ABSTRACT
This chapter explores a series of current developments in CRM. Most of these developments reflect advances in CRM technology as well as the integration of CRM technology with other functions, systems, and processes of the company. Companies stand to see advances in the ability of CRM technology in terms of its customer interaction, customer analysis, and CRM decision support functionality. We are also seeing the advent of ubiquitous CRM adoption. Many of the barriers to CRM adoption no longer exist or are not as severe as has been the case historically. Even small companies can access CRM, which is cost effective and user friendly. The proliferation of CRM developers has led to many options in CRM packages and the wide availability of CRM solutions. Adopting CRM can still pose challenges, however. The legacy of existing systems, processes and structures can limit CRM success. CRM still gives rise to privacy and ethical concerns due to its use of customer-related data. Directly accessing customer data may not be necessary though – advances in AI can help companies mitigate the need for this by inferring customer attributes and buying behaviour from other data. The extent to which this adheres to ethical standards is debatable.
