In the context of India, this is very crucial as the recent World Economic Forum Report on Global Competitiveness has ranked India 43 out of 49 nations surveyed, on `customer orientation'.

Critical for nurturing CRM is technology which can provide focus to an organisation's CRM vision. Or at least that was a majority opinion at the seminar on `Value Enhancement through Customer Relationship' organised by CRM Foundation and CII in New Delhi on Friday.

In his keynote address, Rakesh Bharti Mittal, chairman, CII, National Committee on Marketing & Customer Focus and CMD, Bharti Enterprises, said: "Managing customer relationships is not only complex but is also multi-faceted and thus calls for an inter-disciplinary approach."

Particularly, as in the New Economy, the customer has become very demanding and the emphasis needs to be on being consumer-centric. "Technology solutions as applied to various front-end functions could aid in building a viable link between the organisations and customers irrespective of geographical separation. This has to be backed with appropriate systems and processes to mine the right type of data by the right function in an organisation."

Besides technology, systems and processes, another important link is human resource, he added. ``If CRM is the key, HR would be the nerve centre for any CRM activity."

Rohtas Mal, CGM, Maruti Udyog Ltd, added that the first step for a company to enhance value through CRM is to identify its target base. For example, in Maruti, the categories which emerged were:

* Two-wheeler owners;

* Customers taken away from the competition;

* Services sector.

After identifying the target, he said, the next stage was to build on customer relationships. Maruti, therefore, began evaluating the current database of consumers to identify those who wanted Maruti service or better still, wanted to upgrade up the value chain in Maruti products. Third, it began working in tandem with the oil industry to get data feedback on two-wheeler consumers-and identify those ready to move into four-wheeler purchases. ``Ultimately, CRM is all about value enhancement for the organisation,'' Mal added.

So, what is the right approach for CRM? According to Vijay Ahuja of PriceWaterhouseCoopers, there are two ways of approaching CRM. If a company goes about it in a small way, it may miss the bus and if it takes the big bang approach, it may miss out on a whole lot of crucial aspects. "Define the consumer and his requirements first and then identify the products which need to be CRM-enabled," he says. Start small and then go the big bang way, he stresses.

According to Sanjeev Duggal, president, NIS Sparta, CRM has three focus areas: CRM with employees, CRM with partners and CRM with consumers. Also, while implementing CRM, the cost-benefit aspect is very critical.

Duggal pointed out that the full scope of CRM is not understood clearly and the assumption is that CRM equals technology. CRM is much more than that: it is technology, processes, systems and people. A more holistic approach goes further in ensuring that the organisation understands CRM and is equipped with adequate knowledge to help them change their organisations into customer-centric ones. CRM is something which allows you to provide common fabric to deliver.

An important factor while implementing CRM is to enthuse the channel through which consumer relationships are strengthened. Integration of channel partners vis-a-vis business process is also important, says Sumeet Kapur, COO, Global Groupware Solutions.

Kapur suggests: "Revisiting the re-engineering aspect won't be a bad idea.

Leveraging knowledge to the person who faces the consumer is the right approach. It is here that the role of technology and CRM solutions comes into play."

Elaborating, CV Rao, CEO of CRM Foundation, said: "It is important for the corporates to know the availability of the right kind of technology from the right source at the right time. The use of integrated solutions to achieve a fair degree of customer retention is what most organisations look for. The second aspect of getting the right personnel behind the systems and processes, is equally important."

Once CRM is implemented, what makes it click? According to Atul Kanwar, CEO, Bharti BT Internet, ``The success of CRM hinges on how it is implemented.

Uneven focus is bad for its implementation. Also in the new economy, targets and objectives change every few weeks. The priorities then become very different,'' he added. The solution lies in putting in place a set of people across the organisation focused on implementing CRM.

For Kanwar, what you get out of a customer for a lifetime can be the decisive strategic point. A short-term CRM focus is not going to click. What is required is building relationship over a period. This could be the most integral approach and go a long way in harvesting CRM profitability. For CRM to succeed, enterprise-wide solution is required - this was the common refrain at the meet.