Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Report and Analysis

This report provides an overview of Customer Relationship Management (CRM), defining it as the strategies, practices, and technologies used to manage and analyze customer interactions and data. The report emphasizes the importance of CRM in improving customer relationships and driving sales growth. It explores different CRM systems, including CRM software, cloud solutions, and CRM technology markets, highlighting their functions and benefits. The report also addresses the challenges of implementing CRM, such as data integration and customer experience issues. The conclusion stresses the significance of effective CRM for satisfactory customer service, emphasizing the role of the topic in developing essential customer service management skills. The report includes references to relevant literature on the subject, supporting the concepts discussed.

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CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT
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Introduction
The first and most essential step of customer relationship management (CRM) is to
understand what it means. It is defined as the strategies, practices, and technologies adopted
by a company or an organization in the management and analysis of the customer interactions
and the relevant data all across the customer life cycle (Tandon, Sharma, & Bhulal 2017, p.
59). The goals of CRM in an organization include improving the relationship between the
company and the customers since it directly addresses the concerns of the customers. In
doing this, it assists in improving the business relationship with the customers of the
company. The resulting impact is a driven growth of sales for the company.
In most cases, CRM is designed with the aim of compiling information from
customers’ organization channels. In other words, Fogleman (2013) donates that it is a point
of contact between the company and the customers through direct emails, social media,
websites, live chat, and marketing materials among others. CRM is adopted in three primary
systems which include CRM Software, CRM Technology Market, and Cloud Solution.
CRM Software- CRM software helps in consolidating the documents and information from
the customers into a single database to enable users’ to access and manage the information. It
is essential for the automation of various workflow processes within the organization such as
alerts, calendars, and relevant tasks that are essential to customer service. It thus gives the
management the ability to track performance as well as productivity by the customer
information that has been logged into the system
Cloud-Solution-It is a cloud-based system that is adopted as a CRM to provide real-time
customer or company data or information to sales agents both in the office. It becomes
effective as long as the devices used are internet connected i.e. laptops, smartphones, tablets,

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etc. However, if the company faces off/goes out of business, the access of the information can
be compromised.
CRM Technology Market- Adopts the use of salesforce.com, SAP, Oracle, and Microsoft as
the main vendors preferred by many companies. The technology unites the administration,
security, maintenance, and control functions of the database and the company information.
However, it resides on the server of the organization and adopts the use of cloud computing
hence allowing access to information in a remote place.
In the adoption of CRM, there are many challenges experienced by the companies. Some
of them include;
• Difficulty in developing a ‘single view customer’ when different data sets are
organized in a single dashboard.
• Reduced customer experience as a result of poor handling of technical support and
long wait times on phone calls
• Duplicate or outdated information slows down the data processing.
Adopting CRM in the organization has many benefits i.e. enables easy management of
customer information, improves business relationship with the customers, and enables a
company to retain the existing customers. Namhee and McLean (2014) also denote that
adopting proper CRM in a company increases sales due to increase in the customers through
better services
Conclusion
Effective and satisfactory customer service requires an organization to adopt proper
customer service strategy. CRM enables the company to have a proper management of
customer service and provide information in an easy way that can be interpreted and

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understood by the company workforce and the customers. Studying this topic is hence
essential in gaining the relevant skills and knowledge in effective customer service
management.

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List of References
Fogleman, D 2013, 'Customer Service', Training, 50, 2, pp. 44-45, Business Source Premier,
EBSCOhost, viewed 14 August 2017.
Namhee, K, & McLean, G 2014, 'Customer Service Behaviours in Korea and Implications for
Training: Lessons from an Exploratory Critical Incidents Study of Customer and Employee Service
Encounters', Asia Pacific Business Review, 13, 1, pp. 1-20, Business Source Premier, EBSCOhost,
viewed 14 August 2017.
Tandon, M, Sharma, N, & Bhulal, V 2017, 'The Impact of Customer Relationship Management and
its Significant Relationship to Customers' Satisfaction in Cooperative Banking: (A Case Study of
Kangra Central Co-operative Bank)', Global Journal Of Enterprise Information System, 9, 2, pp. 59-
66, Business Source Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 14 August 2017.