7.0 CRM SUCCESS FACTORS

The success of CRM practices depends on a company’s capability to leverage customer information in B2B and B2C channel relationships. Companies can customize these channel in two ways- Relation/Transactional and High-Tech/Low-Touch-to improve the relationship between customers and suppliers. Relation channel provide emotional appeal to customers via the 4 marketing Ps (price, place, promotion, and placement). In contrast, the transactional relationship downplays the emotional aspects and emphasizes the IT capability to streamline a transactional process. For both channel building approaches, human and technology emphasis can have different degrees of involvement. Although IT supports are indispensable for the success of CRM, too much reliance on IT applications can bring diminishing returns to sales performance. The ultimate goal of IT usage is to optimize the performance of marketing tasks in achieving a mass customization strategy. How to effectively use IT to support a CRM strategy is both a talent and a art