ABSTRACT
This chapter helps the readers to understand the rationale for investing in managing customer relationships, how to build the strategic, operational and analytical capabilities it requires, understand how to realize the benefits of customer relationship management (CRM) and to organize and change for its successful implementation. CRM came about only when database technology permitted the 'single view of the customer' that could be understood effectively through data analytics and accessed by customer-facing service and salespeople in real time. CRM needs data, and currently most systems are built upon organizations' operational databases: customer records, sales data, service contact histories and so on. With the advent of social media and user-generated content, CRM vendors are trying to integrate out-of-company data into CRM, so-called 'social CRM'. One of particular relevance to CRM is 'additive' or 3D printing, giving the ability to produce physical objects from a relatively small printer.
