Pretty much everyone in marketing space I have spoken to in the last month of two have mentioned budget cuts for the forthcoming year without any adjustment around returns expected, and incidentally the aforementioned folks were talking about approaches to optimize the budget in an effective fashion.

The situation reminds of the old-but-still-relevant saying “need is the mother of all invention”

Barring the fundamental issues around economic downturn, a telco operator in Australia is kind of insulated. Please read Vodafone Australia - Marketing Optimization to know more.

What is Marketing Optimization (MO)?

In a nutshell, MO translates marketing challenges/problems/issues into mathematical equation and recommends approaches to meet the optimized objectives - This is either reduced cost or increased returns.

Interestingly, to leverage the value from marketing optimization, you don’t need to have doctorate in Statistics or need to be technically savvy - Business team with basis understanding of Statistics and Computers would be able to comfortably reap the value. After all, we are using technology to solve business problem, and the solutions are built keeping this in mind.

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Though its been a couple of years of India waking up to the Customer Management and associated priorities in business management, my initial interactions with aforesaid folks, reemphasized upon the state of affairs being still nascent and yet to grow, the statement of Campaign Management as a priority item in the scheme of things its quite a good evidence on the industry’s nascent stage.

I respect their views, however it is in need to widen their horizon and look beyond the obvious as determined by basic conventional CRM wisdom.

As the figure above suggests, to maintain and uphold the objective called “keeping the house tidy” is subjected to a few players playing their designated roles.

Its never a one man’s job and importantly claiming a slick broom would do the trick is futile claim as it is currently suggested by some myopic customer management (Campaign Management) consultants.

To give you an idea on the role players in Customer Management, the charts starts with the Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Finance Officer staying on top with CEO’ business objective alignment and product managers holding the second line. In addition, the analyst, campaign managers, segment managers and business and IT operational folks follow the suit - All these personas have a defined role that they must play in order to get the desired results.

The power of technology (or software application, if you will) to excel in their scheme of things should not only have campaign management but an entire set of applications and a orchestrating scheme to meet the business objectives .

The CEO/CMO and CFO needs to have a summarized and holistic picture of what is currently happening and how well its in alignment with the business strategy, they should be able to identify any discrepancies and deploy appropriate course measure to manage it effectively.

• IT specialist should be able to define policies on data management and securities related area and let this piece run in an auto-pilot mode, intervene and correct as appropriate.
• Basis the data sourced, the analyst should be able to identify product associations, customer affinity quotients by creating segments, perform analysis to identify potential cross/up-sell opportunities or proactively identify signs around customer management and keep these information consumable by management and operational business folks.
• The product management and the marketing teams should come together to ensure basis the gaps and additional revenue potential identified by analysts are acted upon.
• The product management team also should keep track of each activity where the customer is contacted through an outbound or inbound communication, if the performance is found to be unsatisfactory, make real-time course corrections hence increase the bar
• The Information Technology operational team should store the history of all the aforesaid activities for future references.

Now, as you can see the aspects mentioned above are to be used at various level of intensities (basis your business model) for effective customer management.

You may now agree, a one-size-does-not-fit-all and such one-sized approach may not be a very appropriate one in such scenarios involving various stakeholders.

Please exercise due caution when it comes to evaluating business software applications for customer management, ensure the solution that are being considered will (A) fit well in your environment and (B) covers the aspects mentioned above in one way or the other.

I am keen to know your views on this, please do leave a comment with your opinion or send me a message through the Contact page. Also, if you enjoyed reading this article and would like to be kept informed of any such new articles, you can subscribe below for an email notification.

Business Intelligence growing at a very high pace, knowing these a host of software professional comes together and mushroom out a myriad of software solutions in the market, in the process the poor evaluators and decisions makers at various enterprises go through the turmoil of getting stuck in the cobweb of information and struggle to make the right decisions. The idea behind this post is bounce of some ideas and approaches that are software solution agonistic but totally relevant from business perceptive.

