Introduction to Customer Relationship Management

CRM is a strategic approach that integrates technology, data, and processes to build profitable customer relationships.
Modern CRM systems automate sales, marketing, and support while offering analytics, personalization, and omnichannel engagement.
They enhance customer satisfaction, retention, and lifetime value by aligning IT services, business goals, and user experiences.

1. As per Franics Buttle , Worlds first professor of CRM , it is the core business strategy that integrates internal processes and functions, and external networks, to create and deliver value to a target customer at profit . It is grounded on high quality customer data and information technology. From the viewpoint of the Management , CRM can be defined as  an organized approach of developing, managing, and maintaining a profitable relationship with customers . By equating the term with technology , the IT organizations define CRM as a software that assists marketing, merchandising, selling, and smooth service operations of a business . The primary goal of CRM is to increase customer loyalty and in turn improve business profitability .

2. CRM SYSTEM Benefits Reports Customer Care HR Management Lead Management Marketing Sales Force Automation Workflow Automation Analytics Ingredients of CRM

3. Analytics  − Analytics is the process of studying, handling, and representing data in various graphical formats such as charts, tables, trends, etc., in order to observe market trends. Business Reporting  − Business Reporting includes accurate reports of sales, customer care, and marketing. Customer Service  − Customer Service involves collecting and sending the following customer-related information to the concerned department − Personal information such as name, address, age Previous purchase patterns. Requirements and preferences. Complaints and suggestions. Human Resource Management  − Human Resource Management involves employing and placing the most eligible human resource at a required place in the business.

4. Lead Management  − Lead Management involves keeping a track of the sales leads and distribution, managing the campaigns, designing customized forms, finalizing the mailing lists, and studying the purchase patterns of the customers. Marketing  − Marketing involves forming and implementing sales strategies by studying existing and potential customers in order to sell the product. Sales Force Automation  − Sales Force Automation includes forecasting, recording sales, processing, and keeping a track of the potential interactions. Workflow Automation  − Workflow Automation involves streamlining and scheduling various processes that run in parallel. It reduces costs and time, and prevents assigning the same task to multiple employees.

5. Overview of CRM

6. - Ticket Creation & Categorization – When a user submits an issue, the CRM automatically categorizes it based on urgency and type (hardware, software, network, etc.). - Automated Assignment – The system assigns the ticket to the appropriate IT support team based on expertise and workload. - Issue Diagnosis & Resolution – The assigned technician reviews the issue, checks previous resolutions, and suggests fixes. - Automated Response & Updates – The CRM sends automated updates to the user about ticket progress. - Escalation Workflow – If the issue isn’t resolved within a set timeframe, it escalates to a senior technician or manager. - Knowledge Base Integration – The system suggests relevant articles or solutions from the knowledge base to help users resolve common issues. - Feedback & Closure – Once resolved, the CRM sends a feedback request to the user and closes the ticket.

7. CRM software is used by companies and industries of all sizes. It benefits large enterprises that need to easily track customer activity in one place and share it across departments, small businesses that often need to do more with less, and startups looking to be nimble and efficient. CRM software supports strong, productive, loyal customer relationships through informed and superior customer experiences. Customer relationship management is both a strategy and a tool that supports those experiences in few key ways. Answer the most basic customer questions Customer relationship management helps you find new customers, sell to them, and develop a loyal customer relationship with them. These systems collect many different types of customer data and organize it so you understand your customers/prospects better and can answer (or even anticipate) their questions. Manage customer data Bad decisions come from a lack of access to and inability to interpret customer data. Being able to store, track, and validate customer data within an automated system will allow sales and marketing teams to optimize customer engagement strategies and build better relationships.

8. Automate the sales process Sales force automation makes selling more efficient, helping you sell more quickly. The best CRM systems  use artificial intelligence (AI)  and unified customer data to automate the sales process by prompting sellers with recommended next-best actions. Personalize marketing campaigns Customers and potential customers arrive through various channels, including websites, social media, email, online/offline events, etc. Unfortunately, many businesses struggle to connect marketing efforts across all these channels. Marketing teams can improve conversions, strengthen customer relationships, and align messaging across their digital customer channels by leveraging CRM systems. Align sales and marketing With customer relationship management, marketing and sales work better together to drive sales and increase revenue. When sales and marketing are in sync, sales productivity goes up along with marketing ROI.

