Biographical Information

Articles for Alexandra DeFelice

The 2006 Service Leader Awards, Part 2

The contact center industry was hot in 2005, as providers of customer service and support technologies and services strengthened their commitment to delivering first-class service. Many of the industry's players made their presence felt with forward-thinking mergers and acquisitions, while others upped the ante by growing from within and extending strategic alliances. We honor the industry's top-three leaders and one company to watch in the following categories: computer telephony integration, interactive voice response, Web-support services (formerly the Web self-service category), workforce optimization (formerly the workforce management and optimization category), quality monitoring, agent-facing universal desktop, and outsourcing services. The results are based on a weighted formula that includes analyst assessments for customer satisfaction, depth of functionality, and company direction, as well as fiscal health over the course of 2005.

The 2006 Service Leader Awards, Part 1

The contact center industry was hot in 2005, as providers of customer service and support technologies and services strengthened their commitment to delivering first-class service. Many of the industry's players made their presence felt with forward-thinking mergers and acquisitions, while others upped the ante by growing from within and extending strategic alliances. We honor the industry's top-three leaders and one company to watch in the following categories: computer telephony integration, interactive voice response, Web-support services (formerly the Web self-service category), workforce optimization (formerly the workforce management and optimization category), quality monitoring, agent-facing universal desktop, and outsourcing services. The results are based on a weighted formula that includes analyst assessments for customer satisfaction, depth of functionality, and company direction, as well as fiscal health over the course of 2005.

SAP's On-Demand Vision

What can customers gain from the software giant's hosted offering?

Super Bowl Marketing Fumbles

"[I]f all the folks are in the same audience, you can turn off some people."

Market Focus: Automotive: Driving Relationships

Track after-the-sale customer issues, because 'It's not just about products.'

CRM 'At the Highest Level'

A Christian bookstore uses marketing campaign management to improve customer relationships.

Thinking Outside the (Mail)box

Creativity and quirkiness are influencing alternative marketing strategies.

Tying Information to Strategic Success

IBM releases portfolios to help companies shift to new management approaches, because leveraging info as an asset helps build ROI.

You Want Customer Love? Then Talk to Them

Companies need to focus less on transactions and products and more on measuring and building long-term relationships.

Talisma Goes After SMBs

The move allows the company to compete with RightNow Technologies, and may underscore Talisma's continued leadership in the Web self-service space.

Let's Review: A New Web Marketing Tool

Bazaarvoice is intended to help businesses boost word-of-mouth strategies by managing and analyzing customer product reviews.

The Big Squeeze

Large-scale events like natural disasters affect the way people buy. Here, a primer on how to respond to customer concerns in tight times.

Return on Rupees

An Indian bank maximizes its marketing success.

On the Scene: Opting for Opt-in

Asking customers what kind of marketing materials they want helps build relationships and response rates.

Tracking Customer Behavior

Understanding how individuals view Web sites can prevent them from going to competitors when transactions fail.

Siebel Shareholders Approve the Oracle Takeover

Customers must wait--now that the deal is complete--for their applications to continue fusing.

A New Platform Could Power Up Corporate Blogging

iUpload's content management platform speedily integrates customer information; analysts see the need for blogs to be 'tightly tied' to CRM for marketing success.

Marketing Expenditures Will Double This Year

Focus on individualized targeting and ramping up multichannel advertising efforts will be important initiatives for 2006 and beyond.

Dissatisfied QM 2 Passengers Rock the Boat

Cunard Line customers demand a full refund after the liner hits a sea wall and the ship's operator makes itinerary alterations; analysts caution against trying to please everyone.

Marketers Talk About Targeting Nirvana

Panelists at the Future of Information Summit 2006 discuss segmented marketing, customer influence, and 'the desire to be entertained.'

SPSS Digs Deep In the Data Mine

Clementine 10 enables companies to incorporate Web surveys and site behavior into predictive models and to export information into Excel spreadsheets.

Six Sales Process Tool Vendors Are Reviewed

These solutions help speed sales cycles, enhance communication, and easily integrate with current systems.

A Customer Respect Score Remains Level

Privacy policies within high-tech industry companies are improving, but some functions, including email responsiveness and data sharing, continue to lag.

Mobile Field Service Is a Priority in 2006

Deploying MFS solutions can bring increased productivity, customer satisfaction, and revenues.

