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This story was originally published on Oct. 28, 2010, and is brought to you today as part of our Best of ECT News series. ...

Wouldn't it be great if customers who had questions about your products could get the answer from other customers? Wouldn't it be wonderful if customers brainstormed on ways you could improve your service processes? Wouldn't it be tremendous if you could see trends in service needs and adjust your processes to meet them earlier and more effectively?...

McDonald's used to have a hamburger called the "McDLT." The peculiar selling point of this burger was that it was served in a two-compartment Styrofoam container that "kept the warm side warm and the cool side cool." The diner would then put the two halves together. ...

This week, I interviewed a small business owner who told me a very interesting story. He'd done some planning before implementing his CRM solution, and his new technology took rapid care of the problems he anticipated ...

The past year seemed like one of marking time in CRM -- at least to me. The trends are all well spelled out: Social CRM will become a critical tool, service has grown in importance as customer acquisition has become more difficult, and the value of mobile CRM is becoming painfully apparent. So why aren't we acting on the trends? ...

This Christmas, I was sitting around with the in-laws after the presents were opened, when my father-in-law asked me a question that has probably been nagging him for a long time. "What is it that you do?" he said ...

'Tis the Season. And it's better to give than to receive. And you'd better watch out. ...

A few weeks ago, I was treated to a sneak preview of the Computer History Museum's upcoming exhibit "Revolution: the First 2000 years of Computing." Specifically, I was there to see a model of the SAGE (Semi Automatic Ground Equipment) computing facility, but as a technology nerd, I reveled in seeing pieces of ENIAC (Electrical Numerical Integrator and Computer), JOHNNIAC (John v. Neumann Numerical Integrator and Automatic Computer) and a host of other early computers.

Salesforce.com's Dreamforce event is now 10 years old, and it's reached the stage where it draws a true sample of the Salesforce ecosystem. Of course, there are plenty of Salesforce personnel and vendors whose products work with Salesforce, but there is an increasing number of real customers. ...

It's always fun to see the flood of articles this time of year about the holidays. "Is Your CRM Ready for Christmas?" the headlines knowingly ask. ...

For all the talk of social CRM, there's not so much talk of social CRM successes. Oh, sure -- there are scattered success stories, but there's not a wave of SCRM home runs being hit out there. As a result, there's been talk of SCRM having "jumped the shark" or "outlived its hype." ...

Developing good relationships with your customers pays off when all is going well -- but it can also pay big dividends when things go very wrong. In fact, as a recent case illustrates, those relationships nurtured through CRM can set the tone for your corrections and preserve your business ...

When it comes to the broad topic of "CRM failure," you often hear the same tales: a too-complicated integration, an incompetent integrator or inflexible technology. ...

Social CRM is quickly transforming from a concept to a reality. However, because of the diverse nature of customers and the broad range of options they have among social media channels, the best practices for capitalizing on Social CRM vary from segment to segment. ...

CRM had a reputation as an often-unsuccessful technology, but it's not the technology that causes failure -- in most cases, failure is the result errors in expectations and execution on the part of users and implementers ...

I was eating dinner at my favorite Japanese restaurant last night, and I was nearing the end of my meal when the waitress came to the table and presented two beautiful pieces of maguro, or tuna sashimi. When I said I hadn't ordered it, the sushi chef leaned over the counter ...

We all like to say our businesses are "customer-centric." It's the de rigueur thing to say these days, and it's the only smart way to describe yourself to your customer audience. It's also something many of us are eager to believe. ...

The term "cloud computing" has inspired a lot of thought, energy, ideas and enthusiasm. It's also sparked a lot of head-scratching, brow-furrowing and definition-debating. ...

Social media's explosion over the last few years has had some obvious implications for CRM. ...

If you're in the CRM industry, you may have a slightly skewed view of the world when it comes to CRM penetration. Many of my peers, when they hear about a company that still uses a home-brew system to manage sales, marketing and service, are aghast. With hundreds of applications out there and thousands of man-years of thought behind it, how can a business remain without a formal CRM application? To paraphrase Wallace Shawn in The Princess Bride, it's inconceivable!...