CRM: The Most Important Relationship is with the Customer, Not the Data

When we discuss Customer Relationship Management (CRM) it’s often in the context of technology. But technology is only one element, and not the hardest one to grasp.

CRM is about people, processes and technology, and in that order. It’s a discipline that’s practiced even without technology. Ever had a clerk or a waiter remember your name? That’s CRM. Gotten a break on a price from someone you do regular business with? That’s CRM. Received a note or an email letting you know that something you asked about is now in stock? That’s CRM, too.

But scaling those relationship moments requires technology — and that’s where CRM often runs into problems. A disturbing percentage of CRM implementations — between 40 and 80 percent, if you believe the industry researchers — ends in “failure.”

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