A Practical Guide to CRM (Paperback)

by Janice Reynolds (Author) "How well a company maintains its relationships with its customers may well determine its success..." (more)
Key Phrases: systems migration plan, marketing automation tools, data storehouse, Practical Guide, Building More Profitable Customer Relationships, Practical Cuide (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
In today's global economy the customer has more and better choices than ever before, bringing on one of the biggest challenges the business community faces today - customer loyalty and retention.

To thrive in today's customer-driven economy a company needs to give customers what they really want. They don't just want the best prices, selection, and service; they want a relationship. CRM (customer relationship management) technology is designed to collect, store, and analyze data about customers, optimizing marketing, sales, customer service, back-office operations, and new product development. Yet, technology can't do it alone. In practice, CRM is a business strategy that evokes a corporate culture in which the customer is the center of the corporate universe and CRM technology is what enables that business strategy.

While CRM may start out as a means of linking different customer-facing functions, it must end up changing the way the entire company thinks about customers: who they are, what they want, and how they can be better served.

This book explores how to:
* Develop and use a CRM strategy to integrate all channels and media of customer contact from the Internet through field sales into one system.
* Know the customers and focus on their needs to better deploy resources and achieve lower costs, higher revenue, and increased customer loyalty.
* Use CRM tools to increase profitability.
* Link CRM tools with sales partners both up and down the value chain.
* Choose the right customer-focused strategies and the right CRM systems.
* Implement and deploy CRM for the best results.

About the Author
Janice Reynolds is a writer, editor, speaker, and consultant in information technology and the Internet/intranet. Prior to starting her own consulting firm in 1995, Ms. Reynolds was the litigation manager of a large New York City law firm. She is the author of The Complete E-Commerce Book. She has edited numerous technical books and led several e-commerce development teams. Ms. Reynolds provides advice to numerous budding entrepreneurs as the 'E-commerce Expert' on Allbusiness.com. She also consults with established companies concerning their technical needs.

Product Details

• Paperback: 250 pages
• Publisher: CMP Books; 1st edition (June 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1578201020
• ISBN-13: 978-1578201020
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #744,605 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A hearty Recommendation, July 30, 2002

By A Customer

The author has clearly explained CRM, its premise, it application within the workplace, and its components, processes and technical underpinnings. The book provides the reader with a coherent definition and then backs it up with a CRM action plan that provides a distinct link to business essentials within the scope of a concise understanding of the broad range of processes that it takes to implement CRM. The author does a great job of explaining the necessity of bringing together the business, its processes and technology and does so in a very down to earth manner (no technospeak). The book then provides the reader with a very clear diagram of what is needed to bring a specific CRM application to fruition.

This book provides a very balanced picture of CRM. So if you need to understand CRM, its value, how it relates to business processes and what it takes to implement it, this book is for you. The checklists are invaluable and it gives you basically everything needed for a successful CRM implementation.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars There are Many Reasons to Buy this Book, July 20, 2002

By	"andywaste" (Las Vegas) - See all my reviews

The book should be on the reference shelf of any manager or executive contemplating, implementing or working with CRM since it does a wonderful job of covering the business issues and technical parameters and requirements of CRM. For example, the author goes into considerable detail about how and why CRM is important to meeting business requirements and devotes many pages to the vendor and partner selection process. Furthermore, the book covers CRM from not only the IT viewpoint, but also from the departmental manager and executive office's perspective. I think it would be hard to find a book with a more comprehensive road map to CRM. Yet, the book is an easy read.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Should be on every Business Executive's Reading List, May 17, 2002

By A Customer

If you're involved in CRM, or are in a company that is considering CRM then this book should be your CRM Bible. It provides a thorough, well-organized treatise on all aspects of CRM. The author not only provides a full explanation of what CRM is and what CRM IS NOT, she also walks the reader through planning a business case, dealing with the human element, planning stages, project management and finally implementation. Every section is thoroughly covered, from RFP to vendor selection to outsourcing.