Customer Relationship Management (CRM) in Business Development Report

This report examines the application and impact of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems across various business sectors. It begins by defining CRM and its core objectives, emphasizing its role in enhancing customer relationships, improving profitability, and streamlining business processes. The report then delves into specific industry applications, including manufacturing, professional services, and B2B environments, highlighting how CRM can be tailored to meet the unique needs of each sector. For instance, it discusses how manufacturing companies can leverage CRM for up-selling and contract management, while professional service firms can use it to manage client relationships effectively. The report also addresses the integration of CRM with marketing, sales, and customer service functions, providing insights into the adoption of CRM technology in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Additionally, it references several academic sources to support its analysis, offering a comprehensive overview of CRM's role in fostering customer knowledge creation and driving business development. This report is a valuable resource for understanding the strategic importance of CRM in modern business operations.

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Answer 1
CRM or the customer relationship
management is the technology to
manage all the interactions and
relationships of company with the
customers and the potential customers.
The main objective of CRM is to improve
the business relationships. It also helps
the companies to stay connected with
the customers. Improve the profitability
and streamline the processes.

Answer 2
The CRM can transform the
business and at the same time can
improve profitability and make all
the customers happy. As the
engagement of customer is not an
easy job, the management shall
fingertip all the data under the
dashboard for being competitive.

Manufacturing company –
Large manufacturing companies
generally focus on up-sell and
renewal of the business and have
multi-phases contracts those are
required to be tracked. The CRM
function here will collaborate the
tools among marketing, sales,
manufacturing, support and
engineering. It will also make the
sales cycle clearly defined and
discrete.

Professional service firm –
The company that provides financial
services has no account manager or titled
sales. However, the relationships with the
clients are long standing and no classic
focus is there on sales. The CRM system
can be applied differently as compared to
the circumstance where the situation is
handled by the dedicated executives for
account.

B2B (Business to business)
Company –
The company focussed on the B2B
transactions in software, high-tech
space and electronics then it
requires high levels synchronization
among marketing, departments for
customer services and sales. The
company may have different
support or marketing systems that is
running in cycle. Therefore, the
company offers 2 versions of the
product – SME version and

References –
Choudhury, M. M., & Harrigan, P. (2014). CRM to social CRM:
the integration of new technologies into customer
relationship management. Journal of Strategic
Marketing, 22(2), 149-176.
H. Nguyen, T., & S. Waring, T. (2013). The adoption of
customer relationship management (CRM) technology in
SMEs: An empirical study. Journal of Small Business and
Enterprise Development, 20(4), 824-848.
Khodakarami, F., & Chan, Y. E. (2014). Exploring the role of
customer relationship management (CRM) systems in
customer knowledge creation. Information &
Management, 51(1), 27-42.
Stein, A. D., Smith, M. F., & Lancioni, R. A. (2013). The
development and diffusion of customer relationship
management (CRM) intelligence in business-to-business
environments. Industrial Marketing Management, 42(6), 855-