1-THE HISTORY OF CRM
Before 1993, CRM included two major markets:
1. Sales Force Automation (SFA) and
2. Customer Services (CS).
Sales Force Automation was initially designed to support salespersons in managing their touch points and to provide them with event calendars about their customers. SFA's meaning expanded to include opportunity management that is supporting sales methodologies and interconnection with other functions of the company such as production. The box below indicates the range to sales force automation capabilities currently available.
1.1 Sales Force Automation Capabilities
? Contact Management: Maintain customer information and contact histories for
existing customers. May include point in the sales cycle and in the customer's
replenishment cycle.
? Activity Management: Provide calendar and scheduling for individual sales
people
? Communication Management: Communicate via E-mail and fax
? Forecasting: Assist with future sales goals, targets, and projections
? Opportunity Management: Manage leads and potential leads for new customers
? Order Management: Obtain online quotes and transform inquiries into orders
? Document Management: Develop and retrieve standard and customizable
management reports and presentation documents
? Sales Analysis: Analyze sales data
? Product Configuration: Assemble alternate product specifications and pricing
Marketing Encyclopedia: Provide updated information about products, prices,
promotions, as well as soft information about individuals (e.g., influence on
buying decisions) and information about competitors.
Compared to SFA, Customer Service (CS) is an after sales activity to satisfy customers. The goal of Customer Service is to resolve internal ...