@ jMac – you’re right. My point was principally a dig at ‘big company’ process fetishism.

@ Iain – who’s going to make the first move? :)

For info, Alan Mitchell and I had a useful dialogue with The DMA a few weeks back that might shine a light on what type of organisation might engage first. They got in touch after we had written a ‘direct marketing needs to be re-invented with VRM inside’ article.

In short, their view is that 98% of their members will think VRM is poisonous to them, but that the smartest 2% or so already get it – and that if we go to them we may find we are pushing on an open door. So, next task….build some credible, scaleable tools and go and knock on those doors.

Cheers

Iain

http://www.jonathanmacdonald.com/?p=1955

I have to say I agree with your hunch about the slimmer organisations….

We should extend this thought when we next speak…I like your thinking.

I think you misunderstand me – I mean that there is nothing to implement until users start using tools that can bring about VRM and more importantly, until they start driving those tools. At the moment, it’s all conjecture and anyone ‘selling’ VRM (rather than evangelising) to companies is selling snake oil.

My point is that I want organisations, business, companies to implement VRM but at the moment we(or at least I) don’t know what that will mean! It is a simple case of putting the horse before the cart. And I believe the user is the horse. I find it frustrating and astonishing that people can’t see that.

Do you think there’s a role for guerilla VRM implementation in the bigger and uglier organisations, though?

Also, I asked you to be on the ‘user panel’ at the Unlocking the see-saw conference because I saw you as a social web user of the kind that will potentially drive the use of VRM tools.

As you know, my position is that without the pressure from the ‘demand side’ companies have no reason to act in customer/user interest.

And as I have said many times in the last year, companies are welcome to come onboard, but VRM implementation, such as it is, must not depend on them to start making VRM a reality.

You may have noticed that the ‘vendor panel’ at the conference last Monday had seven vendors willing to discuss VRM in public. They wouldn’t be there if they didn’t think I cared about the ‘supply side’ but they are also convinced that VRM will be driven by users. How else will they themselves be able to convince the companies they work for that this is important enough to change companies behaviours and in some cases business models, if there is no market pressure to yield to?

Yes, smaller companies should have it easier to change but the big ones will make bigger waves. That’s why I have set up VRM Labs where companies can play, share and experiment at will.