"High-falutin', money-sucking nonsense." That's how one reader describes CRM software in a talkback.
Reader Jake Kennedy was responding to a CRN online article that quoted an upcoming study by market-research firm META Group. The study said corporations will increase spending on enterprisewide customer relationship management (CRM) strategies by 75 percent in the coming year.
"A company needs to approach customer relationships from two angles: reducing churn and building invoices," Kennedy writes. "Just about everything else is high-falutin', money-sucking nonsense. Remember the promises of ERP? Another truckload of [often repackaged] software labeled CRM isn't going to solve the problem of attention to customer needs. I've never seen a $100K [or more] software package,whatever trendy acronym it's labeled with,that could satisfy a client and build loyalty the way a simple courtesy call can."
To respond to this post, click here.
Reader Olivier Bruneau came to the defense of CRM. "In this day and age, statistics clearly show that potential customers will leave your Website if they cannot get immediate help," Bruneau says. "Live chat is the first step in providing assistance, True Shared Browsing is the next. How many Web apps have you tried to use before giving up in frustration?"
To respond to this post, click here.
