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for managing and nurturing a company¶s interactions with customers, clients and sales prospects. It
involves using technology to organize, automate, and synchronize business processes²
principally sales activities, but also those for marketing, customer service, and technical support. The
overall goals are to find, attract, and win new clients, nurture and retain those the company already
has, entice former clients back into the fold, and reduce the costs of marketing and client
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service. Customer relationship management denotes a company-wide business strategy embracing
all client-facing departments and even beyond. When an implementation is effective, people,
processes, and technology work in synergy to increase profitability, and reduce operational costs.

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Tesco was instrumental in bringing this about. Dunham¶s collaboration with it due to the influence of Edwina
Dunn and Clive proved to be the foundation for CRM. Since these two individuals had realized the importance of
knowing and understanding their customers, they understood the supreme need for adopting the right customer
approach.

Tesco the second largest grocer in the UK collaborated with Dunham and implemented a customer loyalty
program used in 12 of their stores. Known as the Tesco Club Card Program it focused entirely on the customer
and implemented the necessary business activity changes with the customer in view. While doing this it assisted
in the collation of the information about customer preferences and the net result was amazing.

Profits soared, competitors complained and Tesco reigned supreme. Its additional focus on customers proved to
be the focal point of success.

Watching competitors realized that this was but the right approach to adopt and that it generated huge funds.
They realized that customer retention and customer loyalty were but a natural by-product.

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Proving absolutely rewarding the new trend of CRM -'on hire basis' has proven to be the new advantage. Initially,
owning CRM was regarded as absolutely advantageous but with the passage of time it became imminently clear
that CRM ownership is not as helpful to an organization as it could be. Owning a CRM solution was less
beneficial than acquiring it on a hire basis. Clearly it is more practical from the cost covering aspect. With a hired
model, phased implementation also becomes easier.

The history of CRM has yet another page added to it as CRM in the new millennium becomes a necessary tool
for almost all industries aspiring to make their customers their focal point of success.

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CRM, Customer Relationship Management is a business strategy that enables organizations to get closer with
their customers, to better serve their needs, improve customer service, enhance customer satisfaction and
thereby maximize customer loyalty and retention.

With human relationships at its core, CRM tools help to add value to business by streamlining operational
processes and business functions. The key focus is towards retaining customers, improving customer loyalty and
thereby maximizing profitability.

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Every business has to focus on the needs of the customer. CRM (Customer relationship management) is the
array of processes that help a company to understand the preferences or dislikes of individual customers in order
to build lasting relationships. CRM solutions help to safely store volumes of customer data in an organized easy-
to-access manner. By analyzing this data businesspersons can determine individual customer behaviour, analyze
preferences and provide one-to-one services to maximize customer satisfaction. Such a customer-centric
approach helps to augment customer loyalty and increase their value to the company.

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Why CRM? Several organizations are moving ahead -the ones who place their customers¶ first.CRM is as vital to
a company as its employees, management and resources. CRM uses the varied resources available at its
disposal and tries to collect as much information as possible about the customer and how to deal with them in the
appropriate manner.

Customer Relationship Management serves to:

[ Increases the efficiency in a call centre?

[ Streamlines sales

[ Assists remarkably in reducing costs and aiding marketing

[ Improves cross selling and hangs on to sales leads

[ Increases the market share

[ Endeavors to upgrade the entire marketing process

[ Contributes to overall organization efficiency and profitability

CRM brings together information from all data sources within an organization. It also collects information about
the customer from outside resources and endeavors to give an overall view of the customers purchasing
patterns, likes, dislikes, etc. This allows employees who are in the front line to solve customer oriented problems.
It enables sales and marketing to learn more about customer needs and behaviours in order to develop stronger
relationships with them.

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The sales department makes use of the stored customer data, to assimilate and use in sales dealings. This
comprehensive data collected proves to be useful in holding on to sales leads. CRM also boasts of doubling a
company's profits in a 5/6 year period and manages to achieve this with its customer centric strategies. Customer
loyalty and customer retention go a long way in boosting profits as is evidenced by CRM.

Customer Relationship Management is not a technical term. CRM can be thought of more in terms of being a
process - one that serves the collation of data from within and outside the organization and serves to assimilate
and use this data in customer centred strategies.


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Why CRM? When we look around us we see that the hand of business touches us in every walk of life. We're
faced with products and services at every single turn. How many of those products and service providers actually
know the person who uses them? Major corporations fail to realize that it is the customer who is their biggest ally.
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The customer is in reality the king, the one who makes the difference between a company¶s success or failure
and yet from the corporate giant to the small entrepreneur struggling to keep his business alive.Difference
between the success and failure of million dollar enterprises? The answer lies in a company¶s "attitude" towards
its customers. This approach is by far the most vital in any organization.