9. Roles of CRM in IT Industry

10. Offering better customer support AI-Powered Automation – Use chatbots and automated workflows to handle routine queries and improve response times. Omnichannel Communication – Integrate multiple support channels like email, chat, and phone for seamless customer interactions. Personalized Customer Service – Leverage CRM data to understand customer needs and provide tailored solutions. Self-Service Options – Offer knowledge bases, FAQs, and community forums to enable customers to find solutions independently. Data-Driven Insights – Utilize analytics to predict customer issues and proactively address concerns.

11. Increasing customer lifetime value Personalized Engagement – Tailor interactions using customer data to enhance satisfaction and loyalty. Loyalty Programs & Incentives – Offer rewards, discounts, or exclusive perks to encourage repeat purchases. Proactive Customer Support – Resolve issues quickly and efficiently to strengthen customer trust. Upselling & Cross-Selling – Recommend relevant products or services to maximize value. Continuous Improvement – Gather feedback and optimize offerings to meet evolving customer needs.

12. Improving Products and services Customer Feedback Integration – Actively gather and analyze customer insights to refine offerings. Continuous Innovation – Keep pace with market trends and emerging technologies to enhance features. Quality Assurance & Testing – Ensure reliability and performance through rigorous testing and improvements. Personalization & Customization – Adapt products and services to better suit individual customer needs. Streamlined User Experience – Simplify processes and interfaces for better usability and satisfaction.

13. Customer Retention Personalized Engagement – Build strong relationships by understanding customer preferences and offering tailored experiences. Loyalty Programs & Incentives – Reward repeat customers with discounts, perks, and exclusive offers. Proactive Support & Communication – Address concerns before they escalate and maintain ongoing engagement. Consistent Quality & Reliability – Ensure products and services meet high standards to maintain trust. Feedback-Driven Improvements – Continuously refine offerings based on customer insights and evolving needs.

14. Collaboration A collaborative CRM is software created to help different teams collaborate better to handle customer relationships. These tools usually offer features for  cross-departmental communication ,  data sharing , and  workflow automation , all aimed at improving customer interactions and satisfaction from a unified interface. Cross-Team Integration – Enables seamless communication and collaboration between sales, marketing, and customer support. Centralized Customer Data – Ensures real-time sharing of customer interactions and insights across departments. Multi-Channel Engagement – Helps businesses coordinate interactions across social media, email, chat, and phone support. Workflow Automation – Streamlines tasks like service requests, follow-ups, and feedback management. Improved Customer Experience – Provides a unified and personalized experience by aligning communication efforts.

15. Contact Management Unified Contact Repository – Stores customer details, interactions, and history in a centralized database. Efficient Communication Tracking – Logs emails, calls, meetings, and touchpoints for seamless follow-ups. Automated Data Updates – Ensures contact information is consistently updated and synchronized across systems. Segmentation & Personalization – Categorizes contacts based on behavior, preferences, and engagement levels. Integration with Sales & Support – Links contact data with sales pipelines, customer service, and marketing efforts for a holistic view. Contact management within a CRM system is  the process of recording and tracking all information and interactions related to a company's contacts, including customers, prospects, and leads .

16. Reporting and analytics Data-Driven Insights – Helps businesses analyze customer interactions, sales trends, and performance metrics. Customizable Reports – Allows users to create tailored reports for different departments and objectives. Real-Time Monitoring – Provides up-to-date dashboards that track key performance indicators (KPIs). Predictive Analytics – Uses historical data to forecast customer behavior and future business trends. Decision Support – Empowers teams with actionable insights to optimize strategies and improve outcomes. CRM reporting and analytics  provide businesses with actionable insights into customer interactions, sales performance, and overall operations , enabling better decision-making and strategy optimization.

