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Executive Summary

Relationship in business refers to a state involving mutual dealing between people or parties. It
involves interactions with customers or prospects to better understand their requirements and to
build an expectation through different channels of communication. The more one interacts, the
more chances of building a strong business relationship on the grounds of proper understanding
of customers.

When talking about relationship management in the context of software solutions, most people
think of Customer Relationship Management (CRM). However, relationships also exist between
companies and their vendors, companies and their customers, vendors and their suppliers,
employees, different departments of the same company, and so on. The Relationship
Management Evaluation Center concentrates on CRM and supplier relationship management
(SRM), as software and information and communication technology (ICT) play a major role in
facilitating effective relationship management among all parties involved.

Today, the World Wide Web has great potential as a tool for conducting business and
management activities (Bell & Tang, 1998). Customer relationship management (CRM) is a
leading new approach to business, which has already become established in the literature.
Indeed, CRM refers to all business activities directed towards initiating, establishing,
maintaining, and developing successful long-term relational exchanges. One of the results of
CRM is the promotion of customer loyalty, which is considered to be a relational phenomenon.

The topic “The Impact of CRM in Global Scenario” mainly focuses on the CRM software
solutions which is a great cause for the IT software evolution and grabs the attention of various
business industries in the present competitive business trend. This research focuses on the overall
success & failure rates of CRM in different sectors at global level, measures the new CRM
practices in the present business world, the players in the market, the customers satisfaction rate
and its advantages and disadvantages, and describes the overall growth of CRM.

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CHAPTER – 1

INTRODUCTION

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What Is CRM?

An acronym for Customer Relationship Management, CRM is a term originally defined and
designed to improve customer service. Today it almost relates to an entire business strategy. So
while the term refers to a systematic approach to handling customer relationships, it transforms
into providing holistic approach to a business strategy.

“CRM is a business strategy directed to understand, anticipate and respond to the needs of an
enterprise's current and potential customers in order to grow the relationship value.”

Overview:-

Customer Relationship Management is a concept that the business has many benefits and
changes in the long term. In 1990 the company began with a variety of reasons. Large companies
use this method to interact with customers and manage all of your extensive information.

Without the use of software solution business relationships are becoming too complex to be
managed in the traditional way. The word “satisfied” is usually associated with customers.
Customers should be considered as partners by the companies, which involve establishing and
maintaining ongoing relationships with them. It always better to keep old customers than look
for new one. CRM systems can provide information about what you need to produce, which is
very essential when deciding what to purchase &how to satisfy the customers in the competitive
market. Many companies working directly with customers use CRM; that are used as a stand
-alone product.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is a leading new approach to business, which has
already become established in the literature in 1997. Indeed, CRM refers to all business activities
directed towards initiating, establishing, maintaining, and developing successful long-term
relational exchanges. One of the results of CRM is the promotion of customer loyalty which is
considered to be a relational phenomenon. The benefits of customer loyalty to a provider of

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either services or products are numerous, and thus organizations are eager to secure as significant
a loyal customer base as possible. Recent developments in CRM softwares & Internet technology
have given the CRM industries a new role to facilitate the link between CRM and customer
loyalty.
When talking about relationship management in the context of software solutions, most people
think of Customer Relationship Management (CRM). However, relationships also exist between
companies and their vendors, companies and their customers, vendors and their suppliers,
employees, different departments of the same company, and so on. The Relationship
Management Evaluation Center concentrates on CRM and supplier relationship management
(SRM), as software and information and communication technology (ICT) play a major role in
facilitating effective relationship management among all parties involved. There are other
software types that can be considered when talking about Relationship management:

Customer Care and Billing (CCB): These systems are used mostly by utilities companies (e.g.,
Internet and telecommunications service providers) to manage mediation, provisioning and
activation, and customer care and billing. Even though those products can help a company
manage relationships, they are not created especially for this and can only be used by utilities
companies.

Quote to Order (QTO): Sales quotes are usually created in a CRM or enterprise resource
planning (ERP) system, but both options are far from being perfect because ERP does not offer
enough marketing information to the sales people and CRM does not provide enough
information about the products they sell. Also, tracking all the stages from quote creation to its
conversion into an order is either done in just one system (CRM or ERP) or in both, but only
partially. Only a Q2O product will allow users to track a quote through its entire life cycle.

Merchandising & Retail System: These systems are used mainly by retail companies to
manage inventory, track sales data, and record product performance. This type of product may

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offer relationship management functionality for interactions with both customers and suppliers,
but this is not one of its strongest points.

From all the above mentioned systems the CRM is widely used software to establish long-term
& fruitful relationships with the customers. To have good relationship, it is necessary to treat the
different clients in a differentiated way. CRM allows to make this way it, because it is a half
individualized one that allows different people different offers to show. It is an approach, based
on the net to the synchronization of the relationships with the consumers through communication
channels, functions of business and audiences. The CRM facilitates the important task of
maintaining long-term relationships with the clients, allowing to make marketing one to one, to
automate the forces of sales, to offer the best support to the clients. This application allows the
members of a company to revise the database of a client and knowledge who its contacts are or
which its history has been.

History of CRM:

Customer Relationship Management is a concept that the business has many benefits and
changes in the long term. In 1990 the company began with a variety of reasons. Large companies
use this method to interact with customers and manage all of customers’ extensive information.
It is a concept that offered numerous benefits & long-term changes to business. In the 1990’s
companies began using it for a number of reasons. Big organizations used this method to interact
with customers & handle all the voluminous data.

Large companies were using huge amounts of customer related information data and it was
difficult to track down customers and their purchases, because the processing was too difficult.
Also they needed something that updated the data constantly. But CRM only proved successful
for long term results. The effectiveness for short term use was not up to par because it just ended
up making the process more expensive and arduous.

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Even though CRM systems were not available yet, the 1980’s were a foundation for CRM
software. The concept is vogue at that time was “Database Marketing”-as earlier version of
CRM. It was simply a phrase used to define the act of customer service groups speaking
individually to customers. The practice went well for key-customers & become a valuable
contrivance for the lines of communication & tailoring services to their requirements. But over
time (especially for smaller clients) the process become tedious and provided cluttered
information without the insight.