Many folks I have dealt with have this common misconception about Business Intelligence, they think/believe ability to be able to report basis historical data in various forms such as drillable OLAP cubes, KPI driven dashboards, building a Pivot in excel are all business intelligence. As a starter, it ain’t really Business Intelligence! If you insist for a term for this, I would say ‘Historical Business Reporting’

The analogy I give to folk that believe the aforesaid definition is true is the following, “Running any business basis Business Intelligence that is believed to have a comprehensive set of capabilities to report on historical data, is like driving a car with a really huge rear view mirror and no (or keyhole) size windshield to look ahead”

If you believe (request you should, we practitioners are ready to help you) in the value that a true Business Intelligence can bring to your business, please do start with sketching out what are the Business Specific Values you would want to derive out of the Solution.

• In almost all the solutions’ case what goes in determines what gets out. So, if your data is not good enough, don’t expect anything good in return. This means, you might want to ensure the BI solution you are considering has the capability to manage Data Quality effectively.
• In addition to the cleansed data, we need to have access to behavioral analysis of underlying data and predicted future as well, for this we need the power of statistics – In absence of this approach, you will be driving the car (business) like the man in the illustration
• Basis the above two points, we are ready to represent the Information derived (from the cleansed and statistically analyzed data).
• Now, we must be able to present this data to aid various stakeholders make timely informed decisions. Basis their persona/profile, we need to decide how summarized or detailed the data should be.
• In the process of the presenting the data to end-users, we must ensure they are equipped with a through WHAT-IF capability to perform right kind of analysis in addition to accessing reports.

Business Intelligence solutions that has the aforesaid flow would assist you in not only meeting your short-term goals but the long-term objectives as well. Do talk to us, we are waiting to hear your perspectives..

However, the real question is, do you, as a marketer want to automate the entire process? You might ask, if it is a relevant question? Yes, it is!

Let me give an analogy in aviation industry. The role of technology in aviation space has increased so much; flying a passenger aircraft from Helsinki to Caracas is possible without having to have a Pilot on board. The engineers behind the scenes at Boeing, Air Bus, Embraer et al is well aware, the instinct of the Pilots on board is something that can, by no means be automated. And, this very instinct is one of the critical factors for sustenance of safe flights.

What can we understand from this analogy? Though, it is possible to automate the marketing, particularly campaign management function much as you want to, it is essential to keep the human touch intact in whatever way you can. Sooner or Later you will realize, this decision has paid-off handsomely in managing customers effectively, i.e. either in managing marketing costs or increasing the returns you get from various marketing programs.

Please do not fall prey to sales-talks from vendors who make automation process look like result of a magic wand swing, do exercise adequate caution before registering what is being told to you.

Three years ago I shared with readers a list of 50 ways to be more customer-focused and deliver a better experience.  I’ve decided to update the list and publish it again.  It’s a bit long so you might want to print it out and read it later.  Even better, check off those actions you and your team take on a regular basis.

Here are 50 Ways to Improve Your Customer’s Experience:

1. Open the door for your customer whenever possible.  This is especially important if her hands are full.

2. Don’t just hand your customer his product, “present” it to him.

3. Keep the store temperature at a setting that is comfortable for customers.  Most retailers set the thermostat at what’s comfortable for the employees.

4. Acknowledge your customer’s children.

5. Offer to gift-wrap purchases if you already know it is a gift.  Don’t wait for your customer to ask.

Read More..

The long wait has finally come to an end to passengers who miss their phone calls and text message in mid air. United Kingdom based AeroMobile in association with Airnic and Telenor has developed a system that can help you to keep your phone on at cruising attitude, however, the in-flight system installed in each plane has complete control over keep the network available to its passengers, technically the crew can turn the accessibility off during nights.

The AeroMobile system automatically activates once the aircraft reaches 20,000ft. A video then informs passengers they can turn their mobile phones on. Passengers then receive a free text from AeroMobile telling them to switch their mobiles to ’silent’ mode out of courtesy to their fellow passengers. Calls can be made and received while the plane is at cruising altitude. The service also allows text messages to be sent and received. The system allows for a maximum of five or six calls to be made at once. Passengers using AeroMobile will be charged a premium roaming rate.

