ABSTRACT
This chapter examines how customer relationship management (CRM) can be categorized as strategic, operational, analytical, or social. It discusses that measuring CRM success can, in itself, be a nebulous undertaking, and such success can be evaluated through a number of measurements beyond a firm's revenue such as operational efficiency. Quantifying CRM success, however, is less important than focusing on the process that would yield such success. The theme of achieving mastery of fundamentals before delving into more advanced initiatives also applies to an organization even outside the context of CRM. Achieving alignment between business units and the Technology Division is of paramount importance for firms to achieve success not only with CRM but also with other enterprise technology initiatives. The chapter explores the importance of the posture an organization takes toward its external implementation providers along with any contractors they bring on internally.
