Customer Relationship Management Systems

Progressive momentum in business environments has created a niche market for the use and need of information technology. There is an increasing need to integrate information technology applications such as customer relationship management systems and business intelligence into businesses practices to gain a better understanding of the customer’s needs, wants, and behaviors in order to better serve them. That is exactly the purpose of an effective customer relationship management system. By acquiring information of customers, business intelligence is achieved. Business intelligence is defined as the knowledge about your customers, your competitors, your business partners, your competitive environment, and your own internal operations that gives you the ability to make effective important and often strategic business decisions (Cummings & Haag). This paper will aim to identify the need and use of a customer relationship management system, as well as business intelligence, in the goal of recognizing customer preferences. It will go on to illustrate how effective systems, such as those above-mentioned, have been successful in maintaining customer loyalty through the information obtained. The first article chosen deals with the issue of implementing a customer relationship management system in an ice cream shop. The second article illustrates how the proper use of a customer relationship management system has positively affected the business of a popular casino.