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FULCRUM ANALYTICS LAUNCHES SEGMENTATION/CRM SEMINARS

Fulcrum Analytics, a provider of customer intelligence technology and services, announced that it would host a series of seminars on customer segmentation and CRM-related issues for the retail industry, beginning in January. The seminars are in response to a survey conducted by IMT Strategies on behalf of the company, revealing that retailers are seeking vendor solutions that will help them analyze data and segment customers to improve marketing communications. The survey of senior retail marketing executives was conducted to identify key direct and database marketing needs and issues and to determine the kinds of solutions that are needed in the industry.

The survey revealed the following key findings for retail marketers and executives:

• Information overload: Retailers in general, and established retail stores with offline legacy databases in particular, are overwhelmed with customer transaction data and lack sufficient experienced resources to manage their databases. "A lot of retailers are in this position," one respondent said. "They have databases but no one can run them."
• Difficulty with effective analysis of these data, particularly as relates to segmentation and campaign targeting. Retailers are looking for improved return on direct marketing campaigns, and to see ROI they must obtain better tools for analysis and segmentation.
• An emerging need to optimize the effectiveness of online marketing through e-mail campaigns, which will require improved segmentation and analysis of online data. "Retailers have been collecting data for a long time and certainly understand its importance," said Steven Diorio, president of IMT Strategies and author of the new book "Beyond e: 12 Ways Technology is Transforming Sales and Marketing Strategy" (McGraw Hill). "The problem is they lack resources internally and have not been getting the right type of help from traditional service and solution providers." The IMT Strategies research showed repeatedly that retailers lack the resources, technology tools and data mining personnel to leverage their data effectively and perform the basic 'blocking and tackling' of analysis. "We feel that 'next generation' CRM organizations like Fulcrum Analytics -- offering deep industry experience and a unique blend of technology and services -- are well positioned to address the challenges facing retail direct and database marketers," Diorio added.

Fulcrum Analytics recently released version 2.0 of Arc 360, its technology platform for collecting and managing enterprise customer data. The new release incorporates an industry-specific retail data model for more precise marketing analysis. The model is designed to address retailers' particular needs and enables them to access their customer data according to business-driving criteria. In addition, the new version contains enhancements for campaign management functionality and reporting.

Unlike many marketing automation and CRM vendors, Fulcrum Analytics' solutions are modular: clients can integrate Fulcrum's solutions with their own technology and add service levels depending on the stage of deployment of their CRM systems.

"Our core capabilities are analytics and the effective, and practical, application of customer intelligence technology," said David King, executive vice president of Fulcrum Analytics. "These are a very good fit for retail right now, as our own clients have told us. Retailers are past the promise and promotion stage of CRM software: they want return on investment, and if necessary, someone to come in and tune, or even run, the systems for them. In the past year, we've built more customer databases than most internal departments have in a lifetime."

The Fulcrum Analytics seminars will address how to move from customer data segmentation to experimental design and targeted campaigns. Dates and times will be announced shortly. Attendees can participate in person or via remote conferencing and should call Nicole D'Angelo at 212-651-9226 to register.

About Fulcrum Analytics

Founded in 1993, Fulcrum Analytics provides customer intelligence technology and services to help clients optimize marketing and CRM budgets. The company offers a modular set of solutions, including an outsourced technology platform for collecting and managing customer data and a team of database marketing professionals who convert these data into customer intelligence. Applying this customer intelligence across an enterprise, Fulcrum Analytics helps clients improve customer acquisition, retention and cross-sell efforts, reduce marketing expenses and improve multi-channel marketing and CRM programs. The company emphasizes the practical application of customer intelligence for near-term results, and has improved return on marketing investment for Fortune 1000 clients including Circuit City, Roche Diagnostics, Tommy Hilfiger, Lowes, Merck-Medco and GE Capital. Based in New York City, with offices in Fairfield, CT and London, England, the company can be contacted at 212-651-7000 or at www.fulcrumanalytics.com.

About IMT Strategies

IMT Strategies is a research and consulting firm that helps marketers use technology to grow their businesses. IMT Strategies produces market-leading best practices research and training on customer relationship management (CRM), interactive direct marketing and call center technologies. The company helps the world's leading sales and marketing organizations develop strategies that take advantage of advances in these technologies. Our groundbreaking book "Beyond e: The 12 Ways Technology Is Transforming Sales & Marketing Strategy" (McGraw Hill, 2001) provides sales and marketing professionals a blueprint for building a revenue growth engine using technology. IMT Strategies is an affiliate and strategic partner of the META Group, a leading IT advisory firm. www.imtstrategies.com.

Contact Nicole D'Angelo of Fulcrum Analytics, 212-651-9226, ndangelo@fulcrumanalytics.com.