Customer Relationship Management in an Electronic Economy

In the last few years Customer Relationship Management (CRM) has been the subject of considerable interest in the business world. This has sometimes resulted in exaggerated claims about the benefits on offer to organisations. This paper provides an insight to the underlying concepts of CRM, the technological changes, and the impact to the organisational structure, its processes and the three main business divisions relied upon to deliver customer intimacy – specifically, Customer Service, Marketing and Sales. The paper highlights examples where CRM initiatives have been implemented for cost savings, profitability growth and a competitive advantage. The paper also outlines how many organisations are seeking to realign and empower the lower ranks of the business to nurture and harvest one-to-one customer relationships. The paper indicates that organisations need to review business operations in order to meet the challenges of delivering customer focus and outlines a framework as a planning tool to utilise CRM technology.