ServiceCycle » Strategy

How To Anonymize mySQL Data

admin — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 21:28:55 +0000

Do you need to replicate your production mysql database into a test environment? Well, I did. But, I needed ensure the production data didn’t contain real data since it contained names, addresses, social security numbers and PHI. I needed to make this data to some offshore developers in the Philippines.

I searched for ‘mysql data anonymizer’, ‘mysql data sanitizer’, ‘anoymous mysql data’, ‘mysql data masking’, but didn’t find anything. Even tried posting on stackoverflow: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/5058611/mysql-data-masking

I didn’t find an off-the-shelf product to buy, so here’s how I accomplished it using Microsoft SQL Server 2005. So, these instructions assume you have a Windows machine running SQL Server 2005. I ran Windows XP in Parallels from my Mac.

1) Download the ‘Microsoft SQL Server Migration Assistant (SSMA)’ from Microsoft.

2) Convert the mySQL database in question to SQL Server 2005

3) Anonymize the data using ‘MSSQL.DataMask’ http://www.wintestgear.com/products/MSSQLDataMask/MSSQLDataMask.html

4) Convert the SQL Server database back to mySQL (http://www.convert-in.com/mss2sql.htm)

I know, a bit hackish. But, I couldn’t find an existing program to anonymize mysql data. I tried searching for mysql data sanitize as well.

If you have a better option, please let me know.

Outsourcing Everything Except The Profit

john — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:19:38 +0000

When it comes to outsourcing, there is no doubt about the fact that the most beneficial advantage is the ability to reduce costs by outsourcing tasks and projects when appropriate. Some Internet marketers take the concept of outsourcing to the extreme by outsourcing the majority of their niche marketing tasks.In other industries this strategy could lead to imminent failure because the client may lose control of the project. However, when it comes to Internet niche marketing this strategy can be very effective and result in the marketer have a greatly reduced workload and a substantially larger profit margin.

Editor Note:For more information on software outsourcing, readers are encouraged to visit FlatWorld Software Development

Why Outsourcing Almost Everything Works

In the Internet niche marketing industry, outsourcing almost all of the required tasks can be a profitable strategy. Some of these tasks include copywriting, website design and website management. The marketer may chose to outsource all of these tasks and keep the most important tasks, namely niche selection and keyword development, to himself to ensure he remains in control of these critical elements.

Outsourcing Content Creation

Copywriting is one element of Internet niche marketing which can easily be outsourced. There is a plethora of talented writers with experience in writing copy for websites which is informative, interesting, accurate and also persuasive. There are many talented writers offering their services who are capable of creating this type of content. However, there is a much smaller pool of talented writers who are also skilled at the art of search engine optimization (SEO).

These writers have the above mentioned skills but are also capable of weaving keywords into the articles in a way which appeals to both search engines and those reading the website.

Outsourcing Website Design

Similarly to the writing industry, there are countless website designers who are capable of creating high quality websites that are both aesthetically pleasing as well as functional. Again, there is a much smaller pool of website designers who have the capabilities of designing a website so that it is well optimized for search engines. SEO is critical to the success of any Internet niche marketing campaign because high search engine rankings improve website traffic.

For this reason it is easy to understand why those with SEO skills are in such high demand. It is also easy to understand why those in the Internet marketing industry are willing to pay so much for these services.

Outsourcing Niche Website Management

Internet marketers who are balancing multiple niches have an even further opportunity to outsource even more of their responsibilities. They may find those skilled in the art of management to oversee a few of the niches. These managers will assume the responsibilities for organizing content for the website, and developing and maintaining the website design including the ongoing SEO effort for the website.

Special care should be taken when outsourcing management responsibilities. While it is important to verify the qualifications of copywriters and website designers and to search for highly qualified candidates, this is especially important when outsourcing tasks of a management nature. This is important because the tasks assigned to this individual can have a more dramatic impact on the niche market.

If the manager fails to do an adequate job overseeing the assigned tasks, the niche may begin to wane in popularity. When this happens regaining the attention of audience members who were disappointed in changes occurring in the website can be extremely difficult.