As the solution stands currently, the network provided by AeroMobile system on-board offers basic text messaging and voice call server, however, expected to provide data services such as Blackberry etc in sometime.

A couple of Airlines have started using the service, the first-ever call from AeroMobile network was made from an Emirates flight heading to Casablanca. Emirates have seemingly invested to close to USD 27Million on this infrastructure. And, I am quite sure leading airlines would follow the suit – Sooner or later, “talking in the air” could be used a true statement, so get ready to read it correct as it may not stay as a metaphor alone for a longtime.

Getting back to the context, I thought of writing this post today while reading an article from Peppers & Rogers on value of Data for Customer Management – As an enterprise, if you want to be a customer-centric organization, it cannot be done without understanding your customer basis the data you have about them, customer data is an inevitable element if you want to be a truly Customer-Centric Enterprise.

I wrote on the value of a functionality and usability rich solution a couple of months ago and its associated value for business. Going in-sync with that post, being able to manage data effectively, which is an underlying element, is one of the functionality I was referring to. Under the realms of customer management, today there are dime-a-dozen solutions available out there in the market – This means, there is good likelihood to get lost amidst of all these solutions and can potentially make incorrect decisions.

It is essential you don’t get floored by one (or) some aspect/s of the offering, which might probably help you meet one of your short-term goal. But surely not going to help you the way it should on a long-term basis.

This view of mine was proven right again by one of the well known managers in the Indian banking industry. In a conversation, he mentioned how their investment in one of the slick-looking but functionally-weak (weak, as per their requirement) customer management solution is not aiding them in meeting some critical objectives. He mentioned, the myriad of extra workarounds they have to do to make the solution deliver, which again is not very efficient.

Before making up your mind on investing in a particular solution, spend adequate time in understanding what are all available in the market for Effective Customer Management. Try to look for solutions  that would aid you in acheiving your short-term goals without losing focus on long-term objectives - Basis this, weigh the Pros and Cons without any bias and then make an informed decision.

Now, however, researchers from the University of California at Berkeley have learned a little about what went on inside the heads of some of the more creative artists and poets the world has known.

The researchers have identified the mechanism by which absinthe, the liqueur of choice for the likes of van Gogh, Rimbaud, Baudelaire, Toulouse-Lautrec and others - indeed, for much of 19th century French society — affects the brain. It makes neurons fire like mad.

It has long been known that absinthe, a potent, emerald-green distillate of wormwood and other herbs, can cause convulsions, hallucinations, psychotic episodes and, with chronic use, permanent neurological damage. The liqueur has been blamed for the bizarre behavior of van Gogh and others, and it was eventually banned in many countries, including the United States, early in the 20th century.

The Berkeley research, done in collaboration with scientists at Northwestern University, is the first to show the pathway by which the toxic component of the liqueur (other than the alcohol) does its damage.

That component, alpha-thujone, has a sort of double-negative effect on the brain. It blocks a receptor, known as GABA-A, that has also been linked to a form of epilepsy. Under normal conditions, GABA-A inhibits the firing of brain cells by regulating the flux of chloride ions in them. By essentially blocking the blocker, thujone allows the brain cells to fire at will.

Exactly how thujone works ”had been a big question mark for a long time,” said Dr. Karin Hold, a postdoctoral researcher at Berkeley and a co-author of the study, which was published last week in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. ”No one had ever found out which receptor it was working on.” One theory had held that thujone affected the same receptor as THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, but the new research disproves that conclusively, Dr. Hold said.

