The Origins Of The CRM Revolution

There are many things behind the CRM onslaught that is taking place today. This comes mostly, though, from customer demand, and from the realization by companies that they must pay more attention to their customer through CRM if they want those customers to return. Without return business, a company can die out very quickly. There are usually new customers as well, but there are only so many people that will try a product in a given area of the country or on the Internet. Because of that, it would be quite easy for a company to run into a very serious problem if that company did not take the time to cultivate its customers through CRM and be sensitive to the way that they feel. This lack of regard for customer feelings could easily damage the relationship between the company and the customers, and rebuilding that relationship takes much more work than simply keeping the relationship intact in the first place.

This understanding about how important CRM actually is did not just come about through company realization, however. It also came about because customers began to stand up and express their displeasure with companies because those companies were very careless with the way that customers were treated. Their requests were repeatedly ignored, the companies did not ask for feedback, and customer service became a joke, not an option. With CRM, however, that has all changed. This new software � abbreviated from customer relationship management � is designed to keep more than just names and addresses. It does this as well, but it also works with much more than that. In addition to remembering the customers� personal information, CRM software remembers important dates like birthdays and anniversaries, and keeps track of appointments, purchases, returns, calls to customer service numbers, answers to surveys, and countless other bits of information that can all be used to give the customer a better experience with the company.

For companies who use CRM and are committed to their customers, customer retention is generally much higher. When a person is aware that a company cares about him or her and what he or she thinks, there is a higher chance that the customer is going to continue to return to that company in the future. Naturally, this will not work for everyone, but many people feel strongly enough about this kind of interest in their lives and their feelings that they will be more likely to come back to a company that uses CRM as opposed to a company that does not. This CRM revolution was generally started by the customers and their willingness to voice what they needed, and then the companies took over the idea and realized how much it could do for them. This was the vital link in the chain between knowing about CRM and actually being aware of what it was able to do for companies and their customers. The CRM revolution, therefore, will generally continue to grow based on the fact that companies have now seen what it can do for them. Now that they know, they will not relinquish this kind of technology and business advantage.