Successful B2B customer database management

Purpose – The paper aims to present a study of the question of customer information management in business‐to‐business (B2B) firms, what distinguishes firms that manage customer information well, and what internal processes are necessary for success. Design/methodology/approach – This paper summarizes the themes from several research studies using both qualitative and quantitative methods. Findings – The study finds that companies that distinguish themselves from others in the area of customer information management practices pay attention first to their company's overall strategy, establish and/or enforce data quality standards, involve functional departments in the development of customer databases and their applications, and use both relational and transactional data in their data applications. Practical implications – Managers in this area would do well to follow the precepts suggested in this work, especially in terms of developing quality databases before embarking on a customer marketing strategy. Originality/value – The value of the paper is the consistent themes throughout research studies in various B2B contexts.