Feedback Form
Home Features Mastermind Forums About Advertise Blog Network Contact Be An Author

CRM Customer Relationship Management

CRM Customer Relationship Management

CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management (CRM).

It’s hard to find a definitive definition of what CRM means. So I’ll outline the broad meaning and then give some examples.

You may have heard of the terms CRM and Customer Relationship Management in regards to software. Well CRM is not just a piece of software. It’s more than that.

The CRM Customer Relationship Management software is a vital component,

yet the whole business needs to understand CRM Customer Relationship Management in all departments and functions of the business and behave appropriately to make CRM Customer Relationship Management work.

An effective CRM Customer Relationship Management will include methodologies, strategies, software, and web-based capabilities that help an enterprise organize and manage customer relationships.

Why use CRM Customer Relationship Management?

CRM Customer Relationship Management is used to help businesses:

(a.) understand their customer, and
(b.) understand their customers’ wants and needs and
(c.) help the business serve them more efficiently and effectively

In turn this will help the business to improve customer satisfaction, increase staff productivity, slash operational costs and maximize the effectiveness of each customer interaction.

Let’s talk about these three different areas.

CRM Customer Relationship Management to Understand the Customer

In a CRM Customer Relationship Management application and approach a user will collect as much information about a customer that they can. They’ll collect names, addresses, contact numbers, age, sex, number of children etc. A CRM Customer Relationship Management process does this to, amongst other things; help ‘classify’ their customers.

A benefit of a CRM Customer Relationship Management system is that a user can help analyse which types of customers are best for their business.

Then once they know what customer ‘types’ are best they can then market to them in a ‘personal’ way – using the information gained about them.

CRM Customer Relationship Management to understand the customers wants and needs.
As information is collected about the customers’ personal life, information is also collected about their buying habits and stored in CRM Customer Relationship Management software.

Humans are creatures of habit. By analysing the information collected about the customer and their buying habits the CRM Customer Relationship Management can be used to help the business identify what the customers would most likely want or need to buy.

For example, if your CRM Customer Relationship Management information lets you know that your best customers typically like buying ‘red apples’ in November for an average sale price of $15. You can prepare a marketing approach that is sent out to them prior to November that will steer them towards buying $30 worth of apples.

The customer sees it as useful because it’s something they like to do at that time of year, and you’re offering them a reminder and perhaps an incentive to buy more. The business benefits by structuring the offer to increase the sales value and therefore increasing the profit return.

CRM Customer Relationship Management is Useful to Also Target New Customers

Information gathered in the CRM Customer Relationship Management will help the business to target more of the preferred customers. An analysis using CRM Customer Relationship Management software could tell the business, for example, that single males between 30 to 35 years of age that earn between $50,000 and $60,000 are the best type of customer for the business.

Knowing that information from the CRM Customer Relationship Management, the business can then hire a list from a direct mail list broker of all the single men that fit the description and target their marketing towards them.

The CRM Customer Relationship Management activity of improving the relationship with the customer is to help keep the customer more loyal to the company and thus improve the profitability of the business.

CRM Customer Relationship Management to Help Efficiency and Effectiveness of Business

A good CRM Customer Relationship Management application will help the business to become more efficient and effective.

The business can become more efficient because if a customer contacts the business, within seconds the customer service representative can produce the customers file. This will tell the employee all about the customer and their interaction with the business.

So a CRM Customer Relationship Management saves time for the business and is able to help the employees deliver high levels of personalised service.

A CRM Customer Relationship Management software program and approach can help the business become more effective. An example would be marketing.

Knowing all the information about the customers, the marketing strategies can be targeted towards the customers in a personal way. Thus marketing to a defined target market with a past history the potential of improved results is far greater than marketing to a ‘cold’ list.

This article should only be viewed a very broad overview of what CRM Customer Relationship Management is.

On http://www.crmsoftwarecenter.com/ you’ll find more detail and resources to help you understand and use CRM Customer Relationship Management for your business.

Copyright © 2005 by Casey Gollan. All Rights Reserved.


Casey A Gollan, The Business Growth Specialist - http://www.caseygollan.com.au> for CRM Software Center - http://www.crmsoftwarecenter.com - CRM Software Center- All the general information and resources for everything CRM - Customer Relationship Management. Visit www.crmsoftwarecenter.com for more articles and info on CRM.





CRM Customer Relationship Management - To learn more about this author, visit Casey Gollan's Website.

