The DMA Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Council held its kickoff meeting yesterday [today] at the Jacob Javits Center. Participants included employees of data services firms, advertising agencies, direct marketing consultancies and marketers. Roughly 30 industry representatives attended.
The first meeting served to solidify interest in the council. Attendees attempted to generate a working definition of customer relationship management that would encompass members of both the vendor and end-user communities.
A free-flowing roundtable discussion included philosophical elements, such as drawing a distinction between customer relationship management and database marketing. But it also touched on practical matters, including raising a cautionary flag against one specific industry sector, such as a sales force automation vendor or technology evaluation firm being allowed to define CRM for the council.
Several participants active in other DMA groups noted that successful councils traditionally are formed in response to an industry concern. The List and Database Council, for example, was formed in response to a need for training young industry employees.
One of CRM’s bigger pitfalls is mismanaged projects, which cause upper-level managers to lose faith in CRM. As Roy Wollen, director of solutions marketing for Experian pointed out, when one CRM project fails it has a ripple effect throughout the industry.
Anne Schaeffer, the DMA’s senior vice president, professional development & training and councils, said that the council had been formed in response to several unsolicited requests for such a group among DMA members.
As with other DMA councils, membership is open to individuals within DMA-member companies. Firms are allowed to register one voting member, at an annual cost of $260, with subsequent non-voting members allowed to join at a rate of $130.