17. Analyze Customer Behaviour Analyzing customer behavior in a CRM involves tracking and interpreting how customers interact with your business. This includes examining purchase history, browsing habits, campaign engagement, and customer service interactions. Purchase Patterns – Examining buying habits, frequency, and preferences to understand customer needs. Engagement Metrics – Tracking interactions across websites, social media, emails, and customer support channels. Demographic Analysis – Studying factors like age, location, and income to tailor marketing strategies. Sentiment Analysis – Using feedback, reviews, and surveys to gauge customer satisfaction and emotions. Predictive Modeling – Leveraging data trends to anticipate future customer behaviors and preferences.

18. Data-Driven Decision-Making Data-driven decision-making in CRM involves  using data and analysis to inform business decisions related to customer relationships and interactions, rather than relying solely on intuition or gut feelings . Evidence-Based Strategies – Uses data and analytics to guide business and operational decisions. Real-Time Insights – Allows organizations to make quick and informed choices with up-to-date information. Trend Identification – Helps recognize patterns and predict future opportunities or risks. Performance Optimization – Improves efficiency by analyzing outcomes and refining strategies. Reduced Bias & Errors – Minimizes subjectivity by relying on factual data rather than assumptions.

19. Enhanced Sales Performance Enhancing sales performance within a CRM system involves leveraging the system's features to streamline processes, improve data accuracy, and gain deeper customer insights. This leads to more effective sales strategies, increased efficiency, and ultimately, higher revenue. Optimized Lead Management – Streamlining lead tracking and nurturing processes to convert prospects efficiently. Data-Driven Insights – Leveraging customer analytics to refine sales strategies and target high-value opportunities. Personalized Customer Interactions – Enhancing engagement through tailored communication and solutions. Automated Sales Processes – Reducing manual tasks with automation to improve efficiency and focus on high-impact activities. Continuous Training & Development – Upskilling sales teams with tools, techniques, and industry trends for sustained success.

20. Early 1950s : The Rolodex Rolodex , the primary form of CRM, was used from the early 1950s to the late 1960s. It was used along with folders in filing cabinets and personal organizers. Early 1970s : Mainframe System As the mainframe computers increased in popularity, the business could register necessary customer information such as name, contact details in a digital format. Early 1980s : Database Marketing The first CRM systems gained their popularity through the businesses that adopted database marketing. Businesses collected the customer information but had no option to organize or respond to it. Late 1980s : Contact Management System Conductor Software launched ACT! - a digital version of Rolodex but what made it unique is a built-in contact management tool. The tool marked the beginning of outbound sales calls or cold calls to the customers.

21. Early 1990s : Sales Force Automation New features such as tracking and analyzing the customer data, were added to database marketing and the rest of the tasks were automated. This led to Sales Force automation.  Siebel Systems  became the most popular SFA provider. 1995 : CRM Acronym The term “CRM” was coined. Late 1995s : Mobile CRM Siebel Systems released the first-ever mobile CRM. It was called Siebel Sales Handheld. 1999 : Cloud-based SaaS CRM System The first-ever cloud-based SaaS CRM system came into existence. This is CRM software hosted in the cloud. In other words, the customer information will be stored and accessed through the internet.

22. Early 2000s : On-premise CRM On-premise CRM industry took over in the 2000s. It was mainly invented for corporate-wide process automation of large organizationss . 2004 : Open-source CRM CRM systems evolved to open-source CRM systems. The open-source CRM software used open-source programs. The source code of the programs was available for the public for use and/or modification. 2007 : Cloud-based CRM The cloud-based SaaS application development program was combined with SaaS to enable the customisation of web-based CRM. Late 2000s : Social CRM The rise of the social media era led CRM from being just a transactional tool to an interactive tool. Customer interactions, social media automation and customer service became highly important.

23. 2010s : Introduction of New Integration Capabilities With the rise of business intelligence services and communication systems, integrations, improvements of data analytics and reporting, mobile access, involvement of AI and machine learning increased. The present : CX-focused CRM There is a transition from CRM strategy for marketing, sales, and service to CRM strategy to enhance the data personalization for customers. Future of CRM : AI and analytics CRM providers such as Pepper Cloud, are continually improving the products with AI, machine learning, and analytics and ensuring to provide the best to their customers.

