12.29.2008

Will Your Business Survive or Thrive in '09?

This is a bit of an open-ended article - I'm really looking to spark a discussion and hear feedback from you: In thinking about the "current situation" that we've all heard so much about, and the apprehension that many people have for what 2009 might bring, it occurred to me that both of these things - the turbulence of the last quarter and the uncertainty for the future - have implications for businesses that make use of CRM systems.

It's an axiom of recessionary times that businesses that excel at keeping their existing customers and who increase their profile in the marketplace will have a better chance at survival, whereas companies that fail on either of these two fronts will have a much harder time staying afloat. Companies that make effective use of CRM - and who are improving their use of CRM with tools like social media - should have a competitive advantage in this environment.

So my questions for discussion are: Does your company see CRM as a competitive advantage? And what are your plans for improving your use of CRM in 2009 to maintain or improve your competitive standing?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I've got to say there are a lot of companies I *wish* had Dynamics CRM. The right hand really doesn't know what the left hand is doing. And these are major corporations. It's a big opportunity for forward thinking leaders.

Anonymous said...

Many companies and individuals will struggle, whether they use CRM or not. It's important to understand why we are in this crisis and the best I can recommend is stop watching TV and start reading. Start exploring the reasons behind the "War on terror" and what happened afterwards (Patriot Act and others). Ask yourself who profits from war and who's next after Iraq. And do read as much about 9/11 as you can. Do find out yourself by simply searching the Internet and create your *own* opinion, but stop consuming news from mass media as your only source of input. Be as critical as possible and you will have a much better understanding why we are in this mess.

Matt Wittemann said...

Michael: I agree. I stay away from the mainstream media and the mainstream economists. They all get their information from the same place, and we saw in 2008 where that led. If you want to read a contrarian viewpoint that sheds some much-needed light on the situation, take a look at www.mises.org and lewrockwell.com.

 
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