Hello, this is Matsubara, CRM Evangelist.

From CRM 2.0, which I advocated, through CRM 3.0, we have now reached the mature stage of CRM+AI, and we are in the era of CRM 4.0.

The difference between CRM 3.0 and CRM 4.0 is not a difference in functionality. It's a difference in philosophy: "How do you perceive your customers?"

This difference remarkably coincides with the questions posed by three philosophers who profoundly shook 20th-century thought: Martin Buber, Emmanuel Levinas, and Jürgen Habermas.

Prologue: The Evolution of Customer Perspectives as Shown Through the History of CRM

The history of Arcus Japan's CRM development is also a history of "how we have viewed the existence of our customers."

CRM 1.0 (late 90s onwards): Relationship marketing that emerged from "mass marketing" of mass production and mass sales. "Customers" were managed as "market segments."

CRM 2.0 (2006-): Multi-channel communication. "Customers" became "targets that can be reached through diverse channels."

CRM 3.0 (2016-): With the advancement of AI and BI, it moved into the realm of "customer insights." In addition to explicit knowledge (CX), it began to approach tacit knowledge (ICX). "Customers" became "a collection of behavioral patterns that should be optimized."

CRM 4.0 (present and onward): "A new generation of CRM built on the foundations of purpose, empathy, and sustainable relationships." Customers become co-creation partners who create value together.

The most important turning point in this transition is the shift from CRM 3.0 to CRM 4.0. This represents an ontological discontinuity, moving from "treating customers as objects of analysis" to "engaging with customers as the main actors."

The first philosophy: Buber's "I-Thou" and "I-It"

Martin Buber (1878–1965) expressed the way humans interact with the world using two kinds of "fundamental words."

"I-It (Ich-Es)" is a relationship that treats the world as an object to be used, experienced, and analyzed. It is an attitude of objectifying the object and acting unilaterally. "I-Thou (Ich-Du)" is a relationship that confronts the other person as a subject to be encountered as a whole. It is an attitude of encountering and engaging with the whole "you," not just a "part of you."

Buber explains that "I-Thou" represents "a reciprocal relationship where I and you face each other," while "I-It" represents "an attitude where I unilaterally direct my attention toward the object."

We will make the relationship between these two correspond to CRM3.0 and CRM4.0.

"Buber's 'I-It' = CRM 3.0's view of the customer"—the customer is the object of analysis (it). Purchase data is collected, emotions are predicted, and optimal suggestions are delivered. A one-way relationship from the company (I) to the customer (it). The customer is treated as "something to be experienced, used, and analyzed."

"Buber's I-Thou = CRM 4.0 Customer View" — The customer is the subject (Thou) with whom we engage in dialogue. We listen to the customer's story, empathize with their emotions, and create value together. A reciprocal relationship between the company (I) and the customer (Thou). The customer is approached as "the whole to be encountered."

Buber argued that no matter how refined the "I-It" relationship becomes, it cannot be transformed into the "I-Thou" relationship. "No matter how much you improve the precision of the analysis, you cannot reach resonance"—this is the core reason why the transition from CRM 3.0 to CRM 4.0 is not an "improvement in functionality" but a "philosophical break."

The second philosophy: Levinas's "face"—the other transcends analysis.

Emmanuel Levinas (1906–1995) built his ethics around the concept of "the face of the Other." For Levinas, "the face of the Other" is a manifestation of "infinity" that constantly transcends my understanding, analysis, and comprehension.

Levinas used his theory of "faces" to criticize totalitarianism—a way of thinking that denies the infinity of the other, and attempts to understand the existence of others only to the extent that "one's own world" can comprehend it.

This "infiniteness of the other" offers profound insights into the philosophy of CRM. In response to the goal that CRM 3.0's AI aimed for—"to completely predict customer behavior patterns and deliver optimal suggestions"—Levinas asks: "No matter how much data we collect, we can never fully grasp the other that is the customer. The customer is always an infinite other that transcends my analysis." The goal of "completely understanding customer insights" itself is philosophically impossible.

However, Levinas is not a pessimist. He argues that acknowledging the infinity of the other is the beginning of true ethical relations. "I" am the one who bears infinite responsibility to the other, and continuing to question ethics in the face of this asymmetry is the way of ethics that starts from existence.

In CRM 4.0 terms, this means "not trying to completely understand the customer, but acknowledging that we cannot understand them, and taking responsibility to continue responding honestly to what the customer has to say." The definition of a CRM Doctor (CRM consultant) as "constantly maintaining and updating the CRM is essential" is a business expression of this "never-ending responsibility for response."

