12.7 Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Systems and IMC

An important tool for sales and marketing activities is the customer relationship management system (CRM). At their core, CRM systems are software systems used to collect and manage information about customers and prospects, making them a valuable source of internal data. CRM system providers have also built a set of technology tools around this core to help marketers analyze customer information and use it to create smarter, better targeted, and more effective marketing communication.

In the next section, you’ll learn about the role of CRM systems in helping marketers deliver the right types of marketing campaigns and interaction opportunities to the right people at the right time.