Businesses today are challenged by serving "two masters": financial cost management on one side and the consumer-facing aspects of sales, services and marketing on the other. The integration of the front and back office has long been a dilemma to organizations of all sizes, but it has yet to become a reality for most.
Today, it's even more critical to bring the two together, as companies look to enrich and profit from customer interaction. Otherwise, how does management know how to invest in the right channels to deal with customers, while extracting the most from the sales and service dollar? How can companies be sure they're not missing opportunities to better engage their customers—by letting information that should be at their fingertips slip out the back door? To be financially competitive while building loyalty, companies must be able to determine the best tradeoff between cost efficiency and customer performance. The tools and theories are out there,...
