Customer Relationship Management

New information technologies, above all tools in the area of the Internet, en­ able new forms of collaboration between supplier and customer. With ever increasing competition (represented by concepts like globalization, deregula­ tion, buyers' market), companies can secure competitive advantages through targeted use of information technology in the supplier-customer relationship. To realize existing and future potential, current information technology de­ velopments must be addressed. This book is about Customer Relationship Management (CRM). The first version of the book was written for the German market, however, since the term CRM was not yet established in Europe I called my book "Electronic Customer Care". Electronic Customer Care has since generated an entirely new market that has become known under the term Customer Relationship Management. Suppli­ ers such as Siebel, E.piphany, Clarify and many others strive for market share in this strongly growing segment. This book structures the topic Customer Relationship Management and pro­ vides project leaders and consultants with a practical aid in a realistic ap­ proach to Customer Relationship Management projects. Thus it helps to dif­ ferentiate between hype and reality and to apply CRM on a realistic level. I would like to thank Dieter Rapp for his support in translating my German best-seller to English. I'd also like to extend my appreciation to my partner Michelle de Rozario who was instrumental in proof-reading this book, and who was a great support during the difficult time of editing.