CRM Terms Defined

Back-office software. Applications that deal with accounting, resource supply systems, manufacturing, order processing, plant maintenance, and human resources. ERP software focuses on back-office applications. Also see "Front-office software."

Customer-centric. Putting a customer at the center of an organization to drive market share and increase profits. This is the core idea behind CRM.

Customer loyalty. The ultimate goal of all CRM projects.

Data. Unprocessed facts and figures. For example, raw census information is data that must be further analyzed to obtain meaning. Data is often discrete, objective facts about events. Clickstream data harvested from a Web site is another example of data. Also see "Information" and "Knowledge."

Data marketing. Using the information contained within a database to target specific customers.

Data warehousing. Integrating multiple sources of data into a single, coherent database. Data warehousing supports decision-making and presents a unified view of business conditions at a single point in time.

Front-office software. Applications that communicate with the customer, such as call centers, customer service, marketing, sales force, and so forth. CRM software focuses on front-office applications, yet also seeks to present a coherent picture of the entire business. Also see "Back-office software."

Information. Data that's been analyzed or interpreted. Studying clickstream data, for instance, and concluding that people are moving through sections of your Web site too quickly. Also see "Data" and "Knowledge."

Knowledge. Information that prompts action. Based on the clickstream information described above, adding a taxonomy to your Web site that encourages casual browsing and associative learning. Also see "Data" and "Information."

One-to-one marketing. Popularized by consultants Martha Rogers and Don Peppers, this strategy calls for customizing all exchanges with a customer. A business learns how each customer wants to be treated and then offers personalized services.

Personalization. Customizing some aspect of a product or service in accord with customer demands. This is powerful because it means a customer "gives away' something of themselves that no competitor can know. Companies respond to customer preferences and thereby secure their loyalty.

Touchpoints. Points of contact between a company and a customer or between two companies in a B2B context.