I recently met a friend of mine, a senior executive at a well-known financial services firm, and we soon found ourselves mulling over today’s tough business climate and the weakening U.S. economy. As veterans of this industry, we’ve weathered tough times before, but this time feels much different. Organizations today are fighting to win customers on a global basis, and have spent a small fortune on CRM implementations in an attempt to provide a better customer experience. However, these systems are not able to automate the numerous customer touch points in a consistent manner -- one that’s capable of leveraging and protecting their brand and providing a truly unique and informed customer experience. It's a missed opportunity and one that organizations are desperate to resolve.

Worse, customer’s expectations have grown to the point that they expect organizations to speak to them at “the audience of one” level and convey high quality communications at each and every touch-point. Companies like Amazon have excelled in personalizing the customer experience to the point that customers are now asking themselves, “If they can do it, why can’t you?”