A groundbreaking, timely history of the largely unknown early days of Black basketball, bringing to life the trailblazing players, teams, and impresarios who made the game From the introduction of the game of basketball to Black communities on a wide scale in 1904 to the racial integration of the NBA in 1950, dozens of African American teams were founded and flourished. This period, known as the Black Fives Era (teams at the time were often called "fives"), was a time of pioneering players and managers. They battled discrimination and marginalization and created culturally rich, socially meaningful events. But despite headline-making rivalries between big-city clubs, the savvy moves of innovative businessmen, and the undeniable talent of star players, this period is almost entirely unknown to basketball fans. Claude Johnson has made it his mission to change that. An advocate fiercely committed to our history, for more than two decades Johnson has conducted interviews, mined archives, collected artifacts, and helped to preserve this historically important African American experience that otherwise would have been lost. The Black Fives is the result of his work, a landmark narrative history that braids together the stories of these forgotten pioneers and rewrites our understanding of the story of basketball.

Effective Customer Relationship Management (CRM) begins with a customer's first contact---whether on the Internet, through a call center, or in a brick-and-mortar store. "Jems from Johnson: A Guide to Successful Customer Relationship Management" provides an up-close look at the life cycle of the retailer-customer relationship. The quality of what follows the first contact, says author Claude Johnson, is every bit as important to your company's success as your product and your sales staff.

Successful CRM is the art of amassing and using data effectively to identify your customers and communicate with them frequently in a style that is personalized and appropriate to their purchases.

"Jems" is a treasury of results-oriented CRM techniques geared to maximizing your profits while yielding you more---and more satisfied- customers. You'll discover: .

how target marketing of your product can save your company money .

how to increase your customer base by determining your company's target market .

how to identify your ideal customer---and those you should avoid .

how to populate your IT system with the best data and how to use it for the mutual benefit of your company and your customers

You'll also learn techniques for developing dynamic, multi-media communications that captivate and draw prospects, then nurture and retain them as customers. Let "Jems from Johnson" show you how to get CRM right---from the first hello.