Letters to the Editor

[Re: Loose Cannon: The Met's CRM Efforts Punk Out, Direct Newsline, Monday, April 9, 2007 (directmag.com/loosecannon/loose-cannon-met-crm-punk-040907/ and Letters to the Editor, Direct Newsline, Tuesday, April 10, 2007 (directmag.com/news/letters-041007/)]:

Hey, Richard, why not? Why can't someone build a CRM application for the common lot (or in this case common, fairly large not-for-profit?)

Was there a time when desktop publishing was the purview of sophisticated publishing houses only? Today, my sixth grader can build a fully indexed book with graphics and automated TOC on her PC. Was there a time when we penciled in and scratched out contacts and schedules on paper in a cumbersome binder? Was there a time when we performed statistical analysis by running a stack of punch cards through a reader? (Not that I remember this personally, but I have heard it existed.)

Why does managing customer relationships have to be too complex for small or medium business or not-for-profits? The original CRM started in the high-street shops in Europe, in the general stores on main street USA, and in outdoor markets around the world. Recognizing customers and treating their individual needs...well, individually goes back, way back. Can we dream, can we demand, that someone build an automated way of doing the same today? Maybe they have. Maybe the Met should invest a little in such a tool and training. Maybe, just maybe, this time, Richard is right. ;-)

Lance E. Osborne
Solutions Manager
Acxiom CDI
Little Rock, AR

* * * * * * *

I suspect the Met, like almost all museums, depend on a great deal of volunteer help and it took them a while to catch up to your request. Or if it was the paid help in the shop, they probably called whenever they had a minute free, or maybe--unlike us--they just goofed.

I well remember when I headed my ad agency, how shocked clients were when they asked why we did something stupid and I replied, "Well, we goofed." They had never heard that before from employees or suppliers and were so stuck for an answer that they forgot to fire us . . . sometimes.

Fred Hahn
Marketing Consultant
Golden Valley, MN