Book excerpt: CRM first entered the business vocabulary in the early 90’s; initially as a systems driven technical solution. It has since escalated in importance as system providers increased their market penetration of the business market and, in parallel, CRM’s strategic importance gained more traction as it was recognized that CRM was, at its heart, a business model in the pursuit of sustainable profit. This was accentuated by the academic community stepping up their interest in the subject in the early 2000’s. Today, it is a universal business topic which has been re-engineered by the online shopping revolution in which the customer is firmly placed at the center of the business. The current reality, however, is that, for the vast majority of businesses, CRM has not been adopted as a business philosophy and practicing business model. It has not been fully understood and therefore fully embraced and properly implemented. The author addresses this head-on by stripping CRM down into its component parts by delving into and explaining the role and relevance of the C, R, and M in CRM. This is a practical guide but set within a strategic framework. The outage is clear actionable insights and how to convert them into delivery. It is written in an easily digestible, non-jargon style, with case studies to demonstrate how CRM works. This book can be immediately used as the primary practical reference to guide the development and implementation of a CRM strategy.