In fact, some hoteliers may think that they should respond with lower prices, plain products and services, but intense competition together with a slow economy may drive down prices and raise expectations. In his book Loyalty Rules!, Reichheld convincingly demonstrates that the more volatility the economy serves up, the more loyalty plays in building effective, long-term, profitable relationships. Rigby et al. assert that successful customer relationship management (CRM) depends more on strategy than on the amount spent on technology. They believe that the only way to make CRM work is by taking the time to calculate customer strategy and to align business practices before implementing technology.