About the Author

Ryan Smith is the owner of MyCirclePal.Com, one of the Net’s hottest community and social neworking sites! Post your free profile today at http://www.mycirclepal.com/

What to Look for in a Content Management System (CMS)

john — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:18:53 +0000

Content Management Systems are a great way to maintain the integrity of your web site by allowing you, not a web designer, to have control of your content. When you look for a CMS, look for one that is designed to provide a user-friendly environment that can accommodate multiple users with varying skill levels. Some CMS systems are designed as software that installs on your servers or your PC, while other CMS’s are hosted by the system’s developers and accessed over the Internet via a browser. This type of CMS is generally less expensive than those installed on your server. Not only will they be less expensive in most cases…you should shop around…but many are supplied as “software-on-demand” and are priced per session. That means you only pay when you use it.

Editor’s Note: see CMS hosting for screenshots and overview of ServiceCycle CMS

Another thing you should look for is the features of the CMS. It should have all the features of MS Word and be so simple to use that your content developers will be able to begin creating and editing content with ease. CMS systems come in multiple flavors and can be deployed for both small and large companies.

Many of the better-designed CMS’s are based on authentication level, which means that content developers are granted permission to access the authorized areas within the system. This permission-based content access management utility is very popular and is designed and developed for creating, accessing, and managing menus, submenus, hyperlinks, new page creations, etc. It should offer authorized content developers the ability to navigate quickly and intuitively, using pull-down and drill-down menus to get to specific areas of your web site. Most CMS’s have an auto-log-out procedure that can be implemented if a content editor leaves an active session open without making any changes for a certain predetermined length of time. In such cases all unsaved work should be queued for immediate review once the content developer logs back in.

Find a CMS that is designed with no restrictions on page lengths and quantity of content, and allows your content developers to preview new or changed content easily. Users should be able to make multiple content changes that will be made immediately without extensive wait or reload time.

Pictures and images are extremely important for some companies web sites. They may need to upload new photos often, or remove them when they are obsolite. Therefore you need to find out if that option for your photos is avaialbe in the sytem you choose. An important question to ask is, how much control will you have of where and how your pictures appear within the layout of your web pages? This may seem like a very simple question, but you would be surprised how many people do not ask it. Another question is, how easy are the tools within the CMS to use and how much training, if any, and support you will get from the CMS’s developer?

Your web site is a critical connection between your company and your customers/visitors. Keeping your content up-to-date can be the most effective way to sell your products and services and ensure that your web site works for you, not against you.

Judith Stolpner is the Director of Marketing at Blue Robin Inc.-Blue Robin is recognized as experts in building customized eBusiness Infrastructures. Blue Robin also designs web-based solutions for small to mid sized companies including cost effective Content Management Systems. Judith has been involved with web marketing since 1995. http://www.bluerobininc.com

ServiceCycle CMS passes Judith’s criteria.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Judith_Stolpner

Microsoft Dynamics CRM V3.0 – Customer Relationship Management

john — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:11:29 +0000

Customer Relationship Management software effectively implemented, provides business owners and management with an extremely powerful tool for bringing the front-office functions of sales, marketing and customer support together and working far more effectively as a combined team.Many businesses think wrongly that a CRM solution is only for enterprise class concerns with large check books when in fact software providers such as Microsoft offer scalable versions for all company sizes. Microsoft Dynamics Software has evolved from their enterprise class Great Plains software however versions have been developed and aimed specifically at the small and mid-range business market.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM v3.0 allows businesses to respond to the growing challenges in the modern business environment by bringing client and prospect information into a central repository, organizing the information and allowing users throughout the business to access the data when they need it. Microsoft Dynamics CRM v3.0 delivers the ability to manage the customer relationship throughout the entire sales cycle from initial inquiry in response to a marketing or sales campaign, through to pre-sales meetings, the actual sale and post sale issues such as delivery and repeat ordering.

