The barriers have vanished.In the past, AI was too complicated. You needed specialised data scientists on staff.It was too expensive and too risky. It required a lot of time and money for an AI project that may not even work that well.While some AI projects are still complicated, expensive, and risk
Read the full article hereSupport is a necessityAn IT system is like a car. The real cost doesn’t stop when the system is installed. It requires ongoing support and maintenance to keep it working effectively. There’s an ongoing expense that can’t be avoided.‘Suppose you notice your neighbour filling the gas tank of his car f
Read the full article here“It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data.” — Sherlock HolmesThe Age of Data“Information is the oil of the 21st century, and analytics is the combustion engine.” — Peter Sondergaard, Senior Vice President and Global Head of Research at Gartner, Inc.The economy of the US and other mode
Read the full article hereCustomer EquityCustomer equity is the sum of the discounted lifetime values of the customers of a business.It’s a customer-centric measure of the value of the business and should be a key strategic focus.The way to grow customer equity is with the strategy and tactics of customer relationship manage
Read the full article hereVirtual AgentA virtual agent (or virtual assistant or chatbot) is software that uses scripted rules and, increasingly, artificial intelligence (AI) to provide automated service or guidance to customers or employees.Virtual agents offer the promise of 24/7 service and significant efficiencies as huma
Read the full article hereThe productivity dilemmaA recent report from the New Zealand Productivity Commission, Productivity by the numbers, paints a bleak picture of the productivity of NZ compared to other OECD countries. But it’s not just us - measured productivity growth in recent times has been weak globally.Productivit
Read the full article hereWhat are they and what’s the difference?An add-in is a software program that expands the capabilities of bigger programs. It is a term commonly used by Microsoft and other platforms which have additional functions that can be added to primary programs. An add-on is a software extension that adds ext
Read the full article hereYou should be customer-centric “The purpose of a business is to get and keep a customer. Without customers, no amount of engineering wizardry, clever financing, or operations expertise can keep a company going.” Theodore Levitt“The most important single thing is to focus obsessively on the customer.
Read the full article hereBest of bothHow to develop a CRM system is NOT a binary choice between in-house vs out-source. Rather it should be viewed as a continuum between fully designed, developed and supported with in-house staff (permanent and contractors) at one extreme and fully outsourced to a partner on the other. At M
Read the full article hereAt Magnetism, we’re committed to the success of every one of our CRM projects. So we’re keen to verify whether we achieve our goal. But what is success and how do we measure it?What is project success? It might be subjective. “All things considered, I think it was OK.”It might be different for diffe
Read the full article hereThe news over the holiday period was full of the Solarwinds hack. US departments and major US companies have been affected. No doubt we will hear more in the months to come. This news came at the end of a year in which many high-profile organisations were hacked and, in many cases ransomed. System s
Read the full article hereCRM systems are well established technology. They have been around for decades. So why would anyone need a proof of concept for a CRM?What is a Proof of Concept?A proof of concept (POC) involves an exercise to test the real-world potential of an incomplete idea. It is not about delivering the idea;
Read the full article hereBoss: Did you get any orders today? Salesman: Yes, I got two! Boss: Congratulations! What were they? Salesman: “Get out!” and “Stay out!” Source: insidesales.comTo sell means ‘to persuade someone of the merits of.’ I want to advocate for NOT selling. Rather, I want to propose that we help customers
Read the full article hereThe new Privacy Act 2020, which replaces the Privacy Act 1993, will come into force on 1 December 2020. Virtually all organisations in New Zealand are covered by this Act which covers the information in your CRM system.Now is a good time to review the information your organisation collects about sta
Read the full article hereMagnetism provides specialist input to the IT roadmaps of our partner-clients. We advise about the new technology expected from Microsoft and how they might utilise it for greater value. We look at the broader IT systems and advise on how D365, Azure and the Power Platform might integrate with other
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