Having a CRM system doesn't automatically mean you also have a marketing database. Despite what many marketers think, they are not one and the same. That's why it is essential for B-to-B marketers to have both a CRM system and a proper marketing database.
CRM basically grew out of salesmen wanting to put their information into a repository on their computers, and as these systems evolved, companies looked at them as a database. But people are beginning to realize the CRM system is not their database. It has a lot of data in it, and it supports sales, but it's not a full-fledged operational system.
To have a true marketing database, you want to start at the account level, and then look at the individual site and address, and then roll that up to the organizational umbrella level. All the data and linkages have to be complete and stay accurate and sound over time, as well as back in history. Otherwise, you can't do the analytics that are necessary.