Data collection was the easy part- it was impossible to process and analyze all the available data
for the benefit of customer satisfaction. With time companies realize that it was not all the
information that they require. They found out they need few basic data: what the customers
purchased, how much money they spent and how they utilize the product.

In 1990’s the concept of CRM become very popular. It offered long-term changes and benefits to
businesses that choose to use it. The reason for this is because it allowed companies to interact
with their customers on a whole new level. While CRM is excellent in the long term, those who
are looking for short term results may not see much progress. One of the reasons for this is
because it was difficult to effectively track customers and their purchases. It is also important to
realize that large companies were responsible for processing tremendous amounts of data. This
data needed to be updated on a consistent basis.

 Before CRM

Before CRM, businesses did very little to retain customers after the purchase, according to
Exforsys.com. Many companies, especially larger ones, didn't feel any need to cater to the
customers. Executives and higher-ups had the mentality that they could easily replace their
customers. Though this may have been partially true in the past, upon entering the Information
Age, everything changed. Beginning in the 1980's, customers began to become more aware of
the products they buy, their alternative choices and the companies from which they bought.

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 In the Beginning

Businesses in the 1980's began using databases to track existing and potential customers,
according to Merchantos.com. This is what eventually led to the creation of CRM software.
Referred to as "database marketing," this method entailed sending out surveys to customers and
holding focus groups. However, many drawbacks existed with this particular method. For
instance, while companies could collect the data, processing, analyzing and interpreting it was a
very difficult and time-consuming task.

 The 1990s

In the 1990s, the term "Customer Relationship Management" was first coined. The 90s truly saw
CRM technology and software evolve out of simple database marketing. Unlike in the past,
companies were beginning to use CRM as a means to also give back to the customer. For
example, many credit card and airline companies offered incentives such as reward points or
frequent flyer miles. These programs were designed, not only to get new customers, but to
improve customer loyalty by giving back to the customer.

 The Early 2000s

While the 90s saw an evolution in the concept of CRM itself, the early 2000s are when CRM as
software really evolved. In the first few years of the 21st century software companies began
releasing improved, easier-to-use and more affordable CRM software solutions. Often
customizable, this newer CRM software applied to many fields, as each could modify it to for
their specific needs. This newer software also helped CRM mature, as companies could then
collect more varied levels of information and process it much faster and more efficiently than in
the past.

 CRM Today

CRM software is now primarily used in the customer service and technology industries,
according to CRM-Software-Guide.com. Financial institutions, technological businesses and the

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telecommunications industry typically use CRM software more than other industries and fields.
Unlike CRM software in the past, which offered static, or non changing, information, newer
CRM software's information is dynamic, able to adjust and change as customers and their needs
do, which is important when you consider that the world and people in it are, themselves,
dynamic.

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CHAPTER – 2

RESEARCH DESIGN

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TITLE OF THE STUDY:-

“The Impact of CRM in Global Scenario”

INTRODUCTION:-

Every business organization depends on customers for sustenance, the question is how to create
and maintain customer satisfaction. Every business communicates with their clients in many
different ways, especially in our technology rich and information based society. How we treat all
of this information is where CRM plays a key role.

CRM acts as a central repository of information on your clients and potential clients. Customer
relationship management software hones in on the relationship. As in many publications of late
on one to one marketing, cyclical selling and counselor selling the mainstay is the relationship
and how we recognize it.

Companies need a system that manages the entire customer life cycle: acquisition, service and
maintenance. Commerce-enabled CRM applications allow organizations to interact with
customers through all media or channels: telephone, Web, e-mail, face-to-face.  CRM products
and services manage every point of contact with the customer to ensure that each customer gets
the appropriate level of service and that no sales opportunities are lost. Customer Relationship
Management is a customer-focused business strategy designed to optimize revenue, profitability,
and customer loyalty. By implementing a CRM strategy, an organization can improve the
business processes and technology solutions around selling, marketing and servicing functions
across all customer touch points (for example: Web, e-mail, phone).

A primary objective of CRM is to provide the entire organization with a complete, 360-degree
view of the customer, no matter where the information resides or where the customer touch-point
occurred. Today, many businesses manage different aspects of customer relationships with
multiple information systems, which weaken customer service and ultimate reduce total sales

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potential. To realize the benefits of CRM, it is important to have an integrated solution across all
customer information systems, tying together the front and back offices for a complete view of
customers in order to service them better. 

“CRM refers to the methodologies and tools that help business manage customer relationship in
an organized way.”

CRM tools include software and browser-based applications that collect and organize
information about customers. For instance, as part of their CRM strategy, a business might use a
database of customer information to help construct a customer satisfaction survey, or decide
which new product their customers might be interested in.

CRM is an information industry term for methodologies, software and usually Internet
capabilities that help an enterprise manage customer relationship in an organized way.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Today’s world, the market structure is characterized by large no. of buyers and sellers – a case of
perfect competition in almost all industries. The companies find it challenging to differentiate
them so that CRM is analyzed.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

 To understand the role of CRM in today’s competitive business environment.
 To understand the level of customers’ satisfaction with respect to area of study
 To analyze the relevance of IT enabled CRM solutions in providing outstanding
customer service
 To understand the success & value of the CRM software in the businesses

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SCOPE OF THE STUDY

 The study is a Comprehensive in depth study of the impact of CRM in the present
business world.
 The study has a special focus on the IT field.
 Practical interpretation of the subject with industry professionals.
 Time frame of the study is three months.

RESEARCH DESIGN

 PRIMARY DATA
Primary data refers to data that is collected afresh and recorded for the first time. Primary
data are those data that is collected by researcher. It thus happens to be original in nature.
Questionnaire, Interview, Simple Sampling, IT Professionals.

 SECONDARY DATA
Secondary data refers to those data that has been already collected and analyzed by someone
else. In other words, secondary data is the information that already exists somewhere else
having been collected for another purpose.
Internet, Magazines, Journals etc.

LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

 Limited level of industry interaction is available due to limited scope of the study.

 Limited practical information is available about internal company policies due to

confidentiality agreements signed by employees.
 The study is relevant to only IT sector and based on limited time frames.

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CHAPTER – 3

INDUSTRY PROFILE

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3.1CRM Industry:-s

In India, the software boom started somewhere in the late 1990s. Most of the Indian software
companies at that moment offered only limited software services such as the banking and the
engineering software. The software boom started with the emergence of Y2K problem, when a
large number of personnel were required to fulfill the mammoth database-correction demand in
order to cope up with the advent of the new millennium.