A New Marketing Medium

Blogging allows marketers to start conversations with prospects and customers through a powerful new avenue of communication.

BPM Speeds the Purchase Request Plow

"The customer understands we're looking for innovative ways to make processes easier...."

Opening Accounts and Relationships

A credit union uses service as a competitive advantage over price.

Marketers Can Now Measure Online Spending

A new service gives companies the ability to see which channels are working best and how well Internet advertising fares.

Forrester Looks Into Online Retail's Future

The new year will see more multichannel integration, more drop-ship solutions, and a wider focus on security issues as merchants mature.

Oracle Hears J.D.E. Users' Migration (Con)Fusion

What the company must do to keep customers interested in migration--the IBM iSeries system is the main attraction.

Getting Testy in the Sandbox

A full-production environment that's part of Salesforce.com's Winter '06 release, Sandbox gives companies the chance to build and test applications prior to deployment.

Incubator Helps Startups Sample SaaS

OpSource's new program lets smaller companies test the hosting waters at no cost for six months and with no additional support staff.

Ringing Online Travel Bells

Southwest's desktop program DING! is indicative of the next phase of direct, permission-based marketing to consumers looking for flight deals.

December 2, 2005

Teradata focuses on financial management through an acquisition; DataFlux launches a blog on data quality; LAS helps companies inspect names; and more.

A Healthy Dose of CRM

Healthcare organizations are striving to improve customer relationships in three critical ways.

Cost Reduction Gets a Dutch Touch With Data Mining

"We were really surprised the way such an amount of money [was] saved by implementing a data mining tool."

A Web Site Gets the Royal Treatment

Optimizing an online booking channel helped to boost hotel reservations.

Oracle and Siebel: What Does It Mean for Customers?

End-users are looking for answers as they wait for the planned acquisition to close.

The Right Wing: A-P Carriers' Web Sites Deliver

Asia-Pacific airlines outdo their NA counterparts in customer service, but these carriers must manage their sites better to grow.

Creating Loyal Employees

Companies must have the 'insight, vision, and audacity' to gauge workers' feelings, a loyalty report researcher says, to help avoid eroding customer relationships and churn.

November 18, 2005

Salesforce reports a record third quarter; RightNow offers Siebel users an alternative; and more.

An Abandoned Acquisition: No Time For Questions

Firstlogic and Pitney Bowes have verbally agreed not to extend their merger agreement; PB will continue to own 10 percent of Firstlogic.

Forrester's Top ERP Vendors

The evaluation emphasizes the importance of flexibility in both simple and complex licensing models as business needs change.

Multivariable Web Testing Versus Traditional A/B(Cs)

A breakout session on lead generation at WebSideStory's user conference outlines the benefits of tweaking page variables.

Faster, Better Keyword Marketing Management

Omniture's new tools provide a single user interface for better bid management, Excel integration, and click fraud alerts.

FrontRange Heads Toward Privacy

A tech-focused private equity firm gives the midmarket CRM company access to deeper pockets, which one analyst says could portend an aggressive growth strategy.

November 4, 2005

Earnings roundup: Onyx continues its return to growth; the outgoing Nortel CEO expresses confidence in the company's future; SPSS reports record revenue; and more.

A New Company With a New Tool

Purisma's CIM launch is the next evolution of BI, according to analysts, helping to manage relationship hierarchies within an organization.

Banking on Big Green

Financial services firms have retargeted their investments in customer-facing processes and are reaping the rewards.

On the Scene: Mapping CRM's Growth Path

Where are financial services providers in the CRM maturation process?

Sewing Up Online Offers

Test to understand what compels customers to convert.

Learning to Share: Marketing and Sales

Eloqua's Marketing Conversion suite gives both divisions insight into what the other is doing.

October 28, 2005

Earnings Roundup: Siebel CEO praises progress; Amdocs hits milestones; Open Solutions looks to global expansion; and more.

Retailers Target Customer Centricity

BetterManagement Live hosts a panel that looks at shopper segmentation and predicting consumer needs as drivers of future loyalty gains.

Beyond BI at BetterManagement Live

SAS's assessment service offering, the Information Evolution Model, identifies five levels of information evolution to help companies gain competitive advantage.

