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CRM To Become More Social In 2010
By Mike Sachoff
Staff Writer
Article Date: 2010-03-01
By the end of 2010, Facebook will be the top social network in all but 25 countries, according to new CRM predictions from Gartner.
"For most organizations, the single most logical way to differentiate the business is through great customer experiences, rather than having the lowest cost or most innovative products and services," said Ed Thompson, vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner.
"However, gaining a clear understanding on which specific customer-centric initiatives will prove decisive and merit investment will require coordination across departments."
CRM remains high on the business agenda for CIOs in 2010. According to Gartner, attracting and retaining new customers will be the No. 5 business priority for CIOs in 2010.
Through 2010, marketing budgets will remain flat in more than 90 percent of companies, despite a return to growth. CFOs are demanding increased accountability from marketing departments, often putting unprecedented pressure to link programs to sales results and return on investment (ROI).
"As a result, marketing organizations will need to automate operational processes and learn how to leverage technology to measure areas previously left unmeasured, enabling them to do more for less and articulate business value," said Kimberly Collins, managing vice president at Gartner.
"Marketing resource management (MRM) will become a top priority for marketing organizations, and enterprise marketing management (EMM) will take on new meaning as a vehicle for strategic planning, collaboration and measurement."
By the end of 2010, more than 80 per cent of market growth in social applications will center around a business use case for improving external customer relationships, rather than improving internal collaboration.
Social projects evaluated by Gartner show that those with a clear and direct mutual purpose (benefits for both company and customer) were the ones likely to show measurable results. Gartner said that the social application vendors that make the transition from general purpose to support for specific business, with use cases and key performance indicators, will see double- or triple-digit growth in 2010.
By the end of 2011, more than 90 percent of Fortune 1000 marketing campaigns will include online marketing, up from 50 percent in 2009.
"Being online gives marketers greater access to response attribution metrics to help determine what is working and what isn't working in a campaign," said Adam Sarner, research director at Gartner.
About the Author:
Mike is a staff writer for WebProNews. Visit WebProNews for the latest ebusiness news.
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