Sharif University of Technology

Graduate School of Management & Economics

‫مدیریت روابط با مشتریان‬

Customer Relationship Management (C.R.M)
Autumn Session 2010

General Information
Instructor: Nasser Karami
Email: nr.karami@sharif.edu
Telephone Number: 66165852

Class time

11:00-12:30 – Sunday & Tuesday

Description
CRM is defined as the overall process of building and maintaining profitable customer
relationships by delivering value and satisfaction to the customer. This course examines
customer relationship management (CRM) as a key strategic process within all organizations
and serves as a foundation course in the Service Management Program. It will explain what the
CRM, the benefits it provides is, how it works, and how to implement. It will show how CRM
practices, and technologies are used to increase the efficiency of marketing, sales, service
objectives throughout the customer life cycle stages of customer acquisition, development and
termination. Students learn how to find the most valuable customers and how to increase the
efficiency in customer acquisition, and churn management. It will cover various recent findings
in scientific research in quantitative marketing, economics, and consulting cases. This course
relies on the quantitative methods especially on the logistic regression. Students are expected to
have taken basic Statistics courses.

Objectives
After completing the course of study, students will have:

1. Gained an understanding of key concepts, technologies and best practices of CRM

 2. A view of the organization of business and its integration with CRM

3. An understanding of the CRM value proposition for different vertical markets

4. Knowledge of the lifecycle of CRM as applied to customer interactions

5. Knowledge of CRM customer data acquisition, management, research, analysis and use

6. An understanding of CRM strategies in Sales, Marketing and Customer Service contexts

7. An understanding of the impact of CRM on customer experience, satisfaction and loyalty

8. Developed a CRM Plan for the implementation of a personal CRM strategy.

Required Text(s) & Reading(s)

1. F. Buttle (2009). Customer Relationship Management, (2nd Edition). Elsevier Publishing

2. Jerry Fjermestad and Nicholas C. Romano (2006). Electronic Customer Relationship

Management, M.E. Sharpe, Inc.

3. Duane E. Sharp (2008). Customer Relationship Management Systems Handbook, Auerbach

publications

Other Text(s) & Reading(s)

1. Michel J. Cunningham (2006). Customer Relationship Management, Capstone Publishing

2. V. Kumar and Werner J Reinhartz (2006). Customer Relationship Management: A

Databased Approach. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

Required Cases
1. Meyer, C., and Schwager, A. (2007). Understanding Customer Experience. Harvard Business Review.
R0702G

2. “Harrah’s Entertainment Inc: Real-Time CRM in a Service Supply Chain”. (2003). Stanford Graduate
School of Business. Case: GS-50

3. Davila, Anthony. (2003). “Salesforce.com: The Evolution of Marketing Systems”. Stanford Graduate
School of Business. Case: E-145

4. McAfee,Andrew. (2003).”Moore Medical Corporation”. Harvard Business Review,9-601-142

Required Article Readings

1. “Customer Relationship Management: The Winning Strategy in a Challenging Economy”. (2009).
Microsoft. Retrieved December 26, 2009 from
 http://crm.dynamics.com/docs/CRM_Investment_in_a_Down_Economy_FINAL.pdf

2. Band, W. (2008). “CRM Best Practices”, Forrester Research. Retrieved December 26, 2009 from
http://business.bt.com/assets/pdfs/CRM-best-practices-adoption-paper.pdf

3. Wardley, M. (2008). “Oracle Vertical CRM Applications: Realizing Business Benefit Through
Industry Best Practices”. IDC. Retrieved December 26, 2009 from
http://www.oracle.com/applications/crm/siebel/resources/industry-best-practices-white-paper.pdf

4. “Social CRM Comes of Age”. (2009). Oracle. Retrieved December 26, 2009, from
http://www.oracle.com/ocom/groups/public/@ocompublic/documents/webcontent/036062.pdf

5. “CRM and Social Networking: Engaging the Social Customer”. (2009). Microsoft. Retrieved
December 26, 2009 from http://crm.dynamics.com/docs/CRM_and_Social_Networks.pdf

6. “Analytical CRM”. SAP. Retrieved December 26, 2009 from http://www.sap.com/solutions/business-

suite/crm/pdf/AnalyticalCRM_50046585.pdf

7. “CRM at a Glance: Salesforce.com vs. Siebel”. (2007). TSG Retrieved December 26, 2009 from
http://www.tsgonestop.com/sfdcvssiebel.pdf

Evaluation
1. Class participation (5%)
2. Quizzes (10%)
3. Case Study Assignments and Presentation-3 (15%)
4. CRM Situation Analysis Paper and Discussion-2 (each 15%)
5. CRM project report and presentation-2 (each 20%)
6. Final Exam (35%)

Assignments to be assigned by the instructor (Case Study)

Each group will be allocated one of the four cases. Case method involves:

 Reviewing the case from several perspectives

 Defining the problem(s)
 Formulating alternative courses of action
 Analyzing and comparing alternatives
 Recommending a solution.

