Featured Blog

June 19, 2011 by Harish Kotadia, Ph.D. One year ago (June 15th, 2010 to be precise), I wrote a post titled Social Media: The New Front End of CRM System in which I highlighted that in spite of undergoing a fascinating technological transformation over the last decade, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems essentially record transactional information using pre-determined fields on the screen (front-end) and store that information in database. Thiscustomer transaction data repository is essentially at the heart of any CRM system. In “Social” age, customers are empowered like never before as they can share their experiences and opinions about brands/products on Social Media channels and marketers have no control over what customers are saying...

I am constantly asked by telecom professionals “John, the telecom landscape is really changing but, where is it headed”? So, I thought I would share of few of my view points here: While not a new concept but one that is finally ready for primetime… As Apple demonstrated with their FaceTime app on the IOS 4 with AT&T, they slipped a communication app that uses the data network right under AT&T’s nose so to say. Skype and many others have used SIP and other protocols to complete voice sessions between endpoint devices. The only real reason anyone uses a carrier for phone calls is for the use of a 10-digit (US) number to terminate calls to. Frankly, most of us can’t remember our family members numbers anymore… Just click on...

Did you know that a large percentage of the millions of products that are sold on the Internet everyday are sold through affiliate networks? That’s right. You know that banner ad you clicked on for more information? That was likely an affiliate partner that pays to have that ad there and “gets paid” on a performance basis (a commission if you buy or take whatever action the merchant was looking for). I can create a solid, turnkey affiliate program that will get your products in front of millions of consumers with little to no cost. After all, that’s why they call it Performance Marketing. But first, it will help if you have a better understanding of affiliate marketing… What Is Affiliate Marketing? Simply put, with an affiliate...

1. Social media is an important SEO tool. Links from social media are playing an increasingly important role in your site’s search position. Since 80% of consumer purchases start with search, this reason alone is a good argument for embracing social media. 2. Your customers expect you to be social. 60% of Americans spend time on a social network at least once a week. YouTube reaches 36% of all business decision makers, more than Forbes.com. 93% of business buyers believe all companies should have a social media presence. 3. Social media provides important marketing data and consumer feedback. You don’t need surveys to find out what your prospects are thinking. The buyers in your market are telling you this now in social media. But you have to...