”It’s very significant work,” said Dr. Wilfred Niels Arnold, a biochemist at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City and the author of ”Vincent Van Gogh: Chemicals, Crises and Creativity” (Springer-Verlag, 1992). ”It’s the sort of thing that many pharmacologists had guessed at, but this is the first time it’s been demonstrated.”
The work is of more than historical interest, particularly with the rise in popularity of herbal medicines. Wormwood oil, which contains thujone, is present in some herbal preparations used to treat stomach disorders and other ills. (In fact, wormwood, a relative of daisies, got its name from its use in ancient times as a remedy for intestinal worms.)
Though rare, incidents of wormwood oil poisoning have occurred in recent years, resulting in convulsions and, in at least one case, kidney failure. The National Toxicology Program of the National Institutes of Health plans to study thujone as part of a long-term investigation of the active ingredients in many herbal preparations.

Absinthe itself is still manufactured, in Spain and the Czech Republic, although European Union regulations limit the amount of thujone in it to less than 10 parts per million. Old absinthe contained up to 260 parts per million, Dr. Arnold said. In modern absinthe, alcohol, which makes up three-quarters of the liqueur, is by far the most toxic component.
It is still illegal to buy absinthe in the United States, though it can be obtained through the Internet and when traveling overseas. Some do-it-yourselfers soak wormwood and other herbs in grain alcohol or even port to make a poor imitation of absinthe, while the more adventurous try distilling the liqueur themselves.

Absinthe has something of a cult following among people lured by its history, and by the ritual associated with it. The liqueur, which is extremely bitter, is traditionally poured through a lump of sugar on a special slotted spoon, and mixed with five parts water. This creates what is known as the louche, a milky-white effect that occurs when compounds in the liqueur precipitate out of the absinthe-water solution. (Toulouse-Lautrec was said to have favored a drink called the Earthquake, in which the absinthe was diluted with cognac, and there was no louche effect.)

In an article I was reading in the morning, there was an interesting note from a software solution consulting firm that magnifies and explores the AHT aspect of Contact Center Management.

In my opinion, “Don’t Make your customers wait on IVR queue” – A term pertaining to Contact Center Management has been given undue importance. In real-sense, no customer is unready to wait for a quality response to their requirements or queries. A customer who waited for 4 minutes in IVR listening to Bohemian Chant music would be satisfied if his queries are addressed to his satisfaction.

IMHO it is important to identify and emphasize more on the quality elements to address the customer needs instead of building unnecessary frenzy around time (quantity) of his wait by the software call handler. End of the day, the customer who waited for an extra two minutes is bound to be happy if his requirements are addressed well.

In the last five odd years, whenever I have presented strategies and recommendations for customer management, enterprises I have worked with often requested us to build a strategy without having to relook into the customer data.

Organizations that played the Data Warehousing Game in the last half-decade without attaching tangible and intangible roles of the warehouse are too skeptical to give the deserved importance to look at the customer data for tangible values – In my opinion, warehouse Solution vendors and importantly some Enterprise Marketing Management Solution vendors are one of the key stake-holders to blame for this.

Amidst of meeting their quarterly figures, they went on a binge to sell software licenses without bothering to address the true needs of Customer Management.

I always requested the enterprises that consider walking the warehouse pathway, to hold their horses before boarding the bandwagon and think over how warehoused data would assist them in making meaningful business decisions, which touches either the top or bottom line of the business. Likewise, urged enterprises to be cautious to deal with Enterprise Marketing Management Solution vendors without adequate Customer Data Management Capabilities.

Sure, you already have substantial data that can be leveraged in customer management but not without some massaging - Fact is, the data that you have as is might not provide value it ought to in customer management, you definitely have to prune it a bit to realize its unseen potential in business.

Always, I repeat, always evaluate how the Customer or Enterprise Marketing Management solution you are considering handles the Customer Data – Firmly insist a demonstration of the solution’s capability around customer data management. In a warehouse scenario, proactively assess what you do once the data is organized in the warehouse pertaining to customer management and other business values it can provide.

In absence of this, you might end up automating some part of Customer Management, but it is surely not complete - Sad part in most of the cases is, you may not even realize the solution is incomplete.

In the world of effectice customer management, data management is one of the crucial steps and not to be ignored..