Give Bank Customers Control

How financial services organizations can move up to the next level of CRM; banks still have a lot to learn, particularly when it comes to channel integration strategies.

Internet Research Drives In-store Sales

Successful companies will engage online customers in discussion about what they want from their products and services.

The Three Rs at DMA Days

Keynotes detail the importance of relevancy, responsibility, and results--all ways for direct marketers to win customer confidence and build trust.

Hyperion's Integrated BPM Tool

System 9 provides users with a simple BI interface; the company's R&D on the new product and BI platform lasted three years.

Retail Companies Gain Respect for Consumers

Clarity of online business practices and simple privacy policies that potential buyers trust can gain repeat online visitors.

October 7, 2005

Siebel reports preliminary third quarter results; NetSuite provides a new commission tool; Conway joins Salesforce.com's board of directors; and more.

Siebel's SMB Push: An Updated On-Premise Solution

The space is a 'growth machine' for the company, a Siebel rep says; one analyst cautions that the company has to maintain its impetus.

A B2B Fraud Prevention Tool

Firms can cost-effectively check the backgrounds of companies and their guarantors with a customizable, reasonably priced tool.

The 2005 Influential Leaders

Influential leaders are those who pave the way for others to follow. They are often the first to market with a strong CRM product or strategy, are often the best at delivering a product or strategy, or have such industry clout that their actions reverberate widely in the market.

The 2005 CRM Elite, Part 2

It is impressive when CRM vendors promise business performance improvements never before possible, but it is more impressive when their products actually deliver on those promises. The CRM Elite awards showcase six companies that have achieved significant returns on their technology investments that have either met or surpassed their expectations.

The 2005 CRM Elite, Part 3

It is impressive when CRM vendors promise business performance improvements never before possible, but it is more impressive when their products actually deliver on those promises. The CRM Elite awards showcase six companies that have achieved significant returns on their technology investments that have either met or surpassed their expectations.

The 2005 CRM Elite, Part 1

It is impressive when CRM vendors promise business performance improvements never before possible, but it is more impressive when their products actually deliver on those promises. The CRM Elite awards showcase six companies that have achieved significant returns on their technology investments that have either met or surpassed their expectations.

The 2005 CRM Market Leaders, Part 1

The CRM industry over the course of the year grappled with well-publicized mergers and acquisitions, executive turnover, and product line restructuring. Still, the industry's impact--especially in the small and medium business markets--is growing more pervasive across industries and within organizations. With an eye on ROI, companies are benefiting from lower startup costs, shorter implementation times, ease of use, and more robust analytics, from both the on-demand (hosted) delivery model and on-premise solutions. Spearheading these developments are the 2005 CRM Market Leaders--read on to see how they are driving the market and how they stack up against the competition.

The 2005 CRM Market Leaders, Part 2

The CRM industry over the course of the year grappled with well-publicized mergers and acquisitions, executive turnover, and product line restructuring. Still, the industry's impact--especially in the small and medium business markets--is growing more pervasive across industries and within organizations. With an eye on ROI, companies are benefiting from lower startup costs, shorter implementation times, ease of use, and more robust analytics, from both the on-demand (hosted) delivery model and on-premise solutions. Spearheading these developments are the 2005 CRM Market Leaders--read on to see how they are driving the market and how they stack up against the competition.

Happy Holiday Marketing

"You don't want to wait until next year to see what you should be changing."

The 2005 CRM Market Leaders, Part 3

The CRM industry over the course of the year grappled with well-publicized mergers and acquisitions, executive turnover, and product line restructuring. Still, the industry's impact--especially in the small and medium business markets--is growing more pervasive across industries and within organizations. With an eye on ROI, companies are benefiting from lower startup costs, shorter implementation times, ease of use, and more robust analytics, from both the on-demand (hosted) delivery model and on-premise solutions. Spearheading these developments are the 2005 CRM Market Leaders--read on to see how they are driving the market and how they stack up against the competition.

September 30, 2005

Nortel realigns its organization; TuVox dives deeper into speech analytics; SER Solutions unveils a new outbound call management tool; and more.

Uncovering Business Intelligence: Outlines for Text Mining

New tools help to unite unstructured data with what already is known to glean more complete views of customers.

How Do Technology Buyers Conduct Research?

