The History of CRM -- Moving Beyond the Customer Database

By Lucy P. Roberts Summary: It might help users of CRM to understand its origins and development over time, and some of the changes that have occurred in terms of customer relationship management software, technology and applications. Learn about it here.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is one of those magnificent concepts that swept the business world in the 1990's with the promise of forever changing the way businesses small and large interacted with their customer bases. In the short term, however, it proved to

be an unwieldy process that was better in theory than in practice for a variety of reasons. First among these was that it was simply so difficult and expensive
to track and keep the high volume of records needed accurately and constantly update them. In the last several years, however, newer software systems and advanced tracking features have vastly improved CRM capabilities and the real promise of CRM is becoming a reality. As the price of newer, more customizable Internet solutions have hit the marketplace; competition has driven the prices down so that even relatively small businesses are reaping the benefits of some custom CRM programs. In the beginning The 1980's saw the emergence of database marketing, which was simply a catch phrase to define the practice of setting up customer service groups to speak individually to all of a company's customers. In the case of larger, key clients it was a valuable tool for keeping the lines of communication open and tailoring service to the clients needs. In the case of smaller clients, however, it tended to provide repetitive, survey-like information that cluttered databases and didn't provide much insight. As companies began tracking database information, they realized that the bare bones were all that was needed in most cases: what they buy regularly, what they spend, what they do.

Advances in the 1990's

In the 1990's companies began to improve on Customer Relationship Management by making it more of a two-way street. Instead of simply gathering data for their own use, they began

giving back to their customers not only in terms of the obvious goal of improved customer service, but in incentives, gifts and other perks for customer loyalty. This was the beginning of the now familiar frequent flier programs, bonus points on credit cards and a host of other resources that are based on CRM tracking of customer activity and spending patterns. CRM was now being used as a way to increase sales passively as well as through active improvement of customer service.

True CRM comes of age

Real Customer Relationship Management as it's thought of today really began in earnest in the early years of this century. As software companies began releasing newer, more advanced solutions that were customizable across industries, it became feasible to really use the information in a dynamic way. Instead of feeding information into a static database for future reference, CRM became a way to continuously update understanding of customer needs and behavior. Branching of information, sub-folders, and custom tailored features enabled companies to break down information into smaller subsets so that they could evaluate not only concrete statistics, but information on the motivation and reactions of customers. The Internet provided a huge boon to the development of these huge databases by enabling offsite information storage. Where before companies had difficulty supporting the enormous amounts of information, the Internet provided new possibilities and CRM took off as providers began moving toward Internet solutions. With the increased fluidity of these programs came a less rigid relationship between sales, customer service and marketing. CRM enabled the development of new strategies for more cooperative work between these different divisions through shared information and understanding, leading to increased customer satisfaction from order to end product. Today, CRM is still utilized most frequently by companies that rely heavily on two distinct features: customer service or technology. The three sectors of business that rely most heavily on CRM -- and use it to great advantage -- are financial services, a variety of high tech corporations and the telecommunications industry. The financial services industry in particular tracks the level of client satisfaction and what customers are looking for in terms of changes and personalized features. They also track changes in investment habits and spending patterns as the economy shifts. Software specific to the industry can give financial service providers truly impressive feedback in these areas.

