A review of customer relationship (CRM) implications: benefits and challenges in construction organizations

The management philosophy, namely, Customer relationship management (CRM) has been widely accepted and successfully applied across a range of sectors. However, there has been very little research efforts in the field of CRM in the construction industry. This paper provides a review of the CRM philosophy and technology, and considers the implications; benefits and challenges to construction organizations at a strategic business and operational level. Given the generally unstable economic and highly competitive marketplace, implementation of CRM throughout the lifecycle of assets may provide for more effective management of existing and prospective clients. The CRM approach would seem to be compatible with general trends in the construction industry towards more collaborative working and the paper provides that both the philosophy and technologies can be integrated with current initiatives such as building information modeling (BIM). Construction clients in the public and private sector are diverse in nature, complex in their buying processes and at varying levels of knowledge of the Industry. In addition to seeking value for money from their projects and assets, they have become more concerned about sustainability and environmental impact. It has been recognized that management of a broader range of business and project level stakeholders is necessary.