I'll post later on the conference and the presentations of the last couple of days, but I want to introduce everyone to people I either hold dear or am beginning to in the industry. They're the CRMGuru Panel that are some of the leading independent thinkers (though by no means the only ones in the industry). I've been do some serious thinking about CRM, this blog, life, baseball and those Universal Metaphors I keep promising and I decided that I'm going to not only present my thoughts on PGreenblog, but introduce everyone to those thinkers in CRM who either are superb practitioners or are really original thinkers or are HUGE Yankees fans or are just CRM people who I want to highlight for something that they contribute to.
People are always surprises. Each person I meet has a story, a dream, an aspiration or twenty, a life, and just a complex sort of goodness and I don't know, something very attractive about them as human beings. Sometimes I as well as I'm sure every single person reading this and those not reading it, tend to box them in to whatever they "do." "Paul is a CRM expert with a book," for example. That's fine, but don't you actually want to know more about many of those people?" Yesterday, when I was speaking to the crowd of roughly 100 customers/attendees and gurus in the audience at the CRMGuru Conference, I was speaking on designing the customer experience. There was one moment I just LOVED. At one point I said to the audience that creating an advocate for your business is difficult work but has a real benefit once you have that advocate. Studies done for the automotive industry show that for each advocate, eight people will be told about how great the product is. I then began yakking about how, on the other hand, it is very easy to create a "verbal terrorist" - a person who will complain to others. In fact, the same studies show that 16 people will be informed about what crap you are. I said, "The reason for that is simple. If what I'm about to say isn't true, I'm maybe telling you more about me than I should, but isn't it true that most human beings, meaning all of you, get a truly perverse pleasure in complaining. Hey, you know we all love to complain." About 70 percent of the audience gave these WICKED, delicious smiles that were just really funny. SO funny they cracked me up on stage. They were just SO wicked.
The reason for this anecdote is that people are not just nice and interesting, but really fascinating and exceptional - but sometimes you have to get it out of them or broadcast it for them. I'm going to be the broadcaster for awhile for a truly humble group of uber-experts in CRM. Guys like Jim Dickie, who is not only just one of the greats and pioneers in sales strategies, effectiveness, measurement and training but a principal in the Morris Animal Foundation, which is the leader in funding animal health care studies, something I think is incredible. His love of animals is truly moving. Or Bob Thompson, who is not only perhaps, the leading influence in CRM through CRMGuru and I would venture to say THE champion of customers, but is a man who is always there when the need to be is. Or our newest member, Silvana Buljan, a lovely person who in her mid 30s has not only created a successful 25 person company, but is also passionately committed to making Croatia - her heritage - a true business haven because of love of country (remember - emotional loyalty), not just love of opportunity (rational loyalty, readers) Or Mei Lin Fung, one of the true pioneers of CRM who worked with Tom Siebel at Oracle and is an expert on Customer Lifetime Value (check out the appendices of EVERY edition of my book for her stuff) and has a heart larger than the state of California with an interest in doing Good with that capital "G" emphasized. Or Sampson Lee, who I jokingly call the "Godfather of Chinese CRM" because he is China's most successful pioneer in CRM who when my wife had her health problems showed a concern above and beyond. So many more than that too. Just read this thing the next few weeks if you're interested in knowing these people.
My first conversation will be sometime next week with Jack Fujieda who is a true pioneer of both CRM and systems in Japan and is one of the most delightful humans I have ever met. I'll save the discussion about him until next week but let me tease you with the fact that this guy has been in the business for 45 years and looks like he started when he was 1. Amazing man.
When my travels settle, Newfoundland is next for speaking at an International colloquium on CRM, I'll be getting back to both the 4th edition stuff and commentary on the industry. The traveling is limiting me right now. Tomorrow though I'll give you a brief runthrough of the conference and some of the key concepts that emerged from it.
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