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Disappointed by the high costs and elusive benefits, early adopters of customer relationship management systems came to view the technology as just another overhyped IT (information technology) investment. But now, system sales are rising, and executives are reporting satisfaction with their CRM (customer relationship management) investments. What''s changed? A wide range of companies are successfully taking a pragmatic, disciplined approach to CRM. Rather than use it to transform entire businesses, they''ve directed their investments toward solving clearly defined problems within their customer relationship cycle. The authors have distilled the experiences of these CRM leaders into four questions: Is the problem strategic? Is the system focused on the pain point? Do we need perfect data? What''s the right way to expand an initial implementation? The questions reflect a new realism about when and how to deploy CRM to its best advantage. Understanding that highly accurate and timely data are not required everywhere in their businesses, CRM leaders have tailored their real-time initiatives to those customer relationships that can be significantly enhanced by ''perfect'' information. After they''ve succeeded with their first targeted CRM project, they can use it as a springboard for solving additional problems. CRM is coming to resemble any other valuable management tool, and the keys to successful implementation are also becoming familiar: strong executive and business unit leadership, careful strategic planning, clear performance measures, and a co-ordinated program that combines organizational and process changes with the application of new technology.