"Pike Research forecasts that the market for plug-in hybrid and battery electric passenger cars and light duty trucks will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 106% between 2010 and 2015, resulting in sales of more than 3.24 million vehicles during that period."
Customer service is the top priority.The most commonly used functionalities in CRM suites are customer service (67%) and sales force automation (66%) modules. Half of the companies are currently using marketing (56%) and customer data management (53%) modules; 35% are using customer analytics.
Flexibility, business fit, and process workflow are critical. More than half of (53%) include the “flexibility and adaptability” of the application as one of the top three criteria in choosing a CRM solution. Forty-eight percent include "fit with business requirements" in their top three purchase criteria. Also important are: architecture alignment (31%), business process workflow (29%), fast deployment (26%), and scalability of application (26%).
CRM solution costs are not trivial.Thirty-six percent reported that they spent less than $250,000 on CRM software licenses, but 23% said they spent more than $1 million.
Quick implementations are common.Eighteen percent reported they took more than one year to implement their CRM solution. However, 36% of the companies reported that they implemented the CRM solution in 12 weeks or less. This give credence to vendor claims that CRM solutions can, indeed, be implemented in a timely fashion.
When it comes to service from vendors, mixed feelings prevail.Forty-six percent of organizations fully agreed that the "product functionality matched what was promised in the sales cycle." But only 28% of companies fully agreed that the vendor's "help desk and support organization delivers good customer service." In addition, only 32% fully agreed their solution was easy to use and intuitive.
CRM projects are delivering business value. Well under half (41%) of companies surveyed “fully agreed” that the "business results anticipated from their implementation were met or exceeded." But, a similar proportion (41%) "somewhat agreed" that anticipated business results were met. This indicates that, on balance, the companies surveyed were generally satisfied with the value they were getting from CRM solutions.
"Facebook Credits are a big deal for Facebook because they should create an important revenue stream for Mark Zuckerberg and company. The credits are supposed to power Zynga’s games and other virtual good vendors, and Facebook takes a 30 percent cut of each sale."
"The sedan will likely be priced in the low to mid thirty thousand dollar range after subsidies and it’s meant to be a practical car for a mainstream driver — albeit the early-adopter, EV-friendly mainstream driver. " [GigaOm]
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This industry has lost its grip on reality. Anyone who has seen the remarkable images coming from the Arctic over the last few days will know how unusual, dangerous and extreme this business has become. While icebergs the size of football stadiums are towed out of a rig's path, ships equipped with high-pressure water cannons blast smaller chunks into submission. And all the while the clock is ticking. As the winter freeze edges nearer, this frantic exploration company rushes to finish the job before sheet-ice cuts off the region completely.
Founder @ Dearing Group LLC.
George can be reached via email at george@dearinggroup.com or on Twitter, and Facebook Subscribe to this site via RSS here.
