A multitude of software solutions have been developed to manage customer relationships.

While there are differences between these applications there are a number of common features which provide functionality to manage key aspects of the customer lifecycle.

• Marketing
• Sales
• Service

Social, mobile and analytics (including big data) are new generation features.

These solutions address the key customer management processes: targeting, acquisition, retention and collaboration. Underlying these pillars and core to the success of the organisation and the CRM application is understanding the customer and managing the experience.