SENIOR EXECUTIVE FORUM ON CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP (May-09-2007) In today's intensely competitive, rapidly changing and highly complex business environment, which is often characterized by diminishing customer loyalty, the need to be market-focused and customer-centric is arguably more critical than at any other time in the history of business operations. Customer expectations have been on the rise for businesses to provide on-demand access to products and services via media such as telephone, email, chat, web collaboration, face-to-face, fax and messaging, as well as for the delivery of a consistent, signature customer experience in organizational interactions.   With this in mind, Prism Services Limited, in partnership with Knowledge Works – distributors for Harvard Business School Publishing in the Caribbean – will be presenting a May 11 Forum on Customer Relationship Management (CRM) geared specifically toward Jamaica’s senior executives.  Set to begin at 8:30 am at the Hilton Kingston Hotel, the Executive CRM Forum is designed to provide key insight on how to design a solid CRM strategy so that an organization can increase results such as sales; it will also establish other critical success factors for the implementation of a company's CRM programme.  At the same time, the CRM Forum will equip executives with the tools needed to determine their customers' purchasing habits, opinions and preferences, as well as with critical information on how to improve customer service and marketing.   Karey Rowe, Business Manager of Prism Services Limited, has pointed out that “with competition being so rife in the marketplace, it is even more relevant to describe customers as the lifeblood of a business operation.” She added that “this is the reason we have engaged the talents of two highly-qualified speakers to bring to bear on what they will present at the Forum their knowledge of what works in CRM, as well as their knowledge of the needs of the Jamaican marketplace. The effort to highlight the role of Customer Relationship Management in giving businesses a winning edge is a timely one, given the current business environment.”   Jacqueline Jones, Managing Director of Knowledge Works – the organization which worked earlier this year with the Caribbean Business Clubs of the Wharton School and Harvard Business School in coordinating and presenting the successful 5th Annual Caribbean MBA Conference in Jamaica – has also underscored her company’s continuing commitment to “leveraging the resources of the Jamaican Diaspora” in the training initiatives her organization promotes. In support of this, the presenters of the Executive CRM Forum, Margaret J. Young and David P Andrade, both operate at the CEO level of award-winning organizations in the United States, and are of Jamaican heritage, she pointed out.    Ms. Young is Managing Partner & CEO of Mill Square Group – a New York-based expert marketing firm that boasts over 25 years of line management and consulting experience in developing customer-based marketing and sales strategies programme implementation. Her client base includes Cendant, Wachovia, AT&T, Tri-Health Corporation, J&J, IBM, Symantec, SAP, Alstom/ABB, GE, TransAlta and other clients across a wide variety of industries. Ms. Young – who holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut – was also General Manager of Consulting at Ogilvy. Her guest speaking engagements include the Association for National Advertisers, Direct Marketing Association, BAIÁs Marketing Executive Conference, Women in Cable and Telecommunications Association, Harvard Law School and the AMA.   David P. Andrade is the CEO of POWERi Technologies – the Florida-based interactive marketing firm that offers clients an integrated set of strategy, technology, and creative services. Mr. Andrade is responsible for POWERi's business development and strategic and resource growth objectives. He has successfully developed and implemented several large-scale system integration and eCRM projects and has worked with Accenture (formerly Andersen Consulting), and AT&T-Bell Labs. His current clients include Marriott International, The Ritz Carlton, MasterCard, Phillip Morris USA, Cable and Wireless, and others. He holds an MBA from Columbia University and has completed operational management courses at Harvard Business School, as well as strategic management at the Wharton School.   Among other things, the May 11 Senior Executive Forum on Customer Relationship Management will address areas such as developing a scalable strategy for multi-channel customer service; leveraging the most cost-effective channels for sales and support while increasing Customer Satisfaction; understanding, measuring & growing total customer relationship; and providing differentiated, superior buying experience to attract and convert prospects.