Book excerpt: A company exists to make profit, and everything it does is a step towards that goal. Many firms are trying to get closer to their customers, but few realise how crucial this is to corporate value. Indeed, the long-term value of a company is perhaps best described as the sum of future profits from customers, discounted to a present value. Tackling two hot topics in business - CRM and corporate value - and based on a study undertaken by the Customer Management Leadership Group, John Murphy's new book links customer management directly to company profitability for the first time. By implementing its Customer Management Integration Framework, a company can see cash flows for each customer relationship, and use that information to effectively manage key customers for higher and more resilient levels of profitability.