Heard and Overheard

"Strategy without metrics are only wishes." --Charles Phillips, copresident, Oracle "Just as organizations have over time become smarter about applying new technologies and approaches, organizations are getting smarter about CRM." --Peter McCullagh, group vice president for CRM strategy, Siebel Systems "The value of a business is nothing more or less than the value of its customers." --Don Peppers, cofounder, Peppers & Rogers Group "More and more CIOs are saying, 'If I don't have a business sponsor, then I'm not doing the project.'" --Erin Kinikin, vice president and director of research, Forrester Research "What always wins is there is a meaningful benefit for customers." --Bruce Kasanoff, author of Making It Personal "Over the past few years CRM has been battered and bloodied, but refuses to die. It remains a key strategic initiative." --Steve Bonadio, senior program director, META Group "The way customers are getting service is completely changing." --Greg Gianforte, CEO and founder, RightNow Technologies