CRM (Customer Relationship Management) is a series of IT related processes employed by most major organisations in order to effectively manage their customer relations and communications.
They allow businesses to gain in-depth knowledge of their customers, allowing them to respond to the needs of their clients and market their products more effectively.
The concept behind CRM solutions is they allow businesses to integrate all aspects of their activities seamlessly, in order to create a united, professional image.
Early CRM systems can be more accurately described as database marketing. In simple terms, this involved the process of collecting specific client data for certain groups in order for companies to talk to their clients on an individual basis.
This proved to be more suitable and effective for the larger corporations than small businesses. This was due to the fact that the survey-like, repetitive data which was acquired was more suited to the mass market than the more tailored, specific requirements of smaller businesses. For some companies, the basic information of people's spending habits was suitable for effective marketing, for others, it was not nearly enough.
CRM solutions as we know them today, first arrived in the 1990's with grand promises of changing the way businesses talk to their clients forever. In the beginning, however, this was far from the case, as the concept proved to be far better in theory than in practice.
As time has progressed, new technology has made it possible for businesses to tailor CRM systems to the specific requirements of their clients and hence make them more effective and worthwhile. As a result, CRM systems have increasingly become a two-way process. This meant that businesses could now offer incentives for customer loyalty. One successful example of this is Tesco's Clubcard scheme which rewards shoppers with points for their shopping, which can then be exchanged for a variety of goods and services.
Traditionally, the CRM solutions market has been dominated by software companies such as Siebel, SAP and Oracle. Microsoft are a relative newcomer to the sector, however, MS CRM 4.0 is one of the most comprehensive CRM systems available. Its ability to fully integrate with the Microsoft Office Suite means that it already has a significant advantage over its competitors.
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