http://ecommerceinsights.com/blog1/2007/10/16/part-ii-the-dot-calm-era-i-dont-think-so/ Advice, opinions and observations about the world of e-commerce Sat, 05 Jul 2008 07:38:48 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.2 http://ecommerceinsights.com/blog1/2007/10/16/part-ii-the-dot-calm-era-i-dont-think-so/#comment-23 Wed, 17 Oct 2007 21:09:07 +0000 http://ecommerceinsights.com/blog1/2007/10/16/part-ii-the-dot-calm-era-i-dont-think-so/#comment-23 Cliff Several of the points you make point at the need for effective decision automation and management. Micro-targeting requires the ability to manage each decision about a customer treatment uniquely, ideally through systematic automation. That way each action taken is taken deliberately for that customer instead of being taken implicitly when a whole tranche of customers are treated the same. Direct control by the business means using technology that allows business users to change the way their systems behave - some kind of business-rules based approach, for instance. Supporting layers of rules (corporate, local, customer preferences) also becomes key. Customer service agents don't need information so much as they need decisions and candidate decisions. Simply presenting more information to them just slows down the conversation. They need to know which cross sell will most likely work, which customers can have their fees forgiven and so on. I regularly blog about this kind of stuff - now at http://www.smartenoughsystems.com/wp JT James Taylor Author of Smart (Enough) Systems Cliff
Several of the points you make point at the need for effective decision automation and management.
Micro-targeting requires the ability to manage each decision about a customer treatment uniquely, ideally through systematic automation. That way each action taken is taken deliberately for that customer instead of being taken implicitly when a whole tranche of customers are treated the same.
Direct control by the business means using technology that allows business users to change the way their systems behave - some kind of business-rules based approach, for instance. Supporting layers of rules (corporate, local, customer preferences) also becomes key.
Customer service agents don’t need information so much as they need decisions and candidate decisions. Simply presenting more information to them just slows down the conversation. They need to know which cross sell will most likely work, which customers can have their fees forgiven and so on.
I regularly blog about this kind of stuff - now at http://www.smartenoughsystems.com/wp
JT
James Taylor
Author of Smart (Enough) Systems

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