Whether they are leading high-tech corporations, consulting firms, specialty retailers, or traditional "mom-and-pop" stores, companies know that what makes them successful is their ability to build strong relationships with their customers. This is especially true for e-business, where the difference between a satisfied customer and a former customer can be literally just a click of a button. This is one of the reasons why e-businesses around the world are searching for innovative solutions that will help keep customers coming back to their Web sites again and again.

For Applix Inc., that search became reality thanks to the creation of the Applix iCustomerCommunity.com, a Web-based portal that enables e-businesses to deliver a professional level of service to every member of their value chain. Through its own Customer Relationship Management (i-CRM) implementation of this online community, Applix employees, customers, partners and their customers, can share information and knowledge with each other quickly, easily, and efficiently.

Developing a Customer-Centric Solution

Applix began developing its iCustomerCommunity.com solution in early May 1999 as a way to unite the entire Applix community, including employees, customers, and partners. The idea was to design a unique customer-centric, Web-based solution that would enable Applix to offer a set of value-added services directly to its users.

Unfortunately like many companies, Applix was faced with the reality of having many internal databases, each of which supported particular processes within certain departments. The company determined that by consolidating all its customer information into a single source, it could improve significantly all the interactions it had with its customers and partners.

"When we began this project, we had six major objectives, the most important of which was to centralize all our customer information into one database," explained Tony Martinez, Director of Application Development. "At the same time, we wanted to improve our response management system, ensure more accurate quotes and sales orders by linking our sales system with our Lawson financial system, simplify our opportunity process by improving system workflow, unify our service and engineering functions around a single inquiry record, and better track our sales activities within each customer account."

With its objectives clearly defined, Applix established a core cross-functional team that consisted of representatives from each of its departments. The company then began an intensive five-month development process that entailed analyzing each department's business processes, establishing system specifications to support those processes, and designing the actual solution.

Using its own Applix iEnterprise™ Customer Relationship Management technology as its core application, the company developed a robust e-business infrastructure that is helping it meet its objectives and successfully operate in a Web-based environment. And since Applix iCustomerCommunity.com is accessible through a standard Web browser, there is no need for customers or partners to purchase additional equipment or applications to take full advantage of its capabilities.

iCustomerCommunity.com Demonstrates its Value

Today, iCustomerCommunity.com is actively used by more than 300 Applix employees to access vital information regarding customers and partners, including tracking leads, reviewing account histories, and checking the status of calls to the Applix help desk.

More than 600 Applix customers are using iCustomerCommunity.com for everything from logging support requests to posting industry or product information on a bulletin board. Customers and partners who enter iCustomerCommunity.com are able to access a specific set of services. For example, companies can view pertinent information about themselves, update their own account and contact details, log inquiries and product requests, search a knowledge database for information on Applix products and services, or engage in discussion forums with other users.

In addition, Applix is also hosting a set of individualized iCustomerCommunity.com Web pages for its Applix Leadership Alliance Partners (ALAP). A pilot program with Revelwood, Inc. has convinced the firm that the Web site can deliver value to its customers. According to Dan Bernatchez, Vice President of Professional Services at Revelwood, "Since taking part in the Applix iCustomerCommunity.com we have been able to enhance communication with our iTM1 customers and improve their technical support. With the help of Applix, we are now exploring the possibility of creating our own iCustomerCommunity.com as the foundation for improving communication with partners and customers for our own software products."

Through these branded partner pages, ALAP partner customers can log inquiries and product requests directly to their partners and engage in forums restricted to their specific partner communities. Applix has developed iCustomerCommunity.com to go far beyond its employees, direct and indirect customers and partners. iCustomerCommunity.com allows customers to deploy a Web-based i-CRM community without the need for software or an e-commerce or automated support infrastructure. By private labeling of iCustomerCommunity.com, Applix is positioned to host companies' e-commerce and support centers online. Companies can deploy the solutions quickly without the need for costly software solutions and a time-consuming implementation project.

Benefiting from a Flow of Information

Now with its successful phase I implementation complete, Applix plans to expand the functionality of its iCustomerCommunity and increase its user base. The company expects that eventually close to 44,000+ users will have access to the site.

Furthermore, since the iCustomerCommunity.com infrastructure was developed using Applix's own i-CRM products and service capabilities, Applix expects to begin offering similar customized solutions to other e-businesses that want to take advantage of this unique functionality. Through the implementation of an iCustomerCommunity, e-businesses can establish virtual Web communities without the cost and time needed to build a new e-business infrastructure and can customize support to meet their own individual business requirements.

"iCustomerCommunity.com truly offers the entire Applix community the opportunity to share knowledge and information," said Jit Saxena, Chairman and CEO, Applix, Inc. "In addition, this solution helps Applix increase communications with our customers and partners, improve our technical support, and enhance our customers' overall experience with us. Most importantly, the iCustomerCommunity.com helps us leverage our most valued resource information — our customers."