logo

Thursday 09th of September 2010

Customer Relationship Management

CRM is a corporate level strategies which focus on creating and maintaining lasting relationships with its customers.  CRM software is used to support these strategies, storing information on current and prospective customers.

Sugar.png

Information in the system can be accessed and entered by employees in different departments, such as sales, marketing, customer service, training, professional development, performance management, human resource development, and compensation. Details on any customer contacts can also be stored in the system. The rationale behind this approach is to improve services provided directly to customers and to use the information in the system for targeted marketing.

CRM initiatives often fail because implementation was limited to software installation without providing the appropriate motivations for employees to learn, provide input, and take full advantage of the information systems. Although there are several CRM software packages available which support CRM strategy, it is not a technology itself. Rather, a holistic change in an organisation's philosophy which places emphasis on the customer. From the outside, customers interacting with a company perceive the business as a single entity, despite often interacting with a variety of employees in different roles and departments. CRM is a combination of policies, processes, and strategies implemented by a company that unify its customer interaction and provides a mechanism for tracking customer information.

CRM includes many aspects which relate directly to one another:
  • Front office operations — Direct interaction with customers, e.g. face to face meetings, phone calls, e-mail, online services etc.
  • Back office operations — Operations that ultimately affect the activities of the front office (e.g., billing, maintenance, planning, marketing, advertising, finance, manufacturing, etc.)
  • Business relationships — Interaction with other companies and partners, such as suppliers/vendors and retail outlets/distributors, industry networks (lobbying groups, trade associations). This external network supports front and back office activities.
  • Analysis — Key CRM data can be analyzed in order to plan target-marketing campaigns, conceive business strategies, and judge the success of CRM activities (e.g., market share, number and types of customers, revenue, profitability).

Types/Variations of CRM

  • Operational CRM provides support to "front office" business processes, e.g. to sales, marketing and service staff. Interactions with customers are generally stored in customers' contact histories, and staff can retrieve customer information as necessary.
  • Sales Force Automation (SFA) automates sales force-related activities.
  • Analytical CRM analyzes customer data for a variety of purposes such as making decisions related to products and services.
  • Sales Intelligence CRM similar to Analytical CRM, but is intended as a more direct sales tool.
  • Campaign Management combines elements of Operational and Analytical CRM.
  • Collaborative CRM covers aspects of a company's dealings with customers that are handled by various departments within a company.
  • Geographic CRM (GCRM) combines geographic information system and traditional CRM. Geographic data can be analyzed to provide a snapshot of potential customers in a region or to plan routes for customer visits.

Open-Source CRM Solutions
 

Copyright © 2009 Era Core, All rights Reserved.