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CUSTOMER NEEDS DATA MANAGEMENT
4.14.2009
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What's more, a host of creative newcomers are whittling away at the obstacles that slowed user adoption. InvisibleCRM, for example, lets sales and marketing professionals use stalwart desktop tools - and have CRM, too. InvisibleCRM automatically ferries e-mails and other information entered into Microsoft Office and Outlook directly to Salesforce.com. Therefore, employees enter data into the CRM application without using another application or even knowing they've contributed to a CRM database.
Using data effectively during product changes, new product development and other innovation activity is based on appropriate interpretation of what the customer is saying. Ulrich and Eppinger1 organized customer needs data analysis by forming needs statements and definable metrics. In this way, discrete elements of a product, process or service can be directly created from a customer statement.
Part of the problem for development and innovation is that they work with too much of the wrong information or not enough of the right information. Marketing is blind-sided by too much historical customer transaction data and invention often ignores customer data completely. To succeed, marketing and innovation need a balanced mixture of information about customers. This includes data about historical transactions, about the context that surrounds purchasing, about those who influence purchasing and of course, about core customer needs in terms of the jobs they are trying to do and the outcomes they desire. The job is to provide customers with products, services and experiences that customers can use to deliver these jobs successfully while creating new, better or cheaper products and services to do the jobs in the future.
Customer relationship management as an innovation tool is increasingly important for companies. Successfully implementing a system that combines effective data collection, analysis and use will help your company or organization meet its innovative goals. More than just a database of customers and leads, such tools can become drivers of innovation. 
