High Performance Customer Relationship Management: How a Branded Customer Experience Helps Build Loyalty and Growth

Over the years CRM has been a blessing and a curse for many organizations. Hoping for the best, they installed CRM programs expecting that technology would be the answer to their customer service problems.

Unfortunately, software in and of itself can't solve a business problem, especially if the company installing it hasn't rigorously defined why it needs CRM and what it hopes to accomplish. Today, this technology-first mindset is changing. "More and more companies are realizing that successful CRM implementations are far more than just installing software," says Cindy Warner, partner, CRM at Accenture. "When planned for correctly, CRM can drive high performance for businesses."

In the best cases CRM implementations can make customer service an extension of the brand. Communications provider MCI found this out first-hand. In an era of industry consolidation MCI has had the formidable task of integrating acquired companies, merging people, processes, and technologies to form one efficient, seamless organization. Through it all MCI endeavored to maintain the highest levels of service to millions of customers.

During this period of mergers and acquisitions, MCI was challenged to keep pace with the proper tools and procedures needed to avoid problems. "The MCI service representative is the connection point with many of our …

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Publication information: Article title: High Performance Customer Relationship Management: How a Branded Customer Experience Helps Build Loyalty and Growth. Contributors: Not available. Magazine title: CRM Magazine. Volume: 9. Issue: 10 Publication date: October 2005. Page number: S1+. © 2008 Information Today, Inc. COPYRIGHT 2005 Gale Group.

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