Marketers can improve sales close rates by focusing on search engine optimization and providing white papers and analyst research online.

Trust Will Drive Market Share for Banks

Financial institutions must respect customer data, use the Web, and respond to email to help ensure growth.

SSA Global's Road Map: Compliance and an Epiphany

The Global Client gathering this week revealed how customers will benefit from SOA and the pending Epiphany integration.

Cognos 8 Highlights Simplicity

The new release lets all departments access data from a single SOA-based platform and lets users send single-version reports, despite geography.

Tech Does Not Supplant the Human Touch

Advances in technology may be not be so advanced, as they hinder the old service-with-a-smile treatment that many Americans want.

Siebel Reveals OnDemand 9

The release integrates with Lotus Notes and provides hosted contact center enhancements.

September 9, 2005

Harte-Hanks launches new vertically focused service centers; NetSuite opens a new office in Singapore; Experian introduces a consumer classification product for France; and more.

Most Marketing Firms Miss MPM Systems

Companies recognize the importance of metrics, but continue to fear their perceived complexity; lack of vendor awareness is also a factor.

September 2, 2005

Verint Systems acquires Opus Group for $12 million; 3Com teams with Nuasis to deliver contact center tools; and more.

Microsoft Says 2.No

Version 3.0 focuses on the SMB market with hosting options, Outlook integration, and marketing automation tools.

Lawyers Learn to Share

BranchIT helps a global firm leverage its relationships to better serve clients.

An Employee Scorecard Boosts Productivity

Telus rings in more work with 25 percent fewer people by monitoring individual performance.

How to Hit the Right IT Project Balance

Technology is rarely to blame for project failure, according to a new report; here, a list of five pitfalls companies can avoid.

Evolved Outsourcing for Financial Services

Successful companies will build a strategy with clear policies supported by management.

August 26, 2005

Business Objects finishes its SRC Software acquisition; FrontRange Solutions reports positive revenue results; and more.

RFID Yields ROI Over Time

Manufacturers and retailers should stop focusing on low-cost solutions and look at long-term benefits like partner collaboration.

Organizations Seek Target Marketing's Bull's-Eye

Budget are on the rise; senior management and marketers agree on six initiatives as companies reset goals.

August 19, 2005

Salesforce.com shows record fiscal results; ClientLogic strengthens its Latin American presence; Baseline Consulting hires a new senior manager; and more.

August 16, 2005

UniPress Software introduces FootPrints 7.0; TuVox reveals new speech applications; a new general manager will oversee Omniture's European headquarters; and more.

Marketers Grab Inbound Customers

Telecom and travel lead the way when it comes to increasing sales conversion in the call center and on the Web.

August 12, 2005

Kintera helps nonprofits manage relationships with a new suite; the FBI signs a deal with MicroStrategy; Tesco Diets focuses on targeted email campaigns; and more.

The Blogosphere Offers More Advertising Reach

Marketers that are in search of creative new mediums will find targeted, loyal readers online.

Resellers Can Build Their Brands

Salesnet provides updated private labeling tools and adds 50 new features to its CRM tool.

August 5, 2005

NetSuite launches a customization toolkit for NetFlex; Knova's financials look positive following its merger; Voxify appoints a new vice president of sales; and more.

Data Quality: Is It Up to IT Alone?

Companies recognize the need for improvement, but continue to blame problems on IT departments.

Web Metrics With Bid Management Tools

WebSideStory's new offering lets marketers measure the ROI on keyword searches.

The Money Tree

A financial services company estimates an 850 percent ROI from implementing Teradata's data warehouse and CRM solutions.

Helping Consumers to Swallow Cookies

Winning customer trust is key to gaining access to personal information.

Energizing Customer Relationships

Utilities are finding ways to improve service through automated technology. The result is increased ROI in the field, at the call center, and across the business.

July 29, 2005

DR-CAFTA passes; FrontRange upgrades its contact center solution; SAP adds a new exec to head the financial services industry; and more.

A Business Imperative: Improve Service Now

Customers are switching service providers in large part because of poor service; technology investments are not reducing the churn.

Customer Service Increases in Travel and Hospitality

Overall customer service scores are increasing at hotels, airlines, and car rental companies, but email responsiveness needs more work.

July 22, 2005

SmartCompany enhances its offerings; Onyx launches a global alliance program; Keynote Systems hires a new executive to head EMEA; and more.

