Michael Maoz

A member of the Gartner Blog Network

Entries Categorized as 'SFA'


Learning to love CRM Technologies, in just the right measure.

by Michael Maoz  |  December 11, 2011  |  Comments Off

The role of a technology analyst is an interesting one in that it is equal parts technologist, process consultant, and psychologist. The closest match in psychology would have to be Alfred Adler, thefin de siècle Austrian who looked at how our early social exposures, choices of work, and love experiences form our world view. He [...]

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Category: Analytics for Social CRM Applications CRM Cloud Gamification Gartner Customer 360 Summit Innovation and Customer Experience SFA SaaS and Cloud Computing Sales Force Automation Social CRM Social Networking Social Software Strategic Planning     Tags:

Is the sales force irrelevant to the customer relationship?

by Michael Maoz  |  November 13, 2011  |  2 Comments

In talking to businesses that sell to consumers (B2C), a theme that recurs often in conversations with customer service leaders, marketing professionals, and Customer Experience managers is the marginal role of the sales force in the customer relationship. The sentiment is not dissimilar in businesses that sell to other businesses (B2B). Sales people, in the minds [...]

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Category: CRM Leadership SFA Sales Force Automation Strategic Planning     Tags:

An enterprise-class CRM application suite is yet to emerge.

by Michael Maoz  |  October 31, 2011  |  Comments Off

Clients complain often and understandably about the lack of a CRM application suite. Certainly more than 25 years after the founding of Brock Control Systems, the forerunner of all CRM systems, we should have a suite. But that has been the mistake made over and over again: believing that a business process (CRM) is a [...]

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Category: Analytics for Social CRM Applications CRM Cloud IT Governance Innovation and Customer Experience Leadership SFA SaaS and Cloud Computing Sales Force Automation Social CRM Strategic Planning iPad     Tags:

SaaS for CRM: Success is unevenly distributed.

by Michael Maoz  |  July 31, 2011  |  Comments Off

Customer service and support software has never been easy to design, build, configure, integrate and maintain. Companies have come and gone over the past 15 years of trying to build a sustainable application with mass applicability: Quintus, BayStone, Scopus, Vantive, Clarify, Versatility, Siebel, Silknet, Onyx, IMA, and Point are just a few of the dozens [...]

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Category: Applications CRM Cloud Contact Center SFA SaaS and Cloud Computing Sales Force Automation Social CRM Social Software Strategic Planning     Tags:

iPad meets business applications – consumers (and your customer initiatives) will benefit.

by Michael Maoz  |  June 20, 2011  |  Comments Off

My colleague Scott Nelson is a major iPad maven. He’s gotten a lot of us to delve into the implications of the convergence of the consumerization of technology and the emergence of tablets. These low cost and highly seductive devices are attracting the interest of consumers, salespeople, field technicians and marketers. Can CRM and Social [...]

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Category: Applications CRM IT Governance Innovation and Customer Experience Leadership SFA Sales Force Automation Social CRM Social Networking Strategic Planning iPad     Tags:

SaaS/Cloud CRM applications and the Cup Half-Full.

by Michael Maoz  |  April 24, 2011  |  2 Comments

Fortunately most large enterprisesare doing very little mission-critical CRM work in a SaaS / Cloud application setup.  Those that are have thought through disaster recovery. And those that have not certainly are now.  Do a thought experiment: what do you think would happen if every SaaS/Cloud application now in use went down for 48 hours? [...]

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Category: Applications CRM Cloud Contact Center IT Governance Leadership SFA SaaS and Cloud Computing Sales Force Automation     Tags:

The Customer360 Conference and the Rush to Social

by Michael Maoz  |  March 30, 2011  |  Comments Off

I have snuck away to write a few words about timing and Social CRM. You have likely already read that Salesforce.com intends to acquire Radian6, as Salesforce meets the challenge of The Innovator’s Dilemma and embraces consumer interaction. My colleagues will be analyzing all of that throughout the day and week, but I can say [...]

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Category: Applications CRM Cloud Customer 360 Los Angeles 2011 Customer Centric Web Innovation and Customer Experience Leadership SFA Sales Force Automation Social CRM Social Networking Strategic Planning     Tags:

Could your best customer spend no money with you?

by Michael Maoz  |  November 3, 2010  |  4 Comments

I’m on the road with clients in the final stretches of the year, working on 2011 strategies and investments and technology selection. Another day, another city, another delay – but it is fantastic being in work environments observing how workers do their jobs and listening to how customers interact.  And once in a while you [...]

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Category: CRM Customer Centric Web Leadership SFA Sales Force Automation Social CRM Social Networking Social Software Strategic Planning     Tags:

CRM processes meet monopolistic software.

by Michael Maoz  |  September 23, 2010  |  5 Comments

When I went looking at new cars that I might replace my 2001 Toyota RAV4 with, there were plenty of similar choices. Acura or Infiniti or Lexus or BMW were all mechanically about the same, and the rest was lifestyle stuff. On the eco-friendly side, there were also enough alternatives to the ubiquitous Prius. And [...]

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Category: Applications CRM Cloud IT Governance Innovation and Customer Experience Leadership SFA SaaS and Cloud Computing Sales Force Automation Social CRM Social Networking Strategic Planning     Tags:

Customer Experience: A train wreck more than a market.

by Michael Maoz  |  September 2, 2010  |  1 Comment

Just as Salesforce.com seems to be at the start of a momentous transition from software provider (in a Cloud model), to an Application Platform Provider (in a Cloud model, with some applications), so the “Customer Experience” market – and process, seems to be at the beginning of a massive consolidation and change. I’m already exploring [...]

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Category: Applications CRM Cloud Customer Centric Web Innovation and Customer Experience Leadership SFA SaaS and Cloud Computing Sales Force Automation Social CRM Social Networking Social Software Strategic Planning     Tags: