Short for Customer Relationship Management. CRM is a set of methodologies, software, and usually Internet capabilities that help an enterprise manage customer relationships in an organized way. It includes all business processes in sales, marketing, and service that touch the customer. For example, an enterprise might build a database about its customers that describes relationships in sufficient detail so that management, salespeople, people providing service, and even the customer can access information, match customer needs with product plans and offerings, remind customers of service requirements, know what other products a customer has purchased, and so on.

Related terms: CRM software, contact management, call centers, enterprise CRM software