The acronym CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management. Many associate CRM with the supporting software systems. However, at the most fundamental level CRM is a business strategy that seeks to develop and maintain on going business relationships with your customers. An account management team plays a large role in an organization’s CRM strategy. Choosing whether to meet with a customer on site, to go out to lunch, and setting expectations with a customer of when a product will be delivered are all elements of CRM.
The software system (such as Salesforce.com) that ties this strategy together is more commonly referred as a CRM. The system is usually a cloud based database where a company can have all interactions with customers, the different products they’ve bought, information with any issues, etc. While a CRM system is a prerequisite for success, it does not guarantee success. Training on the “human side” of CRM is often neglected. Users are trained on how to use a CRM system, but rarely given the necessary training on “soft skills” required to manage a customer relationship.
At the end of the day CRM boils down to:
- Doing what you say you’ll do
- Doing what you say you’ll do when you say you’ll do it
- Doing more than expected in a way that is noticed and relevant