Like this article? Share it with your friends

Article Feedback
 Article Feedback No article feedback found.
  Leave Your Feedback
article feedback

Article Feedback
David Acheson
David Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns.  David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website

Dave Kurlan
Dave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website

Linda Richardson
Linda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website

Stephanie Robey
Stephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals.

She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com   Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences.  Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University.

Read Steph's Blog
Meet Steph and Dave
Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich
- Visit Stephanie Robey's Website


To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us.

About The Author


Casey Gollan
(Visit Casey's Website) Casey Gollan, Business Coaching & Mentoring Programs. Add $1 Million to $10 Million in the next 1 to 3 years. Since 1996 Casey has to added hundreds of millions of dollars to businesses. Watch a free video see client results Business Coaching website.

Casey Gollan is a Platinum author on EvanCarmichael.com
About The Author

View Author Blog
View Author Blog

View Author Video
View Author Video

Free Downloads


Casey Gollan's

Complete
List Of
Business-Coach
Articles

Name
Email
If you enjoyed this article, get Casey Gollan's Complete List of Business-Coach Articles For FREE!

More Casey Gollan
HOT Sales Tip For Business Growth Remember To Ask For The Sale
Know Your Financials Like The Back Of Your Hand
Expert Business Coach Explains That MultiMillionaire Business Owners Make Their Business Work So They Dont Have To
Become A Better Business Person
Fax Software
7 Reasons Why You Need A Business Coach
Top Business Coach Teaches You How To Plan Your Growth
Fax Broadcasting
Fax Broadcasting Legal Bindings
WARNING Small business Owners Before You Advertise Read This Simple Checklist
Free Downloads


 
 
 


Evan Elite Authors
Leanne Hoagland-Smith  
Jeff Foster  
Stephanie Robey  
Evan Elite Authors

Become An Author
Have you written articles that would be of value to entrepreneurs? Become an expert on our site by publishing them! Expose yourself to a wide audience, drive more traffic to your website and get more sales! Click Here for details.
Become An Author

Evan's Latest Video
Modeling the Masters: Learn the true secrets behind Walt Disney's business success factors & grow your company! Video produced by Phanta Media
Evan's Latest Video

Business Opportunities
"Learn straight from Evan how you can Make a Full Time Income (And More) from a Website"

How to Start An Online Business

Click Here To Learn More
Business Opportunities



Evan's Newsletter
Get advice & tips from famous business owners, new articles by entrepreneur experts, my latest website updates, & special sneak peaks at what's to come!
Name:
Email:
Evan`s Newsletter

Free Downloads
Tips For Less Stress Icon Tips For Less Stress
Ideal Website Template Icon Ideal Website Template
Adopting Creative Thinking Icon Adopting Creative Thinking
Reference Check Form Icon Reference Check Form
Manners, Positivity, Heroics Icon Manners, Positivity, Heroics
Free Downloads - Complete List

Entrepreneur Tools and Guides
Top 50 Franchising Blogs
Top 50 Franchising Blogs
Top 50 Franchising Blogs
 
Top 50 Blogs For Startups To Watch In 2008
Top 50 Blogs For Startups
Top Blogs To Watch In 2008
 
Entrepreneur Tools and Guides

SEO For Africa
SEO For Africa
Yawo Magnon Agoe, Togo,
Yawo Magnon
Agoe, Togo
SEO For Africa

If I Were A Startup...
Frank Cianciulli, $2.3 to $7.5 Mil in 2 years
Frank Cianciulli
$2.3 to $7.5 Mil in 2 years
Chris Nguyen, 30+ national clients on $0
Chris Nguyen
30+ national clients on $0
If I Were A Startup... - Complete List

Famous Entrepreneurs
George Steinbrenner, New  York Yankees
George Steinbrenner
New York Yankees
Mark Cuban, Broadcast.com
Mark Cuban
Broadcast.com
Famous Entrepreneurs - Complete List

Entrepreneur Advice
Donald J. Trump, Trump University
Donald J. Trump
Trump University
John Jantsch, Duct Tape Marketing
John Jantsch
Duct Tape Marketing
Entrepreneur Advice - Complete List

Popular Articles
(Premium Authors)

     Targeted Selection makes Hiring Much Easier
By John M. Beane
     Conducting an Exit Interview
By John M. Beane
     Why are Employees defensive about their performance?
By John M. Beane

Have A Suggestion?
Toronto Salsa Classes / Toronto Salsa Lessons Email us your ideas on how to make our website more valuable! Thank you Sharon from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for your suggestions to make the newsletter look like the website and profile younger entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez and Sean Combs!
Have A Suggestion?

More Evan Carmichael
More Information