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Contact Center Managers Get Some Mobile Mojo June 18, 2013 
Another day, another mobile app release; except in this case, the app is aimed at the contact center supervisor -- not exactly a role that has been inundated with mobile functionality to this point. The application in question is Five9's latest cloud contact software application, which includes mobile functionality. Enhancements to the suite include multichannel capabilities and an iPad app.
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Thunderhead.com Smooths Out the Wrinkles in Customer Communication June 17, 2013 
Almost a year after launching its ONE Correspond for Salesforce, Thunderhead.com rolled out version 2.0. A part of the company's flagship ONE customer engagement platform, ONE Correspond for Salesforce allows users to create communications for customers. Via Salesforce's Chatter, it also has strong collaborative features that give users a way to review, edit and approve documents internally.
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Ending the US' Cyberwar Against Its Citizens June 17, 2013 
I'm into fixing problems -- in fact, for much of my life I've been employed as someone who is brought in to fix a difficult problem. I don't see much point in just complaining -- either try to fix it, ignore it, or move someplace where it doesn't affect you. The current problem is that the U.S. appears to be conducting a cyberwar against its citizens.
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Is Verizon's Uncomfortable Silence Savvy PR? June 14, 2013 
Verizon is on the hot seat. It is at the center of the story about releasing customer information to the NSA. While Verizon does make information about every call available to the agency, the actual conversation is still private -- for now, at least. To date, Verizon has been quiet as the argument rages. Is quiet what you expect from the PR department of any company caught in such a storm?
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5 Places Customer Relationships Go to Die June 14, 2013 
Building a customer relationship -- the kind that lasts a long time -- is a not an easy thing. There are lots of occasions where things can go awry, touch points where signals can get crossed and communications that can unwittingly turn a customer off. In a lot of cases, the conclusion is triggered by something the business does that brings the relationship to a premature end.
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Where CRM and BPM Meet June 13, 2013 
Pegasystems held PegaWorld in "PegOrlando" this week, and a good show it was. I have always wondered about the difference between CRM (social and otherwise) and BPM, or business process management, so I was happy to attend. Both CRM and BPM deal with the interaction between the vendor and customer, and each is involved in doing the things that make customers come back.
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Overdraft Protection May Do More Harm Than Good June 12, 2013 
Overdraft costs on consumer checking accounts vary widely across financial institutions and often result in more costs and more involuntary account closures for consumers who opt into such coverage, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau reported on Tuesday. "Consumers need to be able to anticipate and avoid unnecessary fees on their checking accounts," said CFPB Director Richard Cordray.
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When Mobile CRM Goes Too Far, Part 3 June 10, 2013 
Mobile everything is the current computing zeitgeist and if that means turning an app or function that is perfectly suited for desktop use into a mobilized one, well, as the thinking goes at so many companies now, just do it. However, mobilizing an app -- even a front-office CRM app -- should not be undertaken lightly. Costs, security issues and customer attitudes all must be considered.
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Government Prying Into Verizon Customer Records Exposed June 06, 2013 
The National Security Agency reportedly has been collecting the phone records of millions of Verizon users in the United States under a secret court order. Specifically, Verizon has been required to provide an ongoing account of all telephone calls on its systems, including those inside the U.S. and between the U.S. and other countries.
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How to Password-Protect Your Digital Life June 06, 2013 
It's no longer acceptable to use birthdates, pet names and so on for passwords. These easily guessed words were never secure, but it didn't matter much in the past. Who cared if a black hat got into your email account? So what? However, things are much different today, because our lives are now digitally enveloped. Everything from banking to relationships is now inexorably online.
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How's Your Mistake Process Management? June 06, 2013 
Perfection is elusive, if not impossible to achieve. Businesses are made up of people, and people are imperfect. They make mistakes -- mistakes involving internal operations and mistakes that affect customers. How many have planned for those inevitable instances when people prove fallible? Not many. We don't like to envision ourselves as vulnerable to making mistakes.
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Big Data on the Brain June 04, 2013 
I seem to be doing a lot of research and writing about Big Data this year. I am taking a lot of briefings from emerging analytics companies too, and I see it all as net good because the emphasis on data and analytics is really an emphasis on information, an economic indicator of sorts for me. The thirst for customer information tells me that more companies are working to discover new things.
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Amazon Spreads Its Influence With Single Sign-In May 30, 2013 
Amazon on Tuesday announced a feature that lets users access websites using their Amazon account information. The goal of Login with Amazon is to reduce sign-in friction by providing secure credentials to websites, apps, games and other online access points on the Web, as well as on Android and iOS devices. Google+, Facebook and Twitter already offer similar social sign-in capabilities.
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Through the Looking Glass Watson May 29, 2013 
I was recently discussing Watson -- the IBM super silicon brain that won Jeopardy! -- with a reporter writing an article. Around the same time, I was also looking into Google Glass, the wearable computer that enables people to record what they see and to see what they're recording through a teeny tiny screen mounted on a frame over their eyebrows.
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When Mobile CRM Goes Too Far, Part 2 May 28, 2013 
The case for mobile CRM is an easy one to make. Smartphones are now ubiquitous, and the way most people work requires 24-7 accessibility. Not being tethered to a desktop to access customer records is also a plus, if not an outright necessity in some cases. However, mobilization is getting to the point when some apps are mobilized -- and they needn't or shouldn't be.
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Crowdsourced App Helps Otis Lift E-Service to Another Level May 24, 2013 
Mobile CRM is well entrenched in the sales and marketing spaces -- perhaps too entrenched in some cases. However, the third tier of traditional CRM -- service -- has barely been breached by mobile technologies. Some headway has been made, but for the most part it has been in fits and starts. Only a few vendors offer e-service applications for the mobile environment.
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When Customers Get the Shaft, Companies Are the Biggest Losers May 23, 2013 
Do you ever wonder why some companies flourish and grow while others struggle? Why you love doing business with some but not others? It all has to do with how they interact with customers. Hilton Head Island in South Carolina has become my family's favorite vacation destination. There are two big brand name hotels there, and we've experienced a big difference in the way they treat customers.
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Integration Plus Intelligence Equals Multichannel Campaign Success May 23, 2013 
The personality inventory known as the "Myers-Briggs Type Indicator" is premised on the idea that different people process information in different ways. Some people are verbal processors. Others are visual processors. Some people respond more strongly to images -- others to text. The most effective way to learn is to map the different learning styles to each individual's characteristic strengths.
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SuiteWorld Reveals Cloud ERP's Moment in the Sun May 22, 2013 
NetSuite bloomed this week, in part because of a very well-produced user meeting, SuiteWorld, held in San Jose. However, it also bloomed because there can no longer be any doubt that the market for ERP technology is turning to the cloud. What was once unthinkable -- that ERP could or would ever be delivered as a cloud solution -- has been gaining acceptance
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Chinese Army Ends 3-Month Hacking Hiatus May 20, 2013 
After a three-month lull, China's People's Liberation Army has resumed hack attacks against United States companies and government agencies. Despite a ballyhooed February report from private security firm Mandiant, and despite public complaints from the Pentagon, Unit 61398, the PLA group made famous by the report, is again back to its hacking ways.
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