24. Key Concepts and Frameworks 1. Customer satisfaction Customer  satisfaction  measures a customer’s perception of the quality of a product, service, or company, incorporating  product engagement  and many other factors. It’s also sometimes called  customer success .  2. Customer loyalty Customer loyalty is the measure of repeat sales and referrals. This measurement depends on how often a customer purchases from one particular company versus others that may be similar or better suited to their needs throughout the  customer journey .   3. Profitability Profitability  measures how much profit (or loss) a company makes during its operation. Calculate it by total revenue minus total costs. Profit is significant because it allows companies to continue operations and stay profitable to grow and expand.  

25. Key Concepts and Frameworks 4. Customer Retention Customer retention measures how many customers remain loyal to one company over time.    5. Marketing  CRM plays a crucial role in marketing as it involves promoting and advertising your business to attract new customers. By analyzing the behaviour of potential customers, CRM helps enhance advertising strategies for greater effectiveness. 6. Business Reporting The final component of CRM is business reporting, which provides users with reports containing visual elements to track data over time. By comparing historical data and forecasting future performance, users can gain insights into their business operations.

26. ITIL (IT Infrastructure Library) significantly enhances Customer Relationship Management (CRM) by ensuring IT services are reliable, efficient, and aligned with business goals, ultimately leading to improved customer satisfaction. ITIL provides a framework for managing IT services, including incident management, problem management, and change management, which are crucial for maintaining the stability and performance of CRM systems. By addressing issues promptly and proactively, ITIL helps ensure that CRM tools remain operational, minimizing disruptions to customer interactions.  ITIL and its role in CRM

27. 2. Enhanced Customer Satisfaction: Efficient Service Delivery: By streamlining IT processes and making sure IT services are readily available when needed, ITIL contributes to a smoother customer experience.  Faster Problem Resolution: ITIL's focus on rapid incident and problem resolution means customers can receive support more quickly, reducing frustration and improving their overall experience.  Proactive Service Management: ITIL's proactive approach to managing IT services helps to identify potential issues before they impact customers, leading to a more predictable and positive experience.  1. Improved CRM System Stability and Reliability: Incident Management: ITIL's incident management process helps to quickly identify, diagnose, and resolve issues that may affect the CRM system's functionality, ensuring it remains operational.  Problem Management: ITIL's problem management process addresses the root causes of recurring issues, preventing them from impacting CRM operations in the future.  Change Management: ITIL's change management process ensures that changes to the CRM system are implemented smoothly and with minimal disruption, preventing potential issues. 

28. 4. Enhanced Collaboration and Communication: ITIL promotes collaboration: ITIL encourages collaboration between IT teams and other stakeholders, including CRM teams and customers. Improved Communication: ITIL's focus on clear communication and information sharing helps to ensure that everyone involved in CRM is aware of the latest updates and developments.  3. Alignment with Business Goals: ITIL aligns IT with business objectives: By ensuring that IT services are aligned with the overall business strategy, ITIL helps to maximize the value of IT investments.  Focus on Value Creation: ITIL emphasizes value creation, ensuring that IT services contribute meaningfully to the organization's overall value proposition.  Improved Efficiency and Cost Savings: ITIL helps to optimize IT resources and processes, leading to increased efficiency and cost savings, which can be reinvested in other areas, including CRM. 

29. Enterprise Service Management (ESM) is  a strategic approach that extends the principles of IT Service Management (ITSM) to encompass all departments within an organization, aiming to improve service delivery and efficiency across the board ESM, is the extension of IT Service Management (ITSM) principles to enable better service delivery for business teams like Human Resources (HR), legal, facilities, marketing, and finance .

30. ITSM Vs ESM

31. Increasing productivity.  Using an easy  ticket tracking process  enables teams to respond to requests quickly, all in one place, leaving inboxes (and employees’ minds) less cluttered. Minimizing waste.  Mapping processes  helps define activities, resources, and more by how much value they add. Eliminate the activities that add no value. When you know exactly what is needed, you avoid redundant surpluses. As you mature this process, you can evolve into a continuous improvement workplace, for long-term improvement and optimization. Enhancing visibility and control . Once you establish reporting techniques, reliable metrics offer a high level of visibility, so you can easily identify problem areas.