Marketers Are Unsure of ROI Measurements

An industry study shows marketers also lack confidence in understanding the sales impact of a marketing campaign.

Siebel Tops Forrester's Wave for Enterprise CRM

Leading vendors SAP, Oracle, and Amdocs also are focusing more on integration and verticals.

July 15, 2005

FrontRange announces positive first quarter results; Entellium enhances its flagship product; Business Objects names a new CIO; and more.

CRM Analytics: Opportunities and Challenges

Frost & Sullivan presents a what's-hot discussion; financial services, retail, and telecommunications are active cross-selling areas now.

Enterprises Risk End Point Exposure

Definitions of end point security vary among managers; instant messaging poses a growing threat to sensitive info.

July 8, 2005

DoubleClick unveils DART Enterprise 6.0; Contact Networks announces its enterprise relationship search application; OfficeMax selects e-Dialog as its marketing partner; and more.

Microsoft Skips CRM 2.0 to Unveil 3.0

This version will round out the CRM suite to include marketing tools and will have a pricing structure for a hosted option.

Miner Inconveniences: How to Avoid Data Errors

An industry expert offers marketers tips on keeping mistakes to a minimum when analyzing customer information.

July 1, 2005

The DMA names its marketer of the year; Siebel unveils a fraud prevention tool; Acxiom helps banks target credit card applicants; and more.

What's In a Name?

Tearing through systems to scrub dirty data and gaining a cultural understanding of names across the globe is no easy task.

On the Scene: On Demand Is in Demand

An increasing number of companies are seeking these solutions, but vendors have to prove themselves worthy.

What Can Direct Mail Do For Marketers?

The U.S. postmaster general speaks about how traditional marketing can enhance the Web and other, more advanced ad mediums.

DM Days: On Marketers and Politicians

Bush's former commerce secretary opines on marketing and suggests that some privacy legislation will be refined over time.

June 24, 2005

Avaya and XO Communications offer a new product suite; SAP acquires an enterprise manufacturing supplier; Knova names a new CFO; and more.

SMBs' Rising Backbone: The Global ERP Market

On-demand offerings may be the answer for cost-averse small businesses.

OneSource Arms Companies

A relaunched product line provides detailed profiles and company insights on 13 million small businesses.

June 17, 2005

Frost & Sullivan announce APT award winners; TechTarget aims to increase sales with new application; and more.

Talk Among Yourselves

Avaya's new, enhanced call center products use SIP capabilities and instant messaging to immediately help agents help themselves.

Experian-Scorex Prepares Credit's Big 3 for Consulting Status

A new tool provides a way for lenders and brokers to teach consumers how to reach their magic credit scores.

Financial Facts: The Web Wins Customers' Research and Buy Ways

Search engine marketing helps direct consumers to the right place--your business.

Freeing Metrics From Fraud and Rejection

Coremetrics' June release claims to deliver more accurate Web analytics, and adds a first party-cookie solution and a visualization tool.

The U.S. Ad Market Is On The Rise

First-quarter gains were below expectations, but outpaced growth in the rest of the economy.

100 Proven CRM Ideas, Part 2

...successful and disastrous: 90 bright ideas for your CRM strategy and 10 dim ones to avoid. Edited by David Myron

A Century of Customer Love

Nordstrom is the gold standard for customer service excellence -- and, amazingly, word of mouth is its primary marketing tool.

On the Scene: Understanding Hispanic Culture

A recent marketing conference reveals the need to reach multiple acculturation levels instead of targeting one large group.

100 Proven CRM Ideas, Part 1

...successful and disastrous: 90 bright ideas for your CRM strategy and 10 dim ones to avoid. Edited by David Myron

RFID to Combat Drug Counterfeiting

Unisys and SupplyScape form a pilot program that will electronically track pain medications across the supply chain to ensure authenticity.

May 30, 2005

SPSS provides tools to reduce insurance fraud; Talisma launches its latest marketing solution; NetSuite goes north of the border; and more.

A Telecom Study Picks Verizon as ''Loyalty Leader''

The report maintains that wireless providers struggle to keep customers.

WebTrends' 7.5 Includes a Recipe for Cookie Cutters

The cookie-management tool addresses accuracy concerns, helps employees share queries, and provides Web-based training.

