The way a business interacts with its customers is key to keeping
them coming back to you. Roisin Woolnough looks at five successful
CRM implementations
Customer relationship management (CRM) gets a bad press. Many
investors and organisations are sceptical about the benefits of CRM
tools, put off by numerous recent high-profile cases of
unsuccessful implementations. Despite these corporate doubts, CRM
is an ever increasing phenomenon. IT analysis company Aberdeen
Group estimates that the global CRM market will grow from $13.45bn
(£9.3bn) in 2001 to $27.76 bn in 2005. The US is the biggest
spender on CRM, with the UK taking second place.
Last year, Aberdeen Group set out to find examples of where CRM has
helped business. The result was its report What Works in Europe:
success stories in customer relationship management. Its analysts
looked for demonstrations of CRM implementation excellence,
regardless of conventional yardsticks such as company size or
market share.
Many healthcare, automative, financial, IT and utilities sectors
have deployed CRM solutions effectively. The Aberdeen analysts
found that success was generally determined by good communication
between suppliers and customers. Those companies which invest in a
CRM system that promises a quick return on investment and
understand how to overhaul customer-facing business processes stand
a greater chance of success.
Aberdeen Group and Computer Weekly have put together five examples
of companies that have successfully installed CRM systems.
Where the case studies come from
Aberdeen
Group is a leading IT market analysis and positioning services
company that helps IT suppliers establish leadership in emerging
markets. Further information on the customer relationship
management report What Works in Europe, go to
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