Innovative Strategies for Creating Long-Lasting, Profitable Customer Relationships

The Ultimate CRM Handbook distills the latest innovations in CRM into proven, practical ideas for designing and delivering value-focused, financially sound solutions. Chapter by chapter, influential thought leaders from Accenture, the worlds leading management and technology services organization, share insights and hands-on experiences that will help you achieve new capabilities for sales, service, and marketing that please customers, satisfy shareholders, and deliver a measurable return on investment.

Customers are, and will always be, at the heart of the Virgin brand. As illustrated in this important new book, our never-ending pursuit of excellence in customer treatment has paid big dividends.--Sir Richard Branson, Chairman, The Virgin Group

A smart and practical book about CRM thats good for any executive who wants to create stronger, more profitable customer relationships. The Ultimate CRM Handbook not only helps executives understand how customer relationships are changing--it shows them what to do about it.--Beth Eisenfeld, Research Director, Gartner Inc.

Concise, comprehensive, field-proven insights ... The Ultimate CRM Handbook is the map and the compass required to navigate your customer relationship management initiatives through the treacherous waters of failure, toward your required goal of success.--Jim Dickie, Author, CRM2000: Reinventing the Way We Sell

Consider this book your guide to the next phase in the evolution of CRM ... to develop stronger, more rewarding, and more profitable customer relationships in the dynamic present and the uncertain years ahead.--From the Introduction

Today, customers demand much--and expect more. To meet these expectations, many companies feel compelled to acquire more channels to serve, more skills, and more technologies than they can easily integrate or comfortably afford in the eyes of cost-conscious investors. Furthermore, as yesterdays CRM innovations quickly become todays standard practice, companies are discovering that the competitive benefits of new capabilities are short-lived.

The Ultimate CRM Handbook shows how companies can face these challenges head-on by following three guiding principles:

• Customer experience is essential to creating brand value
  
• Customer insight should inform and drive customer treatment
  
• CRM programs should be executed in a pragmatic way that mitigates financial and delivery risk
  

The Ultimate CRM Handbook includes chapters from more than three dozen Accenture professionals. The authors combined experience, insight, and understanding reveal what it takes to succeed with CRM; how to use new capabilities and approaches to drive profitable growth and increase brand value; how to use your knowledge of customer needs and preferences to create more profitable interactions; and how to structure new CRM investments to manage risk and ensure return on investment.

Innovative, value-focused CRM is one of the most difficult yet essential goals to achieve in todays marketplace. The Ultimate CRM Handbook is a valuable tool for driving the CRM agenda at your organization, one that will guide you to attain an ever-rising standard of excellence in building long-lasting, one-to-one relationships that will endure and grow through all stages of the purchasing cycle--and in every competitive environment.