Who's in the CRM game? About 50% of the CRM market is currently divided between five major players in the industry: PeopleSoft, Oracle, SAP, Siebel and relative newcomer Telemation, based on Linux and developed by an old standard, Database Solutions, Inc. The other half of the market falls to a variety of other players, although Microsoft's new emergence in the CRM market may cause a shift soon. Whether Microsoft can capture a share of the market remains to be seen. However, their brand-name familiarity may give them an edge with small businesses considering a first-time CRM package. PeopleSoft was founded in the mid-1980's by Ken Morris and Dave Duffield as a client-server based human resources application. In 1998, PeopleSoft had evolved into a purely Internet based system, PeopleSoft 8. There's no client software to maintain and it supports over 150 applications. PeopleSoft 8 is the brainchild of over 2,000 dedicated developers and $500 million in research and development. PeopleSoft branched out from their original human resources platform in the 1990's and now supports everything from customer service to supply chain management. Its user-friendly system required minimal training is relatively inexpensive to deploy. . One of PeopleSoft's major contributions to CRM was their detailed analytic program that identifies and ranks the importance of customers based on numerous criteria, including amount of purchase, cost of supplying them, and frequency of service. Oracle built a solid base of high-end customers in the late 1980's, then burst into national attention around 1990 when, under Tom Siebel, the company aggressively marketed a smallto-medium business CRM solution. Unfortunately they couldn't follow up themselves on the incredible sales they garnered and ran into a few years of real problems. Oracle landed on its feet after a restructuring and their own refocusing on customer needs and by the mid-1990's the company was once again a leader in CRM technologies. They continue to be one of the leaders in the enterprise marketplace with the Oracle Customer Data Management System. Telemation's CRM solution is flexible and user-friendly, with a toolkit that makes changing features and settings relatively easy. The system also provides a quick learning environment that newcomers will appreciate. Its uniqueness lies in that, although compatible with Windows, it was developed as a Linux program. Will Linux be the wave of the future? We don't know, but if it is, Telemation's ahead of the game. The last few years

In 2002, Oracle released their Global CRM in 90 Days package that promised quick implementation of CRM throughout company offices. Offered with the package was a set fee service for set-up and training for core business needs. . Also in 2002 (a stellar year for CRM), SAP America's meySAP began using a middleware hub that was capable of connecting SAP systems to externals and front and back office systems for a unified operation that links partners, employees, process and technologies in a closedloop function. Siebel consistently based its business primarily on enterprise size businesses willing to invest millions in CRM systems, which worked for them to the tune of $2.1 billion in 2001. However, in 2002 and 2003 revenues slipped as several smaller CRM firms joined the fray as ASP's (Application Service Providers). These companies, including UpShot, NetSuite and SalesNet, offered businesses CRM-style tracking and data management without the high cost of traditional CRM start-up. In October of 2003, Siebel launched CRM OnDemand in collaboration with IBM. Their entry into the hosted, monthly CRM solution niche hit the marketplace with gale force. To some of the monthly ASP's it was a call to arms, to others it was a sign of Siebel's increasing confusion over brand identity and increasing loss of market share. In a stroke of genius, Siebel acquired UpShot a few months later to get them started and smooth their transition into the ASP market. It was a successful move. With Microsoft now in the game, it's too soon to tell what the results will be, but it seems likely that they may get some share of small businesses that tend to buy based on familiarity and usability. ASP's will continue to grow in popularity as well, especially with mid-sized businesses, so companies like NetSuite, SalesNet and Siebel's OnDemand will thrive. CRM on the web has come of age!
This article on the "The History of CRM" reprinted with permission. Copyright 2004-2005 Evaluseek Publishing.

look at the steps in the CRM process Establishing CRM goals Educating other departments Assembling customer information Designing the data model Vendor study Selecting the CRM solution Establishing authority&responsibility Pilot projects Communication with customers through direct mail , electronic mail etc Customer surveys Customer satisfaction program Collection of customer information Provision of customer information to employees Usage of customer information in the business activities Feedback Analyze Documenting a new process Implementing final methodology

A simple, step-by-step guide for businesses implementing a CRM process, also called a Customer Relationship Management process.

Overview of the CRM Process

At some point in the business lifecycle, youre going to find yourself needing to set up a CRM process. Maybe youre growing, maybe customers arent being managed the way they should. Whatever the reason, here is how to do it in 5 simple steps:

Step 1: Clearly Identify Your Target Market & Value Proposition

This is the first step in establishing a CRM Process. Most business owners will have this well documented in a business plan; although as many as 50% wont. Ensure you know exactly who the target market is (this is more than just customer demographics), and a clear value proposition being offered.

List customer profiles in priority, for example: A, B, & C. A would be your most valuable customer. B would be second priority, etc.

Lets look at how the customer priority list in a CRM process looks:

Customer A- Past/Repeat Buyers (Conversion rate of 75%) Customer B- Subscribed to Email List (Conversion rate of 34%) Customer C- Website Traffic and/or Walk-in Customer (Conversion rate of 15%)

Different customers may also have different value propositions, but knowing what is important to each type of customer is what sets the CRM process up for success.

