New Accenture Book Redefines How Companies Must Leverage Customer Relationships to Increase Profits
“The Ultimate CRM Handbook” Distills the Latest Innovations in CRM into Proven, Practical Ideas for Designing and Delivering Value-Focused, Financially Sound Solutions
NEW YORK; Nov. 5, 2002 – Accenture (NYSE: ACN) today released The Ultimate CRM Handbook: Strategies and Concepts for Building Enduring Customer Loyalty and Profitability, a new publication designed to help senior executives improve their companies’ customer relationships and enhance brand value while mitigating risk associated with CRM investments.
Published by McGraw Hill and edited by John Freeland, Accenture global managing partner for Customer Relationship Management (CRM), The Ultimate CRM Handbook discusses how companies can face CRM challenges successfully by following three guiding principles: (1) customer experience is essential to creating brand value; (2) customer insight should inform and drive customer treatment; and (3) CRM programs should be executed in a pragmatic way that mitigates financial and delivery risk.
“Our goal is to help companies make their CRM initiatives pay off by offering our experience and showing that, when properly conceived and executed, these programs can create exceptional economic value,” said Freeland. “The next few years will give rise to a new generation of business leaders who will redefine the gold standard for managing customer relationships. These new leaders will make developing the customer franchise a core business strategy, and they will make achieving a new standard of CRM excellence a chief operating imperative”.
The Ultimate CRM Handbook includes chapters from more than three-dozen Accenture professionals. The authors’ combined experience, insight and understanding reveal what it takes to succeed with CRM, including how to:
- use new capabilities and approaches to drive profitable growth and increase brand value;
- knowledge of customer needs and preferences to create profitable interactions; and
- structure new CRM investments to manage risk and ensure return on investment.
According to Beth Eisenfeld, research director at Gartner Inc., “The book is smart and practical. It’s good for any executive who wants to create stronger, more profitable customer relationships. It not only helps executives understand how customer relationships are changing – it shows them what to do about it.”
About the Editor
John G. Freeland is the managing partner of Accenture’s Customer Relationship Management practice and a member of the Accenture Executive Committee. As a respected thought leader in CRM, he advises companies on creating profitable customer relationships and superior brand value. In more than two decades with Accenture, Freeland has held a variety of leadership positions at the company and has led the development of innovative CRM business strategies and new market-making opportunities across numerous industries, including innovative co-sourcing arrangements designed to improve the quality and cost structure of customer sales and service operations for Accenture clients.
About Accenture
Accenture is the world’s leading management consulting and technology services organization. Through its network of businesses approach – in which the company enhances its consulting and outsourcing expertise through alliances, affiliated companies and other capabilities – Accenture delivers innovations that help clients across all industries quickly realize their visions. With more than 75,000 people in 47 countries, the company generated net revenues of $11.57 billion for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2002. Its home page is www.accenture.com.
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