Props to the OpenWorld event team at Oracle for pumping out fun — and appropriate — music before and after keynote presentations. Josh pointed out how strategic the music planning must have been: Spirited and light-hearted for the opening address (think Katy Perry, whose “Hot’n'Cold” was streamed as attendees filed out)…
…but extreme and Rocky-esque for the Ellison event.
[In a later conversation Josh and I played the game, "If Larry Ellison had his own theme song, what would it be?" We ultimately decided on something to the tune of, "da na na na, da na na... X MAN!"]
So in the midst of thinking about conference music, I started to wonder what songs could define the Customer Relationship Management industry. In thinking up my own “CRM Soundtrack,” I decided it needed to be separated into “A” and “B” sides. The “A” tracks consists of what customers want and what CRM should be all about. The “B” sides come down to the sometimes realities of customer experiences and business mentalities. Basically, the lists are divided into the “Dos and Don’ts” of CRM.
View and listen to (Thanks iMeem!) both playlists after the jump. Please note: This is a work in progress. Leave a comment with any suggestions and I will add them to the CRM Soundtrack! Read on… »
Yumiko Aoyagi, creator ofone of the people who worked onlonelygirl15, is debuting a new site tomorrow called The Scary City. (The site is currently counting down the time until its launch) In the brief coverage I caught this morning on the CW11 Morning News, the premise of the show revolves around the search for a 10 year old who was kidnapped. This project, Aoyagi said, is, “The Blair Witch Project meets Lost.” According to a member of the production team, “every prop [in the show] has a meaning, so watch carefully.”
Users will be allowed to comment as the show progresses, but the CW11 anchors posed the question that was immediately on my mind — Will comments from the users affect the storyline of the show? The anchors made a public announcement requesting viewers to let the station know if they find their comments integrated into the show.
Now that would be an interesting use of user-generated content. Forget Must-See TV — Bring on the Must-ActTV! (OK, that was kind of lame. I encourage you, reader, to make it better!)
I plan on committing myself to this show in an effort to see how the multi-million dollar project will earn its keep — I’m guessing the usual banner ads, commercial breaks. Supposedly, there will be interactive games — will that diffuse the “scary” in “Scary City”?
[I tried posting the iMeem player here, but I failed. Instead, you get the clickable link.] [UPDATE, 10/1/08, 10a: Now you've got the clickable link and the iMeem player. Yes, the phrase "live and learn" comes to mind.]
So not only did a week of Oracle OpenWorld pretty much max me out, but now we’re heading into production week on CRM‘s November print issue. Another cycle goes by, and another opportunity to improve our offerings slides away with it. So I’m left to console myself with the knowledge that
(a) there’s always next month (these cycles are called cycles for a reason);
(2) we’re making strides (we’re better now than we were, and as long as that continues to be the case, I’ll count myself lucky if not satisfied); and
(iii) we’re working to offer the CRM community the very best content we can, delivered in the best and most sophisticated context possible.
And then I’m reminded that others often are there ahead of us. To get at what I’m getting at, check after the break…
I recently — OK, just yesterday — moved to a new place in Jersey City, N.J., which significantly decreases the commute I previously made.
In the midst of making many changes with addresses, phone numbers, finances, and the like, moving to New Jersey now meant I had to change my mode of transportation from Metro-North Railroad to The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, commonly referred to as the PATH.
Since getting the 30-day unlimited pass would work best for both my sanity and wallet, I had to get the SmartLink card. In all actuality, it’s a very cool idea. You just tap the card — which looks and feels like a credit card — at the turnstile to gain entrance. You tap it again at vending machines when you want to refill your card.
While it seems very easy to refill and take the PATH using this card, it is not as easy to get a card for the first time. You can either register for one online, or buy the card itself with a trip package at certain PATH stop locations after which you can then refill the card with an unlimited monthly pass.
It’s nice I know this now, but not so much this morning when I was going to different machines at the 33rd Street stop in Manhattan, trying to figure out a way to purchase a 30-day unlimited SmartLink pass outright. In my haste, I called the 1-800 number for PATH customer service only to find the office was not open yet. The automated response also told me I could leave a message.
Mind you, I’m extremely skeptical for leaving a message in a general answering machine that I’m sure is clogged with thousands of messages. I’ve talked to many people who have also found leaving a message for a general customer service time to be a tremendous waste. Nonetheless I gave it a shot, describing my issue (one of knowledge) and left my cell number so I could be reached.
Much to my surprise, I actually did get a call back from a PATH representative. Unfortunately, I couldn’t take the call because I was in a meeting. To my further astonishment, a message was left and marked urgent. I just listened to it, and it described exactly what I needed to do along with the specific locations I could actually purchase a SmartLink card. The woman also left me a direct number — not the 1-800 one — to call just in case I needed more assistance.
The direction she left me was perfect, and I really don’t need to call back. I might, though, just to thank her. Now my memory attached to the PATH — so far — is a great one. In my experience monitoring tip lines and listening to myriad messages, I never expected to get a call back a couple of hours after I called.
The “customer experience” is something I — as well as many of my fellow CRMers — have been writing about for quite some time. Now the latest research from Aberdeen Group finding that 60 percent of respondents have a customer experience management (CEM) program in place, and the remaining 40 percent plan on incorporating a CEM initiative in the next 30 months.
Being that this is a seemingly growing trend among organizations, I want to turn this over now to you, the reader. Have you been getting a better experience when you’ve had to interact with the customer service arm of organizations? Do you feel in your own interactions that we are heading down the path — slight pun intended — of a renewed emphasis on customer service? I’d love to hear your story.
I’m loading this for your reading pleasure, but it needs cleaning up, textwise — which I’ll be doing while it’s live. I’ve now done.
(Someone can correct me if this is inappropriate blogger etiquette. I’m also stripping out my accumulated “drinking game” of the number of times Ellison used the phrase, “Next slide, please.” For the completists out there — or the merely curious — he hit 25.)
Remember the Twitter-feed mantra: reverse chronological order. The entire thing — and I warn you, it’s lengthy — is after the break.
Meanwhile, our earlier Oracle OpenWorld coverage can be found here:
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