Customer Relationship Management How A CRM System can be Used in the Sales Process

The term Customer Relationship Management (CRM) describes systems and processes within companies which, with the help of customer data, aim to unify and improve customer service in order to achieve higher levels of customer loyalty. Customer Relationship Management brings together various departments, such as sales and marketing, to ensure a uniform approach which ultimately contributes to increasing the company’s success. An understanding of how to manage relationships with customers effectively has become an important topic for both academicians and practitioners in recent years. However, the existing academic literature and the practical applications of customer relationship management (CRM) strategies do not provide a clear indication of what specifically constitutes CRM processes. In this study, the authors, conceptualize a construct of the CRM process and its dimensions, operationalize and validate the construct, and empirically investigate the organizational performance consequences of implementing CRM processes. Their research questions are addressed in two cross-sectional studies across four different industries and three countries. The first key outcome is a theoretically sound CRM process measure that outlines three key stages: initiation, maintenance, and termination. The second key result is that the implementation of CRM processes has a moderately positive association with both perceptual and objective company performance.