of the problem, warns David Jacobs.
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Location, Location
Companies are being exposed to a wealth of location-based information. Louella Fernandes of Quocirca shows how this can be used to improve CRM.
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Putting Customers in the Frame
Many businesses are still running headlong into what they see as CRM without truly understanding the approach, says Michael Collins.
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Customers: the Keys to Prosperity
‘Customer centricity’ is a simple concept, but it has proved difficult for many organisations to move past the concept to effective action. Professor Tom Lambert of TripleIC looks at what’s required.
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Mature but Mobile
CRM software has been around for more than 20 years but the market is still changing and developing. Phil Branston of Bradgate identifies the latest trends.
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Improving Agility
Organisations can evolve their service centres into profit centres using unified technology, says Sheryl Kingstone of the Yankee Group.
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Contact Centres of the Future
Capgemini’s Michael Anderson says that it’s time for contact centres to evolve into customer experience centres.
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