Customer Relationship Management To manage the customer relationship, a company must gather the right information about its customers and organize that information for analysis and action adequate. Companies must keep data up to date, make it accessible to employees, and provide employees with the essential knowledge to convert that data into products that reflect customer needs. Customer relationship management (CRM) helps companies gain insight into their customers' behavior and modify their business operations to ensure that customers are served in the best possible way. In essence, CRM helps a company recognize the value of its customers and enable improved customer relationships. The better a company understands its customers, the more responsive it can be to their needs. Benefiting from CRM is not just a matter of purchasing the right software, but companies must also adapt to the needs of their customers. In the commercial world, the importance of keeping existing customers satisfied and expanding the business is paramount. The importance of customer satisfaction cannot be underestimated. Satisfied customers buy more than unhappy ones, and do so for a much longer period of time. They help companies acquire new customers, instead of sending them to competitors like dissatisfied customers do. They are also easier to work with when problems arise; unlike chronically dissatisfied customers, who usually cost money and cause pain if a company makes even the slightest mistake. The more opportunities a customer has to conduct business with a company, the better, and one way to achieve this is to open channels such as direct sales, online sales, franchising, using agents, etc. However, the more channels a company has, the greater the need to manage its interaction with its customer base. It's important to understand that CRM can do much more than simply improve balances. It can improve marketing efficiency by enriching the data used to design and execute campaigns; can reduce operating costs by eliminating redundant and/or wasteful activities; CRM, when done correctly, can also lead to significant improvements in customer satisfaction. Often, however, the biggest problem with a complex CRM is that the complexity of the entire system means that the customer is treated more like a number than ever before, which is exactly what CRM should not be. CRM can be achieved by: Discovering the purchasing habits, opinions and preferences of your customers Profiling individuals and groups to market more effectively and increase sales