Editorial Review:
A hands-on guidebook from Accenture for building a globally responsive, customer-driven enterprise
As the dust settles from the most recent round of CRM projects, companies are increasingly finding that their efforts have not delivered anticipated benefits. In The Ultimate CRM Handbook, influential thought leaders from Accenture discuss why CRM has failed to live up to expectations and what companies can do to improve the bottom-line return on CRM investments.
More than 30 chapters and in-depth case studies on many leading companies give managers and senior executives alike the high-level perspective needed to build lasting, profitable bonds with their customers. They also provide techniques companies can use to:
- Establish more effective interactions with their customers
- Build lasting brand loyalty
- Dramatically improve the efficiency of their sales, marketing, and customer service operations
Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 658.812
EAN: 9780071409353
Edition: 1
ISBN: 0071409351
Label: McGraw-Hill
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 304
Publication Date: September 24, 2002
Publisher: McGraw-Hill
Studio: McGraw-Hill
Readers Reviews (from Amazon.com)
Average Rating: 4.5 stars
Rating: 5 stars – For strategic thinker
This book covers every aspect of CRM, on sales and marketing and information technology. Don’t expect this book will teach you how to implement it. Please notice that this is not mean to be a technical book, which teaches you how to calculate customer life-time, segmentation or select customers. It outline the technologies and marketing ideas surrounding the buzz word-CRM. Come on. CRM is not the name of a software package, it’s about satisfying your customers profitabily.
If you have the interest to drill further, esp the maths/IT, read other books on data mining or database marketing.
Rating: 2 stars – Text book – descriptive but not informative
I had to purchase this book for a class I’m taking towards my MBA. I have to say that I have yet to read anything in it that isn’t just a summary of information I’ve heard or read before – or even something that’s just intuitive for anyone that’s been in the business world for just a few years.
Had I known this book would provide such little insight into the underlying strategies and applications of CRM, and would therefore not even be necessary to read in order to write papers or join in discussions for my class, I would not have purchased it.
Rating: 5 stars – At last … a reference source for CRM I can really use
This is the third book on CRM I’ve read over the last year and it’s certainly been the most useful.
The structure is a little different from other books I’ve seen on the subject. I guess you could read it end-to-end, but I’ve found it most useful just reading the section introductions and then dipping into the individual chapters as required. Being honest, I haven’t even read all of the content. It’s very comprehensive and some of the material just isn’t relevant to my work. But the fact I can get to the parts that are relevant, quickly and easily, is what makes this stand out.
Coming from a business background, I also like level it’s pitched at. Despite being pretty detailed at times the text is peppered with client examples to show the ideas are still grounded in reality.
So if you are looking for a broad reference source for CRM that puts the emphasis on business as much as CRM then this is certainly worth considering.
Rating: 5 stars – An Information Packed Resource on Advanced CRM
If you are looking for an information packed resource on advanced CRM ideas and strategies, then I would strongly recommend this book. I own a dozen texts on this subject and this book is one of the best at presenting the key concepts that define state-of-the-art CRM.
I found the chapters on transforming marketing paticularrly interesting. Together, they provided a comprehensive picture of the current challenges in marketing and then discussed the new capabilities marketers should embrace to transform their organizations.
In addition to the wealth of ideas, the book was also filled with industry examples that really helped to bring the topics to life for me. I definitely give this book an enthusiastic two thumbs up.
Rating: 3 stars – Not bad, but buyer beware!
This is not a bad book and contains some helpful insights in CRM. The chapters on Partner Relationship Management and CRM in Government are particularly good.
However, the title (a shameless rip off of The CRM Handbook–couldn’t the guys at McGraw Hill be a BIT more creative?)doesn’t make it obvious that the writers are all Accenture consultants. This book definitely has an Accenture spin (results of Accenture surveys, examples using Accenture partner companies), rendering it a bit more narrowly-focused that it might have been by a more “objective” authorship. And, as is usually the case with a book where each chapter has a different author, the tone of the text varies widely. This is a good book for your CRM library, but be sure and co-mingle it with other CRM perspective so your view isn’t tainted.
Rating: 5 stars – Must reading for anybody who deals with customers and brands
Finally, a `handbook’ that deserves this title! This is one of the few books out there that actually does not solely/mainly talk about technologies, software, etc. Let me back up a little. I was looking for a comprehensive book on the topic of customer relationship management (CRM), because I repeatedly came across these concepts in my current role. I was impressed by Sir Richard Branson’s quote on the back cover – – I admire what he has done to the Virgin brand – – so I bought it. It was well worth it! This book is written by practitioners, people who know what it takes to “provide a seamless customer experience”, how to attract, develop and retain customers. The books’ chapters cover everything from setting the strategy to data analysis; from channel management to the future of marketing.
And, best of all, this is complemented by in-depth case studies in various industries. I now use this book whenever the topic of CRM comes up at work. It’s a great reference to look up the latest thinking – – and to find out about what to avoid doing. I think this book is a must for every Executive dealing with “customers”, and it will serve students majoring in marketing/business studies equally well. Overall, a great book! Well-written, excellent content, and you can always come back to the individual chapters for a step-by-step guide to key elements of CRM.
Rating: 5 stars – Amazing
A book that every professional implementing or looking to implement CRM in their business.
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