G'day Mark, There's no need to be ashamed. Some people get so close to concepts as they develop through ideas, to names, to buzzwords, then reduce to acronyms, they forget that there are others who haven't been down that track.
I once sat through an entire presentation by Microsoft, extolling the virtues of CRM. There was stuff about the new CRM software coming out, the exiting developments in CRM, and the thrilling opportunities for all of us Microsoft partners in CRM consulting, sales and support on CRM. It's an essential component of business today, CRM is. I felt really embarrassed that I had no idea what CRM was. After 40 minutes of this I got so frustrated because the presenter never once said what CRM stood for. I asked the guy next to me and he said "I haven't got a clue". I asked the guy on the other side, and he said he didn't know either. Then the session came to an end, just as I was about to stop the presenter and ask him to tell us what the hell CRM was. The three of us had been looking at the powerpoint slides, trying to find a clue as to what on earth we were hearing about, but none of the information seemed to give a clue about what a state-of-the-art CRM package would do, except make enormous profit opportunities for even the smallest SME. But I had no idea if it applied to anyone I knew, because I didn't know whether it was a bar-takings analysis program, a new web server, an anti-virus application or a kind of X-Box. After the presentation finished, and all the others were cramming through the doors heading for the free dry crackers and warm coffee, I approached the presenter, looking pleased with himself for what I guess he figured was a pretty good presentation. I'm afraid I wasn't very nice to him, using my famous diplomacy to pop his bubble, and hopefully make a little dent in the Microsoft arrogance. I said "your presentation was a waste of time I'm afraid," he braced himself, getting ready for a fight if he had to. "I didn't understand a word of it. You never once said what CRM was. It meant absolutely nothing at all to me because I have never heard that term before and nor had any of the people around me. So I haven't got a clue whether you were talking about a new system, new application software, a new business model, or a place to get girls." He went pale, looked sheepish and said "it's Customer Relationship Management." "Oh," I said, "names and addresses lists. Thanks, we've had one of those for years." As I walked to the station, I tried to think about some of the points he'd made to see if indeed there were any opportunities for me there. Pity, it would have meant more if I'd been thinking those things during the presentation. Cheers, Michael Kear Windsor, NSW, Australia AFP Webworks. -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Mark Woods Sent: Tuesday, 18 March 2003 8:59 PM To: CFAussie Mailing List Subject: [cfaussie] what is RIA?? I'm not sure I should be proud or ashamed to be asking, but I've absolutely no idea what an RIA is. I presume it's something to do with flash, which is something I know very little about. Mark com/ --- You are currently subscribed to cfaussie as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] MX Downunder AsiaPac DevCon - http://mxdu.com/
