Gartner, Inc. and 1to1 Media have announced a Customer Awards program recognizing excellence in CRM. Enterprises are invited to enter and work within a case study framework to describe their CRM initiatives and why they demonstrate CRM excellence. The entry deadline is May 16, 2008. Awards will be presented at the Gartner Customer Relationship Management Summit in September.

The goal of the Gartner-1to1 partnership is to establish a standard of excellence for customer-focused organizations and honor those companies that reach that level by delivering optimal customer experiences.

Since 2002, Gartner has honored companies -- such as Electronic Arts, BNSF Railway Company, and Canada Post Corporation -- with the Gartner CRM Excellence Award. Winners were judged to excel in implementing Gartner's Eight Building Blocks of CRM. Meanwhile, 1to1 Media, a widely recognized authority on customer strategy, has presented the 1to1 Impact Awards over the past seven years to companies that have generated bottom-line impact from their customer strategy initiatives. Now, this combined awards program will highlight companies that are providing value to customers and shareholders by effectively bringing together strategy, technology and execution to deliver ideal customer experiences.

“CRM is critical for every business and is not some fad to be swept away by a new business process,” said Adam Sarner, principal research analyst at Gartner. “A relationship with your customers must be developed, improved upon and nurtured or you cannot sustain a business, in good times or bad.”

Winners will be honored in the following seven categories and one will be nominated by their peers for the User’s Choice Award for excellence in delivering outstanding customer experiences:

• Customer Strategy: Excellence in establishing an enterprisewide customer strategy
• EnterpriseCRM Optimization: Excellence in the use of full-suite technology
• Marketing Optimization: Excellence in the use of marketing automation
• New Media Optimization: Excellence in the use of new media
• Organizational Transformation: Excellence in establishing an enterprisewide customer strategy that creates a win-win for company and customers
• Sales Optimization: Excellence in the use of sales force automation
• Service Optimization: Excellence in customer service and support that is enabled by technology

A panel of judges including Gartner analysts, 1to1 Media and business and academic experts will review all nominations and choose Gartner & 1to1 Media Customer Award winners in each category, as well as three finalists for the User’s Choice Award.

All winners will be presented with their awards at the Gartner Customer Relationship Management Summit, taking place September 8-10 in Washington D.C. The User’s Choice finalists will present their cases to attendees at the event who will select the winner of the Users Choice award. Winners will be featured in the September/October 2008 issue of 1to1 Magazine, in a special issue of 1to1 Weekly and on both the Gartner and 1to1 Media Web sites.

“1to1 Media is dedicated to showcasing excellence in customer strategy,” said Ginger Conlon, editor in chief, 1to1 Media. “Our partnership with Gartner allows us to take that commitment to the next level.”

More information on the Gartner & 1to1 Media Customer Awards and the online entry forms are available at the link below.

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