Customer retention is imminently important for organization success as the cost of acquiring a new customer is greater than holding onto an old customer. It is obvious that the most profitable customers in any organization account for almost 30% of a firms profitability. Looking at these staggering statistics it is no wonder that customer retention is high up on the list of organization essentials. The customer centric strategy of the decade - CRM achieves customer loyalty with ease. This is because in CRM customer relationship is the focal point of success.

The main inhibition in this area is the cost factor. Customer Retention programs can often involve huge costs to the organization and therefore most firms are reluctant to embark on this. In this respect it is important to focus on the possible returns rather than the cost involved as customer retention is a direct stimulator for profitability and growth.

So how can technology help in lowering the high cost that has been enveloping the effort of keeping customer loyalty?

Here are some key points a company should consider when it comes to using an enterprise level CRM and technology platforms that support the internal business processes:

1. Use scalable and enterprise level CRM systems that allows customization through add-ons. Thus allowing companies to develop process specific modules without changing the core functionality of the product.
2. If you are still stuck in legacy systems and mainframes, move to .NET framework or J2EE Architecture.
3. Develop applications that allow employees to measure success.
4. Develop softwares that help business process support CRM customer retention programs.
5. Design resuable modules that can be modified to support clients across.
6. Develop applications with employee support. The importance of this ideology to the entire organization and how it will ultimately serve to benefit every employee needs to be taught. It is imperative to secure this employee support right before embarking on any CRM program.
7. Architect intelligently the business process allowing technology to provide the right tools to the employees for client communication. Over communicaonti with improper tracking methods can have a negative effect on customers.
8. Finally make the process customizable for client needs. This is extremely important as clients must be treated differently and employees need to make decisions based on smart data. Technology can help a long way in this particular point.

Since in CRM customer relationship is focused on, organizations should strive to implement it and avail of its benefits. CRM reviews evidence the profound impact CRM has on customer loyalty. Customer retention is the key to success and efforts should be made to harness it. And the high cost associated with customer retention can easily be lowered byusage of te right technology.