(UPDATED: June 28, 2010) Savvy companies know that the most basic driver of value in a business is customers. These organizations employ strategies aimed at building customer value and, as a result, build organizational value, as well. "Products don't pay us money. Neither do brands or marketing campaigns or stores.  Only customers generate revenue, by definition," says Martha Rogers, Ph.D., founding partner of Peppers & Rogers Group."Companies that have performed the best in the downturn are the ones that deliberately build the value of the company the only way any company can:  by building the value of the customer base."

Through our joint awards program, 1to1 Media and Gartner spotlight excellence among organizations that take this approach and have significantly improved their business performance. The 2010 Gartner & 1to1 Customer Awards honor exceptional results in four categories: Customer Experience, Efficiency, Enterprisewide CRM, and Growth. This year we recognize two winners in each category—one winner hails from EMEA/APAC, the other from the Americas—and will celebrate their achievements at the corresponding Gartner event. We celebrated the EMEA/APAC winners at the Gartner CRM Summit (London in March) and the Americas winners at the Gartner Customer 360 Summit (Los Angeles in June).