The concept behind CRM is a very broad one. It seems that most people do not associate CRM with social networking. Part of this is because social networking is commonly associated with youth culture sites like Facebook and Myspace. However more and more businesses are starting to embrace social networking for their marketing and customer service needs. Social networking applications can be used for customer facing purposes and internal purposes as well (e.g. focus groups, market research, customer databases) According to Wikipedia, customer relationship management involves “ all aspects of interaction a company has with its customer.” It’s focus can include sales or service. It can include “ways to personalize online experience…[and] ways to help companies understand and anticipate the needs of current and potential customers.”

Wikipedia also goes on to note that “Many CRM initiatives have failed because implementation was limited to software installation without alignment to a customer-centric strategy.” This brings up the very fundamental, but important question of what it is that customers want from a given organization. Although CRM is associated with technology, it is imperative that companies generate innovative, practical and effective strategies for applying these tools to best serve their target market.