Microsoft Dynamics software empowers every decision maker in your business to satisfy customer demands by providing the most up-to-date and accurate client information they need when they need it and ensure that the history of the relationship is encapsulated for all to share. Decision makers in this context need not necessarily be management but a customer service representative with a customer on the telephone asking about an order or information on your other products. All staff in contact with prospects and customers will be able to see at a glance what is happening with a particular account and in customer relations, knowledge is power. Customer relationship software provides everyone in your business with the ability to demonstrate an outstanding level of customer service not possible by traditional reporting methods.

The ability to integrate a customer relationship software solution with existing applications already employed by your business allows for the transfer of information between your word processor and spreadsheet applications and the CRM. Microsoft CRM software has been specifically designed with Microsoft Outlook and Office in mind, and allows a seamless user experience. Mobile workers reliant upon email are able to access Microsoft Dynamics CRM v3.0 via their Outlook client, while marketing and sales campaigns can use data imported from the Dynamics Suite directly into Microsoft Word and Excel applications for marketing campaigns and mail shots.

If your business has several office and site locations, it is still possible to implement a customer relationship software solution across the whole company. Microsoft Dynamics v3.0 is well adapted to be delivered to remote locations via Microsoft Terminal Services, Citrix and other “thin client” solutions. An example is where a business has a central warehousing facility in Detroit with sales offices in New York, San Francisco and Chicago and they all are able to utilise the customer relationship software solution almost in real-time.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM v3.0 benefits your business by saving time and costs, minimizing non-productive activity while maximizing sales revenue by ensuring that sales leads are followed up and do not get lost or “fall between the cracks”, while customer retention is improved by enhancing customer relations and service.

About the Author

Syed Ali, is the lead CRM consultant for a Toronto based company. His company offers, Microsoft CRM Software Syed can be reached at Tel : (905) 815- 1995 ext 22, email :asyed@cqsolutions.com

CRM – The Human Factor

john — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:09:52 +0000

Although I am a proponent of CRM software and database management, I have never, nor will I run across a software solution that provides Complete CRM. On a note of credibility, my company, Wright Solutions is partnered with a few CRM software providers whom will not be referenced anywhere in this post, or this series. I want you to understand the depth of my committment to the fundamentals of human CRM.

Companies in the market for CRM solutions actually are in need of better managing relationships with their customers, and most are looking at CRM applications as the answer. I am not about to suggest that any of the well designed and reliable IT solutions are not a significant piece of the puzzle. I will say that alone, they are not ‘the answer’. Three significant misconceptions continue to impede the successful implementation of CRM systems or upgrades. The first myth is that CRM is a software solution, secondly that CRM is a tactic and lastly that satisfied customers are loyal customers. The truth is that CRM is a people driven – not a software solution, CRM is a strategy not a tactic, and satisfied customers are not necessarily loyal.

Busting the myths – the 5 W’s of Customer Relations.

Myth #1. CRM is a Software Solution. Who – If you spend $25,000 on the installation and implementation of a CRM system, and six months down the road you have no increase in the number of customers regularly repeating business with you, Who is accountable? What – If your employees do not ‘buy in’ to the new system, failing to input or update customer information correctly, What results will your $25,000 investment produce? Why – Have you purchased and introduced this new software? If your answer is in any way similar to the following statement, you are guaranteeing failure: Our employees never seem to have the time, or just don’t consistently follow up with our customers. Where – Are you measuring and monitoring the results produced by your CRM software at the end of the process? If you are, how do you know the quality of the data initially input by front line staff? When – Time, a commodity always in demand, always in short supply. Two thoughts on time: If one of the reasons you made this investment was due to the fact that your employees didn’t follow up with your customers, what makes you think they’ll now have or take the time to accurately update records in the system? And have you made provisions for one or more people to have the extra time needed to monitor and review the output of the system for errors, duplications or unique circumstances?

Having put all that out on the table, I’m sure (well, actually I’m hoping) that I’ve left you with more questions. “If this great new IT solution is not the whole answer, what is?”, “I’ve already made the investment, how do I ensure its success?”, “We’ve trained and offered incentives to our employees, they claim to be following proceedures, but still our numbers haven’t gone up. What do we do now?” … The possibilities here are limitless!

