DEFINING CRM
CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management and specifies a procedure implemented by a company to study the needs and behavior of customers so that they can develop and maintain good partnerships with them.
Overview
Each company has a group of departments and employers that work together to meet customer requirements. But when customers interact with a business, they see it as a lonely unit. That is why companies have as their motto a strategy that uses certain practices and policies to ensure unity in customer interaction. These methods are called CRM and are a means of tracking information about customers, sales, marketing efficiency, and market trends.
There are many technological details in CRM, but CRM is not just about technological stipulations.
CRM initiatives often fail because implementation is limited to software installation without providing the proper motivation and guidance for employees to learn, provide information, and take full advantage of information systems. 1
Types of CRM software
Different CRM software focuses on various aspects of CRM.
OPERATIONAL CRM
The operational CRM is for the personnel who are in direct contact with the customer: sales, service and marketing personnel. The application of this software is to record customer interaction and use that history to avoid individually asking the customer for this information.
SALES FORCE AUTOMATION (SFA)
This software maintains sales force related activities such as scheduling sales calls, scheduling sales mail, tracking customer responses, and generating reports.
ANALYTICAL CRM
This software analyzes customer data for different uses, such as designing and executing specific marketing campaigns, analyzing customer behavior, making financial forecasts, and analyzing customer profitability.
SALES INTELLIGENCE CRM
This software takes analytical CRM to another level and is more of a direct sales tool. Alerts sales people to customer issues such as cross-selling (upsells and upsells), sales performance, and customer trends and margins.
COLLABORATIVE CRM
The ultimate goal of Collaborative CRM is to use the information collected by all departments to improve the quality of services provided by the company2. It works by bringing together various departments within a company by allowing them to share collected customer information for their various uses.
CRM STRATEGIES
CRM strategies vary in their complexity and scope, and have different uses and applications for various companies.
An effective tool for identifying technical and human factors before starting a CRM project is a pre-implementation checklist.
ABSTRACT
CRM stands for Customer Resource Management and is the terms used for the processes used to record, analyze and maintain customer data and then employ its various uses through effective software and training. Different types of CRM software deal with various aspects of customer resource management. One of the main reasons for CRM failure is misuse of software, lack of training, and poor planning.
1Rigby, Darrell K .; Frederick F. Reichheld, Phil Schefter (2002). “Avoid the four dangers of CRM”. Harvard Business Review
2 Edwards, John (2007). “Get it together with collaborative CRM.” Inside CRM.Tippit.
3Bligh, Philip; Douglas Turk (2004). CRM Unplugged: Unlocking the Strategic Value of CRM. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons.