The concept of customer database management is very simple. Everyone knows that the customer is always right, and the more we know about a customer the more often we can meet the needs of all of our customers, both our existing customers and potential customers. One of the issues that surround customer databases is that there are so many options for database management; however, more often than not these options are expensive. Due to the large amount of data that must be collected and stored in customer database managements systems a lot of the available software used today tends to fail on a regular basis. This puts into question the reliability of the software being used and developed to meet the needs of various businesses.
The collection and analysis of customer data is useful for customer relationship management, the development and launching of new products and services, and the improved efficiency of internal company management systems. Unfortunately there has been little research conducted analyzing the success of customer database management systems in achieving these goals. However, the research conducted to date has shown a positive correlation between customer database management and overall business growth.
The quality of data entered into a database must be accurate and up to date. Without good quality data of customer information the purpose of the database is compromised. As such, data quality is the number one most important consideration in customer database management. All further analysis depends on the quality of this data. The data collected should be able to tell you if you're meeting the needs of your customers and their overall satisfaction rating. A good customer database management system would also allow the users to input business development activities and successes, sales revenues, and expenditures, details accounts payable and receivable, etc. In essence the system would be able to tell you if your business is on track, where improvements could be done to improve productivity.