The profile of the Indian IT Services has been undergoing a change in the last few years, partly
as it moves up the value chain and partly as a response to the markets dynamics. Ten years ago,
most US companies would not even consider outsourcing some of their IT projects to outside
vendors. Now, ten years later, a vast majority of US companies use the professional services of
Indian Software engineers in some manner, through large or medium or small companies or
through individuals recruited directly.

Despite the global economic slowdown, the Indian IT software and services industry is
maintaining a steady pace of growth. Software development activity is not confined to a few
cities in India. Software development centers, such as Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune,
Chennai, Calcutta, Delhi-Noida-Gurgaon, Vadodara, Bhubaneswar, Ahmedabad, Goa,
Chandigarh, and Trivandrum are all developing quickly. All of these places have state-of-the-art
software facilities and the presence of a large number of overseas vendors. India’s most prized
resource is its readily available technical work force. India has the second largest English-
speaking scientific professionals in the world, second only to the U.S. It is estimated that India
has over 4 million technical workers, over 1,832 educational institutions and polytechnics, which
train more than 67,785 computer software professionals every year. The enormous base of
skilled manpower is a major draw for global customers. India provides IT services at one-tenth
the price. No wonder more and more companies are basing their operations in India. 
India is among the three countries that have built supercomputers on their own. The other two
are USA and Japan.

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Customer Relationship Management is an information industry term for methodologies,

software, and usually Internet capabilities that help an enterprise manage customer relationships
in an organized way. For example an enterprise might build a database about its customers that
described relationships in sufficient details so that management, salespeople, people providing
services, and perhaps the customer directly could access information, match customer needs with
product plans and offerings, remind customers of service requirements know what other products
and customer had purchased, and so forth.

The CRM is growing at an annual rate of 30-40%. The CRM Industry is highly fragmented.
India will have an enormous impact as suppliers and customers. Now billions of people
combined to take an ever-growing role of the world’s service suppliers. Growth of the affluent
customers will mean that CRM will become a critical strategy. India has always been a leader as
development center for CRM technologies, and other IT technologies. India has also been the
hubs for the customer services part of leading global businesses through confined and outsourced
contact center.
Following are the most popular CRM softwares in INDIA:-
 SAP
 Microsoft
 Sugar
 Oracle
 Maximizer Software
 Goldmine
 Heat
 SalesForce.com
 Open CRX
 vTiger

3.2Industry Sustainability:

CRM although a recent customer strategy has evolved into a perquisite for most organizations.
Witnessing its phenomenal growth the advocates of CRM have forecasted even bigger
dimensions for this management tool. It is only certain that organizations will continue to do as
much as possible to woo the customers. From that point of view CRM has a sure growth. The
disturbing factor is the cost involved.

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Across the world industries like insurance, pharmaceutical real-estates and even advertising field
are fast learning the fact that CRM can be lucrative. CRM spending is estimated to increase to an
outstanding $17.7b in 2006. The annual rate of growth in CRM industry is 6.7%. Revenue from
hosted CRM solutions alone is expected to reach an all time of $ 2.8b. The US is definite to be
the leader of the pack accounting for more than 50% of the CRM market. The total revenue of
the CRM industry from the US is scheduled to be almost $ 10b.

Despite several market and technological challenges, the CRM industry is alive and kicking with
increase sales and market penetration, moderate investment levels & increase in M&A activity.
Plagued by expensive customization, integration, and a prolonged and difficult to prove ROI.
Business surveyed on average anticipated implementing 4.5 CRM modules, of which contact
center, e-mail engines, web self-service, analytics and sales force automation remain top priority.
According to Data Warehousing Institute, only 7% of global companies have reached mature
CRM deployments, indicating there is significant spending to come. According to Informal
Survey, many CRM companies have been forced to splash prices 25% to 5o% to close deals. On
the other hand market leader Siebel grew revenues by 84% between 1Q00 and 1Q01 to reach $
589 million, of which 52% came from new customers.

The CRM industry is highly fragmented, which an estimated 50 companies claiming to offer
CRM capabilities and over 200 firms focused in CRM applications. Most of these firms are
highly specialized with one or two products, and even the market leaders with broad product
portfolios were estimated to only account for roughly 40% of CRM spending last year.

Spending on customer relationship management (CRM) software is expected to see the largest
increase of all the application software markets worldwide in 2011, according to a survey by
Gartener, Inc. Overall, 31% of respondents expect an increase in application software in 20011. 
In comparing their 2011 fiscal budgets with 2010, 42 per cent of survey respondents indicated
that they expect to increase spending on CRM in 2011, compared to 39 per cent on office suites

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and 36 per cent on enterprise resource planning (ERP), which ranked second and third,
respectively. 

According to a survey report it is mentioned that he CRM market to recover gradually as buyer
confidence returns and as businesses begin refocusing on growing revenue as opposed to just
reducing costs. Areas of investment are expected to include the online channel; software as a
service (SaaS) -based deployments; and technologies enabling customer loyalty management,
cross-sell/up-sell opportunities, and more-targeted levels of customer service.
CRM continue to focus on investments that promote customer retention and enhance the
customer experience, and they are increasingly interested in technologies that encourage
development of customer communities and social networks. SaaS adoption continues to be a key
driver. SaaS within the CRM industry is expected to exceed $ 4 billion in total software revenue
in 2014, representing more than 32 per cent of the overall CRM market.
Worldwide application software spending is expected to increase 31 percent in 2011, up nine per
cent from last year, and emerging markets are planning for higher budget growth. Asia/Pacific is
expected to have the largest increase, at 37 percent in 2011, up from 14 percent growth  last year,
followed by Latin America and EMEA showing an increase of 35 and 27 percent in 2011,
respectively. Overall, the survey indicates a healthy investment trend for application software.
Software application vendors should continue to build, fund and invest in software sales and
marketing programs as the market is recovering, to maintain customers and expand revenue
opportunities,” said Swineheart. “A market downturn and its aftermath are disrupters that create
great marketing and sales opportunities for organizations prepared to take advantage with the
right products, market programs and funding.”