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Several million dollars are lost yearly as corporations scramble to make profits, beat competitors, and stay ahead
in the rat race. Huge amounts of money are spent on marketing, endeavouring to gain customers, often in vain.
What is it that the "lucky few" or shall we say "successful few" organizations have, that actually give them that
edge over the others? Why is it that organizations very often find their best customers drawn to competitors?

Most organizations have an extremely faulty customer centred system being adopted. They are not open to
customer suggestions and more often than not they do not provide the customer with a proper avenue to vent his
ideas. This often leads to unhappy customers and eventually their loss.

  
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CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software aids in increasing efficiency, serves to aid the sales
department in all of its efforts, manages to boost sales, and fundamentally contributes to the overall development
of the company. It also manages to work towards organizational goals. This is achieved through a concise study
of potential customers.

Their preferences are taken into consideration and used to coordinate and implement a customer centric
business strategy that focuses primarily on the customer, yields to recording the importance of his ideas and
suggestions and results in increased customer retention.

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The benefits of CRM are enormous. The marketing department is yet another department that stands to gain
enormously as CRM aids in marketing functions. The customer centred strategy that provides information on
potential customers, boosts the marketing function by providing the marketing department with a clear idea of
what the customer needs are and enables them to work accordingly.

Why CRM? CRM helps in integrating all the essential information available in the organization itself and from
outside resources and serves to assimilate information about sales, marketing, market trends, employees,
customer attitude, customer retention etc. CRM raises the market share by keeping a keen eye on the various
market segments and adopting strategies accordingly.
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The CRM process is the most influential customer oriented strategy of the decade. Despite its humble origins it
has evolved into a relatively complex strategy. The essentials of a CRM program include focus, commitment to
CRM goals and above all a desire to be customer focused. Here's how the CRM process actually works in an
organization.


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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

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If your business-customer relationships are not on the right note then it is time you checked and invested in the
right kind of CRM tool. There is little doubt that in current day business scenario customer remains the king.
Losing customer confidence means a fall in customer satisfaction and business customer-relationships, and
therefore poor customer retention. This drastically pulls down business profits and you eventually lose grounds to
your competitor.

CRM tools help you to establish a customer-focused business strategy to fine-tune business-customer
relationships. CRM tools enable you to focus on the right kind of customers to maximize loyalty and also to make
customers more useful to your business.

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Installing and using an automotive CRM tool involves purchasing the base CRM platform and then customizing it
to suit your company sales, marketing and customer support processes, of course, if you have a hosted CRM in
mind then the process may be just slightly different.
A good CRM tool is one that aligns with your company goals perfectly and integrates different organization
functions to establish a customer-centric business strategy. Look for a CRM tools which is affordable, secure,
scalable, simple to install, quickly customizable, user-friendly, easy to maintain and upgrade.

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Yes, the type of customer relationship management tool to buy will vary based on your business requirements.
Look for an automated CRM tool which enables knowledge sharing and workflow automation. A basic CRM
contains comprehensive tools to integrate and manage company sales, marketing and customer service
functions. Any other add-ons, like customer billing, etc., may or may not exist and might mean additional
payments for each requested facility.

Selecting the right kind of CRM tool is not easy, especially considering the numerous options to pick from. You
can choose between on-premise software, hosted CRM or even desktop solutions. Of course the best approach
is to study your individual business needs and then choose the CRM tool that best meets your requirements.

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Good customer relationship management CRM software is one that helps you to understand customer
expectations and provide services accordingly. Take a look at few features to look for in a good customer
relationship management CRM software:

@ Look for a low-cost feature-rich system that helps to manage all aspects of customer interactions
@ The software should be scalable, easy to deploy and quickly customizable
@ The system should be reliable, responsive and quickly accessible
@ Software should be absolutely secure and hassle-free to use
@ User-friendly intuitive interface is a definite plus

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With numerous CRM software and solutions flooding the market, choosing the right option for your business may
not be easy. You can choose between on-premise CRM and hosted CRM software. Desktop CRM are also
entering the fray. Pick the kind of solution that suites your unique business strategy.

Overall application usability, security, inbuilt tools and services, user friendliness, navigation, and cost
effectiveness are the key influencing factors while choosing sales CRM software.

