The Shift in CRM Focus to Relationship Management--And How It Changes Implementation Strategies

Customer Relationship Management, or "CRM" as most people know it, is that dirty little acronym that loosely brands a wide array of software packages under the same, very large umbrella. The watered down "CRM" category is comfortably applied to a wide range of business applications that can range from call center management software, to e-commerce storefronts, and even artificial intelligence packages that hone in on consumer buying habits.

"Front Office" CRM is the more classic depiction of CRM and one most familiar to the majority of businesses, as it's primarily focused on addressing the sales, marketing and service objectives required by many companies. When "Front Office" CRM was unveiled to the business market, it was an epiphany for many businesses. After all, its predecessors were Contact Managers, which subsequently evolved into Sales Force Automation (SFA) applications; both of which were oftentimes not accessible from the internet and required some mechanism of synchronization (that rarely worked) for offline use of CRM data - aspects that were very counterproductive for salespeople.

The concept of "Front Office" CRM has served many businesses very well, but in the same breath it has also failed many organizations, resulting in costly implementations and the all too common negative return on investment. Like most new technologies, this market has expanded rapidly and evolved with the age of the Internet, overall market maturity, and lessons learned.

A new era of CRM has emerged; one where businesses define the relationships that are most important to them and mold the application to their specific needs. Gone are the days of being force fed the cookie cutter sales, marketing and service aspects often found in "Front Office" CRM.  Now businesses can configure an application that works for them and without a degree in Computer ...