What is CRM ?

Defination of CRM .
CRM is the acronyn for the term “customer relationship management” is a strategy for managing a company interactions with customers and clients.

The main goal of CRM is to ‘single face to a customer’ and make them consistent by meeting their commitments.

It focuses on providing a quality service for customers by effectively communicating , marketing delivering products and services by identifying customer needs and problems.

Why We Need CRM Software : CRM Software is a tool which is used for managing all your ‘contacts’ and ‘customer’ information at a one place. As we know that the technology is changing today,any company which is step ahead of others because of some web product or service will not be able to hold on the advantage for long.

So the key strategy for the business market is to build a strong long term relationship with the customers.

CRM Softwares: like

Web-Based CRM

On-Premise CRM

Small Business CRM

Enterprise CRM

Mobile CRM

Social CRM

CRM Solutions Providers in the market:

SAP > Sage > NetSuite > SugarCRM > Salesforce.com > Infor > BrainSell > SiebelCRM > Microsoft Dynamics CRM > PeopleSoft CRM > ePartners > OpenBox > SalesNet > OnContact > OutlookCRM > Amdocs CRM > RightNow > RunE2E > SalesBoom > SalesCatalyst.com etc…..

Contact points of the customer :

Advertisements , Retail counters , Website visits ,Direct Sales , Catalogue ,Direct mail , Telemarketing
Banner ads , Call Centers  ,Internet emails ,Sales promotion , Market research etc.
Always be clear what data we get from customers? data,data,data & what data we want from customers? Knowledge and information of customer.
Why do we want this ? to Retain customers , target customers .
Determinants of CRM
Trust & Value
Although salespeople should : 
meet the customer requirements and problems;
meet their expectations  & commitments;
make that the customer is always told the truth;
Have a passionate intererst in building a customer a long term relationship.  
Customer Life Cycle stage : Acquire , Introduce , Profile , Grow , Cultivate , End.
SAP CRM Key Functional Areas :

Marketing
Sales
Service
Analytics
Channel management
Interaction channel.

Customer Interaction in Marketing:

Campaign management
Customer Segmentation
Lead management
E-marketing
Trade promotion management
Marketing planning and analytics.

Customer Interaction in Sales:

Customer Order management , quatations and contracts
Account and contact management
oppurtunity management and pipeline analysis
Activity management
Commission and incentives
Sales planning and analytics

Customer Interaction in Service:

Service request , service order , & contract administration
complaint management
case management
installed base management
workflow and escalation management
Workforce management
service planning and analytics.

Channels to interact with customers : Channels are the data, Channels are the source to customers.The Channels are Interaction Centre,Partner Channel,Web Channel and mobile which includes like :

Google Search , Mobile , Return In Store , Delivery status via SMS , Your Website Search Find product , Payment on web , Telemarketing , Banner ads

Industry Specific Solutions:
CRM is basically used in Industry specific solutions like

Banking
Insurance
Telecommunications
Media
Defence & Security
Health Care
Aerospace and Design
Oil and Gas energy