Over recent years the enhancement and improvement of total marketing effectiveness has been one of the hottest topics on corporate management's agenda. Effort is often made to move an organisation's strategy away from a product focus to one of customer focus. However, SAS' experience is that corporate management is failing to realise the fundamental changes needed - often thinking that investing huge sums in technology, for example in a call-centre, will solve any customer management issues. Organisations are now failing to see their expected returns on investment.

SAS is fast achieving a worldwide market leading position and has developed a structured programme called the SAS Customer Relationship Management Advantage Programme to assist its clients to:

• realise the expected returns from these customer management investments
• not having to wait six, twelve or eighteen months to see benefits
• reduce the risk of project failure

• The Full-Service Approach - To assist with the development of a customer management strategy; revealing business and technical requirements; developing a business case; planning the deliverables based upon a proven customer management solution implementation approach...
• The Rapid Implementation Approach - A short-term business imperative may exist that is driving the need for a rapid delivery or a phased approach. Or the customer management strategy, needs and requirements and business case may all exist and assistance with a fast-track implementation is needed...