We have to admit to a fascination with the current customer relationship management (CRM) craze. Not since the early days of "reengineering" have we seen such a tsunami of hype, controversy, and huge financial investments. Indeed, according to Gartner, worldwide CRM spending will reach $76.3 billion in 2005, up from $23 billion in 2000.

We have heard of many top companies who fall short on the funding to develop the marketing strategy and plan necessary to becoming a truly customer-centric organization. But somehow, they amazingly find a kitty of $100 million or more to fund the development of a CRM system they may not even need.

Unfortunately, CRM has also ballooned into something folks have a difficult time defining. What exactly is it? A technology? Business strategy? Culture? Philosophy? Is it personalization? E-mail response management? Sales force automation? A data repository?

Everyone seems to agree that CRM represents a method to retain customers and optimize revenues, accomplished through tracking and data-mining customer interactions and using that information to develop long-term relationships. Visit any number of CRM vendors and you will get that promise. Look at the case studies, however, and you find something entirely different.

Take an example from a CRM website:

The Challenge: Due to rapid growth over the past three years, Verio's customer contact center needed to implement a robust solution that could manage the increased call volume. The basic spreadsheet program Verio managers used for scheduling was adequate when the company was still small. However, as they grew, the need for something more sophisticated was obvious.

The Results: After implementing Blue Pumpkin's PrimeTime Enterprise, Verio's call center saw a 50 percent improvement in average speed to answer, its employees recognized more accurate schedules that are flexible to changes, and managers found higher employee satisfaction and retention.

Isn't this just good customer service?

Here's another case in point:

The Gillette Company Goes Live With mySAP™ CRM
The Gillette Company has successfully rolled out mySAP™ Customer Relationship Management (mySAP™ CRM) to its German and U.S. sales forces, increasing productivity and improving the usage of sales processes and tools. As part of a global, phased rollout, Gillette outfitted its sales force in Germany with pentop PCs, rather than laptops, for greater flexibility in the field and chose mySAP™ CRM to provide remote order entry; calendar and activity management for easier planning of customer visits by sales representatives; and up-to-date information on customers, contacts and products any time, anywhere.

OK, let's get real. This sounds a heck of a lot like sales force automation, no?

We're certainly not suggesting that the results above are not critical to a successful business strategy. And perhaps this is but the first step for these companies on their path to CRM enlightenment. But what concerns us is the enormous amount of money invested in CRM systems when, in fact, most companies are probably using only 10 percent of its potential.

Let's get back to our original definition of CRM: tracking and data-mining customer interactions and using that information to develop long-term relationships. It's clear that most companies track their customer communications, some for many years in fact. What we see sorely lacking, however, are companies that actually use that data for a higher purpose. If all companies want are demographic and psychographic profiles, there are plenty of research firms they could hire for a substantially lower price tag. Next time you engage your CRM vendor, ask them, can the system move beyond profiling to analyze the attitudes, behaviors, motivations and future preferences of my individual customers? That's the key to developing relationships and loyalty.

The concept behind CRM, bringing about a better understanding of the customer, has not been realized. Yes, a company's customer service may have improved and yes, their call center, web and sales force data may be integrated. But the gold in the mountain of data has yet to be discovered. At this moment, we surmise that the "R" in CRM represents mere reporting at best, but certainly not relationship.

For more on our research into CRM technologies visit http://www.copernicusmarketing.com/about/docs/crm.htm

In January, we announced the grand opening of the Counterintuitive Marketing Hall of Fame and Shame, a place where CEOs, CMOs, and aspiring marketers of all ages could go to see—in all their glory—the marketing blockbusters and disasters of the recent past and present. For the past three months, businessmen and women from across the country sent us their nominations of top picks for the Hall.

After careful consideration, we proudly [but in the case of the Hall of Shame, sadly] present the inductees:

All of the Hall of Famers have achieved great success adhering to marketing fundamentals such as clearly defining a profitable target and a compelling positioning, to developing great advertising which clearly communicates benefits to maintaining superior customer service. Meanwhile, the Hall of Shamers have encountered product flops and declining performance. They have no clear positioning or target customer group and completely forgettable or confusing advertising. Their brands simply blend into the crowd, while they give away a first-mover advantage and brand equity.
Thanks to everyone who participated in this year's nomination process.

For the full scoop on our inductees, please visit http://www.counterintuitivemarketing.com/hall.html

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Less likely to work full-time, with a lower household income and young children at home (ironically, the exact group President Bush and other politicians have expressed the most concern about in the evolving tax reduction plan), adults who believe taxes are NOT too high are satisfied with life in our country, expressing strong support for the U.S. economy and confidence in the education system. Taking more liberal positions on social issues such as immigration and the death penalty, members of this group are slow to get angry with others and often feel calm and content.

Those adults who believe taxes are too high, on the other hand, have a more negative outlook on life in the United States. Full-time workers with higher household incomes and older kids at home, this group feels frustrated with the country, and holds more conservative views on social issues. Though they believe the federal government has too much power, members of this group feel proud to be Americans.

Here are a few of the discriminating traits we found between the two groups:

For more insightful marketing discoveries, visit http://www.copernicusmarketing.com/discover/index.htm

Have a hot discovery for our next release? Contact us at info@copernicusmarketing.com

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An enjoyable, very quick read that inspires self-reflection and exploration of the reasons behind your management decisions. Told through a fictional account of one CEO's professional situation, the author describes the five temptations and provides exercises to help readers diagnose their own weaknesses. Complete with simple advice and a model for overcoming all the temptations, the book gets to the heart of issues faced by managers at all levels.

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Are you ready for a challenge? This May, you can put your marketing knowledge to the test and take the Copernicus Marketing Challenge, an animated marketing quiz game available only at www.copernicusmarketing.com.

Your mission, to land your ship New Product Venture safely on Planet Profitability. To complete your mission, you must answer five challenging marketing questions correctly. If you get all the questions right on your first try, you earn a place among the marketing elite and a reward from Copernicus. If you don't make it to Profitability, you cause irreparable damage to your ship, company, and career.

Visit http://www.copernicusmarketing.com/sitemap/index.htm May 1 to take The Copernicus Marketing Challenge. You can bone up on your marketing smarts in the meantime with a visit to Copernicus University.

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