Aberdeen Begins CRM Success Study

Market researcher Aberdeen Group Inc. said it is now accepting submissions for its latest research initiative on successful CRM implementations. The study called "What Works: Ten Successful Implementations in CRM/Customer Contact Centers" will focus on multi-channel contact center implementations that represent the best examples of quantifiable business returns coupled with innovation in CRM and contact center technology, according to Aberdeen officials. Christopher Fletcher, vice president and research director for Aberdeen says, the researcher is looking for innovation between the call center, the Web site, chat, and email. "There are a lot of tech companies talking about this and we are looking for a successful implementation," Fletcher says. "IP-based contact centers are appearing and companies are choosing to interact with customers through different channels." For the study, Aberdeen is asking any technology vendor, systems integrator, or end-user organization to submit an application describing its customer contact center implementation that have been operational during either 2001 or 2002. Technology vendors may only submit one case study for review. "We didn't want to end up with five case studies of Siebel technology," says Fletcher, who added that he expects the number of entries to be in the hundreds. The submissions will be reviewed and ranked against specific criteria by Aberdeen senior analysts. The top ten implementations will be selected and subsequently profiled as case studies that will be published as part of the report. As a result of the study, Aberdeen expects to cull some other findings as well. "We expect to find that CRM really works," says Fletcher. "This is partly in response to the horror stories about the CRM failure rate of 70 percent. We believe there are a lot of positive benefits that come out of CRM implementations - both qualitative and quantitative. This is not just another ROI study." The report, which is slated to be published late in the second quarter of 2002 or at the start of the third quarter of this year, follows several other previous CRM studies by Boston-based market researcher including: "What Works: Ten Significant Implementations in CRM", "What Works: Ten Significant Implementations in CRM", and "What Works in Europe: Success stories in Customer Relationship Management". Deadline for the submissions are due to Aberdeen by May 1, 2002 and should be sent to Christopher Fletcher, Vice President and Research Director, Aberdeen Group, One Boston Place, Boston, MA 02108. Fletcher can also be reached at (617) 854-5280 or fletcher@aberdeen.com