To sum up, the success of using information technology to improve customer relationship
management (CRM) depends on the following factors (Avlonitis and Panagopoulos, 2005; Beuhrer
et al., 2005):
■ CRM perceived usefulness. If the salespeople believe that the system will help them perform
better, and will be helpful to their customers, they will adopt it.
■ Setting of accurate expectations regarding system usage. Provided the system performs as it
was expected to, salespeople will be happy with it: if unreasonably high expectations were raised,
they will tend to reject it.
■ Salesperson innovativeness toward new technological tools. If individual salespeople are already
computer-literate, they will naturally be less likely to find the new technology stressful or difficult
to use.
■ CRM perceived ease of use. As with any new product, ease of use will make it easier to adopt.
If salespeople believe that the new system is over-complex, they will avoid using it wherever
possible.
■ Supervisor encouragement and support. As always, the sales manager has a strong role in
supporting salespeople through changes in working practices.