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CRM Types/variations:-

 Sales force automation:

Sales force automation (SFA) involves using software to streamline all phases of the
sales process, minimizing the time that sales representatives need to spend on each phase.
This allows a business to use fewer sales representatives to manage their clients. At the
heart of SFA is a contact management system for tracking and recording every stage in
the sales process for each prospective client, from initial contact to final disposition.
Many SFA applications also include insights into opportunities, territories, sales forecasts
and workflow automation, quote generation, and product knowledge. Modules for Web
2.0 e-commerce and pricing are new, emerging interests in SFA.

 Marketing:
CRM systems for marketing help the enterprise identify and target potential clients and
generate leads for the sales team. A key marketing capability is tracking and measuring
multichannel campaigns, including email, search, social media, telephone and direct mail.
Metrics monitored include clicks, responses, leads, deals, and revenue. Alternatively,
Prospect Relationship Management (PRM) solutions offer to track customer behaviour
and nurture them from first contact to sale, often cutting out the active sales process
altogether.
In a web-focused marketing CRM solution, organizations create and track specific web
activities that help develop the client relationship. These activities may include such
activities as free downloads, online video content, and online web presentations.

 Customer service and support:

Recognizing that service is an important factor in attracting and retaining customers,
organizations are increasingly turning to technology to help them improve their clients’
experience while aiming to increase efficiency and minimize costs. [4] Even so, a 2009

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study revealed that only 39% of corporate executives believe their employees have the
right tools and authority to solve client problems.

 Appointment:
Creating and scheduling appointments with customers is a central activity of most
customer oriented businesses. Sales, customer support, and service personnel regularly
spend a portion of their time getting in touch with customers and prospects through a
variety of means to agree on a time and place for meeting for a sales conversation or to
deliver customer service. Appointment CRM is a relatively new CRM platform category
in which an automated system is used to offer a suite of suitable appointment times to a
customer via e-mail or through a web site. An automated process is used to schedule and
confirm the appointment, and place it on the appropriate person's calendar. Appointment
CRM systems can be an origination point for a sales lead and are generally integrated
with sales and marketing CRM systems to capture and store the interaction.

 Analytics:
Relevant analytics capabilities are often interwoven into applications for sales, marketing,
and service. These features can be complemented and augmented with links to separate,
purpose-built applications for analytics and business intelligence. Sales analytics let
companies monitor and understand client actions and preferences, through sales
forecasting and data quality. Marketing applications generally come with predictive
analytics to improve segmentation and targeting, and features for measuring the
effectiveness of online, offline, and search marketing campaigns. Web analytics have
evolved significantly from their starting point of merely tracking mouse clicks on Web
sites. By evaluating “buy signals,” marketers can see which prospects are most likely to
transact and also identify those who are bogged down in a sales process and need
assistance. Marketing and finance personnel also use analytics to assess the value of
multi-faceted programs as a whole.

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 Integrated/Collaborative:
Departments within enterprises — especially large enterprises — tend to function with
little collaboration.[6] More recently, the development and adoption of these tools and
services have fostered greater fluidity and cooperation among sales, service, and
marketing. This finds expression in the concept of collaborative systems that use
technology to build bridges between departments. For example, feedback from a
technical support center can enlighten marketers about specific services and product
features clients are asking for. Reps, in their turn, want to be able to pursue these
opportunities without the burden of re-entering records and contact data into a separate
SFA system.

 Small business:
For small business, basic client service can be accomplished by a contact manager
system: an integrated solution that lets organizations and individuals efficiently track and
record interactions, including emails, documents, jobs, faxes, scheduling, and more.
These tools usually focus on accounts rather than on individual contacts. They also
generally include opportunity insight for tracking sales pipelines plus added functionality
for marketing and service. As with larger enterprises, small businesses are finding value
in online solutions, especially for mobile and telecommuting workers.

 Social media:
Social media sites like Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook are amplifying the voice of
people in the marketplace and are having profound and far-reaching effects on the ways
in which people buy. Customers can now research companies online and then ask for
recommendations through social media channels, making their buying decision without
contacting the company.
People also use social media to share opinions and experiences on companies, products
and services. As social media is not as widely moderated or censored as mainstream

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media, individuals can say anything they want about a company or brand, positive or
negative.

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CHAPTER – 4

ANALYSIS &
INTERPRETATION OF
DATA

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4.1 Insight of CRM:

E-commerce is innovative and changing. New technologies are applied in every business to keep
up with the trending needs of every customer. CRM software is one of these technologies that
companies need in order to retain their existing customers, attract new clients and prospects, and
maintain good relationships with them. It is a business strategy directed to understand, anticipate
and respond to the needs of an enterprise's current and potential customers in order to grow the
relationship value.

 Customer refers to an entity that acquires or consumes goods or services from a desired firm
(through the process of purchasing or renting) for a mutually decided price and has the ability
to choose between different products and suppliers. In this sense a customer is also known as
client, buyer, purchaser or user of the products/services delivered or provided by a firm or
organization also called the supplier, seller or the service provider.

 Relationship in business refers to state involving mutual dealings between people or parties.
It involves interactions with customers or prospects to better understand their requirements
and to build an expectation through different channels of communication. The more one
interacts, the more chances of building a strong business relationship on the grounds of
proper understanding of customers.

 Management refers to managing of customer interactions. This does not merely mean
customer support but in its true sense aims at mobilizing the entire organization towards
management of all interactions with the customers, thus involving a customer-centric
thinking and acting.

 Selling has always been the vital force in carving the economic development of any
company. Aptly described, "the development of selling has been from 'hawkers and walkers'
to a burdensome role imposed by the aggressive marketing regimes introduced by the large,
bureaucratically managed companies.

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Both for selling as well as for marketing, one must have knowledge of everything - leads,
queries, customers, sales, feedback, relationship, requirement and so on. Similarly, the advent of
technology has brought about an apparent change in the organizations' approach to customer
relationship. There is a need created for companies to automate services and personalize
communication with customers. The need primarily is about having an application or a system in
place to effectively manage the sales process and customer relationship; capture vital data and
information about customers - purchase history, revenue generated, up selling / cross selling
opportunities, etc.; and generate sales quote or create orders. To be precise, the need of the hour
is to have a 360-degree view of one’s business. This is why the Customer Relationship
Management has gained so much popularity among all businesses.

