The CRM Manifesto Alliance, a group of independent thinkers who work as practitioners in the Customer Relationship Management industry, has developed a definitive document explaining the principles of CRM.

On Jan. 20, 2007, the original group convened in London and drew up the manifesto principles in order to identify a thoughtful and comprehensive definition of CRM. Recently, the CRM Manifesto Alliance had an on-premise and online event to prioritize and draft the most salient points in the CRM Manifesto.

The manifesto represents a document with integrity and objectivity, and has input from many concerned individuals.

“This is a living document which will be periodically updated,” explains Chuck Schaeffer, chairman of Aplicor, which is a CRM Manifesto Alliance member.

Some of the points in the manifesto reflect a likely direction for Aplicor in CRM, and is important in the overall CRM field for all interested parties.

“This is a tool for CRM software buyers to quickly get an objective understanding of some of the most critical success factors related to CRM,” Schaeffer explained.

The goals of the CRM Manifesto include the following:

·         Establish truths and key principles of Customer Relationship Management in industry-neutral terms for the benefit of adopters and participants.

·         Articulate a vision for CRM that participants want the alliance to pursue.

·         Speak to CRM in business terms and not in technical terms.

·         Make contributors proud of what the alliance is doing and motivate it to continue in its work.

·         Provide a framework for other participants or interested parties to advance this vision of CRM.

The CRM Manifesto Alliance is committed to advancing these principles in an open and transparent environment. The alliance encourages others to join and advance CRM benefits, understanding and global participation.

The overall purpose of the CRM Manifesto is to have a declaration of truths and key principles which define Customer Relationship Management. The CRM industry benefits with such an objective, straightforward and unbiased conversation about this business strategy and how it can be leveraged to empower and advance adopters.

CRM is not a technology and it is not software. CRM seeks to proactively manage business processes which improve relationships with current and prospective customers.

Sales Force Automation (SFA) is a component, and not a replacement, substitute or alternative for CRM. SFA seeks to manage the business processes between sales professionals and customers, as well as sales professionals and sales management. Other integrated components of CRM include marketing and customer support.

CRM software consists of at least the three integrated functions of marketing, sales force automation (SFA) and customer support. Additional functions or software modules (such as Partner Relationship Management) may also be included in a CRM software suite.

Cloud computing or Software as a Service (SaaS (News - Alert)) do not change CRM strategy, opportunity or fulfillment. SaaS is merely a change in software delivery (from on-premise to delivery over the Internet from a central data center) and software pricing model (from an up-front licensing purchase to a subscription or rental fee).

Aplicor is a global software publisher of CRM and ERP [enterprise resource planning] on-demand business software solutions for high growth, middle-market and enterprise organizations. The CRM application benefits clients by improving marketing effectiveness, increasing sales win rates, growing customer share and decreasing customer churn. The ERP application provides integrated back office financial accounting, project accounting and distribution software.