Yes, CRMs can raise the value of your company… As basically every effort to gain and maintain data does.

So HOW does a CRM raise your business’ value?

Thinking back to my early days I remember talking to a former jeweller from the USA who had inherited a company his father had built up. His father had – from the beginning on – filed his customer’s preferences, even down to the fact whether the customer’s wives AND girlfriends liked yellow, white, or red gold and which stones they preferred. Along of course with associated birthdays, anniversaries and alike.

After having successfully continued the company with the same business model for several years he ended up getting an offer from a Japanese competitor which wanted to acquire the business because of its exposed position.

To make a long story short: as he gave the keys to the new owners he saw them carrying out the customers files (Probably the first CRM I’d heard of) and throwing them away. A short time later the business went bankrupt.

The interesting part of this story is, that the value – and thus also the success – of the company apparently did not solely rely on the position but also on the close binding to the customer which broke the neck of the new owners.

But to get to the point: a main fact of the value of a business is “contained” information which can consist of facts about its customers.

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3. BOOK MONDAY: Corporate Online Reputation Management
4. BOOK MONDAY: Make your customers do the customer service themselves
5. Knowledge management – increasing the value of your business