Customer Relationship Management (CRM) means all the activities whereby the company interacts with its customers, whether in sales or services (Customer Relationship Management, n.d.). Putting all these information into an information system helps the company have a systematic approach to using such information to build and maintain its relationship and dialogue with its customers.
An effective Customer Relationship Management needs the necessary components of “methodologies, strategies, software, and web-based capabilities that help an enterprise organize and manage customer relationships” (What is CRM, n.d.). CRM put into an information system entails the need for a customized software program. The main uses of Customer Relationship Information Systems is to get close to the customers by way of knowing their needs and wants, learn about what products or services meet their expectations, and ultimately provide their demands (Customer RelationShip Management, 2008).
More specifically, Customer Relationship Information Systems have uses in the following sales and marketing stages: pre-sales or automating marketing campaigns, sales or sales prospect proposal tools, client service management or client relationship history records, and after-sales or call center implementation (Customer RelationShip Management, 2008).
A successful CRM system ultimately brings about loyal customers. Customers, the lifeblood of a business enterprise, will most likely patronize a company that takes care of them and knows them well. On the other end, these systems help companies make intelligent and informed customer decisions in their customer relationship, as well as zeroing in on the correct messages to tell them.
