Customer Information Management Research Articles

Salespeople's management of customer information: Impact on optimal territory and sales force sizes

Collecting and processing territory and account information are major aspects of a salesperson's task. To a large extent, salespeople's effectiveness depends on the amount and quality of the market information available to them (such as their customers' needs and potential, the likelihood of getting an order after some contact time, etc.). Although they are not always easy to disentangle, these information gathering and processing activities on one hand, and the effective contact time devoted to selling to clients and prospects on the other, vie for the limited time resources available to a salesperson. This paper provides a simple statistical procedure for estimating the costs of information gathering and processing by a salesperson. The model can be used by management for estimating the most profitable territory size to be assigned to each salesperson, and consequently for estimating the optimal sales force size.

The Road From Dependency to Empowerment: The Destination is Worth the Journey

The traditional financial services industry is based on the principles that the customer is ignorant, incompetent, disinterested in money matters, and eager to delegate them to someone he or she trusts. However the psychology and behavior of consumers and the structure and dynamics of the financial services market are starting to shift in a very fundamental way. Information and information technology are the key driving forces. This paper describes how electronic commerce is changing established patterns of influence and control in markets. e-markets will be a harsher ecology, i.e., more crowded and much more competitive. But e-Commerce also will provide new opportunities for differentiation and innovation. Many markets are extremely vulnerable to disruptive innovations in product and content integration, in customer information management, and particularly in relationship propositions. The authors present a positive relationship proposition which reveals the dependency model for what it actually is: demeaning, controlling, and exploitative. Customer information management drives a dynamic model of relationship value. The model involves extremely powerful self-reinforcing mechanisms which can be either virtuous or vicious. Growing satisfaction and trust leads the customer to be more open regarding values and needs, and more willing to empower the service provider. As an empowered agent it can search, evaluate, advise, and implement on behalf of the customer. The paper addresses these issues in the context of the UK financial services market, but the ideas and conclusions apply to many other markets.

Report: Management for eBusiness in the New Millennium: A Report on APNOMS 2001

The fifth Asia-Pacific Network Operations and Management Symposium, APNOMS 2001, was held during September 26–28, 2001 in Sydney, Australia. Started in 1997, the APNOMS has provided an important platform for academics, researchers and telecommunication industry at large in the Asia Pacific region to exchange their research results and to discuss and to advance all aspects of telecommunications management. In the past few years, these annual symposiums have become truly international events attracting audiences and presenters from over 10 countries. APNOMS 2001 was the first symposium to be held outside Korea (1997 [1], 1999 [2]) and Japan (1998 [3], 2000 [4]). The Symposium was held only two weeks after the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York. Although some countries and institutions implemented certain travel restrictions which resulted in cancellations, APNOMS 2001 still attracted 141 registered (112 attending) delegates representing academic, R&D, service providers and vendors communities from 14 countries. Its program covered keynote speeches, tutorials, special sessions, technical sessions, poster sessions, a distinguished expert panel, and vendor exhibitions. The theme of this three-day symposium was “Management for eBusiness in the New Millennium.” Powered by the Internet, broadband and wireless communications, eBusiness is rapidly transforming our society, our culture and our everyday life. It is also rapidly changing the strategy, mission and business priorities in the IT and telecommunications industry. Customer information and relationship management are becoming crucial elements for successful eBusiness. Alternative business models have to be sought to satisfy new service delivery needs and paradigms. We are beginning to see the fusion of Internet, information and

Strategic moves at the prospect of a deregulated electricity market

The Swedish electricity market has step by step been undergoing a deregulation process during the 1990s. In this respect it is more similar to the deregulation in England and Wales rather than the ones in Norway and Finland. At first the ownership of the national bulk transmission grid was separated from the 12 largest power companies. Thereafter, the grid was opened also to other power companies as well as to electricity distributors. In January 1996 a new Electricity Act advocating third-party access to regional and local distribution grids became operative. It is now possible for every electricity customer to choose supplier. Due to the changed environmental conditions it is of vital importance for electricity distribution companies to reorganise their business and to develop new strategies. According to the Electricity Act the operation of distribution grids must be separated from the electricity selling activities in different companies. This implies additional administration costs. But more important, the third-party access may lead to increased competition within distribution areas. This paper focuses the distributors' strategic moves at the prospect of a deregulated electricity market. It is primarily emphasising their organisational changes, customer information management and product development. What actions and decisions were taken in order to adjust to the changing conditions? How well prepared were the distributors to compete with new actors? What possibilities and threats did they see in connection with the deregulation? The study is based on personal interviews and a questionnaire sent to representatives of Swedish electricity distributors. It shows that the distributors differed regarding their preparation and readiness for the changed market conditions and that an increased market concentration may arise as a consequence of vertically and horizontally integration strategies.

Customer's Information Management System for Sales Planning

Customer's Information Management System for Sales Planning

Issues in Customer Information Management

The focus of this study concerns the growth in database marketing activity and how this will impact on the future of the market research industry. We report research into the extent customer database information will supplement and/or replace ad hoc market research. In particular, how do market research and database marketing activities inter-relate, and how will public concerns regarding privacy and customer information management impact upon these activities - both at the customer level and through governmental legislation and regulation.

The influence of telecommunications on transport operations

The paper deals with the impact of telecommunications and information technology on the operation of transport systems in general. The interaction and cooperation of telecommunications with information technology and computers, is better known in Europe by the term ‘telematics’. The paper systematically examines the current applications of telematics in the operation and control of vehicles and traffic, and customer information and demand management. All modes of transport are examined but the main emphasis is on road and rail. The discussion combines the actual applications as well as their main results to date, with some critical appraisal of the success so far, and the prospects for future improvements. Then possible future developments in this field are discussed for road and rail, both passenger and freight. The outlook is not always bright and the problems and difficulties encountered are considered. The overall conclusion is that telematics in the field of transport operation has been applied for s...