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What is Business Intelligence
"Business Intelligence is the art of gaining business advantage from data". Business Intelligence is used to answer queries like:
Who are my best and worst customers (and therefore, where should I concentrate my future sales efforts)
What parameters affect my sales (Is there a brilliant sales person? Has a campaign been successful?)
What advantages does my business offer customers, as compared with the competition?
Where are we making/losing money (in terms of geography, product line, campaigns, etc')
Experts Corner
Having spent the money to identify our online customers, how can we maximize that investment by knowing the best time to reach them?
David King, Fulcrum Analytics
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Highlights
Q&A with Vivek Thomas, President, Maximizer Software
Vivek Thomas joined Maximizer in 2002 and began serving as the CRM software provider's president on June first of this year. He graciously agreed to an email interview with CRM2Day about the current state of the CRM market and Maximizer's plans for the future.
by
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CRM Today - Business Intelligence
Q&A with Vivek Thomas, President, Maximizer Software
Doc Type: Article Highlights
Abstract: Vivek Thomas joined Maximizer in 2002 and began serving as the CRM software provider's president on June first of this year. He graciously agreed to an email interview with CRM2Day about the current state of the CRM market and Maximizer's plans for the future.
Topics: eCRM | Business Intelligence | Web Services |
Industry: Finance | Telco | Retail | Utilities | Government | Healthcare
CRM Function: CRM ROI | Customer Loyalty | Customer Profitability | Customer Retention
CRM Methology: CRM Strategy | CRM Implementation | CRM Overviews | CRM Definition
 
Our affiliates have begun bidding on our brand words; does this mean that we will end up paying them for searches that should have led to our website to begin with?
Author: By Ross Barnes
Company: Response One
Doc Type: Article Experts
Abstract: Our affiliates have begun bidding on our brand words; does this mean that we will end up paying them for searches that should have led to our website to begin with? The relationship with affiliates is one of the most difficult for a business to handle: on the one hand they are providing leads and sales for your company, but on the other they are independent entities which require retribution for their services and have their own interests, as well as your own, at heart. This is, however, the case with any provider of service or materials and it is important to establish a relationship of trust and confidence on both parts. One of the most common sticking points for businesses comes when a decision has to be made as to whether to allow affiliates – providers of voucher and coupon services or cash back sites – to bid on your trademark terms. If they are allowed to do so, consumers entering “M&S” in the search engine, for example, will not only find the link to www.marksandspencer.com on the search page displayed but links to websites offering discounts and vouchers for the purchase of Marks and Spencer’s products. If they are more popular than the company’s own ecommerce site, these results may even feature higher in the page rankings than the company’s own ecommerce site. As a result, customers searching specifically for your brand may end up purchasing the product via a website other than your own. This lead will then have to be paid for by your company even though the consumer would have clicked on your site and not the affiliate’s had the rankings been more favourable. In this case the question is- are the high ranking affiliates cannibalising sales or is your ecommerce site simply not optimised properly? Improving your paid for search results as well as your natural results should be the pressing issue for a business whose affiliates are attracting more traffic than the main site. If the consumer typed in a specific brand term, they almost certainly have been influenced to some extent by the brand’s own marketing and advertising; failing to optimise search lets these efforts down in the last lap. Understandably, however, businesses feel that affiliates should not charge for leads generated on the back of promotional activity that is not their own. Marketers tend to see the acquisitions made through affiliates as bringers of ballooning costs. Firstly there is a cost per acquisition (CPA) charge for affiliates, then the brand’s own marketing effort is to be added as it drives the search, and finally the extra bidding cost of trying to keep the brand at the top of the search results page, which is regarded as the last straw. There is, however, another important aspect to consider before letting fears of cannibalisation and plummeting return on investment (ROI) sever the relationship with affiliates. In May 2008, Google relaxed its UK regulations against bidding on competitor trademark names meaning that, for example, when M&S bid on the term Interflora, M&S appeared on the same search page as the brand. As Google currently has no regulations against competitor trademark term bidding, allowing affiliates to bid on key brand terms helps keep competitors out of that all important first search page. While affiliate bidding may add a fractional cost to the process of acquisitions, competitors really are driving business away with their aggressive bidding. If relationships with affiliates are managed more openly, concerns over the cannibalisation of traffic can be quelled. Last-minute solutions such as lowering commission budgets and suspending programmes are simply unacceptable and feed into the climate of “every man for himself” on which mistrust is based. Some businesses have even gone as far as making up excuses so as to legitimise suspension of affiliate programmes over Christmas, a time of the year that affiliates have been gearing up to as much as your own business. One solution that avoids stigmatising affiliate programmes is to suggest different rates of commission depending on the different type of lead or customer acquired. This way, for example, if the consumer provided by the affiliate turns out to be a returning customer who has previously bought through the ecommerce site, the payment can be set at a lower rate than if the consumer is an entirely new lead or a person whose custom is only available through affiliates.
Topics: Business Intelligence |
Industry: Finance | Telco | Retail | Utilities | Government | Healthcare
CRM Function: CRM ROI | Customer Loyalty | Customer Profitability | Customer Retention
CRM Methology: CRM Strategy | CRM Implementation | CRM Overviews | CRM Definition
 
