ABSTRACT
Customer relationship management (CRM) is designed to manage customer relationships and achieve long-term profits and value from the lifetime of the customer. While relationship marketing and CRM are often used interchangeably (Parvatiyar and Sheth 2001), CRM is most commonly used to describe information-enabled relationship marketing (Ryals and Payne 2001). Traditionally, CRM refers to the management strategy in the creation of value, the intelligent use of data and technology, the acquisition of customer knowledge and the development of long-term relationships with customers (Boulding et al. 2005). From a strategic standpoint, CRM is not simply an IT solution that is used to acquire and grow a customer base (Payne and Frow 2005); it involves strategic vision and the planning, implementation and control functions to manage the strategic vision. Previously, CRM technologies referred to the degree to which firms use supporting information technology to manage customer relationships (Chang et al. 2010). What is missing from this definition is the role played by new technologies and the online environment that facilitate the three-way interactions between customers, other customers and the firm.
