Column 16 · Digital, Data, and Technology · Era 5, Assets and Accountability (2000s)
CRM Process
Implementation, process · Landmark · Cluster VI, Context
Description
Reinartz, Krafft, and Hoyer conceptualized CRM as a process of relationship initiation, maintenance, and termination across customer stages and measured its impact on performance, and Payne and Frow developed a cross-functional strategic framework for CRM.
Managerial Implications
CRM is a process of managing relationships across initiation, maintenance, and termination, not a software purchase. Performance comes from organizational alignment, such as incentives and roles, more than from technology, and CRM investments without that alignment can hurt. Define the relationship stages for your customers, decide what the firm will do at each, align people and rewards, and then choose systems to support the process.