How to Avoid Burnout
Author: By Scott Munro
Company: Pivotal
Doc Type: Article
Format: HTML
Abstract: Q&A with Scott Munro, VP of CRM product management at CDC Software, providers of Pivotal CRM. What is the #1 challenge companies face that Pivotal helps to solve? Scott: What really makes or breaks a CRM implementation is less the system itself than the issue of user adoption—but the user-friendliness of the system plays a critical role in whether users embrace the system. That’s why with our most recent release of Pivotal CRM, Pivotal 6, we made usability and the user experience our top priorities. Unlike most CRM systems, which tend to be organized based on the underlying data structures, Pivotal CRM features task-oriented navigation that allows companies to group data by user role and task, allowing them to more quickly and directly access the data and tools that are relevant to their job. How does Pivotal allow companies to focus on what they do best? Scott: Pivotal CRM offers a highly flexible platform and customization toolkit, enabling companies to precisely model their unique business processes within the CRM system rather than adapting their processes to fit the system. Like other CRM systems, Pivotal CRM offers out-of-the-box sales force automation tools that companies can use to immediately streamline their sales activities. But many sales organizations develop unique sales approaches and ways of tracking and measuring sales progress, based on years of experience and success in their specific market and industry. Other companies follow recognized sales methodologies such as Miller Heiman or Solution Selling. In either case, the CRM system should reinforce and model this methodology, not change it. Pivotal CRM makes it easy for a company to implement their specific sales methodology within the system, ensuring that it is fully integrated within their processes and consistently applied. How does a CRM system help companies stay focused and efficient? Scott: A CRM system that enables companies to model and automate their unique processes helps them embed the expertise and competitive advantages they’ve built up within their business over the years into their sales, marketing, and customer service processes and ensure they’re consistently followed. Ensuring that your CRM system can do this thoroughly and cost-effectively is essential. But just as important is ensuring that the CRM system is flexible enough to enable the company to continue to learn and incorporate this knowledge into the system, adapting to changes in the company, the market, and the competitive environment. What sets Pivotal apart from other CRM systems? Scott: Pivotal CRM has a flexible platform foundation unlike any other CRM solution on the market. This makes Pivotal easier and more cost-effective to customize, integrate, and deploy. It opens up a world of possibility for our customers, who can use Pivotal CRM as an application development platform on which to build out custom applications very rapidly and at a fraction of the cost compared to starting from scratch. This has made Pivotal CRM the “killer app” for many of our customers. Learn more about Pivotal here.
Topics: Business Intelligence |
CRM Methology: CRM Strategy |
 
Reducing Server Total Cost of Ownership with VMware Virtualization Software (VMware)
Author: By VMware
Company: VMware
Doc Type: White Paper
Format: PDF Size: 238 kb
Abstract: There is more to technology purchases than simple hardware and software costs. This TCO study takes a holistic view considering soft dollars as well, such as ongoing maintenance and efficiency improvements. It details common TCO models applied to virtualization projects with VMware customers reporting an average savings of 74 percent. Read this whitepaper from VMware to learn how to leverage virtualization for a 74% savings in TCO.
Topics: Business Intelligence |
Industry: Finance | Telco | Retail | Utilities | Government | Healthcare
CRM Function: Customer Profitability |
CRM Methology: CRM Strategy |
 
Bringing Web 2.0 to the Enterprise (Epicor)
Author: By Epicor
Company: Epicor
Doc Type: White Paper
Format: PDF Size: 118 kb
Abstract: Today's business applications aren't flexible enough to keep pace with the businesses they support. Users must figure out where to find information that supports their tasks, and the IT costs of keeping up with evolving business requirements remain high. Adding collaborative Web 2.0 technologies such as enterprise search, presence, and mashups to business applications can be a way to address these challenges for business users and IT alike. While business users may be familiar with these technologies through personal use, they remain uncertain about how these new capabilities can support their business strategies. This white paper from Epicor explains how Web 2.0 technologies support business strategies: improving efficiency and productivity and harnessing knowledge through collaboration. Additionally, these techonologies can reduce IT costs by simplifying integration and improving IT administration and maintenance.
Topics: Business Intelligence | Enterprise Resource Planning |
Industry: Finance | Telco | Retail | Utilities | Government | Healthcare
CRM Function: CRM ROI |
 
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