From my perspective, I say GOOD! It means I’ve succeeded in reaching my goal for today. To provide food for thought, to provide incentive for you to question and examine what you are doing today and what results you are getting is a tremendous step towards a solution. Success never comes by way of quick fixes or trendy technology. You will arrive at success only once you have honestly assessed the gap and determined where you are today. If you also have a clear view of where you want to go tomorrow, we can begin to size up that gap and decide how to bridge it.

How to do that begins with the discussion of the next myth: CRM is a tactic. My next post will bust that myth in brief as we’ve done here with the first.

Over the course of this series we will be taking an honest look at where many businesses are today – The real deal, I don’t care too much for ‘political correctness’ or ‘beating around the bush’. Some may not like my approach, but those that follow me through, those that suffer the unease of examining and questioning your ‘comfort zone’ will find themselves ahead of the game and significantly improving their success.

Until next time, I implore you to change your viewpoint, get down on the ground, climb a ladder, anything to look at your business, your employees, your customers and your processes from a different perspective. I also encourage you to read. If you haven’t looked at a book on customer service since your college days, do it now. Some of my favourites are: “The Butterfly Customer: Capturing the Loyalty of Today’s Elusive Consumer”, “Customer Tells : Deliver World Class Customer Service Using Championship Poker Strategies” and “Are You Being Served Yet?: Customer Service Evolution”.

Thanks for reading. I wish you all success at learning something new today.

Teresa Wright is an exceptionally inspired and flexible writer, poet, artist and business owner. At 40 years of age she has recently pursued her dream of self-employment with the start-up of her consulting company, Wright Solutions to better balance life, work, family and love. Having written poetry for more than 25 years now, Teresa has developed a confidence that attracts and captivates her readers. Her style can only be described as raw, honest and emotional. She writes from deep within her soul, from an understanding of hope and survival shaped during many years of some of life’s most sorrowful challenges. This survivor has the ability to express universal emotions exquisitely – her poetry will touch your heart. With the experience from a 20 year career in Customer Service, managing customer relationships in 6 diverse industries Teresa Wright is a skilled veteran in the field. She is adept not only at effectively identifying customer needs, and with loyalty driven communication, but also at recognizing the characteristics of the profitable customer.

Visit us at Wright Solutions

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Teresa_Wright

Work Smarter, Not Harder – The 4 Keys to a Lower Maintenance and More Productive Online Business

john — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:09:02 +0000

Here’s something that most online business owners struggle with – Working too hard for not enough return. Even when the returns are good, the hours can be grueling.

As an Internet marketing mother, I can’t afford to be sitting at my computer 24/7. I chose to run an online business because I want to be home with my kids, but at home glued to a computer screen isn’t like being at home.

Even if you don’t have a kid or a spouse, a business should not become your entire life. It’s a recipe for burn out and a dismal life that revolves around a computer. At first, building your business and working really may seem exciting, but then you look up and realize there’s nothing else in your life.

So, how do you work smarter and not harder? In other words, how do you make more money with less personal time invested in your business.

To me, in comes down to 4 key points:

* Value your time

* Leverage the strengths and time of others

* Implement Passive Income Models into your Business

* Don’t be afraid of technology

Here’s some more thoughts on each of those:

1. Value Your Time:

You need to set and limit your working hours. You probably run your business, so you can stay home with your family&/or have more freedom. Well, being a prisoner to your computer doesn’t do either of those things for you.

In addition, when you limit your work time, you are more productive. If you have only 3 hours to get work done, you’re more likely to stay focused and do what you need to do. If you have set aside the whole day to work, you’ll probably slack off and hang out at forums, check your stats endlessly or find other distractions. Sorry to say – that’s NOT working.

2. Leverage The Strength & Time of Others:

Don’t think of yourself as a solo entrepreneur…think of yourself as a team. You can leverage the strength and time of others by:

– Outsourcing: Never try to do it all yourself!

