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Marketing Competence :: Introduction
About Marketing Competence
It was 1996 when this site was born. Eight years in Internet time is more than a generation in real time. Back then, the slogan was "The Internet's Resource on Database Marketing and Relationship Management". This was at a time when nobody even mentioned the word "Customer Relationship Management".
Marketing Competence has always been at the forefront of marketing thinking and its practical application. It was the first site dedicated to what later became CRM - without explicitly using that term. I also had the honour to found the first email discussion list dedicated to this subject.
It is August 2004 at the time of writing; I have just revamped my entire web presence, including Marketing Competence. I hope you like the new look and functionality. I will add more content as time goes by, but so far everything other than the company and consultants directories have been moved over.
Marketing Competence has always been at the forefront of marketing thinking and its practical application. It was the first site dedicated to what later became CRM - without explicitly using that term. I also had the honour to found the first email discussion list dedicated to this subject.
It is August 2004 at the time of writing; I have just revamped my entire web presence, including Marketing Competence. I hope you like the new look and functionality. I will add more content as time goes by, but so far everything other than the company and consultants directories have been moved over.
When I initially launched the site, the information published was relevant and educational. But times have changed. My understanding of marketing and business has changed too and with it my desire to publish information that takes into account the changes that have occurred over the past years, and the need to comment on material that is accurate but still incomplete in one or more ways. In other words, I see it as more important to point out the bigger picture, because although today both the knowledge and the tools are available, surprisingly few take the two, make three out of it and provide value to shareholders, customers and society alike.
So the site is no longer an anonymous site, but my site. Call it a late wake-up to Tom Peters' "The brand called YOU". ;-)
It no longer is about Database Marketing and Relationship Management either, not even Customer Relationship Management (a term you will hear less and less about as consultants and system vendors invent a new one), but about Total Customer Management, which removes the terms database and marketing, but spells out more clearly than ever what it is all about: TOTAL CUSTOMER MANAGEMENT. Integrated, holistic, mutually beneficial.
"Management" essentially revolves around the relationships that need to be established in order to run an efficient, profitable and sustainable business.
The term database was removed because far too much emphasis falls on technology, and far too little on people. It is patently obvious that you cannot run your business without an efficient information system, but the database is no longer exclusively used to send out millions of mailings.
Not quite incidentally, Total Customer Management is also the name of the concept of the virtual consulting group I am heading. Its centrepiece is a mirrored pyramid structure, which allows any organisation, regardless of size and complexity, to "achieve" real TCM, without following the vendors' and consultants' hype.
It is my belief that TCM in its true sense is something you achieve when you work on the periphery, not when you directly aim for it. You cannot set up a loyalty program and expect it to work. You cannot run a campaign and expect it to undo your misdeeds of the past. A bunch of flowers is nice, but you need to work on the structure, not the surface.
As all elements inside an organisation are interlinked, trying to make good in one area won't do the job for you - never will. Quick fixes don't exist - never will. So while most companies try to implement a "CRM quick fix", this site deals with the real solution: Total Customer Management. It is no longer limited to Database Marketing and Relationship Management, but all the elements that play a role in establishing, maintaining and profiting from superior and sustainable customer relationships.
Once again, a quantum leap has been made, and you are welcome to partake in its evolution. You may also choose not to partake and pursue the more hyped way, but chances are that one day you will return and get your dose of the real stuff: Marketing Competence: Helmar Rudolph's Internet Resource for Total Customer Management Information.
For the time being, and taking into account the concerns and needs of the many visitors to this site who are only starting to get into this area, the old content has been preserved. This will ensure a proper foundation for the new site is laid, and that their approach to becoming more customer-driven becomes a success from the word go.
I hope you find this site beneficial. If you would like to share anything with me or the visitors, I welcome your participation and feedback.
To your success!
Helmar
So the site is no longer an anonymous site, but my site. Call it a late wake-up to Tom Peters' "The brand called YOU". ;-)
It no longer is about Database Marketing and Relationship Management either, not even Customer Relationship Management (a term you will hear less and less about as consultants and system vendors invent a new one), but about Total Customer Management, which removes the terms database and marketing, but spells out more clearly than ever what it is all about: TOTAL CUSTOMER MANAGEMENT. Integrated, holistic, mutually beneficial.
"Management" essentially revolves around the relationships that need to be established in order to run an efficient, profitable and sustainable business.
The term database was removed because far too much emphasis falls on technology, and far too little on people. It is patently obvious that you cannot run your business without an efficient information system, but the database is no longer exclusively used to send out millions of mailings.
Not quite incidentally, Total Customer Management is also the name of the concept of the virtual consulting group I am heading. Its centrepiece is a mirrored pyramid structure, which allows any organisation, regardless of size and complexity, to "achieve" real TCM, without following the vendors' and consultants' hype.
It is my belief that TCM in its true sense is something you achieve when you work on the periphery, not when you directly aim for it. You cannot set up a loyalty program and expect it to work. You cannot run a campaign and expect it to undo your misdeeds of the past. A bunch of flowers is nice, but you need to work on the structure, not the surface.
As all elements inside an organisation are interlinked, trying to make good in one area won't do the job for you - never will. Quick fixes don't exist - never will. So while most companies try to implement a "CRM quick fix", this site deals with the real solution: Total Customer Management. It is no longer limited to Database Marketing and Relationship Management, but all the elements that play a role in establishing, maintaining and profiting from superior and sustainable customer relationships.
Once again, a quantum leap has been made, and you are welcome to partake in its evolution. You may also choose not to partake and pursue the more hyped way, but chances are that one day you will return and get your dose of the real stuff: Marketing Competence: Helmar Rudolph's Internet Resource for Total Customer Management Information.
For the time being, and taking into account the concerns and needs of the many visitors to this site who are only starting to get into this area, the old content has been preserved. This will ensure a proper foundation for the new site is laid, and that their approach to becoming more customer-driven becomes a success from the word go.
I hope you find this site beneficial. If you would like to share anything with me or the visitors, I welcome your participation and feedback.
To your success!
Helmar
