“Most companies remain stymied by the challenges of optimizing complexity ó managing the trade-off between customersí demands for variety in products and services, and the ballooning costs of meeting those needs. Firms tend to add complexity to their product or service mix for one of two reasons: to create value for a customer segment, or in response to competitive activity. But because they often donít refresh their ‘participation choices’ ó the decisions about the markets they serve and the ways they serve them ó companies can lose sight of the true value of a customer segment and the cost impact of the programs they develop. They donít target customer needs well enough to provide products and services that either are true ‘order winners’ ó offerings that set one company apart from another in the quest for customers ó or provide continuing value to existing customers.”

“CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management. It is a strategy used to learn more about customers’ needs and behaviors in order to develop stronger relationships with them. After all, good customer relationships are at the heart of business success. There are many technological components to CRM, but thinking about CRM in primarily technological terms is a mistake. The more useful way to think about CRM is as a process that will help bring together lots of pieces of information about customers, sales, marketing effectiveness, responsiveness and market trends.”

“Below the boiling political rhetoric, a real threat America’s workers face is the potential for U.S. wages to sink to overseas levels.”

“Don’t let things fall apart with your spouse or partner while you’re looking for a new gig. Your situation affects them, too.”

“Effective sales consultants invest much time and effort into developing and nurturing their sales leads and customers. The very nature of their job description renders this group competitive and somewhat territorial. The variety of systems and approaches they use to uncover, store and recall information on customers and prospects is almost as broad as their sales styles.”