- Partnering with others reaching the same target market as you: Your competition doesn’t need to be your enemy. Make them your partners instead!

- Recruiting and training an affiliate force: Just setting up the script for your affiliate program isn’t enough…set up a stellar program instead.

- Being part of mastermind group that shares business strategies and experiences.

3. Implement Passive Income Models Into Your Business:

Outsourcing and having your own well-managed affiliate program are ways to generate passive income. Other ways to add more passive income to your online business are:

- Join affiliate programs: You don’t have to fulfill all the orders and provide customer support.

- Learn search engine optimization (SEO): Search engine optimization is an excellent source of highly-targeted traffic for your website. Just think, people enter a keyword phrase for something they want and voila, they find you.

- Implement pay-per-click strategies: Just like with search engines, you can get highly-targeted traffic to your website, but you have to pay for it. But setting up a cost-effective and profitable campaign can do wonders for your business. Try Adwords of Yahoo Search Marketing.

- Use autoresponders: Effectively automate your follow-up process with our prospect and customers.

- Backend Sales & Upsells: When someone is already going to buy from you once, they’re more likely to buy more. Make sure you make extra offers.

4. Embracing Technology:

This one might be tough for some non-technical people. Honestly, I’m not very technical and I get intimidated by technology…but I do know that if I can automate something in my business, it saves me time and money. That’s why I have a programmer on hand to help me with stuff like this. I don’t have to implement the technology myself. I just use it to my advantage in my business.

Some uses of technology can include…but the possibilities are ENDLESS

* Autoresponders * Shopping carts * Membership sites * Automating content addition to your sites * Making customer/prospect management easier and more profitable * Customer feedback, comments, reviews * Affiliate program * Tracking advertising and split testing

So please, stop doing so much work! Your business, family and friends will thank you for it!

About the Author

Alice Seba is a full-time online business owner that thrives on helping others say good-bye to their J-O-Bs forever. Sign up for her “Internet Marketing Prescriptions” to cure what ails your online business: http://www.InternetMarketingPrescriptions.com

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)

john — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:07:46 +0000

INTRODUCTION:An enterprise resource planning system cuts across all department-specific functions and affects the overall control of the organization. An ERP system integrates business processes and information from entire enterprise and helps coordinate the operation of business functions. An important part of most ERP systems is the use of a unified database to store data for the various system modules.ERP systems are software packages that can be used for the core systems necessary to support enterprise systems. They are complete solutions, catering to the needs of any industry, particularly a manufacturing concern. They provide an integrated environment whereby all the departments of the organization can work in coordination with each other, thus improving the organization’s overall efficiency and performance.

Editor’s Note: While the ServiceCycle stack does not offer ERP, I think there many similarities to ERP in reasons to use and outsource. So, I feel this article will be relevant to people who are considering hosted crm, online project management and/or hosted CMS

HISTORY of ERP SYSTEMS:

The history of ERP dates back to the 1960’s, the main focus in those days was towards inventory control. A major part of the software’s developed were based on traditional inventory concepts. The next decade witnessed a shift of focus towards Material Requirement Planning (MRP). The purpose of MRP’s was to translate the schedule for individual units. The 1980’s brought the concept of MRP-II (Manufacturing Resource Planning). This system helped in optimizing the entire production process. MRP-II was later extended to include areas such as Finance, HR, Engineering, Project Management etc. This gave birth to ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning). Its job was to integrate core business areas. The advantage ERP had over its ancestors was that it included the entire range of a company’s activities. However, ERP systems have skyrocketed in the last 5 years and have seen record revenues by the software companies. In the past, ERP software was not used to to its full potential. Today, the business model of an organization (domestic or global) is based on ERP. It is used as a management tool and gives organizations a great competitive advantage. The superfluous amount of data and global competition required the ERP to be enhanced and thus ERP-II was formed. They not only form the backbone of an enterprise but also act an information link in the supply chain. The challenge for ERP II is two-fold. First, it’s to aggregate and manage the data surrounding all the transactions of an enterprise as accurately as possible in real time. Then, it’s to open up the system to make that information available to trading partners.

