Why smart technologies are transforming relationships

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is no longer just a technical discipline but revolves around trust, proximity, timing, and relevance. This is precisely where innovative technologies come into play. In the chapter titled “How ‘Smart Technologies’ Will Change Customer Relationship Management” by Evangelos Avramakis, the author provides a strategic and practical look at how technologies such as AI, sensor technology, cloud computing, robotics, and smart interfaces are redefining the foundation of customer relationships.

What I took away from the chapter:

• Smart Technologies as Drivers: “Smart technologies” should be viewed not merely as tools but as drivers that fundamentally transform market structures, relationship patterns, and value chains.

• Four Relationship Levels: The basis of every customer relationship is formed by four relationship levels: financial, functional, social, and structural. Technologies impact each of these levels in different ways.

• Evolving Customer Journeys: Customer journeys are shifting from linear processes to complex ecosystem journeys. Smart interfaces and data create new, situational touchpoints.

• Intelligent Use of Data: The chapter emphasizes that organizations that leverage data intelligently will gain a competitive advantage in trust, which will be crucial for the future.

• Balancing Act in CRM: This makes CRM a balancing act between automation and empathy, relevance and data protection, and efficiency and relationship depth.

My conclusion: Avramakis effectively combines significant strategic issues with practical implementation scenarios. He illustrates that smart technologies can make CRM deeper, more individual, and more human – given that we design them responsibly.

🔗 To the book on Springer

This blog post is based on the chapter „How ‘Smart Technologies’ Will Change Customer Relationship Management“ by Evangelos Avramakis from the book "CRM Goes Digital – Design and Use of Digital Customer Interface in Marketing, Sales and Service," published in 2024 by Springer Gabler Publishing House.