BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : FEBRUARY 21, 2000 ISSUE
SPECIAL REPORT A Guide to Customer Management Software SALES-FORCE AUTOMATION Field sales representatives can track accounts and prospects--plus check goals and inventories--from the office PC or a notebook computer on the road. At the same time, their bosses can keep tabs on their performance. New Net-only versions allow individuals and small teams to handle accounts from Web sites for $50 a month or less. CALL-CENTER AUTOMATION Creates customer profiles and provides scripts to help service representatives solve customers' problems or suggest new purchases. The latest versions allow companies to coordinate phone calls and messages on Web sites--plus reps can carry on phone conversations with customers while seeing the Web pages the customers are looking at. MARKETING AUTOMATION Helps marketers analyze customer purchasing histories and demographics and design targeted marketing campaigns--then measures results. WEB SALES AND PERSONALIZATION Basic e-commerce software manages product catalogs, shopping carts, and credit-card purchases. New features allow repeat customers to keep shopping lists on the Web and quickly resubmit orders. Web shops can create special, on-the-fly prices for specific customers. WEB CONFIGURATOR Walks consumers through the process of ordering complex custom-assembled products like computers, and, in the future, cars. It's even more important for business-to-business transactions. A retailer that brands refrigerators or stoves made by others can specify the features they want. WEB SERVICE Self-service packages and e-mail limit the need for live customer service representatives. New artificial intelligence features suggest solutions for problems to customers or service reps. WEB ANALYSIS AND MARKETING Warehouses of digital data allow Web sites to track the online activities of individual shoppers and offer them merchandise they're likely to buy based on past behavior. It also enables targeted marketing of individuals via e-mail. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ BACK TO TOP					RELATED ITEMS An Eagle Eye on Customers TABLE: The Davids and Goliaths of Customer Software Square Off TABLE: A Guide to Customer Management Software How Marriott Never Forgets a Guest Salesforce.com: An Ant at the Picnic INTERACT E-Mail to Business Week Online

Copyright 2000-2008, by The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved. Terms of Use   Privacy Notice