OVERVIEW:

Organizations worldwide, whether public or private, are moving away from developing Information Systems (IS) in-house and are instead implementing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems and other packaged software. Enterprise resource planning systems (ERPs) are Management Information Systems (MISs) that integrate and automate many of the business practices associated with the operations or production and distribution aspects of a company engaged in manufacturing products or services. ERP systems primarily support business operations those activities in an organization that support the selling process, including order processing, manufacturing, distribution, planning, customer service, human resources, finance and purchasing.

In reality, there are huge problems in achieving any of these goals, and how successful a company is in achieving these aims will depend to a large extent on how well the company overcomes these problems. Despite warnings in the literature, many organizations apparently continue to underestimate the issues and problems often encountered throughout the ERP life cycle, as evidenced by suggestions that: more than 40% of large software projects fail, 90% of ERP implementations end up late or over budget, and 67% of enterprise application initiatives could be considered negative or unsuccessful.

ERP life cycle-wide management and support are ongoing concerns rather than a destination. The pre-implementation, implementation and post-implementation stages continue throughout the lifetime of the ERP as it evolves with the organization. Unlike the traditional view of operational IS that describes a system life cycle in terms of development, implementation, and maintenance, examination of ERP implementations is revealing that their life cycle involves major iterations. Following initial implementation there are subsequent revisions, reimplementations and upgrades that transcend what is normally considered system maintenance. As the number of organizations implementing ERP increases and ERP applications within organizations proliferate, improved understanding of ERP life cycle implementation, management and support issues is required so that development, management, and training resources can be allocated effectively.

About the Author

The author- Qassim Dada, is currently pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Sciences from The IBA.

Sarbanes Oxley Compliance – Will Tighter Controls Work?

john — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:07:08 +0000

Sarbanes Oxley act had been levied for tighter controls and stricter regulations for company’s internal controls. According to the Sarbanes Oxley compliance companies with market capitalization of more than $75 million need to file their financial reports by the June 15th. This date was alter amended up to 15th November. All other companies need to files their financial return for any fiscal year by 15th July.Sarbanes Oxley compliance with section 302 requires any CEO or CFO to certify the accuracy of annual or quarterly financial reports for the company. Any inaccurate or falsified facts are subject to penalty under law. This section also makes a CEO or CFO to establish and maintain internal controls. It also makes them eligible to evaluate these controls and measure their effectiveness. As per Sarbanes Oxley compliance, a CEO or a CFO is eligible to report any deficiency in the design and operations of internal controls. They can report any fraud and rectify any errors in the system of internal controls.

Sarbanes Oxley compliance with section 404 requires the company’s annual report to carry a report on internal controls of the company. This report on internal controls as per the Sarbanes Oxley compliance should state the role of management in maintaining and establishing total internal controls in the financial system of the company.

In case of IT companies, they are also required to be in Sarbanes Oxley compliance while filing their financial reports for any fiscal year. An IT person with business perspective can spearhead the compliance effort of any IT project. IN case of IT companies the internal controls need to be broken up in to two categories of general controls and applications controls. As per the Sarbanes Oxley compliance for an IT company it is required to evaluate the systems processes that end up effecting key controls over financial reporting.

A good idea to implement Sarbanes Oxley compliance is to begin with simple and normal Sarbanes Oxley compliance controls. Then one should work backwards to determine the systems and processes that need to be documented in the financial report.

In case of companies where the work is outsourced the Sarbanes Oxley compliance needs to be documented in differently. This is because the total work is done by an external agency. This is also especially important because any external agency would never give any document or certificate like SAS70 Type II or similar report. In such a case the company is required to document the whole process that has been outsourced as if the whole process has been done internally and state all the internal controls and regulation applied on that process which has been outsourced.

Editor’s Note: ServiceCycle is researching a SAS70 Type II certificate for project management hosting.