Step 2: Define Your Overall CRM Strategy and Consider Costs

This is solely based on what type of customer service and relationship management will work better for your business, and your customers. Believe it or not, you actually have many different options for customer relationship management. These can include co-creating the CRM process with customers, having a dedicated online social CRM community for your business, or handling customers the old fashioned way with hands-on assistance. Each has their positives and negatives. Each option in the CRM process also has different prices that youll want to explore, which can have a great impact on your businesss ROI. Choose carefully.

For a deeper look into selecting a CRM strategy for your business, read: 6 Great Examples of Customer Service Strategies in Business.

Step 3: Define How Each Customer Type Will Be Handled

Taking the customer profiles in priority from step 1, and the customer service strategies in step 2; define how each customer type will be handled throughout the CRM process. Ill explain this step with a real example so you can see how its played out:

Headway Themes sells an online product. They have 2 different pricing levels.

The lowest pricing level is for consumers, offering a base level version of the product. This customer receives less dedicated customer service, in the form of access to an online support community where customers help each other. These customers are a lower priority, due to the fact theyll likely only purchase the product once for personal use.

The higher pricing level is for B2B customers. These are developers who use the product to customize, and then resell to their clients. This pricing level is much higher, so these customers receive lifetime dedicated customer support. These are also Headway Themes repeat buyers.

Step 4: Select a CRM Software to Measure Performance

Most of the businesses out there will choose a CRM software to measure the performance of their strategy. The good news in selecting a CRM Software, is most of the complexity has been taken out of the process now. The best CRM software solutions include Saas (software as a service delivered online), and innovations in this area improve everyday. This means there is no longer a costly need of an inhouse IT team and server space. At least this will be the case for 97% of all businesses with less than 10 employees.

For a deeper look into selecting a CRM Software, read: The Best CRM Software of 2012.

Step 5: Continue to Re-engage Customers

Customer engagement is a hard task to bring to perfection. Several studies have shown us there is a very thin line between aggravating customers); and re-engaging them positively in your business. Three of the most used forms of customer re-engagement in the CRM Process are customer satisfaction surveys, email, and social media.

With surveys You should measure customer satisfaction strategically throughout the CRM process. These customer surveys can help with this. If you find youre not receiving adequate responses with surveys, try giving out an incentive. You can also try adding a fun twist to the otherwise tedious (and not so interesting) surveys.

The eCRM or electronic customer relationship marketing concept is derived from e-commerce. It also uses net environment i.e., intranet, extranet and internet. Electronic CRM concerns all forms of managing relationships with customers making use of information technology (IT). eCRM is enterprises using IT to integrate internal organization resources and external marketing strategies to understand and fulfill their customers needs. Comparing with traditional CRM, the integrated information for eCRM intraorganizational collaboration can be more efficient to communicate with customers. Differences between CRM and eCRM [edit]

Major differences between CRM and eCRM:[8] Customer contacts CRM Contact with customer made through the retail store, phone, and fax. eCRM All of the traditional methods are used in addition to Internet, email, wireless, and PDA technologies. System interface CRM Implements the use of ERP systems, emphasis is on the back-end. eCRM Geared more toward front end, which interacts with the back-end through use of ERP systems, data warehouses, and data marts. System overhead (client computers) CRM The client must download various applications to view the web-enabled applications. They would have to be rewritten for different platform. eCRM Does not have these requirements because the client uses the browser. Customization and personalization of information

CRM Views differ based on the audience, and personalized views are not available. Individual personalization requires program changes. eCRM Personalized individual views based on purchase history and preferences. Individual has ability to customize view. System focus CRM System (created for internal use) designed based on job function and products. Web applications designed for a single department or business unit. eCRM System (created for external use) designed based on customer needs. Web application designed for enterprise-wide use. System maintenance and modification CRM More time involved in implementation and maintenance is more expensive because the system exists at different locations and on various servers. eCRM Reduction in time and cost. Implementation and maintenance can take place at one location and on one server.

Different levels of eCRM [edit]

In defining the scope of eCRM, three different levels can be distinguished: Foundational services: This includes the minimum necessary services such as web site effectiveness and responsiveness as well as order fulfillment. Customer-centered services: These services include order tracking, product configuration and customization as well as security/trust.

