Marketing Profs

Over the past 20 years, I have been continually amazed at the lemming-like behavior of a selected segment of business professionals. We all know at least one of them: The Buzz Chasers.

They are the managers, directors or VPs who seek out and grab on to the latest business buzzword like a kid on a cupcake. Most likely, this aficionado received his newfound enlightenment through an in-flight magazine or book on tape.

Of late, the fashionable management buzzword has been CRM.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) has been around for years. But it seems that very few companies have been sophisticated enough or sufficiently dedicated to realize CRM's true potential. Yet business executives are drawn to it because it is highly measurable--which can be a good thing in times of economic uncertainty.

CRM is predicated upon the belief that if you have enough information about your customer and her behavior, you can use database technology to develop a more personalized, targeted and effective marketing effort. Conceptually, it makes sense.

Toward this end, the battle cry of the Buzz Chasers has been, “Build the database. Opt-ins, we need opt-ins!”

No doubt, there are some very smart people in the world of CRM. The legendary Stan Rapp of MRM Partners Worldwide has a great way of expressing the value of CRM. In his words, “In the 21st century, the database is the marketplace.” And throughout his career, Mr. Rapp has proven that he is a visionary with the right stuff.

However, lower on the food chain are hoards of start-up CRM companies that grapple with taking their “expertise” in databases and reporting, and turning themselves into marketers. Drawing upon their analytical skills, they have some ability to look at the data, categorize and score customers, generate reports and print captivatingly colorful maps.

But their best efforts are nothing short of folly because too often they lack an understanding of the value proposition for CRM from the customer's point of view.

Lumbering forward, many consultants and business executives have ignored the “relationship” portion of CRM and what it takes to make it work. Often they will use a phrase like “the right message, at the right time, to the right person.”