Spending on customer relationship management will grow to $10.4 billion by the end of the year, representing a 167 percent increase from the $3.9 billion spent in 2000, according to a study by eMarketer.
The study, “The CRM Report,” states that even during a slow economic period, the adoption of CRM solutions will move ahead at an aggressive pace as organizations spend targeted time, effort and money to retain and leverage their customer base. The report also found that companies are focusing on the integration of telephony and Web-based customer service channels as their top CRM priority.
Other key findings include:
•The United States and Europe dominate the worldwide market for CRM applications.
• For every $1 a business spends on CRM software, it also spends $2 to $5 on implementation and maintenance over the lifetime of the product.
• Nine of every 10 interactions that a company has with a customer are not transactions; instead, they are some form of communication.
• Companies can increase profits by more than 25 percent if they reduce customer defections by just 5 percent.
