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The Issue In Depth, April 2003

Editor's Note
Brian Gillooly

So Many Customers, So Little Time

Contributors
The finest minds in business technology are right here.

Openers
A digest of reports, research, Web sites, and books that help make sense of new business-technology concepts

Fast Forward
Emerging Tech + Business Innovation

Executive Briefing
Putting the Customer Back in CRM
An interview with Frederick Newell, consultant and author of a new book, Why CRM Doesn't Work

Research: Gap Analysis
Still Aiming To Please
Companies are getting better at using technology to understand and serve their customers, but there's lots of room for improvement.

Square Off
Is Six Sigma Falling Short Of Expectations?
By Michael Tatham and Neal Mackertich
Yes. Companies expect to use Six Sigma to identify and creatively solve their problems, but that's not what it was designed to do. By Michael Tatham No. Six Sigma can help you examine your business processes, grow closer to your customers, increase your productivity, and reap returns.

Other Visions
Playing By Heart - As Well As Mind
By Peter Guber
Lessons from Hollywood: It takes a touch of fantasy to turn hard data into a base of loyal customers.

Corporate Culture
Intrawest: High Touch At High Altitude
By Tom Stein
Intrawest, owner of world-class ski and golf resorts, hopes to grow amid a travel downturn, thanks to its razor-sharp customer focus.

Customer Relationships
Customer Relationships: How Profitable Are Your Customers?
By Tony LoFrumento, executive director of CRM, Morgan Stanley
Companies that understand customer profitability across the enterprise can move from making business decisions based on "gut feeling" to decisions based on hard facts.

Financial Management
The Big Payoff Of Quicker Payments
By Mike Sutcliff and Joseph Wright
In a tight economy, turning customer orders into hard, cold cash is every company's most important business process. A combination of strategy and technology will shorten the order-to-cash cycle.

Optimal Marketing
The Value Of Loyalty
By J. Scott Dinsdale, Dr. Jim Taylor
Consistent delivery of the brand's promise builds competitive advantage in the form of loyal customers, and IT plays an important role.

ROI Valuation
Customer Metrics That Matter
By Bruce Guptill
You've made the investment; now you need dashboard metrics to gauge the success of your customer-technology drive.

Understanding Law
Understanding Law: Beware The Dangers Of Outsourcing
By John Funk, David Sloan, and Scott Zaret
You can outsource many things, but risk is yours to keep. Protect your company with a bulletproof contract that focuses on mitigating risk.