Customer Relationship Management: Getting It Right!

3.1. Defining “CRM”

We're going to establish a definition of the term CRM that we will use throughout the rest of this book. Just before we do that, let's take a look at some of the misconceptions and partial truths that exist about CRM.

Creating a definition for CRM is both critical and dangerous. It is critical because your organization needs to have a common understanding of what you are doing. It is dangerous because so many definitions and misconceptions are already lodged in people's minds. One of the first things that any company should do when launching a CRM initiative is to test what the organization's current understanding of CRM is.

3.1.1. Common Misconceptions

Table 3-1 presents a series of quotes from a number of different individuals, ...