Arthur O'Connor

While many pundits predicted this year that customer relationship management, because of its strategic importance, would remain immune from corporate budget cutbacks in 2001, this is clearly not turning out to be the case. CRM has been affected by the current economic slowdown, perhaps not seriously, but hurt nonetheless. CRM software and specialty consulting practices […]

With so much focus on the role of technology in data analysis and warehousing, it’s sometimes easy to forget that customer knowledge isn’t a software package or a database — it’s an approach to doing business. This approach can be enabled through huge, complex client data warehouses and advanced smart data mining applications to uncover […]

In yesterday’s column, I discussed the first of three principles common to launching a successful CRM initiative. In this second installment, I’ll discuss the two remaining principles. Step Two: Pick the Right Technology Select the possibilities that best meet your desired investment return, risk appetite, technical architecture (with an eye toward ease of implementation), and […]

Much of my reader feedback centers upon the following questions: How should my organization get started with customer relationship management? What’s the optimal methodology? What’s the most reliable approach? Who offers the best solution? What’s the best training and certification program for designing and implementing CRM? A category so vast and complex (incorporating e-marketing and […]

In yesterday’s article, I wrote about how personalization technologies have affected business practices, and I discussed the first of three personalization categories — simple Web-based analytics. In the second part, I’ll cover the remaining two major technologies for customer relationship management (CRM): rules-based personalization and advanced analytic and data mining solutions. I’ll also touch upon […]

We’ve come a long way in personalization. So far, in fact, that in many ways the industry is right back to where it started. Once a carefully defined (as well as manually intensive and very expensive) niche strategy, personalization has recently become a grab bag of uncoordinated, incompatible, and overlapping tactics aimed at general consumers. […]

We are only beginning to see the effects of offering relevant, personalized value propositions to individual customers through their preferred channel. The results can dramatically increase loyalty and customer lifecycle values in the form of more frequent and larger repeat purchases, lower acquisition costs, and word of mouth referrals to friends and family. But it’s […]

Previously, I discussed the first two industry trends, in which I predict that: 1. We’ll learn to better use the Internet as a CRM tool and, 2. Businesses will get smarter about how to use client data. Here are the remaining three of the five trends: 3. Cross-channel integration will still be a good idea. […]

With so many new developments in eCRM, it’s sometimes tough to tell the difference between false starts and lost causes. By my reckoning, I see about five major trends that directly influence how eCRM is being designed and deployed in corporate America. Time will tell how accurate these predictions turn out to be (I expect […]