Corporate and Brand Web Sites as Customer Relationship Management Tools

Abstract

ABSTRACT The explosive proliferation of Internet technologies, combined with the rapid acceptance of these technologies by consumers, has enticed nearly every organization to construct and implement a corporate and/or brand Web site. These Web sites allow businesses to communicate and transact with customers in new ways and with dramatically improved efficiency. Further, the marriage of Customer Relationship Management software with these Internet technologies is yielding unparalleled benefits to both organizations and consumers. Yet many of the efforts to implement either simple or complex relationship management systems have proceeded without a fundamental understanding of the specific benefits available to individual firms. While Internet-based relationship management technologies can provide powerful competitive and operational opportunities to nearly all organizations, only some forms of these approaches are appropriate for any unique firm. The goal of this paper is to provide a general overview and framework of the opportunities provided by each form of Internet relationship-building approach, a suggested implementation process for exploiting these opportunities, and the specific business, product, and market conditions that facilitate these potential advantages.