customer relationship management

Marketing and Customer Service

Customer relationship management systems track and measure marketing campaigns over multiple networks. These systems can track customer analysis by customer clicks and sales. Places where CRM is used include call centers, social media, direct mail, data storage files, banks, and customer data queries.

CRM in customer contact centers

CRM systems are customer relationship management platforms. The goal of the system is to track, record, store in databases, and then data mine the information in a way that increases customer relations (predominantly increased ARPU, and decreased churn). The CRM codifies the interactions between you and your customers so that you can maximize sales and profit using analytics and KPIs to give the users as much information on where to focus their marketing and customer service to maximize revenue and decrease idle and unproductive contact with your customers. The contact channels (now aiming to be omni-channel from multi-channel) use such operational methods as contact centers. The CRM software is installed in the contact centers, and help direct customers to the right agent or self-empowered knowledge.^[2] CRM software can also be used to identify and reward loyal customers over a period of time.

Appointments

CRM software program can automatically synchronize suitable appointment dates, times, and methods for customer contact. Once appointments are saved in a systems calendar, recalls the information so that it can be easily retrieved. It pulls up information on appointments and sends a represented message for action.^{[citation needed]}

CRM in B2B (Business-to-Business) market

The modern environment requires one business to interact with another via the web. According to a Sweeney Group definition, CRM is “all the tools, technologies and procedures to manage, improve, or facilitate sales, support and related interactions with customers, prospects, and business partners throughout the enterprise”.^[3] It assumes that CRM is involved in every B2B transaction.^[4]

Despite the general notion that CRM systems were created for the customer-centric businesses, they can also be applied to B2B environments to streamline and improve customer management conditions. B2C and B2B CRM systems are not created equally and different CRM software applies to B2B and Business-to-Customer (B2C) conditions. B2B relationships usually have longer maturity times than B2C relationships. For the best level of CRM operation in a B2B environment, the software must be personalized and delivered at individual levels.^[5]

Characteristics of CRM

Well-designed CRM includes the following characteristics:

1. Relationship management is a customer-oriented feature with service response based on customer input, one-to-one solutions to customers’ requirements, direct online communications with customer and customer service centers that help customers solve their questions.
2. Sales force automation. This function can implement sales promotion analysis, automate tracking of a client’s account history for repeated sales or future sales, and also сoordinate sales, marketing, call centers, and retail outlets in order to realize the salesforce automation.
3. Use of technology. This feature is about following the technology trend and skills of value delivering using technology to make “up-to-the-second” customer data available. It applies data warehouse technology in order to aggregate transaction information, to merge the information with CRM solutions, and to provide KPI (key performance indicators).
4. Opportunity management. This feature helps the company to manage unpredictable growth and demand and implement a good forecasting model to integrate sales history with sales projections.^[4]

Importance of CRM to the B2B sector

Many of the characteristics in the B2B market suggest that CRM is a factor which influences the business. CRM has special characteristics in the B2B market.

Consider “Critical mass (software engineering)”. Due to customer relationship, a network can be established and extended. Extension causes the network not to increase benefits linearly, but in an exponential way. As new members can contact by any existing member the benefit of a network of 200 people is much more effective than one with 100. Hence, these networks can be used to increase the amount of available information for each company. This may lead to more information about a customer which can be used to make the way of handling the customer easier in the future. The history of previous sales from this customer may be a great relief. Moreover it is possible to establish technical cooperation a bigger network is more likely to provide special services.

These services include, among others “systems integration, hosting, financial services such as payment processing, receivables management, credit analysis and logistics services”. Services of this kind encourage companies to join the B2B network by using CRM. Furthermore, B2B hubs have another advantage as they can substitute external personal if members of the network liaise. This may not only avoid extra costs for arrangement of a new contract but is also likely to accelerate the speed of this arrangement as they are in the same network and already possess information about their negotiating partner. Ultimately, special knowledge is required for B2B markets. As B2B customers are generally more rational customers than B2Cs, a person or a team with special knowledge to each customer or industry may enhance the sales in this area.

Implementing CRM to the company

The following are general guidelines on implementing a CRM system.

1. Make a strategic decision on what problems you want your CRM system to address, what improvements or changes it should bring in the business processes of the organization.
2. Choose an appropriate project manager. Typically IT will be engaged, however a manager with a customer service/sales and marketing business focus should be involved, as the impact of the project will be mainly on the business side.
3. Ensure executive sponsorship and top management support.
4. Empower team members with the required authority to complete the tasks.
5. Select the correct implementation partner. They must have both vertical and horizontal business knowledge, as well as technical expertise.
6. Define KPI's that will measure the project's success
7. Use a phased approach. Work towards long-term enterprise-scale implementation through a series of smaller, phased implementations ^[6]