Chapter TenYour CRM Future

The big news in business these days isn’t the Internet, e-marketplaces, or even astronomical executive compensation packages. It’s that even at good companies with solid business plans and promising products, things can go terribly wrong. Troubles at Firestone—and by default, Ford Motor Company—the late Montgomery Ward, Daimler-Chrysler, and a slew of Internet has-beens too numerous to mention have proven that bad things happen to good businesses and to their customers. And not even the best CRM program in the world can prevent them.

But it can make a big difference. Imagine being in charge of Southern California Edison’s customer contact center during the California energy crisis, or in Ford’s marketing department. ...

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