Customer Relationship Management Strategies for the Internet (Company Overview‪)‬

INTRODUCTION During the agriculture age, people exchanged agriculture goods, which the other one needed (i.e., barter trading). All exchanges were confined to certain regions and limited by geographical boundaries. So there was a high degree of inter-dependence on each other. In the industrial age, the seller & buyer concept was coined. At first, manufactured produced the products and sold them aggressively to buyers (i.e., selling concept). Later, the product was produced and marketed according to the customer's requirements (i.e., marketing concept). With the advent of the Internet, we see the dawn of the information age. The Internet economy makes it possible to offer customers an experience unlike any experience they have had before. Goods & services are now specially designed in order to cater to a particular group or even a specific customer. The term "mass customization", which is the mass production of individually customized goods and services, has been popularized. It is the intention of the firm to provide goods and services that offer greater value to the customer. Companies try to make the customer loyal towards the firm by offering products that satisfy their needs better that those offered by the competition. Many companies are using Internet technology to reach, identify, acquire, and serve their loyal customer. An integrated approach can give the company the competitive advantage that it needs to successfully cater to the needs of customers in today's networked economy. The primary purpose of the research is to study the underpinnings of Customer Relationship Management (CRM). More specifically, this research will identify how CRM can be practiced successfully via the Internet. Using the tools of CRM, the research will highlight techniques that can assist marketing managers in optimizing their overall Internet marketing strategies.