January 6, 2005

NEWS Research and Markets has published a guide to steps involved in successful CRM projects in the financial services industry. "Customer Relationship Management Strategies in Financial Services: Achieving High Performance and Profiting From Innovations in CRM" examines issues including price competition, CRM IT solutions, customer ownership, and distribution strategies. According to the guide, almost half of all mortgage borrowers are looking to switch lenders due to unhappiness with their current provider. Additional findings? While there are financial institutions that are shifting toward an online delivery model, many customers prefer face-to-face contact with staff, and pricing, service failures, and inconvenience, are key reasons why customers change banks. Firstlogic has announced that Siebel Systems has validated the integration between Firstlogic's Global Data Quality Link version 2.11c and Siebel 7.7. It will equip users with the ability to maximize customer interactions by validating critical name, account, and address elements of each customer record at the point of data capture. Firstlogic's solution supports cleansing and matching data already in the Siebel database, which will help keep information accurate and up-to-date for users. FWD Communications announced at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas that its pulver.Communicator product, a free program that can be installed on any PC running Windows XP, now interoperates with Voice over IP service provider Skype. The product incorporates elements of instant messaging, voice, video, presence, and social networking in one application. With pulver.Communicator users can initiate on-the-fly conference calls, make video calls, and establish multiparty IM chats across multiple IM networks. NEW PRODUCTS NewSoft, a business and consumer software provider, unveiled at CES Presto! VR Genius, a software-editing suite used with home DVD recorders and PVRs. The application allows viewers to edit unwanted commercials and material that may not be suitable for a younger audience. Users can also save the content in a read-anywhere, DVD-Video format, which allows the user to view the material from any DVD player, DVD-equipped desktop, or notebook computer. palmOne was also on hand at CES, showcasing its Treo 650 smartphone and Tungsten T5 handheld. The handheld computing and communications solutions provider will also announce the compatibility of its GPS Navigator with the Tungsten T5 handheld. Sedona, a Web-based CRM solution provider for small-and-medium financial services organizations, has released Intarsia version 5.2. The upgrade will allow banks, credit unions, and insurance companies to more easily and accurately analyze customers and operations across lines of business. New features, including system generated alerts and the ability to link reports and campaigns to processes, will enable the system to automate the actions resulting from the discovery of major opportunities and issues. Related articles: Banks Are Failing to Provide Service Excellence Daily Dispatch: November 24, 2004