Getting the Clues
“These targeting, tracking, and personalization schemes are mechanistic answers to psychological questions. Customers are human beings, first and foremost, quirky and elusive and unpredictable. That’s why, in a lot of cases, all the data mining and click-tracking analysis in the world doesn’t work as well as simply asking customers what they want.” Wow! This is the first time ever someone told the truth about 1-1 and CRM in such length and in such detail. The sad thing, though, is that nothing is going to change.
True CRM and 1-1 marketing can only succeed in an organisation willing to change its attitude towards itself, its customers and society. But as only a minority of managers and staff have the capacity – physical, mental and spiritual – to initiate and drive such far-reaching change, never mind the authority to implement and mentor it, most organisations will continue to fall for the hype and throw lots of good money after bad.
The really sad thing is that terms like “1-1” and “CRM” are only temporary, and that system vendors and consultants alike are already working on catch phrases and buzzwords poised to supercede the current ones. Then the entire cycle of stupidity and greed will repeat itself.
In the end it shows nothing but how little integrity and common sense is actually present in today’s business. But whereas it surely keeps the economy going, this is achieved at a personal loss that only a few have really grasped.
In the meantime it’s business as usual, because the never-ending urge to consume needs to be financed. And there goes your life, your time and your energy to change yourself in order to establish the right foundation for improved personal communication, widely called 1-1 or Customer Relationship Management.
