Page 197 - DMGT308_CUSTOMER_RELATIONSHIP_MANAGEMENT

Customer Relationship Management

Notes Self Assessment

Fill in the blanks:
11. …………………… is a global computer network providing a variety of information and
communication facilities, consisting of interconnected networks using standardized
communication protocols
12. Full form of OLTP is …………………….
13. The Internet business is subject to privacy laws of …………………… country.

14. …………………… is a segment that companies may want to explore.
15. Full form of SCM is …………………….

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Case Study IBM’s ECRM Initiatives
n January 2000, IBM, the US $86 billion IT company, embarked on the largest Customer
Relationship Management (CRM) project known at that time. Termed CRM 2000, the
Iproject aimed at ensuring that any point of interface between the customer and IBM,
through any of its channels, in any country, was dealt with uniformly, providing the same
service level, applying the same tools and information.
In other words, IBM wanted to present a unified interface to its customers across the
world. In 2004, four years after the project, the company was well on its way towards
fulfilling its objective, reporting significant improvement in customer satisfaction levels.
IBM had always been known for its emphasis on customer service. It had its sales personnel
clad in blue suits attending clients’ calls and explaining to them how they could transform
their business through various IBM products and services. IBM recognized that proper
CRM implementation was possible by the integration of three elements - people, process
and technology. Until the late 1990s, it addressed the issue of integration of people and
processes. The third part, technology, was dealt with in 1999, when the company started
focusing on this aspect.
Commenting on this, Cher De Rossiter (Rossiter), IBM’s Global Services and Program
Director for its internal CRM project said, “In 1999, there was a shift in the technology side
of the project. We started working on a new go-to-market strategy in which we would
redefine the way we set up our internal customer service organization.”
IBM went about implementing CRM in phases, addressing sub-divisions such as change
management and training successfully. Commenting, Steve Wright, Vice-President,
Worldwide Customer Relationship Management Deployment, IBM said, “By getting to
know our customers better and enabling more effective collaboration around the customer
and among multiple IBM organizations involving sales, marketing and support, we can
significantly enhance the value we bring to our customers, while generating additional
revenues and cost efficiencies for our company. The concept of ‘One IBM’ is a cornerstone
for the way we serve customers.”
Background Note

IBM was incorporated in 1911 as the Computing Tabulating Recording Corporation (CTR),
which manufactured punch card data processing equipment. On February 14, 1924, CTR
changed its name to International Business Machines Corporation...
Contd...

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