Here are few additional features to look for in an ideal sales CRM software:

@ Easily scalable, quickly customizable, and completely secure

@ Low cost feature-rich CRM software solution
@ Secure data storing and retrieving capability
@ Ability to integrate key business functions
@ Securely collaborates across business functions
@ Achieves effective sales force automation
@ Ability to track and manage market activities
@ Comprehensive reporting tools
@ Provide quick secure access to always up-to-date data
@ Easy to maintain and update.
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Who uses CRM? CRM costs approximately $500 - $750 per year for small/medium businesses. With prices as
low as this the earlier notion that CRM is but only an option for large corporate does not hold good. CRM's
application includes a wide range of industries ranging from retail to education to the health sector.

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The Pharmaceuticals & Life Science sector is unlike any other. It requires large amounts of data and information
processing. CRM provides for this demand with its ability to store volumes of customer data.?



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The financial services marketplace is rapidly expanding. Investment banking, private equity and other financial
institutions are trying to manage client relationships while developing overall sales. CRM achieves this with its
ability to cut costs, increase efficiency and manage customers while retaining relationships with them.?

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Customer Relationship Management helps hundreds of health care clients achieve their marketing goals. CRM
predicts future medical needs in the industry. It helps greater return on investment for hospitals, employers,
physicians etc.?


 
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oormally we tend to think of large machinery, factories etc when we think of manufacturing but this industry as
well needs CRM to maximize profits. CRM enables them to sell to customers both directly and indirectly.?


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Agents and property professionals face major problems with clients. With increasing competition the real estate
industry is more challenging than ever before. CRM helps marketing, sales and service operations and helps the
organization understand and manage its clients effectively.?


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The Retail industry is symbolic of and closer to the customer than any other industry. CRM's knowledge of the
customer, its comprehensive study of customer preferences helps boost profits, sales and customer retention.?


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CRM enables airlines and travels minimize time and cost as it contains a comprehensive amount of data on
customers that can be used in daily dealings with them. Implementing CRM software helps to build, manage and
serve your client base.?

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CRM enables the banking industry to maintain a customer profile. This creates a holistic view of customers. It
makes sure that the right services are offered to the right people at the right time. ?

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Automotive meets the sales, marketing and service requirements of car companies, distributors, dealers etc.
Implementing CRM enables them to use available customer information to manage leads, to develop marketing
campaigns and increase sales directly or through dealers.?


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CRM is essential to enable organizations offer their customers the chance to review policy coverage information,
check policy/claim status etc. It also helps in solving customer problems.

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What do firms need to do to get the most out of their CRM implementation? Here's a look at what can be done to
get the utmost out of your CRM choice.

  
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@ CRM should be implemented right across all business units. The CRM process should bring together
employees, suppliers, customers, partners etc. It is important to cooperate in order to retain customers
and increase customer loyalty. Employees, leaders, customers, etc. need to work together in addressing
key issues. A customer information file is absolutely essential as it indicates various relationships.
Organizations need to put down and keep it safely.

@ There should be no barriers to the flow of information.

@ Firms must implement new business processes that support the CRM choice.

@ Firms need to put customers first. A common ground with customers should be identified. Organizations
should identify anything that affects the customer negatively

@ A company should build a cross-functional cooperation across your company. To do that it needs to
increase the number of people involved in the CRM process.

@ In the adopted strategy CRM solution should address change management

@ Adequate CRM training should be provided within the organization.

@ CRM solutions need to be aligned with the business strategy.

@ Technology should be integrated with core business areas While automating business processes

@ Give call centre staff customer profiles using existing data.

@ An organization should Start self-service and FAQ's

@ Support outbound message management within the organization

@ Proper decision should be taken about the choice of CRM solution only after appropriate information has
been sought and analyzed.

@ Secondly, a CRM implementation will essentially involve a healthy contribution from functional staff. This
means that care should be taken to assign the roles of the project team and functional staff in a manner
that is not inappropriate

@ CRM implementation should involve process re-engineering

@ CRM implementation must never follow a stringent application and configuration

@ CRM development should be multi-tiered

@ Provide scripting for call centre and telesales support service

@ It is critical to understand the complexity of your CRM program

@ It is important for an organization to ensure that CRM development is executed around a structured
development business process

@ It is also important to ensure that a sound development roadmap is set forth in order to ensure things go
as per schedule.
 @ The business-planning phase should clearly state the overall goals of the CRM implementation

@ Scoping and prioritizing CRM projects should be done:

Here it is important to do the following:

 Understand the technologies involved in the CRM implementation

 Learn the skills needed to implement CRM

 Determine the number of staff members that will be working on it

 Determine whether consultants will be used and if so what the number will be

 Establish a time frame

Implementing the above steps can go a long way in ensuring success. CRM implementation without adequate
attention paid to the smallest details can have disastrous results. The CRM systems adopted should be used in
such a manner that it gives its utmost to the organization.

