Artificial Intelligence will continue to play a pivotal role in today's business structures. How companies currently track customer data is only the brink of the iceberg, and with the evolving developments of AI, companies will soon be able to predict customer behavior and identify purchasing patterns in real time using methods that have never been practiced before. AI will significantly continue to effect CRM methods by automating tasks that include preexisting chatbots and by offering personalized experiences that specifically cater to the needs of certain demographics.

Apple, Amazon, and Costco can all use cross selling and up selling methods and implement them into their CRM business model to generate more revenue. Cross selling is a when a retailer recommends similar products to a customer based on their previous interests. An example of this is if Amazon used CRM to track a customer's purchase history, and recommend similar or compatible products that others also bought to entice buyers into thinking they need more than what they initially wanted. Amazon can improve their business position with cross selling by recommending desirable Amazon products instead of showcasing advertisements when customers stream on Amazon Prime. Up selling is a business method that attracts buyers to higher end products. An example of Apple using up selling is if a customer walks into an Apple store and initially intends to purchase a base model macbook, however a sales representative informs the customer that the base model has limited capabilities and AppleCare+ will be more cost effective in the event of an accidental damage. In the event of this happening, the customer will most likely buy into Apple's method of up selling while deciding to purchase an upgraded macbook and add the additional ApppleCare+ service to their initial intended purchase. Although Apple does a great job of up selling individual products to consumers, Apple can up sell products in bundles to improve their business position and generate more sales. By understanding what a certain demographic of customers want before entering a store through CRM, companies are able to readily assist customers and influence them to purchase more high-end products than they initially intended to buy. Through CRM, Costco also recognizes the power of up selling, especially through their memberships. Costco already implements up-selling by offering customers the option to purchase a car wash when they purchase gasoline, however they could also utilize this technology within store check-out experiences to reach a greater demographic as people who shop in the store may not be filling their car with gasoline that day. When the option to purchase a car wash appears for an attractive price, customers are more willing to add the additional cost of a car wash to their bill because of the connivence of pre-paying for it.

CRM has a rich history and it is amazing this business tactic is still being effectively used today to accommodate customers. Customer expectations, support, data, segmentation, service, feedback, and loyalty programs can hold significant value to a business when implementing CRM methods as each sector attributes to the end goal, a win-win scenario for both the company and customer. I enjoyed learning about this technology, and I am glad to have been able to educate myself about current events surrounding this topic and how it relates to the real world and myself as a consumer of products. I have personally dealt with both positive and negative customer experiences, and upon completing my report on CRM, I understand the company's reasoning for resolving the situations the way they did. Before completing my technology report, I assumed CRM primarily focused on customer engagement and customer service interactions, but to my surprise, the technology had a significant amount of depth and additional aspects that enables companies to achieve successful CRM business models.