The Ultimate CRM Handbook : Strategies and Concepts for Building Enduring Customer Loyalty and Profitability (Hardcover)

~ John Freeland (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

sA hands-on guidebook from Accenture for building a globally responsive, customer-driven enterprise

As the dust settles from the most recent round of CRM projects, companies are increasingly finding that their efforts havenot delivered anticipated benefits. In The Ultimate CRM Handbook, influential thought leaders from Accenture discuss why CRM has failed to live up to expectations and what companies can do to improve the bottom-line return on CRM investments.

More than 30 chapters and in-depth case studies on many leading companies give managers and senior executives alike the high-level perspective needed to build lasting, profitable bonds with their customers. They also provide techniques companies can use to:

• Establish more effective interactions with their customers
• Build lasting brand loyalty
• Dramatically improve the efficiency of their sales, marketing, and customer service operations

From the Back Cover

Innovative Strategies for Creating Long-Lasting, Profitable Customer Relationships

The Ultimate CRM Handbook distills the latest innovations in CRM into proven, practical ideas for designing and delivering value-focused, financially sound solutions. Chapter by chapter, influential thought leaders from Accenture, the world's leading management and technology services organization, share insights and hands-on experiences that will help you achieve new capabilities for sales, service, and marketing that please customers, satisfy shareholders, and deliver a measurable return on investment.

"Customers are, and will always be, at the heart of the Virgin brand. As illustrated in this important new book, our never-ending pursuit of excellence in customer treatment has paid big dividends."--Sir Richard Branson, Chairman, The Virgin Group

"A smart and practical book about CRM that's good for any executive who wants to create stronger, more profitable customer relationships. The Ultimate CRM Handbook not only helps executives understand how customer relationships are changing--it shows them what to do about it."--Beth Eisenfeld, Research Director, Gartner Inc.

"Concise, comprehensive, field-proven insights ... The Ultimate CRM Handbook is the map and the compass required to navigate your customer relationship management initiatives through the treacherous waters of failure, toward your required goal of success."--Jim Dickie, Author, CRM2000: Reinventing the Way We Sell

"Consider this book your guide to the next phase in the evolution of CRM ... to develop stronger, more rewarding, and more profitable customer relationships in the dynamic present and the uncertain years ahead."--From the Introduction

Today, customers demand much--and expect more. To meet these expectations, many companies feel compelled to acquire more channels to serve, more skills, and more technologies than they can easily integrate or comfortably afford in the eyes of cost-conscious investors. Furthermore, as yesterday's CRM innovations quickly become today's standard practice, companies are discovering that the competitive benefits of new capabilities are short-lived.

The Ultimate CRM Handbook shows how companies can face these challenges head-on by following three guiding principles:

• Customer experience is essential to creating brand value
• Customer insight should inform and drive customer treatment
• CRM programs should be executed in a pragmatic way that mitigates financial and delivery risk

The Ultimate CRM Handbook includes chapters from more than three dozen Accenture professionals. The authors' combined experience, insight, and understanding reveal what it takes to succeed with CRM; how to use new capabilities and approaches to drive profitable growth and increase brand value; how to use your knowledge of customer needs and preferences to create more profitable interactions; and how to structure new CRM investments to manage risk and ensure return on investment.

Innovative, value-focused CRM is one of the most difficult yet essential goals to achieve in today's marketplace. The Ultimate CRM Handbook is a valuable tool for driving the CRM agenda at your organization, one that will guide you to attain an ever-rising standard of excellence in building long-lasting, one-to-one relationships that will endure and grow through all stages of the purchasing cycle--and in every competitive environment.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (September 24, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071409351
• ISBN-13: 978-0071409353
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #729,252 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars At last ... a reference source for CRM I can really use, January 23, 2003

By	Tracey (Cleveland, OH USA) - See all my reviews

This is the third book on CRM I've read over the last year and it's certainly been the most useful.

The structure is a little different from other books I've seen on the subject. I guess you could read it end-to-end, but I've found it most useful just reading the section introductions and then dipping into the individual chapters as required. Being honest, I haven't even read all of the content. It's very comprehensive and some of the material just isn't relevant to my work. But the fact I can get to the parts that are relevant, quickly and easily, is what makes this stand out.

Coming from a business background, I also like level it's pitched at. Despite being pretty detailed at times the text is peppered with client examples to show the ideas are still grounded in reality.

So if you are looking for a broad reference source for CRM that puts the emphasis on business as much as CRM then this is certainly worth considering.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not bad, but buyer beware!, January 2, 2003

By A Customer

This is not a bad book and contains some helpful insights in CRM. The chapters on Partner Relationship Management and CRM in Government are particularly good.

However, the title (a shameless ripoff of The CRM Handbook--couldn't the guys at McGraw Hill be a BIT more creative?)doesn't make it obvious that the writers are all Accenture consultants. This book definitely has an Accenture spin (results of Accenture surveys, examples using Accenture partner companies), rendering it a bit more narrowly-focused that it might have been by a more "objective" authorship. And, as is usually the case with a book where each chapter has a different author, the tone of the text varies widely. This is a good book for your CRM library, but be sure and co-mingle it with other CRM perspective so your view isn't tainted.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must reading for anybody who deals with customers and brands, November 28, 2002

By	"jakkslater" (New York, USA) - See all my reviews

Finally, a `handbook' that deserves this title! This is one of the few books out there that actually does not solely/mainly talk about technologies, software, etc. Let me back up a little. I was looking for a comprehensive book on the topic of customer relationship management (CRM), because I repeatedly came across these concepts in my current role. I was impressed by Sir Richard Branson's quote on the back cover - - I admire what he has done to the Virgin brand - - so I bought it. It was well worth it! This book is written by practitioners, people who know what it takes to "provide a seamless customer experience", how to attract, develop and retain customers. The books' chapters cover everything from setting the strategy to data analysis; from channel management to the future of marketing. And, best of all, this is complemented by in-depth case studies in various industries. I now use this book whenever the topic of CRM comes up at work. It's a great reference to look up the latest thinking - - and to find out about what to avoid doing. I think this book is a must for every Executive dealing with "customers", and it will serve students majoring in marketing/business studies equally well. Overall, a great book! Well-written, excellent content, and you can always come back to the individual chapters for a step-by-step guide to key elements of CRM.