Statistically Speaking

Only 4 percent of organizations polled claim their CRM systems are very successful and deliver all the benefits sought, according to a study by PMP Research. The findings also show a clear split in the community: 37 percent of businesses claim to have seen some clear benefits from their CRM systems, while 42 percent said their CRM systems had achieved only partial success and provided limited business benefits. On the metrics side of the equation, only 30 percent of those interviewed said they regularly measure their CRM systems against agreed criteria to gauge expected benefits. The software-as-a-service (SaaS) market across the Asia-Pacific region (excluding Japan) grew 92.5 percent in 2006, to reach a market size of $154 million, according to a report by Springboard Research. Springboard forecasts that the Asian market outside of Japan for SaaS will reach $1.16 billion by 2010. CRM remains the largest segment of SaaS application revenue in Asia, representing 45 percent of the total pie in 2006. A study by JupiterResearch finds that 15 percent of teenagers ages 13 to 17 report being very concerned about the environment -- a subgroup the study labeled Green Teens. Of these Green Teens, 29 percent reported making a purchase in a traditional store during the past 12 months and 19 percent made a purchase online, compared to 22 percent and 13 percent of online teenagers overall, respectively. The outsourced customer-care industry ended 2006 with $8.2 billion in total global M&A deal volume, including a record $7.4 billion domestically. The report by investment bank Robert W. Baird & Co. classifies the outsourced customer-care industry into consulting services; customer interaction services (customer service, technical support, marketing services, and sales); CRM technology hosting; and fulfillment and logistics. Baird & Co. estimates that, by 2010, revenue produced by these outsourced services will account for $92 billion of an estimated $377 billion total global customer-care market.