Factors for Success in Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Systems

TLDR

Effective customer relationships are essential for customer and shareholder value, and the use of IT through CRM software and e‑commerce is rapidly expanding. This study investigates the factors that determine successful CRM deployment, emphasizing those unique to CRM compared to other applications. The authors employed analytic induction on five in‑depth case studies to identify success factors. They found that successful CRM requires project approval procedures that tolerate uncertainty, adoption of best‑practice models, prototyping of new processes beyond IT, and management focused on delivering intended benefits rather than merely meeting the original specification.

Abstract

The importance of effective customer relationships as a key to customer value and hence shareholder value is widely emphasised. In order to enhance these relationships, the application of IT to marketing through customer relationship management (CRM) software, e-commerce and other initiatives is growing rapidly. This study examines the factors that influence the successful deployment of CRM applications, with particular emphasis on those factors which are distinct from other areas of application. Using the analytic induction method, success factors were derived from five in-depth case studies. Resulting factors underemphasised in previous literature include: the need for project approval procedures which allow for uncertainty; the need to leverage models of best practice; the importance of prototyping new processes, not just IT; and the need to manage for the delivery of the intended benefits, rather than just implementing the original specification.