 Who Needs CRM:

CRM is needed where one needs to have a proper control on business. It cannot replace
business; it boosts your business effectivity. CRM software user groups are normally either
vendor run or independently managed by a volunteer group of users - and this difference in
management is very influential in determining the type of content, subject matter forums and
user benefits. Most experienced users believe that vendor run user groups are foremost a vendor
selling tool for both existing customers and new prospects. Vendor sponsored user groups also
tend to filter criticism and steer topics to planned (business development) destinations.
 Independent user groups tend to form a more balanced and meaningful relationship with the
software manufacturer (or resellers in some circumstances) in order to address post-sale topics
such as system utilization, new features, new version upgrades, system administration and
software evolution. While the vendor run user groups typically offer greater theatrics and better
shows, the independent user groups almost always achieve greater system empowerment and
benefits which translate to increased job performance. The business gets more things done with
much less effort, thereby directing your effort in what needs is the attention of business people.
This does not mean they are a record-keeping replacement. CRM systems help you add
intelligence into the system by providing workflows and certain system-generated rules which
provide a sense of direction and purpose to your business. These help streamline business and
improve overall efficiency. CRM systems can generate reports and show where your business
stands as on a particular instant visually through Dashboards and Charts. A 360' view of the
market is always readily available putting the businessman in a better position to do business.

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CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software aids in increasing efficiency, serves to

aid the sales department in all of its efforts, manages to boost sales, and fundamentally
contributes to the overall development of the company. It also manages to work towards
organizational goals. This is achieved through a concise study of potential customers. Their
preferences are taken into consideration and used to coordinate and implement a customer
centric business strategy that focuses primarily on the customer, yields to recording the
importance of his ideas and suggestions and results in increased customer retention. CRM costs
approximately $500 - $750 per year for small/medium businesses. With prices as low as this the
earlier notion that CRM is but only an option for large corporate does not hold good. CRM's
application includes a wide range of industries ranging from retail to education to the health
sector and areas as offbeat as relationship marketing and knowledge management.

List of industries that can opt for CRM:

 Pharmaceuticals & Life Science

The Pharmaceuticals & Life Science sector is unlike any other. It requires large amounts of data
and information processing. CRM provides for this demand with its ability to store volumes of
customer data.

 Financial Services

The financial services marketplace is rapidly expanding. Investment banking, private equity and
other financial institutions are trying to manage client relationships while developing overall
sales. CRM achieves this with its ability to cut costs, increase efficiency and manage customers
while retaining relationships with them.

 Health care

Customer Relationship Management helps hundreds of health care clients achieve their marketing goals.
CRM predicts future medical needs in the industry. It helps greater return on investment for hospitals,
employers, physicians etc.

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 Manufacturing

Normally we tend to think of large machinery, factories etc when we think of manufacturing but
this industry as well needs CRM to maximize profits. CRM enables them to sell to customers
both directly and indirectly.

 Real Estate

Agents and property professionals face major problems with clients. With increasing competition
the real estate industry is more challenging than ever before. CRM helps marketing, sales and
service operations and helps the organization understand and manage its clients effectively.

 Retail

The Retail industry is symbolic of and closer to the customer than any other industry. CRM's
knowledge of the customer, its comprehensive study of customer preferences helps boost profits,
sales and customer retention.

 Travel

CRM enables airlines and travels minimize time and cost as it contains a comprehensive amount
of data on customers that can be used in daily dealings with them. Implementing CRM software
helps to build, manage and serve your client base.

 Banking

CRM enables the banking industry to maintain a customer profile. This creates a holistic view of
customers. It makes sure that the right services are offered to the right people at the right time.

 Automotive CRM

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Automotive meets the sales, marketing and service requirements of car companies, distributors,
dealers etc. Implementing CRM enables them to use available customer information to manage
leads, to develop marketing campaigns and increase sales directly or through dealers.

 Insurance

CRM is essential to enable organizations offer their customers the chance to review policy
coverage information, check policy/claim status etc. It also helps in solving customer problems.

Large corporate, medium industries and small business units as well can all opt to benefit from
this application. CRM's application being diverse in nature has made it one of the fastest growing
customer centric strategies of the decade. Its diverse applicability has increased its appeal.

 IT enabled CRM Practices & Providers or Manufactures:

 CRM Solutions:

The concept behind CRM solutions is they allow businesses to integrate all aspects of their
activities seamlessly, in order to create a united, professional image. Early CRM systems can be
more accurately described as database marketing. In simple terms, this involved the process of
collecting specific client data for certain groups in order for companies to talk to their clients on
an individual basis. This proved to be more suitable and effective for the larger corporations than
small businesses. This was due to the fact that the survey-like, repetitive data which was
acquired was more suited to the mass market than the more tailored, specific requirements of
smaller businesses. For some companies, the basic information of people’s spending habits was
suitable for effective marketing, for others, it was not nearly enough.

CRM solutions as we know them today first arrived in the 1990’s with grand promises of
changing the way businesses talk to their clients forever. In the beginning, however, this was far
from the case, as the concept proved to be far better in theory than in practice. The CRM
solutions fall into following four categories-

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Outsourced Solutions:

Application service providers can provide web-based CRM solutions for your business. This
approach is ideal if you need to implement a solution quickly and your company does not have
the in-house skills necessary to tackle the job from scratch. It is also a good solution if you are
already geared towards online e-commerce. For more information see our guide on cloud
computing.

Off-the-shelf solutions

Several software companies offer CRM applications that integrate with existing packages. Cut-
down versions of such software may be suitable for smaller businesses. This approach is
generally the cheapest option as you are investing in standard software components. The
downside is that the software may not always do precisely what you want and you may have to
trade off functionality for convenience and price. The key to success is to be flexible without
compromising too much.

Bespoke software

For the ultimate in tailored CRM solutions, consultants and software engineers will customize or
create a CRM system and integrate it with your existing software. However, this can be
expensive and time consuming. If you choose this option, make sure you carefully specify
exactly what you want. This will usually be the most expensive option and costs will vary
depending on what your software designer quotes.

Managed solutions

A half-way house between bespoke and outsourced solutions, this involves renting a customized
suite of CRM applications as a bespoke package. This can be cost effective but it may mean that
you have to compromise in terms of functionality.

