CRM Strategy: Customer Strategy Drives Bottom-Line Impact For Peppers & Rogers Group Award Winners

Customer-based business strategies continue to pay big dividends and demonstrate business impact for leading companies according to the results of the 6th Annual Peppers & Rogers Group 1to1® Impact Awards, presented by 1to1® Magazine and 1to1® Media. This year, nominations were evaluated on the implementation and results of their strategic initiatives in three categories: Customer Strategy, Organizational Transformation and Technology Optimization. The Technology Optimization category was split it into four subcategories: Full-Suite CRM, Marketing, Sales and Service.

Now in its sixth year, the 1to1 Impact Awards spotlight leading companies that have implemented effective and innovative customer strategies that have led to clear and quantifiable business results. This year's winners represent a wide range of entries from all over the world cutting across all industries and representing a variety of business approaches.

Meet the 6th Annual 1to1 Impact Award winners:

• Customer Strategy winner Wachovia's focus on the idea of customer equity, its emphasis on household's lifetime value, and its targeted attention to the customer experience impressed the judges. Not surprisingly, the bank boasts customer advocacy scores among the highest in its industry.
• At General Electric Capital Solutions, growth is seen as a process that revolves around customers. That's one of the reasons the company won in the Organizational Transformation category. By applying enterprise-wide Lean methodologies and using Net Promoter Scores to gauge customers' loyalty, GE Capital Solutions has increased efficiencies and income.
• In Technology Optimization: Full-Suite CRM, Astra International implemented customer relationship management (CRM) to achieve transparent relationships with customers, allowing for savings and error reduction.
• Technology Optimization: Customer Service winner Bath & Body Works married clear insight with technology and as a result achieved such benefits as real-time customer feedback and multi-channel integration.
• Ring Bros. Marketplace, an upscale grocery in Cape Cod, MA, scooped the top prize in the Technology Optimization: Marketing category. The retailer sends customized offers via customers' mobile devices to influence their behaviors at the point of sale.
• Finally, in Technology Optimization: Sales technology distributor Ingram Micro used a Web portal to make it easier for customers to conduct such transactions as renewing service contracts.

Stories profiling the winners will be featured across 1to1 Media publications including the Jan/Feb 2007 issue of 1to1 Magazine, and the February 5 issue of 1to1 Weekly as well as on www.1to1media.com. "The 1to1 Impact Award winners demonstrate that organizations of any size from any industry and any geography can capitalize on sophisticated customer initiatives in myriad ways," said Don Peppers, founding partner of Peppers & Rogers Group. "Their strategies reflect consideration for creating not only near-term profit, but also long-term customer value, an approach we espouse in our Return on CustomerSM methodology. These companies are stellar examples of how a customer-centric approach can create a sustainable competitive advantage."

A diverse panel of 18 judges selected the winners. The panel included leading thinkers from academia, analyst groups and the corporate sector.

"The 1to1 Impact Awards winners make decisions that help grow the value of their businesses by growing the value of their customers," stated Martha Rogers, Ph.D., founding partner of Peppers & Rogers Group. "They realize that customers are the scarcest resource in business today, and as such have created unique strategies designed to nurture those relationships and build that value."

"Our mission at 1to1 Media is to highlight best practices from companies that are leveraging customer initiatives for maximum impact," said Ginger Conlon, editor-in-chief, 1to1 Media. "The winners illustrate how customer-focused strategies have evolved from theoretical concept to a bottom-line approach that delivers long-term business results."

Sixth annual 1to1 Impact Award Judges were Kerry Bodine, principal analyst, Customer Experience, Forrester Research; Kevin Cantwell, president, Big River Telephone; Kim Collins, research vice president, Gartner; Sheila Dunn, CRM director, UPS; Paul Greenberg, author, CRM at the Speed of Light; Gareth Herschel, research director, CRM Analytics, Gartner; Sheryl Kingstone, program manager, CRM Strategies, Yankee Group; Kay Lemon, Ph.D., professor of Marketing, Carroll School of Management, Boston College; Rob Morgan, professor of Marketing, University of Alabama; Brynn Palmer, director of the Customer Experience, Charter Communications; Daniel Pink, author, A Whole New Mind; Denis Pombriant, managing principal, Beagle Research; Jennifer Rosenzweig, senior director and global employee practice leader, Carlson Marketing; Martin Schneider, analyst, The 451 Group; Alex Slawsby, president, MIT Innovation Club; Michael Thomas, national president, CRM Association; Mike Trotter, executive director, Center for Customer Driven Quality, Purdue University; and Jon Voiskul, director of Global Relationship Management, Amway.

For more information on the 1to1 Impact Awards and the winning companies, please visit www.1to1media.com/links/impact.html

About 1to1 Media
1to1 Media is dedicated to helping organizations realize the greatest value from their customer base. We provide resources that deliver relevant information on the latest thought leadership regarding customer strategy and marketplace trends. Led by 1to1 Magazine, our print, electronic and custom publications explore the best practices and trends from companies using customer initiatives to drive results. 1to1 Media is a division of Peppers & Rogers Group.

www.1to1media.com/links/impact.html

About Peppers & Rogers Group
Peppers & Rogers Group, a division of Carlson Marketing, is a management consulting firm, recognized as the world's leading authority on customer-based business strategy. Founded in 1993 by Don Peppers and Martha Rogers Ph.D., the firm is dedicated to helping companies grow the value of their business by growing the value of their customer base. The firm is focused on driving bottom-line results from the delivery and implementation of customer initiatives. With expertise that cuts across vertical industries, Peppers & Rogers Group partners, consultants and subject matter experts have a deep understanding of the most powerful value levers that drive business results. In 2003 Peppers & Rogers Group was acquired by Carlson Marketing. Peppers & Rogers Group's customer strategy expertise combined with Carlson Marketing's implementation capabilities offers an end-to-end solution for clients who are working toward the development and deployment of best-in-class customer-based business strategy.

www.peppersandrogers.com