Value-added services: These are extra services such as online auctions and online training and education.[24] Self-services are becoming increasingly important in CRM activities. The rise of the Internet and eCRM has boosted the options for self-service activities. A critical success factor is the integration of such activities into traditional channels. An example was Fords plan to sell cars directly to customers via its Web Site, which provoked an outcry among its dealers network.[25] CRM activities are mainly of two different types. Reactive service is where the customer has a problem and contacts the company. Proactive service is where the manager has decided not to wait for the customer to contact the firm, but to be aggressive and contact the customer himself in order to establish a dialogue and solve problems.[26] Steps to eCRM Success Many factors play a part in ensuring that the implementation any level of eCRM is successful. One obvious way it could be measured is by the ability for the system to add value to the existing business. There are four suggested implementation steps that affect the viability of a project like this: Developing customer-centric strategies Redesigning workflow management systems Re-engineering work processes Supporting with the right technologies[27]

Mobile CRM [edit] One subset of Electronic CRM is Mobile CRM (mCRM). This is defined as "services that aim at nurturing customer relationships, acquiring or maintaining customers, by using wireless networks as the medium of delivery to the customers.[28] However, since communications is the central aspect of customer relations activities, many opt for the following definition of mCRM: "communication, either one-way or interactive, which is related to sales, marketing and customer service activities conducted through mobile medium for the purpose of building and maintaining customer relationships between a company and its customer(s).[29] eCRM allows customers to access company services from more and more places, since the Internet access points are increasing by the day. mCRM however, takes this one step further and allows customers or managers to access the systems for instance from a mobile phone or PDA with internet access, resulting in high flexibility. Since mCRM is not able to provide a complete range of customer relationship activities it should be integrated in the complete CRM system.[30] There are three main reasons that mobile CRM is becoming so popular. The first is that the devices consumers use are improving in multiple ways that allow for this advancement. Displays are larger and clearer and access times on networks are improving overall. Secondly, the users are also becoming more sophisticated. The technology to them is nothing new so it is easy to adapt. Lastly, the software being developed for these applications has become worthwhile and useful to end users.[31] There are four basic steps that a company should follow to implement a mobile CRM system. By following these and also keeping the IT department, the end users and management in agreement, the outcome can be beneficial for all. Step 1 - Needs analysis phase: This is the point to take your times and understand all the technical needs and desires for each of the users and

stakeholders. It also has to be kept in mind that the mobile CRM system must be able to grow and change with the business. Step 2 Mobile design phase: This is the next critical phase that will show all the technical concerns that need to be addressed. A few main things to consider are screen size, device storage and security. Step 3 Mobile application testing phase: This step is mostly to ensure that the users and stakeholders all approve of the new system. Step 4 Rollout phase: This is when the new system is implemented but also when training on the final product is done with all users.[32] Advantages of mobile CRM The mobile channel creates a more personal direct connection with customers. It is continuously active and allows necessary individuals to take action quickly using the information. Typically it is an opt-in only channel which allows for high and quality responsiveness. Overall it supports loyalty between the customer and company, which improves and strengthens relationships.[33] Failures [edit] Designing, creating and implementing IT projects has always been risky. Not only because of the amount of money that is involved, but also because of the high chances of failure. However, a positive trend can be seen, indicating that CRM failures dropped from a failure rate of 80% in 1998, to about 40% in 2003.[34] Some of the major issues relating to CRM failure are the following: Difficulty in measuring and valuing intangible benefits. Failure to identify and focus on specific business problems. Lack of active senior management sponsorship.

Poor user acceptance. a poorly defined process less awareness

- See more at: http://customerservicezone.com/customerserviceguest/crmhistory.htm#sthash.35yR1IVf.dpuf Top five CRM trends you should know about Customer relationship management (CRM) this year continued to see wide-scale changes because of customers' increasing use of mobile devices and their inclination to share thoughts on social media. Rather than offering a telephone number for customers to call, companies now have to proactively listen and respond to customers who are empowered to share their consumer experiences through mobile and social.

This drastic realignment of the customer-company relationship has also fueled other CRM industry trends, including the growth of Customer Experience Management. CEM encompasses the oversight of a company's interactions with customers, an effort that includes the company president, marketing and the receptionist so that a brand can be reinforced at any time.