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 CRM Software Manufactures:

Top rated CRM systems and manufacturers are listed below-

 Aplicor

Founded in 1999, Aplicor was one of the first to market software as a service business solutions.
The company makes online CRM and Enterprise Resource Planning business software for high
growth, middle market and enterprise organizations. Aplicor is not a small business solution. The
online software suits middle market and larger companies. The majority of Aplicor customers are
decentralized and multi-national. Aplicor business software solutions are only available via
hosted delivery and sold on a subscription basis. It is much less expensive than the other
software providers.

 OracleOnDemand

Oracle on demand was previously called Siebel On Demand and was a acquired as part of the
much larger Siebel Systems acquisition by Oracle in September 2005. Siebel actually
previously acquired the hosted business software system called Upshot in October 2003 before
maturing it into the Siebel On Demand product. The product best fits small and midsize
businesses. Although an Oracle product, Oracle OnDemand offers no hosted back office
accounting or ERP software system. Since the acquisition by Oracle, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison
has made very cautionary statements about software as a service and analyst firm Gartner has
illustrated that Oracle has reduced focus and spending on the SaaS software, leaving many to
wonder if this part time solution will be sidelined by the software giant. 

 Salesforce.com

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Salesfoce.com is credited with evangelizing the software as a service movement and has since
become the 800 pound gorilla of the hosted CRM software industry. The Salesforce.com product
is particularly strong in SFA and not as strong in marketing automation and customer support. In
an interesting strategic direction, the company has veered away from focus as a CRM or business
software provider and instead channels its efforts in becoming a Platform as a Service (PAAS)
provider.

 SAP ERP & Business ByDesign

SAP is of course best known for its R/3, ERP (currently version 6) and MySAP product suites.
Not content to just be the market share leader among ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning)
software systems, the company's client/server CRM software system is also rated the number one
market share leader (however, Oracle vigorously disputes this and claims that it is the top market
share leader). After several years of down-playing the software as a service market, SAP finally
threw its hat in the SaaS ring with Business ByDesign. The Business ByDesign product was
announced in 2007, partially released in 2008 and has yet to make much of an impact in the
hosted software market.

 SugarCRM

SugarCRM is the most popular open source CRM software system. While there are over 30
open source CRM applications available, Sugar is the only one demonstrating any success in
the small business market. While the Sugar development community appears active and the
system has near global representation, the product is largely limited to small businesses. The
company boasts a few larger clients, however, most middle market and larger organizations that
review SugarCRM find its capabilities far too limiting.

 The major Players in CRM:

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The CRM short list is aimed towards medium- and large enterprise customers, and should
be sufficiently long for 90% of the target group to find their prospective CRM supplier in
this list, or better, to provide a starting point for a software selection trajectory. The
following are the short list of CRM companies:

 Microsoft now in the game, it seems likely that they may get some share of small
businesses that tend to buy based on familiarity and usability. ASP’s will continue to
grow in popularity as well, especially with mid-sized businesses, so companies like
NetSuite, SalesNet and Siebel’s OnDemand will thrive. CRM on the web has come of
age.

 Oracle (Siebel, Oracle CRM) is a Customer Relationship Management system

developed by Oracle Corporation. Oracle CRM includes Oracle and PeopleSoft products
but leads with Siebel CRM and CRM on Demand. Siebel 8.1.1 is the latest release.

 SAP CRM (ISIN: DE0007164600, FWB: SAP, NYSE: SAP) is a German global

software corporation that provides enterprise software applications and support to
businesses of all sizes globally. Headquartered in Walldorf, Germany, with regional
offices around the world, SAP is the largest enterprise software company in the world.

 Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM) is an enterprise cloud computing company headquartered

in San Francisco, USA that distributes business software on a subscription basis.
Salesforce.com hosts the applications offsite. It is best known for its Customer
Relationship Management (CRM) products and, through acquisition, has expanded into
the "social enterprise arena

 SugarCRM is a software company based in Cupertino, California. They produce the web
application Sugar, also known as SugarCRM, which is a customer relationship
management (CRM) system that is available in both open source and proprietary, non-

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free versions. Sugar's functionality includes sales-force automation, marketing

campaigns, customer support, collaboration and reporting. The company operates a
number of websites, including its commercial website SugarCRM.com, a development
website (SugarForge.org), Sugar Exchange (for third-party extensions), and user forums.

 NetSuite CRM+ NetSuite is a medium-sized software company (revenues 152 mln

USD). Like Salesforce, the company offers its applications over the internet. Besides
CRM, the company is big in E-commerce, inventory management and financial
applications.

Role Of CRM in Present Business Scenario:

Customer relationship management (CRM) is a widely-implemented strategy for managing a

company’s interactions with customers, clients and sales prospects. It involves using technology
to organize, automate, and synchronize business processes—principally sales activities, but also
those for marketing, customer service, and technical support. The overall goals are to find,
attract, and win new clients, nurture and retain those the company already has, entice former
clients back into the fold, and reduce the costs of marketing and client service. [1] Customer
relationship management describes a company-wide business strategy including customer-
interface departments as well as other departments.

CRM can be implemented having even one customer. That is the barest minimum required. As
such small industries too benefit from CRM implementation. In CRM terms a small business
would generally constitute an organization having around 10 employees. Medium enterprises are
enterprises having 11-100 employees. CRM works for a small entrepreneur, a 100 employee firm
and a million dollar corporation as well. Fundamentally its application transcends to almost all
industries.

CRM for Large Industries

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CRM is not just for big players only. Large corporates are not the only ones who stand to benefit
from CRM implementation In effect it is harder for large corporates as they will undoubtedly
encounter more difficulties when compared to smaller ones. Apart from the huge investment
involved in the installation itself there are also additional costs. Training of employees,
integration of the various departments, phased implementation -all result in tremendous cost for
the organization.

CRM helps large corporates in increasing their up selling and cross selling opportunities and
enables a company to do it more effectively and efficiently. CRM enables sales staff to deal
better with their customers through the bettering of the sales process and ultimately helps them to
close sales deals faster. It manages to simplify the marketing and sales process in an
organization. Increasing Customer Retention Customer Retention is a natural byproduct of CRM.
It is achieved through the additional focus being placed on the customer.

