This Special Report assesses the challenges that organizations encounter in their customer relationship management (CRM) initiatives, and argues the case for a new approach that combines strategic planning with the pragmatism needed to generate a succession of short-term results. Spanning business process change, effective people management, and new approaches to information and knowledge management, this fresh approach is billed as Total Customer Management (TCM).

The Report argues that the first wave of CRM initiatives in the 1990s was characterized by sweeping vision and over-ambition, two elements that contributed to a succession of high-profile failures. The backlash that followed triggered a second wave of initiatives that tended to be far more tactical, focusing on short-term initiatives within sales, marketing or customer service functions.

Today – with decades of experience to learn from, a better understanding of what’s truly achievable, and stable technology platforms to support CRM initiatives – we are at the beginning of a third wave. Viewing CRM from an organization-wide rather than departmental perspective, TCM combines the early vision of CRM pioneers with the practicalities of execution.

Starting with an analysis of the root causes of past CRM failures, the Report argues that:

• Too many organizations approach Customer Relationship Management as a technology rather than a management issue. But CRM is fundamentally a business philosophy that places the customer at the heart of all organizational activity, while the technology component is no more than a supporting tool. By refocusing on the business rather than technology drivers, organizations improve their chances of meeting their real customer management needs
• Many organizations are unrealistic in their approach to customer management, expecting big benefits from modest standalone projects. But true CRM touches every part of the organization, and many of the benefits are lost when projects are undertaken in isolation
• TCM is an umbrella strategy that guides individual CRM initiatives, spanning people, processes, information and knowledge management. While its remit is broad, it’s best executed as a series of projects, each capable of generating benefits in its own right
• TCM embraces recent advances in customer management capability, including new process and knowledge management initiatives in customer support, and the latest online marketing techniques. Some long-touted improvements in customer management capability – such as the evolution of the contact center into a profit center – also become more achievable through a TCM strategy
• While much of the technology that supports TCM is well-established, the IT requirements have become more demanding – and issues that were once the domain of IT departments now directly concern business managers. Organizations require more flexible software platforms that take advantage of recent design innovations. They also need strong process management capability; comprehensive functionality across the entire gamut of sales, service and marketing; effective data management and analytics; knowledge management tools; and a range of implementation services
• TCM triggers significant change to individual roles and organizational structures. Managing these people-related components is as big a challenge as handling the different technology components