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It basically helps them to know their customers intimately and to use that knowledge in delivering better products
and services. Customer relationship management helps the organization to improve customer service. From the
sales perspective it enables corporate giants to increase sales opportunities and hikes the chances for sales
leads. It assists in lead management as well as relationship marketing.

CRM is also beneficial to the entire organization. Inter-departmental conflict is resolved and goals are worked
towards efficiently and speedily. Customer relationship management succeeds at focusing its attention on forging
tighter connections with its customers in an effort to stay competitive in a growing economy.

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The purpose of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is to enable various organizations serve customers
better through introducing them to a series of processes and procedures that better the buying experience for
customers. This is done through implementing a successful CRM strategy through a software package that has
been specifically designed to support these business processes and procedures.

The work of CRM involves focusing on service automated processes, information gathering and processing,
integrating and automating various customer serving processes in a company. It also manages to keep track of
customer preferences, buying habits, deals with service requests, information requests, complaints etc. It deals
directly with the customer. For ex call center use Customer Relationship Management to store customer
information. It enables them to retrieve and store information and serve the customer efficiently. It also helps
them to encourage new customers, cater to the needs of the older ones and basically achieve customer
retention. Finding a CRM software vendor is easy work but what's important is getting one that works for you.

  
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Oracle is the leader in the CRM field. The company currently offers 50 CRM applications that are able to provide
for all the customer service requirements of small, medium and large industries. Oracle provides CRM
applications that aid the organization through improved business processes. What does Oracle have to offer?
The answer is accurate information. In addition to that the functionality it offers is just as important. It manages to
provide excellent support for all departments within the organization like customer support, added services and
additional?

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SAP was established in 1972 and is now a leader in the provision of business solutions for all types of industries.
It is a CRM software vendor that caters to businesses worldwide and currently serves more than 32,000
customers. SAP has a presence in more than 50 countries. It is the world's largest business software company. It
is the world's third-largest independent software provider overall and employs more than 35,000 people.

They are able to provide excellent customer service and support. It boasts of having the Knowledge, Experience,
and Technology that is needed to optimize Business efficiency. It manages to provide a range of solutions that
cater to every aspect of the business.?

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@ Better efficiency

@ Cost reduction

@ Better performance

@ Adaptability to business environment

@ Overall Growth

One advantage SAP has is that SAP Ventures invests in new companies that are interested in finding new
technologies. This enables them to stay ahead in the rat race.

SAP offers several solutions for Customer Relationship Management and is able to deliver customer-centric
solutions that revolve around each customer. It helps the organization to support the various departments like
marketing, sales, and service and provides them with good analytics as well as excellent interaction capabilities.

SAP CRM supports the customer-related processes and deals with all customer-related activities across all
departments. It sources and gathers together all customer data in the organization in order to facilitate better
decisions. It enables company's address their business needs adequately, manages to achieve the business
objectives and reaps the required return on investment.?

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This unique provider manages to provide simple yet effective customer relationship management products that
equip the business with the capacity to increase its effectiveness. It offers a wide range of solutions from
marketing to sales force automation to customer service and support. It boasts of being the world's first on-
demand application-sharing service. It provides customizable CRM solutions that integrate extremely well. It aids
on-demand applications and succeeds extremely well at this. Its main feature is its ability to manage and share
information easily.?

Its provisions include: ?

@ Analytics

@ Sales Force Automation

@ Custom Applications

@ Marketing Automation

@ Customer Service & Support

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Right oow Technologies provides organizations with the necessary on demand CRM solutions that are needed to

build a customer centered business. Its appeal lies in its technology, commitment to customer success and its

ability to deliver a high ROI and capacity to achieve customer retention. Its clients number more than 1,400

organizations.

It is able to achieve better customer relationships that cater to customers¶ needs adequately. It helps

organizations to understand and deal with their customers better. Right oow manages to provide a holistic view

of the customer and the customer data.

It also helps in identifying customers, satisfying them and ultimately retaining them. Sales revenue increases

along with overall productivity and growth. It increases the quality of service effectiveness. The sales department

as well benefits as shorter sales cycles, increased revenue from sales, and better sales efforts.


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