32. Increasing user satisfaction . As processes help define roles and responsibilities , internal users will become more satisfied with request expectations. (Satisfied internal users will spill into your external customers, who will also see this improvement.) Sharpening your competitive edge . By 2025, companies will need to embrace intelligent, tech-enabled systems in order to thrive during unforeseen changes. Increasing ROI on ITSM solutions . With more business units using the same or similar ITSM and ESM solutions, the ROI increases drastically.

33. Implementing Enterprise Service Management (ESM) can be complex, but the right approach can significantly enhance operational efficiency and elevate customer satisfaction. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you get started with ESM: 1. Define Objectives and Goals : Start by setting clear, measurable goals for implementing ESM. These objectives should align with your broader business strategy, such as improving operational efficiency, enhancing customer and employee experiences, reducing operational costs, or boosting service consistency across departments. 2. Assess the Current State : Evaluate the existing services, practices, processes, and systems across different departments. Identify pain points, inefficiencies, bottlenecks, and areas with potential improvement. This comprehensive assessment will help you understand the current landscape and highlight opportunities for optimization and innovation. 3. Create a High-Level Roadmap : Based on the current state assessment, develop a high-level roadmap that outlines priorities, key milestones, and quick wins. This roadmap should include people, practices, technology, supplier considerations, governance, experience needs, and any constraints you may face. Having a clear roadmap helps ensure a structured and focused approach to ESM implementation. 4. Select an ESM Solution : Choose an ESM platform that aligns with your organization’s unique needs. Look for a solution that integrates with existing business systems, can scale as the organization grows, and supports multiple business functions.

34. 5. Develop a Solution Adoption Plan : A solution adoption plan is critical for the success of your ESM implementation. This plan should guide teams through the transition process, ensuring effective engagement, reducing resistance, and driving measurable results. It should include training, support structures, and clear communication strategies to foster adoption and create enthusiasm for the new system. 6. Design the ESM Service : Design ESM services that deliver measurable value. Review best practices for defining and designing services, including creating service blueprints, personas, journey maps, and touchpoints. Consider how each department’s services will align with your organization’s overall service goals and deliver a seamless experience for internal and external customers. 7. Implement : Implement the ESM solution in phases to ensure a smooth transition and reduce disruptions. Use a phased rollout to address challenges incrementally while refining the process. Integrate the best practices of  organizational change management (OCM)  into the implementation plan to ensure that all stakeholders are supported, engaged, and invested in the system's success. 8. Monitor and Optimize : After implementation, continuously monitor the ESM system’s performance to assess its effectiveness. Gather user feedback, track key metrics, and identify areas for improvement. Optimize the system over time by making iterative adjustments based on feedback and performance data, ensuring that the solution evolves to meet the business's changing needs.

35. Business Service Management (BSM) refers to a structured method for aligning an organization’s IT services and capabilities with the business strategy and operations. In more concrete terms, BSM refers to the creation of service-level and operational-level agreements, rules, policies, and procedures that integrate IT capabilities and insights into the broader business framework. The problem BSM seeks to address is this: as the core business processes have become increasingly dependent on technology and IT, the relationship between IT and the teams that depended on them had to evolve. These teams needed IT to be strategic partners rather than fulfillment centers. They also needed guarantees that the services that IT teams provide would be available to them with consistency and predictability. The primary goal of BSM is to ensure that all processes within the business have the IT resources — meaning people and technology — to support them. The secondary goal of BSM is to anticipate future IT needs and to identify new ways that the business can leverage IT and technology into a competitive advantage. What is ?

36. How does BSM work across the organization? Think of BSM as the connective tissue that holds the business operations together. Every department and team relies on an arrangement of apps, systems, and processes to achieve their goals. IT teams ensure that the technology is aligned with both the processes and the goals of the team. 

