Purpose – Customer relationship management (CRM) is an information system that tracks customers’ interactions with the firm and allows employees to instantly pull up information about the customers such as past sales, service records, outstanding records and unresolved problem calls. This paper aims to put forward strategies for successful implementation of CRM and discusses barriers to CRM in e-business and m-business. Design/methodology/approach – The paper combines narrative with argument and analysis. Findings – CRM stores all information about its customers in a database and uses this data to coordinate sales, marketing, and customer service departments so as to work together smoothly to best serve their customers’ needs. Originality/value – The paper demonstrates how CRM, if used properly, could enhance a company’s ability to achieve the ultimate goal of retaining customers and gain strategic advantage over its competitors.