Customer Relationship Management (CRM) held out a lot of promise in the mid-1990s, but a considerable number of failures caused concern about its usefulness. Though various researchers have analyzed CRM critically, a comprehensive framework for enabling a better approach to CRM is lacking. This paper presents the findings of various researchers and also provides the information about how this paper contributes to the purpose of CRM. This paper delves into the various critical aspects of CRM beginning with the `CRM Vision' and then going into the `CRM Goals' and the `CRM Implementation' process. It analyzes the findings of other researchers and supports the arguments using examples of successful CRM implementations and presents a framework that can be used for a more strategic approach to it.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems gained popularity in the late 1990s and into the new millennium, but its sales waned in the wake of increasing reports of companies failing to reap the rewards that had been envisaged. This led observers to comment that CRM was another overhyped IT investment much like Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) (Rigby and Ledingham, 2004). Researches into CRM point out that 60-80 percent of CRM projects end in failure (Kale, 2004). Consulting firms have also undertaken research into this aspect and mentioned that nearly 70 percent of CRM implementations have failed to deliver as promised (IBM website article, 2004).

Despite the failures, CRM is regarded as an important tool for "delivering revenue growth through improved customer experiences, retaining and growing existing customer bases, increasing customer acquisition rates and influencing the development of new product and services" (IBM's Global CRM Study, 2004). It has been mentioned that the success rate of CRM can be increased from 15 percent to 70 percent, if a proper CRM strategy is adopted and CRM is `done right' (IBM's Global CRM Study, 2004). This paper delves into the critical issues concerning CRM and proposes a framework that can be used for undertaking a strategic approach to it. It is expected that the success rate of CRM can be enhanced using a strategic approach.

Management Research Journal, CRM: A Strategic Approach, Customer Relationship Management, Enterprise Resource Planning, ERP, Global CRM Study, CRM Technology, Distribution Management, Financial Services Marketing, Business Economics, Customer Strategy Management, Strategic Marketing.