Last but not least, the use of mobile and social platforms has meant that the call center agent sees a corresponding increase in duties because they're no longer answering only telephone calls. An agent needs to know how to handle several customer channels and use the consumer's information accordingly to solve problems.

In theory, companies practice CRM. But with customers using more than phones -- or anything but phones -- to ask questions or complain, companies have also started adopting customer experience management (CEM) strategies to connect with consumers.

CEM encompasses the processes and technologies used to oversee interactions between customers and a company. That means using new -- or tweaking old -- CRM systems to offer CEM technologies that monitor and analyze customer emails and social postings. In turn, the customers' own data is used not only to communicate with them, but also to market to them.

Regardless of technology, an effective customer experience management strategy will happen only when contact center agents, IT people, marketers, supervisors and executives work together, according to Bruce Temkin, a customer experience management analyst in Newton, Mass. All employees should follow the same strategies and express the same messages in understanding and reaching out to customers, he said.

After all, it's people, and not technology, who win over people. "Your customers don't live in spreadsheets; you need to go out and talk to them to understand who they are as people," Temkin said.

With so many consumers using smartphones, just about every company has responded in kind by offering a mobile app.

But there's a difference between offering an app and making one that's a bridge between contact center and customer. Retrofitted desktop apps are more likely to fail on mobile devices because they are a different medium.

To have a successful mobile engagement strategy, apps should have mobile-specific interfaces with action buttons that lead users through tasks, several industry observers say.

On the other side, a company's app should be able to connect users with its multichanneled contact center continue the conversation started on the device. If customers hit a button on an app and can't connect with a call center -- or if they have to repeat information to an agent-- then they might give up and try another brand.

Responding willy-nilly to a few customers' Facebook postings might win a "Like," but not profits. Following customers on social media requires full use of monitoring and analytics tools.

That's because buried beneath untold numbers of social media postings are customers' honest insights on products and services -- the sort of reviews that companies pay for with surveys. But it's all there, free and submitted willingly.

Social media listening and analytics tools have thus gained importance in businesses. These tools help contact center agents and marketers observe customers' social output and respond accordingly to any talk about their brand.

The next big step is for more companies to make full use of social analytics. This shows patterns and trends in social media data and allows businesses to make decisions based on genuine consumer sentiment.

With social media bringing companies closer to customers, marketers have become more involved in the process of winning hearts, minds and wallets. And it couldn't have come at a better time for companies, according to industry observers.

Traditional marketing and customer service strategies are unsustainable, so rather than have the two departments drown in customer data and fail to provide informed and speedy service, they should merge, experts say.

Many companies already made this leap, having CEM marketing become a key player in customer engagement strategies. Marketers work as part of a cross-organizational team with executives and contact center agents to understand and reach out to customers.

Between tweets, text messages and live chats, an ill-prepared contact center agent will never know what hit him.

If customers are empowered to communicate with companies whichever way they want, then certainly a contact center agent should also have the same array of tools at her disposal.

Agents must have advanced contact center technologies to quickly access customer information and respond with the consumer's preferred channel -- whether it's social media, email or an old-fashioned phone call.

"We're seeing the transformation of agents. We're seeing the addition of channels that 10 years ago weren't there," said Paul Greenberg, a Washington, D.C., consultant who focuses on CRM strategies.

If companies want their agents to keep pace with customers, they should have access to knowledgemanagement systems, as well as voice analysis and predictive analytics software, several industry observers say.

Hilton: A Brand Transformation in Travel JULY 28, 2011 by Dylan Bolden, Antonella Mei-Pochtler, Rohan Is This Brand a Friend? IN THIS ARTICLE In the face of intensifying competition, Hiltons management launched the biggest global-research program in the companys history to support a robust brand-reinvention effort. The company determined which emotional expectations the Hilton brand could and should try to own and how to deliver those expectations. Today, Hilton has a new global brand positioning and strong buy-in from its franchisees.

