Companies should devote more resources to developing awareness of their clients' needs, a seminar by Mercer Management Consulting was told yesterday.
Managing relationships with customers could impact all businesses, but had already made a huge impact in financial services where companies were competing to develop new products and services.
Vice-president Nate Lentz said: 'Large retail banks are positioned to exploit enormous, under-leveraged assets, including broad product portfolios and proprietary customer information.
'Our client work shows that many banks realise only 10 to 15 per cent of the potential value of their overall customer base. Customer relationship management is predicated on moving that needle.' Managing a customer relationship involves continually refining insights into customer needs, delivering targeted services and focusing business resources on activities that build long-term customer relationships.