Sold on CRM

My dad was the kind of salesperson who could sell a BMW to a Ford executive--but also the kind of person who sold based on customer needs, not on quota. He always insisted that I'd make a great salesperson, too. Truth be known, I love selling, but it's not, shall we politely say, my core competency. At least not the kind of selling that requires prospects and quotas. I agree with my dad that I can sell--but with my pen (actually, my Mac). It has been my true pleasure to cover sales, marketing, customer service, and the technologies that support them for most of my career as a journalist. I find business and technology and the interaction between the two endlessly fascinating. As both a writer and as an editor I have sought to impart that enthusiasm to readers. As the new editor of CRM magazine, I plan to deliver content that stimulates your thinking, challenges you, and helps to keep you ahead of the curve in the ever-changing competitive landscape. I plan to sell you again and again on CRM, and help you to sell it inside your company by delivering insights into best practices and leading-edge strategies. This month, for example, we examine whether the customer is in fact king--or even should be. In our cover story, "The Customer Is (Sometimes) King," (page 28) Senior Editor Lisa Picarille discusses the consequences for companies and their customers of treating those customers unconditionally as royalty, and suggests strategies for using CRM to uncover which customers are truly knights, and which are actually knaves. In "Four Strategies for Adapting to the Changing Economy," (page 34) we examine the results of an exclusive CRM magazine/A.T. Kearney survey. The survey reveals executives' top CRM priorities and offers strategies for achieving those goals despite these uncertain economic times. This month we also introduce a new column, "The Secret of My Success," (page 58) in which CRM leaders share the inside story of how they overcame an obstacle to turn a stalled implementation in a successful one. In true CRM fashion I want to interact with you, dear reader, to learn your needs and wants, and to deliver them each month. Though I may only be in the office during business hours, my email is open 24/7. Please share with me your ideas, complaints--and, of course, any compliments--so we can continue to raise the bar and service you better. And that's no empty sales pitch. I think my dad would be proud. (I know my mom is.)