Chapter 2. CRM Basics

In this chapter

CRM is a Business Strategy

Effects of E-business and Evolving Capabilities

Microsoft's CRM Product

Interacting with CRM Systems

Summary

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is all about finding, acquiring, and retaining the best, most profitable customers. CRM systems offer the automated means of managing your customer, both on the Web and through traditional channels. In the corporate setting, CRM is now a mature, mainstream discipline comprising Customer Service and Support (CSS), Sales Force Automation (SFA), and Marketing Automation (MA), each of which offers its own subset of specializations, value propositions, and challenges.

CRM as a strategy places the customer at the center of a business. When properly implemented, the goal is to give progressively deep information about customers—information that supports the business areas of marketing, product planning, sales, finance, and service. The goal of this customer-centricity is to promote customer loyalty, increasing the lifetime value of each relationship.

CRM has matured in the corporate setting, achieving recognition as a “must-have” technology for large enterprises. Now, for the first time, Microsoft CRM makes it possible for small and mid-sized companies to automate their own practice of CRM. As you read further you will get a clearer picture of what that practice involves and how it can be applied to any business.