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Too Many Executives Are Missing the Most Important Part of CRM

Harvard Business Review

Whether you’re a corporation, a nonprofit or a government agency, chances are that your approach to customer relationships at a system-wide level begins and ends with CRM (customer relationship management) software — yet its implementation rarely does much to foster real relationships. Measuring Marketing Insights.

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7 Marketing Technologies Every Company Must Use

Harvard Business Review

With over 1,000 companies trying to sell some type of marketing technology in over 40 categories, it’s not surprising that the most common word that marketers use to describe themselves is “overwhelmed.” These programs are essentially an online form of direct marketing. Today smart marketers do know which half isn’t working.

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7 Marketing Technologies Every Company Must Use

Harvard Business Review

With over 1,000 companies trying to sell some type of marketing technology in over 40 categories, it’s not surprising that the most common word that marketers use to describe themselves is “overwhelmed.” These programs are essentially an online form of direct marketing. Today smart marketers do know which half isn’t working.

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How Marketers Can Personalize at Scale

Harvard Business Review

Marketing has entered its “uncanny valley” moment. Some marketing efforts give off the same vibe, like that creepy feeling when a casual online search leads to a glut of ads for the same pair of boots or getaway destination. Sales & Marketing. And that’s off-putting. It’s worth trying to get right.

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Good Sales Teams Know When to Stop Selling

Harvard Business Review

Looking at one metric for gauging customer advocacy, the Net Promoter Score, promoters are worth nearly three to seven times more in lifetime value than detractors, depending on the market. Worse, it did not account for supply chain disruptions that plagued the company and annoyed many customers.

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The Real Reason Organizations Resist Analytics

Harvard Business Review

At one global technology services firm, salespeople grew furious with a CRM system whose new analytics effectively held them accountable for pricing and promotion practices they thought undermined their key account relationships. Are analytics internally marketed and perceived as diagnostics for helping people and processes perform "better"?

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How to Compete When IT Is Abundant

Harvard Business Review

Only the largest of enterprises could afford the best technologies, and even for those with the largest bank accounts, IT strategies were limited to basics like CRM , ERP , or email. And given the complexities involved in building up competitive IT weaponry, businesses won by out-spending and out-resourcing their opponents.