A framework of dynamic CRM: linking marketing with information strategy

Abstract

Committed customers are profitable to an organization for the long term. Customer commitment forms when a customer's expectation is satisfied and the customer realizes fair value from his/her relationship with the organization. From an organization's perspective, this value reflects customer equity, but from a customer's perspective, it represents the customer's perceived value of the relationship. In order to manage such a relationship successfully, it is necessary to support diverse customer information – such as of‐the‐customer, for‐the‐customer, and by‐the‐customer information. A customer information system (CIS) plays the role of boundary spanning that manages and distributes customer information. But the gap between marketing and IT strategy is a barrier in implementing a successful CIS. The CIS, which includes the database, communication channel, and decision model for relationship management, should be designed to facilitate the two‐way customer relationship exchanges. This paper develops a framework of dynamic customer relationship management, suggests the information technology strategy to support the framework, and illustrates the applicability of such framework and strategy through a real business case.