Where is CRM headed?

The concept of relationship marketing is nothing new, but internet technology has made it possible for businesses to manage relationships in fresh, innovative ways. The ability to store and organize client and prospect data digitally has given marketers a brand new set of tools to increase customer acquisition and retention in a cost-effective manner. More recent technologies like cloud computing and advanced web analytics are already beginning to revolutionize business processes, and CRM is no exception.

In CRM's Next 5 in 5, software blogger and CRM analyst Lauren Carlson assembled a group of the industry's leading experts to discuss the emerging trends and technologies that will change the face of CRM forever. We have summarized their top five trends below:

1. Context services will continue to develop, giving businesses more useful data on their customers' wants, needs and preferences. Context services, such as location-based services, can provide a great deal of insight into consumer behavior. Since CRM systems serve to aggregate information about clients and prospects, they are the ideal framework for context services to live and grow.
2. Web analytics have given marketers an extremely valuable source of information for online consumer behavior. The time it takes for businesses to gather and evaluate analytics data, however, can often exceed the shelf life of the trends that businesses are trying to measure. The next step will be analytics applications that can process data and provide marketers with recommendations in real time. CRM software packages will store this information within individual client and prospect records for reporting purposes, and the boundlessness of cloud computing technology will allow for seemingly unlimited data storage.
3. As the lines between TV and the web continue to blur, CRM integration with internet-connected TV services will be developed further. As big-screen TVs with high-definition and 3D capabilities become more common, viewers will be in a position to experience rich content beyond what they would be able to view on smaller devices. Advanced CRM systems will be poised to collect user data on a whole new group of online consumers.
4. For some time now, businesses have cut costs by utilizing virtual meeting technologies, such as GoToMeeting and WebEx. As this tendency persists, the resulting content will need to be stored and organized, and CRM systems are the most logical place for it.
5. Gamification, that is the use of game design techniques to engage audiences, has already become a powerful trend in the marketing world, but as consumers become more accustomed to competitive interactivity in online media CRM service providers will capitalize on the tracking and data collection advantages of gaming.

Did we miss any? How do you envision the future of CRM?

Gaaaaame Onnn! - Ch. 10

As we take a look at eMarketing strategies, there is still a tendency to divide the internet into categories like social, eCommerce, games and news/entertainment. As the internet evolves, the lines between these categories will disappear. Shopping online will become more like playing a game, while reading the news.

Sites like TheClymb.com and Ideeli.com are already tapping into this. Help spread the word, recruit friends to these 'private sales events' with limited quantities available, all while earning bigger discounts or more exclusive access for yourself. It's almost like going to a 'Black Friday' sale with all your friends on your Facebook page, 2-3 times a week.

In 5 Triggers that make your Product Addicting, Adrian Ott explains how these fields are converging and how we can apply principles that make a game addictive to the creation of engaging internet products.

Summary:
Games - The 2nd most popular internet activity. Behind social networking, ahead of email.
Triggers - Games tap into psychological triggers, which is why we keep playing them.

5 Key Triggers (5 more P's)
Peers and Power - The desire for social status.
Personal Pursuits - Meet a goal or support a cause
'Prairie Dog' Events - Big events that make us reconsider our behavior ( a bad experience, a breakup, a birth/death)
Productivity - We want things to be faster and easier
Price - We want to pay less/get more.

How to Apply Triggers
Map Them - Decide which triggers that best apply to your product
Build Triggers, Not Features - Only add complexity that triggers behavior, don't hide the triggers behind complex rules or stories. People generally won't spend a lot of time trying to learn your game.
Test and Re-Test - Consistently monitor to ensure your product activates the triggers.

I know, I know...we all thought video games were just for killing time at work and half-hoping you didn't get caught and half-hoping you get caught and fired because you really ought to move on from your dead-end-video-game-playing-job anyways.

Turns out, in marketing, those pointless games might be your ticket to your next job.

Any more insights into how websites are turning the web into one big video game? Any favorite sites that use innovative ways to draw customers in, and keep them coming back? Do share!

And...for those who didn't do the reading......
Chapter 10 - Product

Product - A bundle of benefits that satisfy the needs of a organizations or consumers, for which they are willing to pay for.

Creating Customer Value Online - 

- Customer Value = Benefits - Cost

So what creates value?

1. It encompasses the entire product experience: discovering, trying, buying, post-sale, 

2. It exists ENTIRELY in the MINDS of CUSTOMERS

3. It is tied to customer expectations.

4. Value exists at all price levels.

Product Benefits

- Attributes - What it is...color, taste, style, size, speed of service

- Branding - The intangible characteristics that differentiate a product from its competitors

- Support Services - Communicate! Be reachable, to the extent customers expect

- Labeling - Be identifiable, quickly. Reinforce trust, security, speed, whatever the customer is looking for

- Packaging - Make it look good.

Enhanced Product Development

- Customer Co-Design - Product customized for the customer.

- Electronic Input - Crowd sourcing, online reviews

Product Strategy

- Discontinuous Innovation - Brand new products that the world has never seen before. The first product in a new category.

- New Product Lines - A company decides to enter an existing market.