37. Why is business service management important ? BSM is important because it allows business teams to get maximum value from the technology and IT services available to them. BSM builds synergy between business units and IT teams and amplifies their ability to achieve business goals.  Beyond this, there are several benefits that come from implementing a business service management model: Faster service delivery More visibility for requestors Greater stack extensibility Fewer process gaps Closer business team-IT alignment More process standardization Business Service Management Faster service delivery More visibility for requestors Fewer process gaps Greater stack extensibility Closer business team-IT alignment More process standardization

38. A customer-centric way of doing business is focused on providing a positive  customer experience  before and after the sale. Customer-centricity is a business strategy that’s based on putting your customer first and at the core of your business in order to provide a positive experience and  build long-term relationships . When you put your customer at the core of your business, and combine it with   Customer Relationship Management (CRM) , you collect a wealth of data, which gives you a  full 360 view of the customer . This data can then be used to enhance your customer’s experience. For example: You can use customer data to understand buying behavior, interests and engagement You can identify opportunities to create products, services, and promotions for your best customers You can use customer lifetime value to segment customers based on top spenders Companies that focus on their customers are able to provide a positive customer experience through their entire journey. To accomplish this, companies must undergo a massive shift in their organization’s structure and culture. 

39. Customer relationship management is a strategy for interacting with current and potential customers. However, in practice, CRM typically refers to a category of sales tools and products that enable effective relationship management. A successful CRM should help you better understand your buyers, allowing you to deliver improved customer experiences. What is CRM CRM benefits

40. T ypes of CRM

41. 1. Operational CRM Operational CRMs focus on automating and streamlining a company’s processes for customer relationships. These CRMs, including sales CRMs, also help optimize sales, marketing, and customer service by providing tools to allow teams to visualize and efficiently handle the full buyer’s journey. By optimizing and automating these operations, sales teams can spend more time engaging with customers rather than managing manual tasks. Plus, operational CRMs make it easier for growing companies to continue to provide top-notch service at scale through: Sales automation  streamlines sales tasks such as lead scoring, opportunity management, and quote generation using sales automation tools. Contact management  stores and manages all customer information, including contact details, interaction history, and preferences. Service management  uses tools to track and resolve customer issues, including ticketing systems, live chat functionalities, and knowledge base software. O perational CRMs are good for: Small to medium-sized businesses looking to automate and optimize their day-to-day sales and service processes. Businesses that want to get more out of the customer information they have, while making processes more efficient for employees. Businesses that want a better understanding of customer lifecycle management and the CRM process.

42. 2. Analytical CRM Analytical CRMs collect and analyze customer data and offer data-driven insights. Digital CRM analytics tools and platforms simplify data collection and streamline analysis, ensuring businesses actually use the information they collect through: Data mining  extracts valuable insights from customer data to predict trends and behavior. Data warehousing  stores, organizes, and manages large volumes of data in a CRM database to gain a complete view of customer interactions. Analytical CRMs are good for: Businesses that want to leverage data for customer segmentation and targeting. Companies with large amounts of unused and unorganized customer data.

43. 3. Collaborative CRM To optimize collaboration between sales and service teams, you need a way to share information across an organization in real time. Collaborative CRMs help improve communication between departments, ensuring that everyone aligns with management and strategy expectations. Collaborative CRM treats each interaction as part of a larger, integrated conversation between the brand and the customer through: Interaction management  tracks interactions across multiple channels, ensuring each customer receives consistent brand communication and unique offers based on the buyer’s journey stages. Channel management  manages communication channels like email, phone, and social media to optimize sales strategies and marketing campaigns. Document management  consolidates where businesses store important customer documents to streamline data access. Collaborative CRMs are good for: Organizations where cross-departmental communication is critical for customer success. Businesses with many departments that struggle to keep all teams updated. Businesses with multiple locations or hybrid and remote working options.

44. 4. Strategic CRM Strategic CRMs help businesses identify high-value customers and create personalized  CRM strategies  to maximize engagement. This type of CRM software provides a comprehensive solution for managing customer relationships and optimizing business processes through: Customer segmentation  divides customers into groups based on specific data like behaviors, needs, demographics, or geography. Customer engagement  develops long-term strategies for keeping customers engaged with a brand, improving retention and revenue growth. Customer data management  collects, stores, and manages a database of customer information ethically and securely. Strategic CRMs are good for: Enterprise-level businesses that need to focus on building deep, personalized relationships with customers. Businesses that are aiming to improve sales efficiency through automated tasks, workflows, and data analysis.