The results of your case analysis are to be submitted in the form of a written report, no longer
than 5 A4 pages 12 point 1.5 spaced, and a short (20 min) presentation to the class followed by
open discussion. So, the group will review and present their recommendations on a case study
related to CRM. Students are expected to make the presentation as interesting by as possible and
focus on the key aspects of the case that relate to CRM.
CRM Final Project Report and Presentation
There are two tracks in the final projects. The final project will account for 20% of your
performance. You are going to present the case or data analysis in the last one or two sections.
The time will be determined by number of presenters.

Track 1: You write a case for a company which does an excellent job in CRM. The case should
be no more than 15 pages (double spaced, including graphs and tables, and references).

Track 2: You write a consulting case, where you obtain a dataset by your own or create one by
survey. You might get the authorization from your company or friends to use a dataset. You
need to provide statistical results and analysis.

An executive briefing report (10 to 15 pages) and an in class (15 min) presentation consisting of
10 to 12 PowerPoint slides is expected. Please include (these should also be subheadings in your
report and presentation):

 Summary of the project in both the report and presentation

 Research question(s) addressed by the project
 Contribution of the project
 Integrate course concepts into your report and presentation
 Critique/analysis of the project
 Lessons learned- Add value to the project

Example issues are:

 CRM in Banking: Features, Modern Tools & Techniques

 CRM in the Insurance Business

 CRM in the Tourism Industry

 CRM in the Service Sector

 CRM in the Airline Industry

 CRM in Hospital Service

Note: The groups must be formed by 89/07/20. The title of the project must be submitted by
89/08/15. Your Instructor must approve the project proposal before starting.

Final Exam
The final exam is designed to test students’ understanding of the conceptual and analytic
material presented in class. They may involve a variety of question types including multiple
choice, identification, short answer, and essay formats. It is close-note, close-book, based on
theoretical (lectures and Readings) and Practical (cases and speaks) discussions presented
during the term. The exam will be held on 89/10/00 at 00:00.

Course Schedule
Date Lecture Topics Activity

 89/06/30 Our Program ---------

89/07/04 Introduction & Concepts ---------

89/07/06 Chapter 1: Making Sense of CRM

89/07/11 CRM Value Chain ---------

89/07/13 Chapter 2: The CRM Value Chain

89/07/18 The Technology of CRM Quiz#1

89/07/20 Chapter 3 & 5: IT for CRM & Customer Intimacy
Teams to be formed

89/07/25 The Technology of CRM Paper Review#1

89/07/27 Chapter 3 & 5: IT for CRM & Customer Intimacy

89/08/02 Customer Portfolio Management Case Study Presentation#1

89/08/04 Chapter 4: Customer Portfolio Analysis Quiz#2

89/08/09 Customer Acquisition Paper Review#2

89/08/11 Chapter 8: Managing the Customer Lifecycle: Paper Review#3
Customer Acquisition

89/08/16 Customer Retention Case Study Presentation#2

89/08/18 Chapter 9: Managing the Customer Lifecycle: Quiz#3
Customer Retention and Development

89/08/23 Customer Value Management Paper Review#4

89/08/25 Chapter 7: Creating Value for Customers

89/08/30 E-CRM Quiz#4

89/09/02 Required Book (2) Paper Review# 5

89/09/07 Privacy in CRM Case Study Presentation#3

89/09/09 Required Book (3): Paper Review#6
Chapter 5: Privacy in CRM

89/09/14 Organizing Customer Relationships Quiz#5

89/09/16 Chapter 10 : Organizing for CRM Paper Review#7

89/09/21 Advances in CRM Applications Case Study Presentation#4

89/09/23 Handout & Paper(s)

89/09/28 Challenges for Global CRM --------

89/09/30 Handout & Paper(s)

89/10/05 Final Project Presentation Days --------

89/10/07
89/10/12

Note: The course outline is tentative and subject to change by the instructor during the semester
based on the progress of the class. A hard copy of all handouts will be delivered in the class.