From the Book: Everyone knows that customers are the critical component of a successful business, if for no other reason than people tell you all the time. Countless books have been written about how to make customers happy and acquire new ones. Companies do satisfaction surveys, attend seemingly endless seminars, virtually anything to give them a leg up on the competition and make their customer base an impenetrable force, rather than a weakness to be exploited. As far back as 1987, when ACT! 1.0 shipped, managing relationships with software started to change lives-and not just the relationship being managed, either. Business professionals began to understand that their weaknesses in everything from memory to accountability could be compensated for, resulting in a professionalism that helped them stand out and close more business. ACT! spawned other products for companies of all sizes, and an industry was born: sales force automation (SFA). Since then, customer service, marketing, and e-business have evolved into eCRM and extended those seemingly simple ideas of sharing customer history and information, and turning it into knowledge that enables an entire organization to act as a unit. This glue that interconnects the experiences of numerous individuals and groups with your customer is becoming more complex and business-critical every day. Every vendor is trying to make their mark, and the waters are becoming increasingly murky. Just trying to navigate the numerous new acronyms-PRM, MRM, ERM, BRM-has made a once very clear idea more like dyslexic soup. That's why Paul Greenberg's book is such a breath of fresh air. Actually, it's more like a wind that blows away the cloudsof hype and marketing mumbo jumbo. Finally, there is a consolidated source on this subject that can be used by the novice as well as the expert. It's like eCRM university between two covers. From the history of what created this market to how to implement the right solution for your size business, it's all here. Although most companies use some type of automation for their sales forces, marketing organizations, and customer service groups, at last count only 4 percent of U.S. companies have integrated them and other Web resources like online product configuration and e-commerce. This industry has yet to reach its adolescence in the United States and in many parts of the world is just getting out of diapers. When there is an enormous amount of change anticipated for an industry, it's best to know as much as you can about its history, so you can get tied in to its present armed with equivalent knowledge of those more experienced. Paul has a unique ability to not only bring these historical insights, but also to broaden our perceptions of what relationships are. By presenting these insights and pulling together many perceptions of possible paths the industry can take, we may be armed with a better understanding, and thus more adept at taking advantage of the future. Pat Sullivan President and CEO Interact Commerce Corporation
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