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Customer Relationship Management pp 265–283Cite as

CRM Issues in the Business-To-Business Context

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Abstract

CRM is not only an important tool in markets directed toward end consumers but also plays a major role in the B2B context. This chapter serves to highlight the internal and external perspectives of Sales Force Management (SFM), an important construct of CRM strategy implementation in a setting where both parties involved are companies or institutions. With the main objectives being the building and maintenance of stronger buyer-seller relationships as well as managing the value of these relationships, SFM builds the central aspect of this chapter. The first part deals with the internal perspective and introduces Sales Force Automation (SFA) as a means to manage buyer-seller relationships both effectively and efficiently before introducing Key Account Management (KAM) as important link between buyer and seller which helps to allocate the right activities to the right customers. Instructions and suggestions on how to realize SFA benefits and successfully implementing a KAM program are also given. The external perspective of SFM is highlighted in the third part of this chapter where the ongoing shift from products to services or hybrid offerings at the core of B2B activities is discussed and guidelines for the execution of a successful shift are presented.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. J. Mack Robinson College of Business, Center for Excellence in Brand and Customer Management, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

    V. Kumar

  2. Department of Retailing and Customer Management, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany

    Werner Reinartz

Authors
  1. V. Kumar
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  2. Werner Reinartz
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Kumar, V., Reinartz, W. (2018). CRM Issues in the Business-To-Business Context. In: Customer Relationship Management. Springer Texts in Business and Economics. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-55381-7_13

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