A Practical Guide to Crm: Building More Profitable Customer Relationships

The author has clearly explained CRM, its premise, it application within the workplace, and its components, processes and technical underpinnings. The book provides the reader with a coherent definition and then backs it up with a CRM action plan that provides a distinct link to business essentials within the scope of a concise understanding of the broad range of processes that it takes to implement CRM. The author does a great job of explaining the necessity of bringing together the business, its processes and technology and does so in a very down to earth manner (no technospeak). The book then provides the reader with a very clear diagram of what is needed to bring a specific CRM application to fruition. This book provides a very balanced picture of CRM. So if you need to understand CRM, its value, how it relates to business processes and what it takes to implement it, this book is for you. The checklists are invaluable and it gives you basically everything needed for a successful CRM implementation.

The book should be on the reference shelf of any manager or executive contemplating, implementing or working with CRM since it does a wonderful job of covering the business issues and technical parameters and requirements of CRM. For example, the author goes into considerable detail about how and why CRM is important to meeting business requirements and devotes many pages to the vendor and partner selection process. Furthermore, the book covers CRM from not only the IT viewpoint, but also from the departmental manager and executive office's perspective. I think it would be hard to find a book with a more comprehensive road map to CRM. Yet, the book is an easy read.

If you're involved in CRM, or are in a company that is considering CRM then this book should be your CRM Bible. It provides a thorough, well-organized treatise on all aspects of CRM. The author not only provides a full explanation of what CRM is and what CRM IS NOT, she also walks the reader through planning a business case, dealing with the human element, planning stages, project management and finally implementation. Every section is thoroughly covered, from RFP to vendor selection to outsourcing.