Customer Relationship Management - CRM

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is a business strategy to select and manage most valuable customer relations. Customers are the most valuable resource and heart of the business. The process of using and developing strategies based on customer information is called Customer Relationship Management. The ability to access the customers can determine how well you understand and use this resource in the business goals and strategies. Business strategy is the proper application of the information which use the resources in the most efficient and economical manner. It is customer-centric business strategy with the goal of maximizing profitability, revenue and customer satisfaction.

One of the challenges faced by the successful business is to acquire customer satisfaction and developing Customer Relationship Management. While recruiting employees to give customer service there is tendency to concentrate more on functional expertise, technical competence and knowledge rather than interpersonal or communication skills. Client satisfaction levels have a reverse effect because of lack of right attitude.

In today’s competitive world it has become more important to maintain rich and fruitful relationships. Customer Relationship Management is a corporate level strategy focusing on creating and maintaining relationships with customers. CRM is a term not only used by the business organizations but also in any type of organizations to create a beneficial environment among the customers. This is a business approach that combines people, processes and technology to maximize the relation of an organization with all types of customers. It helps in understanding the customer better and according to the needs of the customer; the organization can effectively customize their products and services in order to retain the customers and also to increase customer’s loyalty and satisfaction.

Customer relationship management is a path to identify, acquire and retain customers who are the business’ greatest assets. CRM get the value out of customers by highly integrating sales, marketing and support efforts. By providing the means to manage and coordinate customer interactions, CRM technology helps companies to maximize the value of every customer interaction and in turn drive improved corporate performance. CRM software application can enable effective CRM provided that an enterprise has the right leadership, strategy and culture. Commerce-enabled Customer relationship management applications help the organizations to interact with customers through all media and channels. CRM products and services manage every point of contact with the customer to ensure that each customer gets the appropriate level of service and no sales opportunities are lost. An organization can improve the business processes and technology solutions around selling, marketing and service functions across all customer touch-point by implementing Customer Relationship Management strategy. CRM is a four step process which implementing customer-centered strategies, which drives redefining of functional roles, which demands re-engineering work processes, which is supported and not driven by CRM technology.

Customer Relationship Management consists of

(1)To help an enterprise to enable its marketing department to identify and target their best customer and to manage marketing campaigns with clear goal and objectives, and to generate quality leads for the sales team.

(2)To assist the organization to improve telesales, account and sales management by optimizing information shared by different employees and streamlining the existing processes.

(3)To allow the formation of individualized relationships with customers, with the aim of improving customer satisfaction and maximizing profit.

(4)To provide employees with the information and processes necessary to know their customers need and build relation between the company and the customer.

The Three Types of CRM

Operational CRM which provides support to front office, business processes including sales, marketing and service.

Analytical CRM which analyses the customer data for various purposes such as design and execution of targeted marketing campaigns to optimize marketing effectiveness, design and execution of specific customer campaign, analysis of customer behavior to aid product and service decision making, management decision, prediction of probability of customer defection.

Collaborative CRM is to coordinate the multi-channel service and support given to the customer by providing the infrastructure for responsive and effective support to customer issues, questions and complaints.