Surrounding the Customer: Ranking Non-traditional Vendors of Customer Relationship Management Solutions

As businesses move online, they are assessing ways in which to handle the new medium of the Web while simulataneously leveraging existing customer service solutions. The convergence of online and offline demands that companies evaluate their customer service strategies and understand which solutions will optimize their online presence, leverage legacy systems and ultimately, integrate the two in order to surround the customer.

Through a recent survey of 38 top CRM vendors, In-Stat evaluated which vendors solutions based on comprehensiveness of communication channels, ease of integration, and ease of use. Vendors were ranked on three categories: Customer Touch Point Applications, Adimistration capabilities, and Integration with legacy systems. This report focuses on "non-traditional" or Web-based vendors.

Executive Summary

Methodology

Data Collection

CRM Solution Providers

Traditional CRM Vendors

Challenges and Issues of Traditional CRM Vendors

Non-traditional CRM Vendors

Challenges & Issues for Non-traditional CRM Vendors

Market Evolution for Non-traditional CRM Vendors

The Evolution of Customer Relationship Management

New Points of Contact for CRM

An Ideal CRM Solution

Key Components of An Ideal CRM Solution

Voice

E-mail Response Management

Live Chat

Web Collaboration

Self-help

Voice over IP (VoIP)

Administration

Integration

Customer Requirements Driving CRM

Top 3 Most Important Factors in a CRM Solution

Rankings: All Vendors

Top 5 Overall Ranking: Non-traditional Vendors

Non-traditional Vendors Profiled

Profile Contents

APAC/CustomerAssistance.com

Banter

Brightware

Cisco

eAssist

eConvergent

eGain

e-Resolve

eShare

FaceTime

Kana

LivePerson

Nuasis

PeopleSupport

Pivotal

Primus

RightNow Technologies

ServiceSoft

Synchrony

WebDialogs

Appendix

Points by Category

List of Tables

Table 1: Traditional Vendors Surveyed

Table 2: Surveyed Non-traditional Vendors

Table 3: Overall Vendor Top Scores for Voice

Table 4: Overall Vendor Top Scores for E-mail Response Management

Table 5: Overall Vendor Top Scores for Live Chat

Table 6: Overall Vendor Top Scores for Web Collaboration

Table 7: Overall Vendor Top Scores for Self-Help

Table 8: Vendor Adoption of VoIP Application

Table 9: Administration Scores for All Vendors

Table 10: Overall Vendor Top Scores for Integration

Table 11: Integrate Offline and Online CRM Systems - US Business Market, 2000

Table 12: APAC Customer Touch Points with Future Plans Highlighted

Table 13: Vendor Ranking - APAC

Table 14: Banter Customer Touch Points with Future Plans Highlighted

Table 15: Vendor Rankings - Banter

Table 16: Brightware Customer Touch Points with Future Plans Highlighted

Table 17: Vendor Rankings - Brightware

Table 18: Cisco Customer Touch Points with Future Plans Highlighted

Table 19: Vendor Rankings - Cisco

Table 20: eAssist Customer Touch Points with Future Plans Highlighted

Table 21: Vendor Rankings - eAssist

Table 22: eConvergent Customer Touch Points with Future Plans Highlighted

Table 23: Vendor Rankings - eConvergent

Table 24: eGain Customer Touch Points with Future Plans Highlighted

Table 25: Vendor Rankings - eGain

Table 26: e-Resolve Customer Touch Points with Future Plans Highlighted

Table 27: Vendor Ranking - e-Resolve

Table 28: eShare Customer Touch Points with Future Plans Highlighted

Table 29: Vendor Rankings - eShare

Table 30: FaceTime Customer Touch Points with Future Plans Highlighted

Table 31: Vendor Rankings - FaceTime

Table 32: Kana Customer Touch Points with Future Plans Highlighted

Table 33: Vendor Rankings - Kana

Table 34: LivePerson Customer Touch points with Future Plans Highlighted

Table 35: Vendor Ranking - LivePerson

Table 36: Nuasis Customer Touch Points with Future Plans Highlighted

Table 37: Vendor Ranking - Nuasis

Table 38: PeopleSupport Customer Touch Points with Future Plans Highlighted

Table 39: Vendor Ranking - PeopleSupport

Table 40: Pivotal Customer Touch Points with Future Plans Highlighted

Table 41: Vendor Ranking - Pivotal

Table 42: Primus Customer Touch Points with Future Plans Highlighted

Table 43: Vendor Ranking - Primus

Table 44: RightNow Customer Touch Points with Future Plans Highlighted

Table 45: Vendor Ranking - RightNow Technologies

Table 46: ServiceSoft Customer Touch Points with Future Plans Highlighted

Table 47: Vendor Ranking - ServiceSoft

Table 48: Synchrony Customer Touch Points with Future Plans Highlighted

Table 49: Vendor Ranking - Synchrony

Table 50: WebDialogs Customer Touch Points with Future Plans Highlighted

Table 51: Vendor Ranking - WebDialogs

Table 52: All Vendor Rankings, 2000

Table 53: Overall Non-traditional Vendor Ranking, 2000

Table 54: Non-traditional Vendor Points by Category, 2000

Table 55: Traditonal Vendor Points by Category - 2000

List of Figures

Figure 1: Top 5 Overall Vendors

Figure 2: The Evolution of CRM: Integrated Customer Data

Figure 3: Integrated Communication for Customers

Figure 4: Components of An Ideal CRM Solution

Figure 5: Overall Vendor Ranking - Top 5

Figure 6: Overall Vendor Ranking - #6-10

Figure 7: Top 5 Non-traditional CRM Vendors