CRM

• Agencies

  The CRM Cynic: It’s Not About You

  An editor at my company once called a meeting to present a stunning magazine redesign. All went well until a sales type asked the inevitable question: “Did you do any surveys or focus groups to find out if this is what readers wanted?”

  The editor responded: “I’m the focus group.”

• Agencies

  Letters to the Editor

  I believe the real problem here has nothing to do with Comcast’s call center. The root of the problem is much earlier in the process.

• Agencies

  Sage Group Hires New CRM Chief

  The Sage Group, plc, a London-based business software firm, has hired Dave Batt to serve as its general manager of global customer relationship management.

• Agencies

  Volvo to Build on E-Zine with Extranet

  It can be hard to develop a sense of community between franchises and their parent company, and even harder to do it between the individually owned franchises.

  But Volvo Rents is tightening the communications gap all around with its e-newsletter, The Rental Channel. And it hopes to do even better when it puts the same material on an extranet.

• Agencies

  Consultant Takes Aim at New Business

  Robert Cannon left the hardware business after 20 years to set up shop as a consultant in 2001. But when a business contact hired someone else for a job Cannon was well suited for, he realized importance of keeping his name and talents in front of prospective employers. Thus, his e-newsletter, Taking Aim was born with 150 subscribers in 2002.

• Agencies

  This One’s For You: How to Do Multiple Editions

  The question is enough to daunt any writer: How do you come up with stories for dozens if not hundreds of personalized e-mail newsletter editions? The answer is you don’t. Instead, you should use a content database that can spit out the versions with little human intervention.

• Agencies

  Zipcar Goes Extra Mile with E-mail Newsletter

  What does Matt Malloy have to do to get you out of that car today? According to Malloy, vice president of marketing for Zipcar, an up-and-coming car-sharing service, all it really takes is good word of mouth, a highly automated online system, and an e-mail newsletter full of engaging content.

• Agencies

  Why E-Mail is Broken–And What to Do About It

  E-mail is broken. And it’s broken in two major ways: Trust and infrastructure. First, the channel isn’t trustworthy. The legitimate senders of e-mail can’t trust the medium to deliver their mission-critical communications and the recipients of e-mail can’t trust that they’ll get what they want … and not what they don’t.

• Agencies

  Want Feedback? Conduct a Survey

  The message bears repeating: Continually request feedback from your subscribers by using short, interactive surveys. This is the best way to learn whether or not your newsletter is relevant.

• Agencies

  Jenny Craig Pursues Life Event Marketing

  Birthdays can be bittersweet for individuals looking to lose weight. Not only are there extra candles on the cake, the guilt can be overwhelming as the butter cream frosting melts in the mouth. That is, of course, if you