The management of customer relationships has become a top priority for companies in the last years. Despite this, little is known about the factors of successful CRM implementations and the role of information technology in this context. This study provides three models for the explanation of CRM performance separated according to the customer lifecycle phases initiation, maintenance, and retention. We analyze the relationship between CRM technology, CRM technology usage and CRM performance. In addition, we identify the drivers that affect implementation success for each phase the most.