CRM in Small Industries

CRM application tends more to profit small industries than large ones .This occurs because re-
engineering the front office is a crucial part of CRM. This part of CRM becomes more difficult
as the number of people, departments and business involved grow.

Consultants are seldom brought in on account of their high cost and extensive CRM software
comparison is done. In this respect SMES generally lose out on essential CRM advice that can be
utilized to avoid CRM collapse. It is imperative that the CRM implementation is closely
monitored by the entrepreneur to ensure success. Any failure on his part to do so will only result
in a collapse of the system. Importance should be given to the amount of money poured into the
CRM process.

CRM in INDIAN Market:

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The Indian CRM market size is about 15 percent of the overall APAC market, second largest in
the region, after Australia. Between 2008 and 2013, CRM in India is expected to grow at a
CAGR of 12 percent. According to Research survey report “The projected figure of CRM market
for 2008–09 will be around $45 million. It is expected to grow at a CAGR of 16–19 percent from
2008 to 2014.” In the next five years, India is projected to have the second highest CAGR after
China as far as CRM is concerned.

CRM SOFTWARE MARKET LOOK

SAP Retains CRM Software Market Share Leader position:

Since the turn of the century, CRM software growth has held steady but slow in the single digit
arena. However, according to 2008 reports issued by analyst firm Gartner, in a well received but
probably short lived growth perk, the market for CRM software achieved a surprising growth in
2007 of 23.1 percent, rising to a total of $8.1 billion.

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software maker SAP achieved the number one market share
leader position with a 25.4 percent share of worldwide CRM revenues in 2007, a slight decline
from the prior year's measurement of 25.6 percent. Arch rival Oracle secured the number two
CRM software market share position with 16.3 percent share in 2007, up from 15.5 percent in
2006. Also according to Gartner, the Walldorf, Germany–based giant earned additional bragging
rights by also achieving the top market share position for enterprise resource planning
software with a 27.5 percent share compared to Oracle's distant 13.9 percent.

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SAP performed well during two calendar year periods in which Oracle was occupied with high-
profile and high dollar acquisitions. According to Sharon Mertz, research director for CRM with
Gartner, “Oracle didn’t do so well in 2006, since it closed the Siebel Systems acquisition in
January of that year”. CRM software solutions and other product lines often become challenged
when acquired by a rival, and the rivalry between Siebel Systems and Oracle was notoriously
bitter. By contrast, SAP continued its organic growth in that period as well as the continued
integration of Business Objects, a 2007 acquisition that was immediately accretive to SAP’s
bottom line. “SAP did well both organically and from the Business Objects line,” Mertz says.
“Usually you slow down after an acquisition, but both were strong.”

The global CRM software market has picked up in the two most recent years. “Last year, nearly
everyone did very well; it was a matter of a rising tide that floats all boats, and even weaker
performers benefited,” Mertz says. “This year, budgets are being managed more closely, and
customers can be more discriminating with their spending.”

Overall, Gartner saw CRM software revenue and market share continue to consolidate among the
top suppliers. The majority of the top five CRM software vendors outpaced the overall market
in terms of revenue growth, with Oracle achieving an increase of 29.8 percent, Salesforce.com
gaining a rise of 49.8 percent, and Microsoft earning an 88.6 percent year-over-year increase in
revenue. Except for SAP’s slight decline in market share,

Amdocs was the only one of the top-five CRM solutions to see a decline in market share, from
5.6 percent in 2006 to 5.2 percent in 2007.

 CRM SOFTWARE MARKET MEASUREMENTS

 Research firm Gartner forecasted software-as-a-service (SaaS) relative to the industry at

large by predicting that by 2011, 25 percent of new business application software will be
delivered by SaaS.

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 Research published in CRM magazine in September 2008 showed that in 2007 the CRM
software industry achieved its fourth consecutive year of market growth with a 12 percent
rise over the prior year. The original research was provided by AMR Research and
concluded the 2007 CRM software application market at $14 billion. According to CRM
magazine Editorial Director David Myron, "While analysts may differ on the market's
exact size and rate of growth, all agree that CRM software-as-a-service (SaaS) is the
driving force."

 According to a market projection by research firm IDC, the SaaS industry reached $3.7
billion in 2006 and is forecast to grow at a cumulative rate of 32 percent per year through
2011, reaching revenues of about $15 billion.

 Analyst firm Gartner forecasts that the SaaS industry will achieve $5.1 billion in revenues
in 2007, a 21 percent increase from 2006, and will grow to $11.5 billion in revenues by
2011. SaaS CRM solutions are forecast to increase 26% annually through 2011. SaaS
CRM growth varies for by industry sector (whether marketing, sales force automation or
customer support) but fluctuates between 7% and 18% of the overall CRM software
market. In 2006, SaaS CRM solutions grew from 8% in 2005 to about 12% of total CRM
software market.

 A McKinsey research study among Service & Support Professionals Association

members demonstrated that the number of chief information officers (CIOs) evaluating
on-demand CRM systems climbed from 38 percent in 2006 to 61 percent in 2007.

 A 2008 research report issued by McKinsey & Co and the Sandhill Group found that
software-as-a-service and service-oriented architectures (SOA) are the two most
significant growth trends in the enterprise software industry. A survey with 850 private
sector companies illustrated that 74% of respondents were “favorably disposed” towards
purchasing SaaS business systems and companies were investing 19% of their software
budgets on subscription-based and hosted solutions. The analysis report also concluded

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that “nearly every company – as well as divisions of large enterprises – is a customer or a

prospect for SaaS platforms”. In an interesting alignment of the industry's top two
disruptive platforms, the researchers predicted that while SaaS and SOA were currently
on different but parallel evolutions, “we expect them to converge in the future”, laying
the ground work for a “tremendous battle between the largest software vendors and the
newer SaaS providers”.

