CRMGuru.com Becomes CustomerThink.com, Sharpens Focus on Customer-Centric Business Strategy

BURLINGAME, California, April 20, 2007—CRMGuru.com is now CustomerThink.com, the popular customer management portal announced today. The new name reflects the web site's mission of helping business leaders succeed with customer-centric business strategies.

Business executives can find the same high-quality thought leadership, blogs and discussion they've relied on CRMGuru for at the URL www.customerthink.com.

The time was ripe for change, according to Bob Thompson, founder of CustomerThink.com and CEO of CustomerThink Corp. Although the term "CRM" has been a popular buzzword for more than a decade, and theoretically means a business strategy, it has taken on a technology slant in the market that appears unlikely to ever change, he said.

"We wanted people to know that we address the complete realm of customer management thinking, not just IT," Thompson said. "While technology is an important enabling tool, and essential for managing customer information, it's only a portion of our mission." In Thompson's viewpoint, CRM includes customer strategy; goals and metrics; people and organization; process and experience design; and technology. Yet, much of the market doesn't agree with that view in practice. He cites technology-laden CRM definitions on the Internet, and his own research which found many people consider Customer Experience Management to be different from CRM.

Broader appeal

Dick Lee, founder and principal of customer-alignment consulting firm High-Yield Methods and a member of the original CRMGuru panel of experts when the site launched in 2000, lauded the move. "The name change from CRMGuru to CustomerThink descriptively clarifies the site's long-time content focus—which is on customer-centric business practices, not the CRM software that sometimes supports these practices. I'm confident the change to CustomerThink will further broaden the site's appeal beyond its already enormous reach."

One of the newest members of the guru panel, Colin Shaw, founder and CEO of customer experience consultancy Beyond Philosophy, was also enthusiastic about the move. "'What do you mean by CRM?' It's a question I often hear. The reality is the world is moving on, and I am pleased to see that Bob and the team are leading the way," he said. "The whole spectrum of customer management is much wider than the commonly held view that CRM equals technology. CustomerThink encapsulates what customers do!"

CRM evolves

Thompson began CRMGuru as an online discussion forum with email newsletters. The web site, launched in 2000, quickly emerged as a global portal for thought leadership articles.

Based on CRMGuru community recommendations, Thompson changed the name of the site's email newsletter to CustomerThink in 2002. "Now, with the emergence of Customer Experience Management and other strategies like customer co-creation, the debate rages on about what CRM is and isn't," Thompson said, "so it's time to adopt CustomerThink as the name for the web site, too."

"This is a great move. I'm thrilled and glad to be a part of it," said Paul Greenberg, author of CRM at the Speed of Light and a long-time member of the site's advisory council. "CRMGuru has always been in the forefront of thought leadership on all matters that relate to customers. This change is not only in name but also is one that reflects the transformation of the control of the relationship between business and customer to the customer."

Despite the name change, the editorial strategy of the site remains focused on the top issues concerning customer-centric business leaders. CustomerThink.com will also continue to be supported by a global guru panel of thought leaders and business executives (www.customerthink.com/gurus).

About CustomerThink.com and CustomerThink Corp.

CustomerThink.com, owned and managed by CustomerThink Corp., was founded in 2000 (as CRMGuru.com) to help business leaders develop and implement customer-centric business strategies. Now the world's largest online community focused on all facets of customer management, from strategy to technology, CustomerThink.com reaches 300,000 people in 200 countries each month, with articles, blogs, discussions and news. Members of global Advisory and Business councils support CustomerThink.com by contributing content and interacting with members. For more information, visit www.customerthink.com.

Media Contact:
Bob Thompson
(650) 343-8529
bob@customerthink.com