In the world of CRM, some experts stand out for their flair, energy and innovation.
Here are some of our favourite CRM public speakers. We think they are redefining how we think about B2B customer retention.
Larry Augustin – an open-source trailblazer
The CEO of SugarCRM is a constant voice in the CRM community. He encourages firms to adopt cutting-edge technological solutions. We like his attention to freedom, data collection and commitment to open-source methods of gathering information.
As one of the top CRM public speakers, Augustin focuses on finding firms to implement CRM strategies that empower employees with the skills and resources to serve customers. Instead of creating CRM systems that control how staff interact, he favours creating conditions for the team to benefit from intelligent alerts and integrated CRM implementations.
That fits in neatly with our interests too, which is why we always listen to what Augustin has to say.
Seth Godin – a CRM heretic
Adding Seth Godin to our list might seem strange, but we like to think outside the box.
Godin is famous in CRM circles for declaring the “death of CRM” at every opportunity. Instead, he prefers to talk about models of customer “tribes”.
Since 2006, Godin has been trying to get marketers to think differently about their customers. Instead of seeing them as resources to be managed and controlled, he tries to get firms to conceptualize their customers as autonomous, unpredictable and demanding. In other words, he wants us to think of customers as real people. That is why we like what he has to say.
Sanjay Rai Gupta – the CRM blog guy
If you’re interested in CRM, you’ll probably have come across Sanjay Rai Gupta’s CRM Blog Guy website. His writing is always lucid, informative and up-to-date; his speech on CRM is just as sharp.
Gupta’s content is ideal if you want to know how CRM strategies are implemented in the real world. He’s a well-researched, useful source for new ideas. He always speaks well, and he doesn’t oversell the benefits of CRM. He makes an excellent case for investing in the latest customer management software.
Phil Terry – the client experience expert
The CEO of Creative Good reminds us that successful marketing is all about creating a positive customer experience.
When we use CRM strategies to retain customers, Phil Terry cautions us to ensure that we don’t alienate visitors to our website or users of our customer support teams.
He recommends creating dedicated customer experience teams within each firm to deal with support, marketing and branding. These teams should have plenty of data on hand to inform their decisions.
Like our other favourite experts, Terry knows that a CRM strategy only works if it has a human face – and that winning the CRM battle is all about connecting with actual people. That’s why we always listen to what he has to say. These are just a few of our favourite CRM public speakers.