Customer-centric Internet Strategies: Achieving Competitive Advantage through CRM

Abstract

This chapter analyzes the implementation process of a CRM system in online retailing and the challenges of transforming a product-focused business into a customer-centric organization. Customer relationship management (CRM) is increasingly found at the top of corporate agendas. Online companies in particular are embracing CRM as a major element of corporate strategy, because online technological applications permit a precise segmentation, profiling, and targeting of customers, and the competitive pressures of the digital markets require a customer-centric corporate culture. The chapter argues that the implementation of CRM systems in online organization determines a complex restructuring of the organizational elements and processes to adapt to new customer-centric procedures. The proper understanding of the benefits and challenges of implementing an online CRM system may help professional organizations to plan, design, and manage more effectively this major organizational re-structuring.