If you are going to create customer relationship management that is highly effective at the enterprise level you are going to need to create a database strategy that incorporates many different technologies along with integrating different business functionality such as sales, customer service and marketing. 

If you really want to get the most out of your CRM technology, marketing needs to have a solid relationship with the IT Dept. This is not the same type of alignment that marketing would have with sales. The IT Dept deals with installing, maintaining, and supporting technology within the organization and they make the decisions about technology. When marketing correctly aligns with the IT Dept, they will be able to get access to the marketing systems they need to achieve their goal and get the marketing outcomes they desire. 

It takes time to build this relationship with the IT Dept, so start earlier rather than later. It will be especially beneficial to you. It’s also important not to get IT involved too late in your CRM strategies. The earlier you integrate them, the better they will understand your needs and the more help they can be to you. 

If you are using cloud based software you will need to have your IT Dept involved because there are many concern for your other data systems. Everything needs to be compatible, privacy needs to be ensured, and it must be secure. You need to your IT Dept’s help here!

Another excellent alignment is with sales. Sales already has the data relating to current customers and in that, data will be trends that can help you with your current marketing campaigns. However, in today’s world it’s also important to reach out beyond the sales department.

For example, savvy CRM marketers are turning to social networking and integrating that into the CRM database. Again, here’s a need for your IT Dept. Social media offers you an incredible amount of data on potential customers, such as what they like, what they watch, what they follow, personal information, and the list goes on. This information, when integrated with existing database information can be used to create powerful CRM marketing campaigns that are second to none.

To date, there has never been the ability to easily collect so much information on customers and potential customers. The use of social media is affordable and readily available. Many refer to it as the biggest marketing tool to ever be available. 

The key is to make sure you are taking advantage of multiple technologies and venues to gather the information you need to build a strong and effective marketing campaign.