Customer Relationship Management (CRM) 
What it is:
• It is both sales and service related.
• It is simply a strategy to stay in touch with your customers, be proactive, and show you care about each customer individually.
• It is used by sales, service, and front line people to document and track interactions.
What it is not:
• Rocket science
• Customer satisfaction surveys
• Company policy
• A software package
CRM is building mutually beneficial long-term relationships with strategically significant customers. What determines the strength of the relationship is TRUST and VALUE; TRUST to rely on the ability, integrity, and motivation of a company to serve customer needs; VALUE that the company will satisfy the customer needs at a greater benefit than competitors.
In addition to trust and value, CRM helps you to:
• Understand customer needs and problems
• Meet their commitments
• Provide superior after sales support
• Make sure the customer is always told the truth
• Have a passionate interest in establishing and retaining long-term relationships
Use the Pareto Rule to focus efforts (20% of customers generate 80% of revenues).•
Top 20% of customers – KEEP AND FOCUS! (Must keep them at all costs)
• Middle 60% – NURTURE! (Focus on moving them to top 20%)
• Bottom 20% – THINK ABOUT IT! (How much effort are they worth?)
Whether you use a software CRM system or index cards and calendar, start doing CRM today.
For additional info:
Comparison of software products http://www.comparebusinessproducts.com/
SCORE: http://www.score.org/search/apachesolr_search/customer%20relationship%20management
And don’t forget to follow me on Twitter @smallbizlaura
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