CRM Systems

Reading: Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Systems and IMC

Using CRM to Support Marketing Communication

Earlier in this course we introduced customer relationship management (CRM) systems, which serve key functions for marketing, sales, and account management. These systems capture data about customers as well as an organization's interactions with these customers. They also provide tools to help marketers and salespeople better manage customer relationships and meet their customers' needs. CRM systems generally capture and maintain information about prospective as well as current customers, making them very useful to both marketing and sales processes.

The overall business goals of CRM systems are to help organizations 1) capture new leads and move them through the sales process; 2) support and manage relationships with current customers to maximize their lifetime value to the company; and 3) boost productivity and lower the overall costs of marketing, sales, and account management.

CRM systems can be complicated to implement because they are intended to support a complex set of processes and business functions. At times, the systems themselves are so sophisticated that organizations never fully use all their capabilities. However, a wide selection of CRM systems are now available at different levels of pricing and complexity. As managers refine their understanding of how CRM systems can help them achieve their business and marketing objectives, they can identify suitable systems and implementation approaches to fit their needs.