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Customer relationship management (CRM) is a model for managing a company’s interactions with current and future customers. It involves using technology to organize, automate, and synchronize sales, marketing, customer service, and technical support.

Types/variations

Sales force automation

Sales force automation (SFA) uses software to streamline the sales process. The core of SFA is a contact management system for tracking and recording every stage in the sales process for each prospective client, from initial contact to final disposition. Many SFA applications also include insights into opportunities, territories, sales forecasts and workflow automation.

Marketing

CRM systems for marketing track and measure campaigns over multiple channels, such as email, search, social media, telephone and direct mail. These systems track clicks, responses, leads, deals.

Customer service and support

CRMs can be

Appointments

Appointment CRMs automatically provide suitable appointment times to customers via e-mail or the web, which are then synchronized with the representative or agent's calendar.

Analytics

Sales analytics monitor client actions and preferences and augment sales forecasts and help measure the effectiveness of marketing campaigns. The simplest form involves tracking mouse clicks, but can also include predictive analytics which use “buy signals” to see which prospects are likely to transact

Small business

For small businesses a CRM may simply consist of a contact manager system which integrates emails, documents, jobs, faxes, and scheduling for individual accounts.

Social media

Some CRMs coordinate with social media sites like Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and Google Plus to track and communicate with customers who share opinions and experiences about their company, products and services.

Non-profit and membership-based

Systems for non-profit and membership-based organizations help track constituents, fund-raising, demographics, membership levels, membership directories, volunteering and communications with individuals.

Adoption Issues

In 2003, a Gartner report estimated that more than $1 billion had been spent on software that was not being used. According to CSO Insights, less than 40 percent of 1,275 participating companies had end-user adoption rates above 90 percent. Many corporations only use CRM systems on a partial or fragmented basis.

In a 2007 survey from the UK, four-fifths of senior executives reported that their biggest challenge is getting their staff to use the systems they had installed. 43 percent of respondents said they use less than half the functionality of their existing system.

Market Leaders

The CRM market grew by 12.5 percent in 2008, from revenue of $8.13 billion in 2007 to $9.15 billion in 2008. The following table lists the top vendors in 2006–2008 (figures in millions of US dollars) published in Gartner studies.

Trends

Many CRM vendors offer subscription-based web tools (cloud computing) and software as a service (SaaS)). Salesforce.com was the first company to provide enterprise applications through a web browser, and has maintained its leadership position.. Traditional providers have recently moved into the cloud-based market via acquisitions of smaller providers: Oracle purchased RightNow in October 2011 and SAP acquired SuccessFactors in December 2011.

The era of the "social customer" refers to the use of social media (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Yelp, customer reviews in Amazon, etc.) by customers. CRM philosophy and strategy has shifted to encompass social networks and user communities.

Another related development is vendor relationship management, or VRM which provide tools and services for customers to independently manage their relationship with vendors. VRM development has grown out of efforts by ProjectVRM at Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet & Society and Identity Commons' Internet Identity Workshops, as well as by a growing number of startups and established companies. VRM was the subject of a cover story in the May 2010 issue of CRM Magazine.

In 2001 Doug Laney developed the concept and coined the term 'Extended Relationship Management' (XRM). Laney defines XRM as extending CRM disciplines to secondary allies such as government, press, and industry consortia.

CRM futurist Dennison DeGregor describes a shift from 'push CRM' toward a 'customer transparency' (CT) model, due to the increased proliferation of channels, devices, and social media.

See also

Notes

1. Shaw, Robert, Computer Aided Marketing & Selling (1991) Butterworth Heinemann ISBN 978-0-7506-1707-9
2. DestinationCRM.com (2009) Who Owns the Social Customer?
3. Jim Dickie, CSO Insights (2006) Demystifying CRM Adoption Rates
4. Joachim, David. "CRM tools improve access, usability." (cover story). B to B 87, no. 3 (March 11, 2002): 1
5. David Sims, TMC.net (2007) CRM Adoption ‘Biggest Problem’ in 83 Percent of Cases
6. DestinationCRM.com (2009) CRM Market Grows for Fifth Straight Year
7. "Gartner Says Worldwide Customer Relationship Management Market Grew 23 Percent in 2007" (Press release). Gartner, Inc. 12 September 2008. Retrieved 15 August 2008.
8. "Gartner Says Worldwide CRM Market Grew 12.5 Percent in 2008" (Press release). Gartner, Inc. 15 June 2009. Retrieved 27 October 2009.
9. history of cloud computing Computer Weekly: March 2009
10. Cloud CRM to Work PC World: April, 2010
11. Buys Cloud-based Customer Service Company RightNow For $1.5 Billion Techcrunch: October 24, 2011
12. Challenges Oracle With $3.4 Billion SuccessFactors Purchase Bloomberg Businessweek: December 07, 2011
13. Greenberg, Paul (2009). CRM at the Speed of Light (4th ed.). McGraw Hill. p. 7.
14. Destinationcrm.com CRM Magazine: May, 2010
15. The Great Enterprise Balancing Act: Extended Relationship Management (XRM), Doug Laney, META Group publication, December 10, 2001
16. DeGregor, Dennison (2011). Customer-Transparent Enterprise: Beyond 20th Century CRM. Motivational Press. ISBN 1-935723-23-5.

• Use dmy dates from October 2010
• Customer experience management
• Customer relationship management software
• E-commerce
• Marketing
• Office and administrative support occupations