An Overview of the History of CRM (Customer Relationship Management)
While Customer Relationship Management (CRM) can be traced back to the 1980's, the actual term did not come about until the 1990's. One reason that drove the CRM software boom through the 90's was the explosion of technology. As advancements in different database features came about, it paved the way for early CRM adopters to truly improve the CRM software and make it more effective for customers. Some of the earliest companies to really embrace this and invest in the use of CRM software were the banking and telecommunications industry, as so much of their business was customer-related. For them, this was the easiest way to do it. This eventually led to other industries of all shapes and sizes, to get involved in CRM software.
It was not always an easy ascent for CRM software though. During the 1990's the CRM industry ran into a few issues; fees for CRM use were very expensive and the buyers were not getting as much bang for their buck as they would have liked. Customers thought that for what they were paying they should be getting more and were underwhelmed with the finished product they had purchased. This has all changed for the better over the past decade. Not only have developers made CRM simpler to use, but the price has also become less expensive.
Over the past two decades, CRM has changed from just a storage base system to evolve in to an all around product that a company can manage every aspect of their business data. Companies can now use CRM software to constantly track customers needs and wants. The numbers follow these statements as well; as of 2007 the annual sales of CRM software had multiplied over eighteen times compared to what it was 10 years prior, in 1997.
Many other factors drove the CRM boom, including the enhancements of the Internet. When the Internet came about this helped companies who were not able to support a full database at their own site. Offisite storage would be easier for many companies, and is also a cheaper investment then on-premise solutions. The emergence of mobile technology has also boosted CRMs as well. Now that CRMs are offering more mobile solutions, more companies want to put CRM to use since it gives them easy access at their fingertips when they are away from their office.
With today's CRM solutions companies are able to incorporate pretty much any section of their company into one database. Whether it be sales, marketing, customer service, support etc. with today's CRM solutions consumers are able to manage each of those extremely effectively, under just one database. CRM solutions are now a great way to combine your front-office integration with your back-office. This was something that was only dreamed about when the idea of Customer Relationship Management originally came about. Now look how far it has come!
Check back with us at the beginning of 2012 to read Part 2 of the History of CRM. Part 2 focuses on the CRM landscape and how it is still ever changing from an On-Premise Solution to a Cloud Solution and how it is affecting the industry.