Customer Relationship Management News

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) puts the customer at the center of any and all activities within an enterprise. A CRM solution helps an enterprise learn more about the customer's needs and makes any knowledge gained through interaction with the customer accessible at all levels of the organization. The value of CRM software "grows considerably when CRM is tightly integrated with solid enterprise resource planning (ERP) and supply chain management (SCM) functionality. This total solution enables you to support and streamline the entire business process from original customer contact through post-sales service." (JD Edwards)

The general benefits of CRM solutions include better communication with the customer, increased efficiency and effectiveness when dealing with a customer, and a more complete understanding of the customer. Communication, efficiency, and effectiveness are enhanced through integrating front and back end operations into a single, customer focused operation. Bringing together all customer interactions enables enterprises to collaboratively service a customer and improve acquisition and retention rates. Beyond the basic customer data, CRM software also provides executives with analytical tools for determining marketing campaign effectiveness, conversion rates, sales performance, etc.