 The CRM SaaS industry in Asia, excluding Japan, is forecasted to grow at a compound
annual growth rate of 61 percent between 2006 and 2010, according to research results
from Springboard Research. Springboard estimated the Asian CRM SaaS industry at
approximately $69 million in 2006, and predicted it to reach $460 million by 2010.
Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Korea, India and China are will continue to be the
fastest growing CRM SaaS markets in Asia. Of these markets, Australia remains the
largest market, accounting for 35 percent of all CRM SaaS sales in the Asia region.
“SaaS CRM has gained acceptance in Asia’s business mainstream and the coming year
will see higher adoption rates as larger enterprises choose SaaS CRM,” said Balaka
Baruah Aggarwal, Senior Manager for Emerging Software for Springboard Research. At
the same time, the market is set to witness unprecedented growth in the SME (small and
midsize enterprise) sector as a spate of new initiatives by vendors such as SAP,
Microsoft, and Oracle increase their sales, marketing and business development
programs. Springboard currently estimates that CRM SaaS market represents the largest
segment of SaaS application expenditures in Asia at 45 percent, followed by
collaboration, ERP/PLM/SCM applications, and HR (human resource) systems.
“Springboard Research believes that a substantial portion of the growth in Asia Pacific’s
SaaS CRM market will come from the SME segment. They expect SMEs in Asia Pacific
to go for simpler CRM solutions that are not so complex,”

CRM at Global Level:

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The global CRM software industry will continue steady growth through 2008, however growth
will likely slow shortly thereafter due to the downstream impact of economic conditions. The
market is forecast to grow to approximately $11.4 billion in total software revenue by the end of
2011. For reference, Gartner defines total software revenue as that generated from new software
licenses, updates, upgrades, subscriptions and hosting, technical support, and maintenance.
Professional services, consulting fees, training, hardware and network revenue are not included
in total software revenue figures.

CRM World Domination:

Whether existing Western CRM giants or new, localized CRM providers prevail, expansion into
emerging markets is good news for the overall state of CRM. It's even better news for global
businesses looking at CRM solutions to help improve customer relations and increase revenue.

Multinational businesses implementing CRM need a vendor that can handle global deployments.
The good news is, because the enterprise CRM market in the United States is reaching its
saturation point, according to industry watchers, providers of CRM software and services are
looking for new opportunities beyond the growing U.S. mid-market. Many are exploring other
regions, including Asia, Europe, India, and Latin America. Organizations in some of these areas

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have embraced CRM fully; others are just beginning to explore CRM's possibilities.
With such varying acceptance rates, research estimates about the global penetration of CRM vary
wildly. Cahners In-Stat Group projects that total worldwide revenue for CRM software will
reach $30.6 billion in 2005. Research firm ARC forecasts the worldwide sales of CRM software
and services to increase to $10.4 billion by 2006, a compound annual growth rate of 9.1 percent.
IDC expects worldwide CRM revenue to reach $14 billion by 2005. And Aberdeen Group
estimates that the 2002 worldwide CRM market reached $7.7 billion and will continue to grow at
about 4 to 5% per year.

The US leads the way

The largest market penetration of CRM--estimates vary from about 50 to 75 percent--is in the
U.S. In terms of revenue, estimates range from $7 billion to $14 billion for the total U.S. market.
Regardless of the exact numbers, because the U.S. market is already large and established, it is
expected to continue to dominate the worldwide CRM market. The mid-market is flourishing and
is expected to grow rapidly. Market-Partners, an independent research firm, surveyed more than
700 top decision-makers at companies with annual revenues between $50 million and $500
million and concluded that 41 percent of mid-market customers plan to increase spending on
applications in 2003. AMR Research says the SMB market, combined with divisions of
enterprises, is a $44.1 billion CRM opportunity over the next 10 years.
Even though the U.S. will continue to lead the global CRM market in overall revenue and market
size, analysts expect other regions to have higher percentage growth rates than the U.S.

Western Countries Review:

Most industry watchers agree that Europe and Asia Pacific, which are already sizable markets,
represent the next huge growth opportunity for CRM vendors. Western Europe is set to grow at a
much faster rate than the U.S., 22% over the four years.

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A Cahners survey shows that the United Kingdom leads the geographical pack, with 29 percent
of respondents saying they plan to implement a CRM solution. Spain was second with 19
percent, followed by Scandinavia (16%), Italy (13%), France (11%), and Germany (9%).s

Asia Pacific:

Asia has already been designated as a fast-growth area for CRM, and Frost & Sullivan is bullish
on the region. The Asia-Pacific market for CRM software is expected to reach $561.8 million in
2003, more than doubling last year's sales, Frost & Sullivan predicts. Japan is the hot spot in the
region, where Siebel holds the lion's share of the market.

Data Monitor estimates that the Asian market for CRM applications will grow from $445 million
in 2002 to $739 million by the end of 2005, but many Western CRM providers, some of them
large and prominent in North America and Europe, have been disappointed by the lack of return
on their Asian investments. In fact, in a recent report the market research firm cautioned CRM
vendors seeking to enter Asia, saying they must focus their limited resources on growing revenue
in only one or two geographies, where their product and pricing are a good limited market match.

According to Frost & Sullivan, the market for customer interaction management software in
China is predicted to grow from $103 million in 2001 to $264 million in 2008, with an especially
large opportunity in telecommunications, banking, and outsourced call centers. However, the
SARS outbreak is limiting near-term growth in China, a senior vice president at Aberdeen.
"There will be a $2.2 billion decline in the near term.

CRM Market structures from 2006-2008:

This market grew by 12.5 percent in 2008, from revenue of $8.13 billion in 2007 to $9.15 billion
in 2008. The following table lists the top vendors in 2006-2008 (figures in millions of US
dollars) published in Gartner studies.

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Vendor 2008 2008 2007 2007 2006 2006

Revenue Share Revenue Share Revenue Share
(%) (%) (%)
SAP 2,055 22.5 (-2.8) 2,050.8 25.3 1,681.7 26.6
Oracle 1,475 16.1 1,319.8 16.3 1,016.8 15.5
Salesforce.com 965 10.6 676.5 8.3 451.7 6.9
Microsoft 581 6.4 332.1 4.1 176.1 2.7
Amdocs 451 4.9 421.0 5.2 365.9 5.6
Others 3,620 39.6 3,289.1 40.6 2,881.6 43.7
Total 9,147 100 8,089.3 100 6,573.8 100

(Source: Published in Gartener Studies)

CRM Market Share from 2007-2009:-

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CHAPTER – 5

FINDINGS, CONCLUSION
& SUGGESTIONS

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5.1 FINDING

5.2 CONLUSION

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5.3 SUGGESTION

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Annexure

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