Business today is undergoing a silent revolution of the most unimaginable of proportions. For the first time, businesses are recognizing the power of the INDIVIDUAL. Marketing is increasingly being done at an individual level by big and small business alike.

The reasons are not too difficult to see. 

For one, it is now well recognized that retaining an old customer is 70% easier than bringing in a new one because of ever-surmounting competition and an overfed market. As a consequence, business philosophy is rapidly moving away from a "share of the market" approach to a "share of the customer" concept.

In this world, cluttered with rival companies screaming to be heard by an increasingly choosy customer, the winner will be the one that knows how to "manage" its customers. A satisfied customer offers the unique opportunity to market to him repeatedly with an assortment of products or services.

The second and perhaps the most important reason is the rapid advances in technology that allow applications to be developed around the individual on a mass scale. "Mass-personalization" is no longer an oxymoron. The capacity to cater to individuals, personally and on a mass scale is the single most important driver of this silent revolution.

It is abundantly clear that the next battle turf will be "invisible". Companies will increasingly be servicing their domain - their existing clients - because competition will make the cost of new customer procurement prohibitive. The segmentation will take place around the customer - the most valued customer versus the modest customer.

This approach will call for tremendous skills in the sphere of Customer Relationship Management, popularly known as CRM. It is no wonder that CRM is being recognized as the hottest tool of the next business revolution.

This one-one approach is no longer a fad or a luxury - it has become urgently necessary.

While this awareness is dawning upon businesses - both online and offline - the sad part is that few know how to go about it or how to integrate this into their existing model.

To read more on the benefits of CRM, click here