Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is the process and system used to optimize customer care and retention. Over the years it has been adopted by many companies to increase their ability to provide customer service by giving a more complete picture of the customer from first contact to the sale and on to post-purchase support.
In previous incarnations, CRM worked better as a theory than in any practical way, but over the last 10 years it has seen a number of changes that has made it an integral process in many companies. These five developments marked some of the most important changes in the evolution of this business tool.
The first major development was the simple implementation of database tools to track user data. This provided the opportunity to target the company’s marketing efforts a little better by collecting some basic details on their customers. It was a start, but the software systems were not easy to use and the adoption rate was slow.
The next development came when companies started using the technology to give something back to the customers. This gave them a chance to track their customers before and after the purchase was made, and usually came in the form of membership rewards or credit card points and other similar programs.
One of the biggest changes came when major companies began to develop and offer CRM systems with a more familiar interface at more affordable prices. The Microsoft Dynamics CRM brought to the market a simple program that would seem very familiar to anyone who had used other Microsoft products. This also opened the door for resellers, like Customer Dynamics CRM solutions, to help increase the adoption rate of this new technology.
Finally, the current trends in CRM are leading toward cloud-based solutions that incorporate the social aspects of modern business. These developments will help maintain a dynamic CRM architecture that will allow customization to meet different business needs.
