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From the Top
As a part of our Cool CRM series, we occasionally interview industry leaders to tell us what cool things they are doing. Today, we visit with Ron Wegmann, President and Chief Executive Officer of Vertical Solutions.
CRMAdvocate: Why do you think VSI is cool?
Wegmann: I’d have to say that the coolest thing about VSI is that we don’t do things just because they’re cool – there has to be a good reason behind it.
CRMAdvocate: Give me an example.
Wegmann: Well, take social media. We didn’t build it into our newest product, VContactCenter, just because it’s cool. We found that sCRM opened up new communication channels, and made it easier and faster to solve customer problems. Now, that’s cool.
CRMAdvocate: Speaking of VContactCenter, it’s built on platform technology. Why is that important?
Wegmann: No one wants to worry about the mechanics of their CRM contact center solution – they just want it to work, and they want it to support their business processes. Our platform contains a lot of complex development so that the applications layered on top – including VContactCenter – are easy for users to customize to suit their business needs.
CRMAdvocate: What’s really important in today’s CRM call centers?
Wegmann:
Honestly, we think it’s the same thing that was important five, 10, or 20 years ago – customer service. When customers are happy, they are loyal to you. That builds business, and that’s what it’s all about.
CRMAdvocate: So, nothing’s changed in CRM in the past 20 years?
Wegmann:
Oh, a lot of things have changed – companies have gotten better at figuring out what “good service” means to their customers, and they’ve gotten serious about tracking the best ways to deliver it. That’s what business processes and best practices are all about. From our standpoint, we’ve gotten a lot better at developing technology to support these company efforts.
CRMAdvocate: How is the technology better?
Wegmann:
Probably the most important thing is that while the technology has become significantly more complex, the user actually finds it easier to use. We’re putting more effort into the development and the platform so that companies can put less effort into managing the application. And that’s how it should be.
CRMAdvocate: How should companies choose a CRM application?
Wegmann:
The most important thing is a solution that is focused on service. Sales-oriented applications and knowledge-oriented tools are great, but service involves every aspect of the business. Applications that are designed to support the entire service process will always be the best fit for CRM.
More about Vertical Solutions.
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Ron Wegmann