All projects have customers – internal and external. The Cognisant Customer Relationship Management tool is designed to keep them informed and engaged. An essential part of the Cognisant CRM tool installation process is the setting up of systems and provision of training to ensure that the system is used effectively.

Ask the MD or the FD how many people work for the company or what the annual revenues are and you’ll almost certainly get the right answer. But ask them both how many customers they have and chances are they won’t know.

Astonishingly, in the vast majority of companies, questions about customers will leave senior executives sitting in an embarrassed silence.

Business managers often don’t know how they acquired their customers, what kind of relationship the company has with them, or whether the customers are profitable.

Systems alone are not the solution, though: processes, the sales team and technology systems are all interrelated.