Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

The last days while surfing the internet, I have come across many sites and blogs about customer relationship management. I have taken aback by the amazing wealth of resources and programs these sites include and the lot of fuss among internet users about this topic!

Customer Relationship Management has come to satisfy the need of marketers for better repurchase rates (repeated sales) of current customers. They have found that total quality management, after and during the sale services and all other value-adding processes are not enough to achieve customer retention (due to the rough competition and the increasing customer demands); they also need to build strong relations with their customers and to find ways to manage that relationship efficiently! Customer Relationship Management systems provide the frame and the tools for the necessary and appropriate activities. Through the data-mining of customers they can response to his / her needs better (e.g. by customizing the product to suit one’s needs).

The concept behind CRM is Relationship Marketing (treat each of your customers specially) and Database Marketing (which enables data-mining practices for the relationship management). Actually the hard core of CRM software includes a huge database where all customers’ data are entered, processed and kept in order to provide fast and accurate information about the customer in the first demand. Information about the customer can bring great success to the company in many ways as described below.

Advantages of CRM systems:

• They can provide marketers with vital and of great importance information about the products they sell, the market’s needs, they can also help with the positioning of the product (in consumers’ minds) and with segmentation.

• They can facilitate processes of the sales force. For example some regularities such as fixed sales every month for a customer.

• CRM systems may provide the necessary information about the product customization for a specific client

• They can add great value to the brand name, the company and its products by offering value to its customers. For example a company can offer a gift at a customers’ birthday or a check for products on its stores. These practices can lead to increased customers’ satisfaction and enhanced brand loyalty (something which typically will evoke high repurchase rates!)


CRM systems are continuously being adopted by an increased number of enterprises which are now starting to evaluate the great value and importance these systems provide. Also note that a CRM system should provide adequate information without being too much information saturated because that will became a great hindrance for marketers to make the right decisions and will cause much inefficiency.