Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is a process companies use to understand their customer groups and respond quickly---and at times, instantly---to shifting customer desires. CRM technology allows firms to collect and manage large amounts of customer data and then carry out strategies based on that information. Data collected through focused CRM initiative helps firms solve specific problems throughout their customer relationship cycle---the chain of activities from the initial targeting of customers to efforts to win them back for more. CRM data also provides companies with important new insights into customers’ needs and behaviors, allowing them to tailor products to targeted customer segments. Information gathered through CRM programs often generates solution to problems outside a company’s marketing functions, such as Supply Chain Management and new product development.