| BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : JULY 26, 1999 ISSUE | ||||||||
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| BUSINESS WEEK E.BIZ -- COVER STORY
What You Need in Your Toolbox for Mining Data MANAGING CUSTOMER CONTACTS COMPANIES THAT MAKE IT POSSIBLE: Siebel, Pivotal, Silknet, Vantive Software programs pull together a wide swath of information on customers based on how they interact with a company--through sales calls, meetings, online and phone inquiries, or buying products and services. Government Computer Sales, for example, combines online sales with traditional sales to keep track of their best customers and what they are buying--helping increase the number of products sold. CUSTOMER SERVICE COMPANIES THAT MAKE IT POSSIBLE: Brightware, Chordiant, NewChannel, HNC This software lets E-merchants and content sites automatically reply, route, or segment E-mails so companies can be more efficient and effective in responding to customers. Some also pull together info from call centers. It's used by the likes of Suretrade, Schwab, and Ticketmaster Online-CitySearch to automate replies to customer E-mail and forward E-mails to specialized customer-service reps. AD TARGETING COMPANIES THAT MAKE IT POSSIBLE: AdKnowledge, DoubleClick, 24/7, Flycast, Matchlogic, Engage These services dish up and track ads across a network of sites, monitoring who is clicking on the ads, how often, and whether the ads actually lead to sales. The services often build up profiles that can include information on demographics, tastes, or E-mail addresses of millions of people to improve targeting. Advertisers, including Travelocity, General Motors, and P&G, find these services to be just the ticket. E-MAIL DIRECT MARKETING COMPANIES THAT MAKE IT POSSIBLE: Responsys.com, Annuncio, Digital Impact, Post Communications The turnaround cycle on these services is what sets them apart. Using lists of E-mail addresses, the services and software can get responses from customers in hours rather than the days and weeks typical with snailmail direct marketing. Companies, such as eToys, PreviewTravel, and Tower Records, target product offers based on customers' interests or what they've bought in the past. DATA ANALYSIS ENGINES COMPANIES THAT MAKE IT POSSIBLE: E.piphany, Manna, MicroStrategy, Blue Martini Designed to pull together and analyze information from systems that companies already have in place, including inventory, logistics, and sales databases. Used by Schwab, Streamline, and Capital BlueCross to track trends within segments of customers so they can decide what kind of products and services to offer. SUPPLY CHAIN AND LOGISTICS COMPANIES THAT MAKE IT POSSIBLE: Manugistics, i2, Nonstop Solutions, VIT The last-and, at this point, the weakest-chain in the loop, the goal is to translate an understanding of customers' tastes and purchases into a quick turnaround in making products and working with suppliers. Dell and Cisco are on the cutting edge, though a wide variety of others, including Nestle, Compaq, and Ford, are heading in this direction. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ BACK TO TOP |
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 RELATED ITEMS The Information Gold Mine TABLE: What You Need in Your Toolbox for Mining Data TABLE: The Customer-Data Motherlode E.piphany: Everything You Need to Know about Your Client Furniture.com: Turning Visitors into Buyers Gurus' Guide to Knowing Your Customer Commentary: Washington Must Step In to Protect E-Privacy INTERACT E-Mail to Business Week Online | |||
