Database Reference
In-Depth Information
Applications that offer marketing automation primarily provide two major functions, namely,
campaign management and demographics analysis. Campaign revolves around marketing budget
management, ad management and placement, targeting campaigns, response management, and
the like. While these activities have always involved a degree of statistical analysis, the variety and
the colossal amount of data that are captured on the websites have led to a quantum jump in the
level of such analysis.
In the past, typical customer service automation and management consisted of setting up a
contact center with access to a customer database. With the advent of the Internet, the norm is a
totally integrated contact center, where customer agents respond to e-mails, phone calls, and chat
requests using a fully integrated customer database connected to various subsystems like the ERPs,
sales and procurement portals, and supply chain applications.
The following is a detailed checklist of functional requirement needs to be compiled for the
various functional areas within the company:
1. Sales Function:
a. Field/Mobile, Indirect (resellers, brokers, and distributors) and Retail Sales
b. Opportunity Management and Pipeline Analysis
c. Forecasting
d. Sales Cycle Analysis
e. Sales Metrics
f. Activity Reporting and Management
g. Mapping Tools and Territory Alignment
h. Time and Expense Reporting
i. Quotas and Incentive Designer and Compensation Management
j. Sales Training
k. A sample checklist of Sales requirements shown in Table 3.9
2. Contact and Account Management Function:
a. Contact Profile
b. Activity Management and History
c. Organization Chart
d. Correspondence
e. Business Relationships
f. Order Entry, History, and Tracking
g. Presentations, Proposal, and Sales Contract Generation
h. Internet Account Maintenance
i. E-mail System and CTI Integration and Process
j. Wireless
k. Sales Calendar
l. Multiplatform Data Synchronization
3. Telemarketing/Telesales:
a. Call Planning
b. Call List Assembly
c. Dynamic Branch Scripting
d. Call History and Statistics
e. Autodialing
f. Productivity and Performance Analysis
g. Literature Fulfillment