In some cases it is suggested that as per Sarbanes Oxley compliance that the IT department is required to hold the keys to maintaining logs, usernames and passwords for the financial controls. This is not mandatory for all companies. Usually an IT department is required to create the roles and finance department directs as to who would hold the keys to those roles specified. But some times it is risky to implement such a practice. This is because if the IT department reviews the logs and holds the key to manage them it might be possible that some important records would be deleted. Thus in such a case the Sarbanes Oxley compliance states that the usernames and passwords etc should be with the IT department and finance department should have the last word on the same.

About the Author

Earl Powers, US Lawyer and Sarbannes expert – focusing on SOA and Sarbanes Oxley Software

Work Smarter, Not Harder – The 4 Keys to a Lower Maintenance and More Productive Online Business

Leveraging Business Relationships for more Profits

john — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:04:15 +0000

When should you leverage the relationship?

Leveraging sometimes brings a negative connotation to the mix. It does not have to be that way. Leveraging with alliances can work into a win-win situation were both parties become more profitable and they form more solid business relationships. Leveraging should be taken seriously and not as a way to step on another business to make your own headway. If you work with the alliance partner, you will both be able to leverage the relationship for mutual benefit.

For example, a store I was working with in the past had several channel partners that they wanted to leverage. A meeting was setup to discuss how the relationship could be expanded so that it benefited both parties. It was discovered that the partner wanted to learn more about the products the company was selling and get more into the training aspect for its customer base. The parent company on the other hand wanted to find ways to support the customers of the partner in order for the partner to gain more sales.

In this case, both parties were able to leverage the others’ contacts and offer better customer service. The channel partners also were able to find additional customers because they had more of an inside track on the products being offered. They were able to train new customers and give a new dimension to their offerings. The parent company profited from the additional sales.

Through leveraging the current customer base and the product lines, both companies could offer better customer service. As a result of this success, the parent company offered the same alternatives to other channel partners and found that most of them welcomed the additional opportunity. The opportunity, in order to be successful, has to be presented to the right level of decision makers.

Who You Need (to Form a Relationship With)

At what level should the relationship be established?

A question that is often asked is “How do you get to the right person in an organization for making the decision?” The answer is not an easy one as some organizations have decision making at various levels, and of course it depends on the size of the organization. If you are dealing with 10 or fewer employees, you are likely to need to work with the owner or CEO of the organization. It is imperative that you do not deal with those that cannot make the appropriate decision. You may find that you are dealing with influencers, but in the long run they cannot make the decision to go or not to go with the alliance.

So how do you get to the right person? There are many answers to this question, but the simplest answer is to start at the top. I know that many CEOs do not want to deal with sales people and certainly not with a lot of the everyday information that comes their way. So getting to them may be a bit difficult. The best way to form a relationship is to appeal to their business pain (that which concerns them the most) and offer a solution to that pain. For example, a company I worked with wanted to setup a channel or partner network to sell their products, since they only had a couple of dealers at the time but needed to move to the next level. They had to deal directly with the owners of the companies and offer them a profit, as the proverbial carrot, to entice them.

Profit is not the only way to get to the CEO, you also need to understand their business goals and see how you can fit into the formula before making the approach. The key here is to show that you have something to offer that is of value to them.

Bette Daoust, Ph.D. has been networking with others since leaving high school years ago. Realizing that no one really cared about what she did in life unless she had someone to tell and excite. She decided to find the best ways to get people’s attention, be creative in how she presented herself and products, getting people to know who she was, and being visible all the time. Her friends and colleagues have often dubbed her the “Networking Queen”. Blueprint for Networking Success: 150 ways to promote yourself is the first in this series. Blueprint for Branding Yourself: Another 150 ways to promote yourself is planned for release in 2005. For more information visit http://www.BlueprintBooks.comArticle Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bette_Daoust,_Ph.D.