In recent years, midsegment, full-service hotel brands have faced a daunting competitive threat. A socalled focused-service segment has presented a new value proposition: excelling in the execution of the basics while offering complimentary core services (such as Internet connections and breakfast), all at a 25 to 50 percent lower price. All full-service brands have sought to stem the loss of guest nights to this disruptive segment. Most have approached the problem operationally, tackling one or two areas to better attract guests. One hotel brand updated its lobbies to serve as a social gathering place, while another brand focused on its restaurants and another installed public Internet stations. Despite their high costs, these efforts served mainly as one-off guest hooksnot holistic reinventions of the value proposition.

One brand, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, asked a more fundamental question: In this changing environment, what should we promise our guests and what do we need to do to deliver on that promise? Hilton is one of the oldest and best-known hotel chains in the world. At many companies, such a strong brand heritage could become a roadblock to innovation, but Hiltons management set a vision of stepping boldly beyond that heritage. They launched the biggest global-research program in the companys history to support a robust brand-reinvention effort. Hiltons insights helped the brand do the following: Face tough realities: the brand no longer stood for luxury and glamour

Understand the emotional expectations of a hotel experience

Determine which emotional expectations the Hilton brand could and should try to own

Determine which product and service elements the brand needed to deliver to meet these emotional expectations

Develop a plan to execute the new elements around the world, balancing consistency with individual country needs

Mobilize the organization, with a strong call to action and data to support the changes Today, Hilton has a new global brand positioning and a coherent brand-transformation plan. A central program-management office is governing the transformation, which includes some 25 initiatives across all customer touch points. Management has presented the plan to its franchisees around the world, gaining strong buy-in. Culture-building efforts have been critical to helping align everyone at Hilton around delivering the brand promise. They take advantage of the power of social networks to get the word out internallyfor example, via an online community where employees share service stories, ideas, and best practices and participate in surveys. Culture cabinets drive brand values all the way down to the local level, now in 76 countries and 540 properties. In two or three years, Hilton expects that it will stand not for once upon a time but for relevant and the future.

Occasional coffee drinkers and Starbucks junkies alike all visit the Seattle-based brewer's shops for the same reason, and it's not a caffeine kick. The java giant is just as recognized for its lifestyle brand as it is its beverages, and that may be just the thing missing from competitors' offerings. Despite the fact that Starbucks recently took a second-place post against McDonald's in a social hospitality survey, the company continues to be the most relevant coffee shop brand aroundand they don't even try that hard. While other brands like Wendy's, Subway and McDonald's have stepped up both their coffee game and their social engagement, Starbucks still outperforms nearly all consumer brands when it comes to collecting brand fans "despite taking the exact opposite approach," notes Econsultancy. With over 33 million Facebook fans, Starbucks is one of the most "liked" consumer brands, surpassing McDonald's (with over 27 million "likes"), which has more locations and a longer history. Walmart, which has about 27 million "likes," posts several times a day, while Starbucks "often goes weeks without posting anything." However, when the Starbucks social team does post to the network, the photo or status attracts more than 150,000 "likes" and thousands of commentswhich the social team doesn't ever seem to engage in. The same goes for the company's Twitter, Pinterest and Google+ accounts, which boast millions of followers with little to no effort shown on Starbucks' part. The concept is mind-boggling, especially to brands like Taco Bell, which launch huge, global, interactive campaigns on social media with only a slight chance of the same kind of consumer impact that Starbucks seems to have. While their social presence (or lack thereof) doesn't quite amount to the company's success, its real estate sure does. With an outpost on seemingly every high-traffic corner in the U.S. and a growing international push in China and India, Starbucks may occupy more small business space than actual small businesses. But according to brand expert Priya Raghubir, a marketing professor at NYU's Stern School of Business, location is only a small piece of the popularity pie for Starbucks. So what gives? According to a report by The Huffington Post, Starbucks customers are loyallike, ride or die loyal. "Starbucks stands for coffee; it's converted that into an experience," Raghubir told HuffPost. "People really have [gotten] to know Starbucks as the quintessential coffee shop, where they can sit and be welcome over a cup of coffee." This sentiment differs from other small coffee shops, where loyal customers are considered "coffee snobs" and a walk-in customer might detect an air of snootiness. Raghubir points out that the chain has gone out of its way to create a comfortable, welcoming environment where customers are happy to spend a few hours with friends or make use of the free Wi-Fi.