The third philosophy: Habermas's "communicative act"

In his "Theory of Communicative Action," Jürgen Habermas (1929–) distinguished between two types of human action.

Purposeful rational action: The act of using others as a "means" to achieve one's own goals. Communicative action: The act of engaging in dialogue with others with the aim of "mutual understanding." Treating others as an "end" rather than a "means."

From Habermas's perspective, CRM 3.0 is essentially an advancement of "purposeful rational behavior." AI analysis, personalization, and sentiment prediction—all of these are designed from a purposeful rational perspective: "improving the accuracy of getting customers to buy." Customers are treated as "means to achieve an objective," and no matter how much you "optimize," you won't create "mutual understanding" with customers.

CRM 4.0 aims to pursue customer relationships as a "communicative act"—a process in which customers and companies engage in dialogue on equal footing, deepen mutual understanding, and create something together.

The essence of philosophical discontinuity: "The discontinuity between analysis and resonance"

The common theme presented by these three philosophers can be summarized in one phrase: the discontinuity that "no matter how much we improve the precision of our analysis, we cannot reach resonance."

A high-precision analysis in the style of CRM3.0 might say, "According to this AI analysis, President Tanaka of Company A has a 73% chance of increasing his purchasing intent in October each year and starting to compare competitors. The optimal timing for a proposal is the second week of October, and the selling point is cost reduction (sensitivity coefficient 0.82)." This may be "accurate information," but it is not "resonance." President Tanaka, upon receiving a proposal based on this analysis, may feel that he is being "treated as an optimized target."

The CRM4.0-esque resonance is this: "When President Tanaka spoke about the company's 30th anniversary, I sensed a strong desire to 'give back to the community' behind his words. This fall's proposal will not be about cost reduction, but rather about 'contributing to the realization of that desire'." This is a response to "President Tanaka as a whole (Thou)," and what one feels is not "analyzed" but "understood."

The feeling of being understood cannot be achieved simply by improving the accuracy of analysis. It is an experience that can only be born by treating the customer as "you."

ICX exists in the realm of "Thou".

Arcus Japan's definition of ICX (Implicit Customer Experience)—"the unarticulated customer experience that accounts for more than 8% of communication"—is, philosophically speaking, information that exists in the realm of "Thou."

The domain of "it" (handled and analyzable by CRM 3.0): purchase data, behavioral logs, verbalized evaluations, and attribute information. The domain of "you" (handled by CRM 4.0 and approachable only through resonance): emotional shifts, values, culture, self-actualization context, unspoken experiences, and the emotional intensity of relationships.

ICX is "the entirety of the inexpressible internal experiences that you, as a customer, possess," and it is not about "measuring" but about "perceiving, recording, and responding" to it.

Access to ICX cannot be achieved through surveys or analyses. It can only be accumulated when an agent engages with a customer in a "I-Thou" relationship, perceiving what the customer doesn't say, observing unspoken changes, and honestly recording them. EMOROCO CRM Lite's "Narrative Memo," "Emotional Temperature Field," and "ICX Capture Field" are devices for recording this "information in Thou's domain."

"To face it as yourself"—that is not a technique, but an attitude.

Even with the introduction of CRM 4.0 tools, the philosophical shift from "management to co-creation" does not happen automatically. This is because, as Buber says, the "I-Thou" relationship is not something that is commanded or forced, but rather something that arises from a change in the attitude of the person in charge.

The difference in the direction of interest in the question—not "What can we extract from this customer's data?" but "What state is this customer in right now?"—is the difference between treating it as "it" and engaging with it as "you."

Implementing CRM 4.0 doesn't begin with the introduction of technology. It starts with a shift in management's conviction that "this customer is not a collection of data to analyze, but an individual to be engaged with."

Summary—The philosophical gap between CRM 3.0 and CRM 4.0

The shift from "analyzing customers" to "resonating with customers" cannot be achieved simply by improving the accuracy of AI. It begins with reclaiming the "I-Thou" relationship between the company and its customers. EMOROCO CRM Lite provides a "space" for putting this philosophical shift into practice in daily operations.
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Related article: [What is ICX (Implicit Customer Experience)? – How to design unarticulated customer experiences with CRM 4.0 and EMOROCO CRM Lite]

Related article: [CRM 4.0 as "Corporate Psychology"—What does it mean to resonate with the deep psychology of customers?]

Related article: [What is CRM 4.0? — The latest CRM philosophy and practices that realize "co-creation" with customers]