Eight building blocks of CRM

Using the analogy of the human body, Gartner fleshed out its 'Eight Building Blocks' approach to customer relationship management at the CRM Summit in Paris this week.

Gartner analysts, Jennifer Kirby and Ed Thompson, said the steps are; 'Vision' and 'Strategy' -- the brain, 'Valued Customer Experience' the real heart of CRM, 'Information' the life blood, 'Technology' the nervous system, 'Process' being the vital organs, 'Organisational Collaboration' the other side of the heart, and 'Metrics' the feet -- because reflexology can tell you everthing important about the body.

Gartner is using the eight building blocks approach to work with clients and as a useful framework for discussions -- though it is not intended to be a blueprint. Throughout the remainder of the conference, more detailed presentations will be given on each of the 'eight building blocks'.

The three finalists in Gartner's CRM Excellence Award, to be presented tomorrow, all score well against the 'eight building blocks' framework, says Thompson. TIM, the Italian mobile telecoms group, Shell the oil company, and Schlumberger -- a global technology group serving the petroleum industry all presented their CRM projects at the Summit this morning. Delegates were asked to vote and give their comments.

Gartner says one of its objectives with the conference is to promote awareness of successful CRM projects -- to help counter all the negative press around the return on investment issue. "We want to be positive and show you examples of where people are successful" said Kirby.

ZDNet will report the winner of the award.

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