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Abstract
Over a century ago, in a small-town of India, before the advent of the super-market, the shopping mall, and the automobile, people went to their neighborhood weekly haat or general store to purchase goods. The proprietor/owner and the small staff recognized the customers by name and knew the customer's preferences, needs, likings and wants. The customer, in turn, remained loyal to the store and made repeated purchases. This idyllic customer relationship disappeared as the nation grew, the population moved from the farming community to large urban areas, the consumer became mobile, and supermarkets and departmental stores were established to achieve economies of scale through mass marketing. To achieve this approach, information about a customer (e.g., previous purchases, needs, and wants) is used to frame offers that are more likely to be accepted. Observers such as McKie (2000) believe that the environment is fragmented and thus results in CRM meaning different things to different people.