Putting Customer Back Into Customer Relationship Management
Increasingly CRM vendors are employing some CRM of their own. by Barton Goldenberg
From CRM Magazine December 2002
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Despite this year's economic and tech-sector gloom, I am pleased to report that according to Aberdeen Group, total CRM spending will continue to grow at an annual rate of nearly 10 percent through 2005. ISM's own research puts this figure closer to 15 percent. Why this continued, impressive growth? Simply put, because CRM software vendors, under heavy pressure to help their customers succeed, have begun to put the customer back into their customer relationship management offerings. Following are three examples of innovative CRM vendors that are leading the way.
1. Firstwave Technologies Inc., which has conscientiously gone back to the basics. About a year ago, in addition to announcing an impressive suite of flexible, scalable CRM modules based on a powerful XML native framework, Firstwave refocused its strategy on assisting its CRM customers at all phases of the software purchase. This means helping customers define their CRM requirements, identify metrics for their CRM business case, get buy-in from key stakeholders, and ensuring that customers are well trained and using the system to its fullest potential. In other words, the company's putting customer needs first, thereby ensuring that the Firstwave CRM offering is being "bought by the customer" versus "sold by the vendor." As for the payback of Firstwave's renewed customer-centric strategy, in addition to customers like Citizens Bank raving about the vendor's customer-intimate approach, Firstwave can also proudly claim to be one of a handful of profitable, public CRM vendors.
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