Opportunities to Expand the Value of CRM

Abstract

ACRM initiative can provide many benefits across an organization, from general customer information management to deep functional area support. Chapter 1 outlined the benefits of a CRM solution at several stages, showing that its value as an independent solution can provide enough incentive to make the decision to begin the effort. When you assess the value of CRM, it is common to focus on application capabilities and resulting benefits such as easy access to shared information; activity and workflow tracking; departmental operational tools; and automation in marketing, sales, and service. You should also evaluate opportunities to expand the value beyond standard system functions. Initiatives that incorporate goals such as consistently defined data, cleanliness of data, and integration to other systems using multiple methods and business intelligence can provide value well beyond that of CRM by itself.