Perhaps the company's motto is best described in CEO Howard Schultz's book "Onward" where he says that Starbucks' mission and social contribution is "human connection." "Starbucks never set out to be cool," he says. "We set out to be relevant!" "It is the experience of going to Starbucks," that makes it stand out, Raghubir says. "I think they [the customers] value the convenience, they value the welcome, they value the fact that they can find the Starbucks anywhere ... and offerings are uniform." In other words, Starbucks goes out of its way to make each location feel uniquely yours, and that, Raghubir says, builds brand loyalty.

The concept of CRM has evolved over a period of time through a sequence of initiatives, which have been directed towards improving business performance. In today's highly competitive business world CRM can be considered as the ultimate solution for both customers as well as organizations. CRM considers customers not as outsiders but as insiders to the business and aims to build a long-term relationship with them. A high degree of customer contact, commitment and services are therefore essential features of CRM.

CRM is an on-going process of identifying and creating new value with individual customers and then sharing the benefits of this over a lifetime of association. It involves the understanding, focusing and management of on-going collaboration between suppliers and selected customers for mutual value creation and sharing through interdependence and organizational alignment. Marketing gurus say that STP (Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning) are part of strategic marketing and the 4ps (Price, product, place and promotion) are tactical marketing. The marketing mix is a simplification and this transactional approach is not adequate for CRM.

CRM Should Keep these 4 P's, but add 4 R's namely Relations, Retention, Referrals and Recovery and one T- Technology. But CRM is much more than that. Customer Relationship Management involves: Commitments to customers; Training and empowerment; Service standard; Complaint management.

Gordon identifies what he terms the 11 C's of Relationship Marketing (which in a sense act as a replacement to the traditional 4 P's of marketing): Customer; Categories; Capabilities; Cost, profitability and value; Control of the contact to cash processes; Collaboration and integration; Customization; Communications, interaction and positioning; Customer measurements; Customer care; Chain of relationships.

The 4 Ps of CRM Success" are Planning, People, Process and Platform to some while it is Product, Process, Policy, and People to others

The Customer Relation module is developed to keep all considerations in mind, and helps the company structurally tracks, monitors and develop the most optimum delivery and contact path for each group of customers, all in an automated and structured manner.

The primary Customer Relation modules which are important in all types of business includes - Customer Information System

- Marketing - Sales - Order Fulfillment - Returns & Claims - Report & Survey

Four Cs(elements) of CRM Process: . Planning The meaning of the very word "planning" makes this stage of customer relationship management very explicit. It begins with the business organization planning to primarily approach its customers or prospective customers. The second part of the planning phase is in the design of campaigns to get more customers for it to flourish. This entire phase includes relevant software-marketing tools as well as the personal marketing of goods and sales without which the first phase is incomplete.

Assessment It is imperative to understand that a customer base needs to be selected for the relevant analysis, but without assessment the whole idea of customer relationship management doesnt work. Immediately after that the customers various requirements are studied explicitly to know what they are looking for. The assessment phase also includes software much like data warehousing, data mining and online analytical processing. Certified personnel make the CRM function while the analyst is responsible for

analyzing the data collected from various customer sources. The data is used to help the company better prepare its marketing material for consumers.

Execution Execution is the most important phase because the customer feedback and interaction are a major part of this stage. Therefore, it is this phase in which direct contact with the customer is how the flagship is able to find out whether the customer is actually satisfied with its product. All of the feedback coming from the customers is treated as crucial to the companys reputation. The execution stage includes the use of Internet, call centers and surveys in a systematic way to keep track of what the customers actually are getting from the company and what they may or may not want in the future.

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/49962054/CRM-In-Banks http://www.slideshare.net/arokiamanojkumar/crm-in-airlines retail:pdf download hotel: project

There are several major trends in CRM shaping up for 2013, including some new variations on old themes. Here are some of the top trends for the coming year, according to experts interviewed by Enterprise Apps Today.

Customer Focus Gets C-level Boost

A focus on the customer is nothing new. For some years now, some vendors have been promising a heretofore elusive 360-degree view into the customer base. Jeremy Cox, principal CRM analyst for Ovum, believes the time may finally have come.