SAP Unveils Its BI Black Box

SAPPHIRE '05 International: The software giant, HP, and Intel combine efforts to produce an appliance that allows more employees to tap into analytic

A New Business Blueprint Stars at SAPPHIRE '05

SAPPHIRE '05: SAP touts its NetWeaver platform/partnership concept as the next evolution in CRM, blending innovation with best-of-breed capabilities.

Marketers Must Temper Their Behavior

A forum for online advertising warns about being invasive when targeting based on consumer habits.

May 12, 2005

Talisma releases a tool for contact centers to generate and measure revenue; an ice-cream company serves fresh NetSuite; Kintera finds a CFO; and more.

Modest Growth Is Seen for Small Business Web Sites

Enhancing homepages will continue to be a trend through 2009, representing some new opportunities for technology vendors.

May 5, 2005

Oracle plans to acquire PeopleSoft development centers; Kintera hires three senior high-tech leaders; and more.

A Message From On High: Be Different

Secrets of competitive success are revealed at High-Tech CRM Summit 2005.

Something Extra for the Enterprise

Web analytics, integrated order management, and partner portals partly comprise NetSuite's new CRM+ offering.

April 28, 2005

IBM and Cisco announce new tools for contact centers; Witness reports quarterly results; Cingular deploys MicroStrategy; and more.

SPSS Highlights Customers' Future Needs

Understand, predict, act--predictive analytics helps companies realize how to see customers' value both now and in the long term.

A Buyout Firm Will Acquire DoubleClick

The company's strategic plans remain unclear, according to an industry analyst, possibly benefiting competitors like Unica and Aprimo.

April 21, 2005

Nextel uses SAS for its marketing strategy; Siebel announces customer self-service and e-billing tools; and more.

SMBs Are Slow to Adopt SaaS

Vendors must educate companies about cost-savings regarding software as a service and open source technologies.

Siebel Launches Its Latest Application

Shaheen announces Siebel 7.8 and a new company vision at its customer conference in Barcelona.

April 14, 2005

Priceline.com reintroduces itself as a one-stop travel service; StayinFront announces data quality services; a former Ask Jeeves COO joins InfoSearch Media; and more.

Siebel's CEO Resigns Following Poor First Quarter Earnings

George Shaheen, the new CEO, acknowledges the importance of product suites remaining fresh, as analysts question the company's management structure.

NICE Buys Dictaphone's Recording Systems Business

The deal will allow Dictaphone to concentrate on healthcare, and NICE may grow vertically.

Overweight Shoppers: Fed Up With Poor Customer Service

Discrimination against the obese may be hurting businesses.

AOL Latino's Exec Shares Marketing Advice

Focusing on family, communication, and success incentives is essential to the capture of Hispanic customers.

Reaching Hispanics Goes Beyond Language

Marketing to this booming demographic takes more than just translating English into Spanish.

April 1, 2005

Gartner completes its acquisition of META Group; Retalix plans to acquire TCI Solutions; EATEL reduces its call center volume; and more.

Rebranded AZN Television Eyes the Asian American Market

Cultural relevance and sensitivity are key to advertising revenue gains from this target audience.

Data Management and Predicting Customer Behavior

Enterprises are looking at ways to tell what customers want next and at when companies may be in danger of losing customers.

Detail Customers' Communications Their Way

A new chat-tool suite creates a personalized, interactive marketing engine, working from a customer database.

March 25, 2005

The Yankee Group forms a multidiscipline BPO practice; WebSourced acquires Smart Interactive; Oracle CFO becomes BearingPoint CEO; and more.

Consultancy Unveils Top 15 CRM Award Winners

Surveys of top vendors reveal the need for in-house implementations and to go wireless.

NetSuite Launches a New Platform

Companies can build applications without coding or programming, and can customize dashboards.

March 17, 2005

Nortel Networks signs a contract with the city of San Jose for a converged network; SAP boosts its cash tender offer price to software maker Retek; and more.

Internet Spending Reaches an All-Time High

Among those who resist online purchases are consumers who feel that certain commodities should be free.

Service Apps to Bank On

S1 aims to transform financial call centers into relationship centers.

Putting a Face On Small-Business Owners

Understanding the needs of both the small business and its owner brings you one step closer to securing a purchase.