General Results

CMAT-R not only gives general CRM achievements (total score), but it also sub-scores on the eight CRM related areas, which makes it possible to see how the scores in these areas compare with each other. The CMAT model has as an underlying hypothesis that the various areas relate strongly to one another and that the combination of these areas makes for successful CRM. A low score in one area can have a negative impact on overall success, even if other sub-scores are high. This is especially so if the lower score is in one of the more important areas, People and Organization, Measurement or Customer Management Activities.

The overall score for Dutch insurers was 37 per cent, with the highest 63 per cent and the lowest 17 per cent. A 100 per cent score would have been achieved if an insurer had claimed that it had fully implemented 'good practice' in all its aspects, with the effects clearly visible, and with some proof of this. An average score of 37 per cent implies answers varying from 'plans to do so' to 'implemented in isolation'. This means insurers were only at the very start of implementing effective CRM-focused changes and solutions and of reaping benefits from them. This finding is in line with research done in other parts of the world.