The mythical 360 degree view, second only to the unicorn in its rarity, will reappear, said Cox. Only this time it will manifest itself for real as a byproduct of the C-level focus on customer experience management (CEM). This management fixation on the customer experience is very understandable given the growing power of customers, a global soapbox on which to remonstrate if unhappy and spread the bad word amongst millions of other socially networked consumers, and margin-eroding commoditization.

Application Failures Create Headlines: How to Make Sure YOUR Company is not Front Page News Download Now What is different about this "new" 360-degree view, he added, is that management has finally realized there is no single system, CRM or otherwise, which can deliver it in isolation. This is also shaping the way that major software vendors are building up their arsenal of enterprise applications. Many offer an integrated applications portfolio including CRM supported by real-time analytics -dispatched to the point of need in a more intuitive and usable format than we have seen in the past. This increasing democratization of business intelligence puts context-sensitive information in the hands of anyone who needs to serve the customer, and potentially on any device.

'Interconnected' Business Intelligence

Business intelligence is being rolled into more and more customer-facing applications, Cox pointed out.

What we will see more of in 2013, irrespective of industry or sector, will be the increasing use of interconnected BI, driven by the need to triangulate on the customers reality, he said. My own view is that getting the customer experience right means firms are already on the path to a far more profound and interconnected world.

Related Articles Top 10 Mobile Business Intelligence Apps 5 More Buzz-worthy Big Data Analytics Apps Big Data and Beyond: 10 BI Trends for 2013 CRM Jumps 12.5 Percent in 2012: Gartner Big Data + SaaS = Better Marketing Ultimately, he added, if organizations wish to remain relevant to their customers they must be able to sense and adapt to changes in the customers world before their competitors. CRM and CEM will play an important part in this, but successful firms will be completely connected from front to back office and from the customer all the way back to their suppliers and partners. This capability is the fulfillment of a mature and holistic CRM strategy, Cox said.

The customer-adaptive enterprise is focused on continuous innovation in value creation and delivery, which goes beyond CEM and really does require a 360-degree view, not just of the customers contacts but their context and the forces swirling around that shape it, he said. We will see more evidence of this in 2013.

BYOD Accelerates Mobile CRM

Bring your own device (BYOD) has been a trend to watch for quite some time. But most experts agree it will become even more prevalent this year.

Bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policies will accelerate mobile CRM deployments, advance front/back-office integration and drive sales growth, said Dan Wilzoch, senior vice president and general manager, Sage CRM Solutions. Bandwidth is ubiquitous, CRM apps (with standards like

HTML5) are available free or at low cost for multiple device deployments, and continued BYOD policy adoption will rapidly help mobile CRM successes surge.

Sales Manager Empowerment

Expansion rates of many sales teams are slowing if not contracting -- so the focus is on maximizing the effectiveness of what you've got, which makes the role of the sales manager even more important. Managers must be able to coach and support the reps that need help and maximize the efficiency of the team.

A big trend we are seeing is to empower the sales manager, which supports the overall drivers of companies to do more with less, said Giles House, vice president, Marketing Communications and Products, CallidusCloud.

Yet organizations that rely on ad-hoc one-to-one meetings, with little follow-up or data support, likely won't see a significant effect on improving rep performance. A second area of headache is pricing and quoting of deals. By providing sales teams with a price configuration and quote tool that is tied into the central CRM system, reps will be able to produce accurate quotes in seconds.

Importance of Integrating Mobile CRM

The rise of mobility has generated a whole new series of problems in terms of integration. Wilzoch said the prevalence of CRM and contact management systems on smartphones and tablets certainly can speed the sales cycle and potentially improve average sales per customer. But the race to deploy has caused challenges in terms of mobile CRM apps being out of synch or not integrated with central CRM systems.

Look at all critical front- and back-office processes when considering mobility. Many accounting, inventory, sales cycle, payment and customer support functions can be fulfilled with data securely accessed via mobile devices, Wilzoch said. Anchoring a mobile initiative with a system -of-record process like sales opportunity management or field-based customer support (CRM) and invoicing (ERP) can help get a program up and running. For many businesses just a handful of new mobileinfluenced sales can quickly cover any setup costs.