An interesting piece that is a great summary of all that is wrong with CRM - in essence CRM is organisation centric. All of these items are about how the corporation looks outwards and uses CRM to feed it. However, if you want good CRM you need to think of one thing and one thing only - the customer. Then adapt your business to their needs. Simple it is not. But instead of spending lots of money on tech and consultants try a simple test - stand in the shoes of your customer and try to build a relationship with them; not to see them as fodder.

Spot on with your summary "all would benefit from thinking strategically about designing and managing the experience provided to customers".

One very powerful way to start this process is simply to video customers having a dire experience. Realising that the customer experience is all about the customer and not the supplier can be a massive wake-up call.

We're currently doing some research into the "recipe for succesful customer engagement" so if anyone wants to offer any examples, please drop a note to [email protected]. Our thinking will soon be freely available on our website if you want to read more http://www.ctrl-shift.co.uk