Live from DCI: CRM Zeitgeist
At its most recent exposition, conference marketer DCI offered its customer relationship management seminars under the headings “Customer Contact Center” and “Mobile Business for the Enterprise” for the first time. Connectivity between CRM systems and supply chains is moving to the forefront, and companies are waking up to the value of real-time customer data.
But while the sessions reflected these new focuses, there have been deeper shifts within the industry. A little more than a year ago, before the dot-com bust, customer relationship management thought focused on increasing revenue from customers. These days, according to Warwick H. Davies, vice president, expositions at DCI conferences and Expositions, they want CRM systems to offer cost savings first and foremost.
The focus on savings has also forced customers to become better negotiators – and they have done so successfully. Davies said that he has seen a trend toward deeper discounts as vendors try to make their sales quotas.
According to Davies, implementation speed has become even more of a factor: The sooner a system is up and running, the sooner it can begin (hopefully) throwing off return on investment (ROI). And vendors, realizing this, are increasingly touting 90-day installation times.
Changes in the way technology platforms are designed may help this. Manufacturers increasingly open their application platform interfaces to other companies, allowing for greater compatibility between offerings.
DCI’s sessions reflect these interests. A causal glance at the program reveals more seminars focusing on implementation ROI issues. All that said, there is still money to be made. With the Fortune 1000 market coming close to saturation, the industry is turning to the mid-level market for the next wave of spending. According to Davies, CRM still ranks third in urgency among corporate priorities, trailing only Web portal design and general integration issues.
