CRM Facts

Customer relationship management, or CRM, is a widely used strategy for managing a business's interactions with clients and customers. The general goal of CRM is to attract new clients, maintain present clients, introduce former clients back into the business and minimize the costs of services and marketing promotions.

Phases

• CRM consists of three main phases that help maintain relationships between a business and its clients. These include the planning phase, assessment phase and execution phase. The planning phase is used to plan new campaigns and approaches toward customers, using marketing tools and software. The software phase includes selecting a customer base for analysis and incorporates technologies, such as data mining and online analytical processing (OLAP). The execution phase consists of customer interaction, the execution of campaigns and tracking customer feedback through call centers, direct mail and the Internet.

Strategy

• CRM software helps implement a business strategy that promotes a database of customer information and a marketing plan that uses customer information to increase sales and maximize customer service. The CRM enterprise system is spanned across several departments, giving all staff access, or indirect access, to customer information.

Significance

• Many aspects involved in CRM rely on technology, as the information must be collected, processed and managed for successful business practices. Businesses frequently search for effective ways to personalize customer relations through tools such as email organizers, help-desk software and enterprise applications. This helps to win over new clients and reduce customer-management costs.