So, friend to friend, here's what I suggest: go talk to your marketing department. Ask them what they think your customers' needs and wants really are. When they answer you, ask them whether they know that for sure or whether they're guessing. The second answer will tell you whether marketing is operating off of gut-feel, or whether their knowledge about customers is fact-based. Then ask them what they need to know for sure. For instance, do they need to know an individual customer's product mix across lines of business? What about campaign response rates and retention rates within and across customer segments?
What I'm recommending here is that you start with a business organization that needs to be data-driven. And since you want to be a customer-focused organization, marketing is a good place to start. You could also start with sales or finance, two other organizations that need data and usually suffer from its absence (or inaccuracy). Begin with whoever will admit that the house is on fire.
The outcome of this will be a list of business questions that need to be answered. From there, you can identify the business processes and deconstruct the data to understand the right tactics for moving forward. Then, and only then, should you turn your head toward your customer database.
CRM Solutions manage sales and marketing campaigns easily with integrated customer relationship management.
CRM Solution Resource offering essential research by professionals to help you choose the right solution.