Customer Relationship Management – Strategy for Success in Electronic Commerce

john — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:02:52 +0000

Customer relationship management (CRM) is a concept for increasing companies’ profitability by enabling them to identify and concentrate on their profitable customers. The term “electronic commerce customer relationship management” (ECCRM) refers to the application of CRM in electronic commerce, i.e., when business relationships are maintained via the Internet or World Wide Web. Previous studies on the effectiveness of ECCRM have often focused on the process level, technical aspects, or on marketing issues. Yet only little evidence has been reported for the impact of ECCRM on the company level. In this chapter we present the results from a large-scale empirical study investigating the impact of ECCRM on corporate success in electronic commerce. The study comprises 469 cases of general companies in the German-speaking market. We find that ECCRM is a critical success factor in electronic commerce, independent of companies’ time on the Web. It is especially critical for B2C and small companies.

Customer relationship management (CRM) is a strategic concept enabling companies to systematically build up and extend the knowledge of their customers, thus empowering companies to actively conduct, ie, manage, the business relationships with their customers. CRM can be understood as a revolving process during which companies interact with their customers, thereby generating, aggregating, and analyzing customer data obtained from all channels, and employing the results for service and marketing activities.

Companies may pursue several goals when employing CRM to manage their customer relationships. An economic goal which companies seek to achieve by the use of CRM is to increase profitability by concentrating on the economically valuable customers, thus increasing revenue (“share of wallet”) from them, while possibly “de-marketing” and discontinuing the business relationship with non-profitable customers. Strategic considerations represent another motivation for companies to employ CRM: By providing customized products and services to them, companies can increase their customer satisfaction, which is likely to lead to higher customer loyalty and longer customer retention. This, in turn, makes it less probable that their customers will defect to other companies (i.e., it lowers the churn rate).
Electronic commerce customer relationship management or ECCRM strongly relies on Internet or Web-based interaction of companies with their customers, yet also includes customer data obtained through the other channels. As the term suggests, ECCRM is a key element of CRM by specifically aiming at supporting electronic commerce, which we understand as the activities related to initiating, negotiating, and executing business transactions online. Since the beginning of the commercial use of the Web, ECCRM has received increasing attention from both practitioners and researchers.

In order to enable the revolving (EC)CRM process, a number of instruments must be implemented. They comprise a technical infrastructure as a base, as well as a number of business processes conducted on top. The instruments can be grouped into the following categories, each representing a step in the revolving process:

1. Data Collection. To generate customer information, customer data should first be collected across all available channels. In electronic commerce, these are typically a company’s website, but also email, interaction with the (Web) call center, and the offline channels. Customer data can be collected either actively, i.e., with the knowledge of the customers, e.g., through interactive questionnaires on the Web, or passively, i.e., without the knowledge of the customers, e.g., through clickstream analyses or by otherwise logging customers’ surfing behavior while on the company’s website. Correspondingly, the type of the data collected may range from personal information, preferences, or purchase histories, to rather intimate behavioral data which the customers themselves might even be unconscious of.
2. Data Aggregation. In this step, customer data is first pooled from all sources (channels) and then “distilled” (i.e., concentrated) to customer information. Depending on the industry and customer type, a considerable amount of business intelligence is necessary in order to recognize certain patterns within the customer information, i.e., typical profiles. While collecting all kinds of customer data may be relatively simple, condensing it and making proper sense of it, i.e., as the final consequence, drawing the right conclusion with respect to the profitability of a customer, is a lot more difficult. Over the Internet and World Wide Web, most competitors in a market (segment) may have access to the same customer base, especially as search and switching costs tend to be very low. Therefore it is the quality of customer information and its evaluation with which companies can secure their competitive advantage.
3. Customer Interaction. With this step, one cycle of the revolving ECCRM process is closed. Companies can react to their customers based on the customer information they have. They can provide positive feedback to, i.e., actively market to their customers, thus intensifying the revolving ECCRM process, or they can provide negative feedback to their customers, i.e., de-market and terminate the business relationship with them.

The central message is that a skill set based on accumulating and exploiting customer knowledge, which we term companies’ ECCRM-capability, is a key success factor in electronic commerce. Yet for the time being, it must be left up to every company to decide how they can attain a sufficient level of ECCRM-capability. While some companies may have already built up their ECCRM-capability through their regular business processes, others might require the implementation of an ECCRM system. Original Article Source