The
generally accepted purpose of Customer Relationship Management
(CRM) is to enable organizations to better serve its customers through
the introduction of reliable processes and procedures for interacting
with those customers.
In
today's competitive business environment, a successful CRM strategy
cannot be implemented by only installing and integrating a software
package designed to support CRM processes. A holistic approach to CRM
is vital for an effective and efficient CRM policy. This approach includes
training of employees, a modification of business processes based on
customers' needs and an adoption of relevant IT-systems (including soft-
and maybe software) and/or usage of IT-Services that enable the organization
or company to follow its CRM strategy. CRM-Services can even redundantize
the acquisition of additional hardware or CRM software-licences.
The
term CRM is used to describe either the software or the whole business
strategy oriented on customer needs. The second one is the description
which is correct. The main misconception of CRM is that it is only software,
instead of whole business strategy.
Major
areas of CRM focus on service automated processes, personal information
gathering and processing, and self-service. It attempts to integrate
and automate the various customer serving processes within a
company.
There
are three parts of application architecture of CRM:
-
Operational
- automation to the basic business processes (marketing, sales,
service)
-
Analytical - support to analyze customer behavior,
implements business intelligence
alike technology
-
Cooperation - ensures the contact with customers (phone, email,
fax, web...)
Operational part of CRM typically involves three general areas of business.
They are (according to Gartner Group) a Enterprise marketing automation
(EMA), Sales force automation (SFA) and a Customer service and support
(CSS). The marketing information part provides information about the
business environment, including competitors, industry trends, and macroenviromental
variables. The sales force management part automates some of the company's
sales and sales force management functions. It keeps track of customer
preferences, buying habits, and demographics, and also sales staff performance.
The customer service part automates some service requests, complaints,
product returns, and information requests.
Integrated CRM software is often also known as "front office solutions."
This is because they deal directly with the customer.
Many
call centers use CRM software to store all of their customer's details.
When a customer calls, the system can be used to retrieve and store
information relevant to the customer. By serving the customer quickly
and efficiently, and also keeping all information on a customer in one
place, a company aims to make cost savings, and also encourage new customers.
CRM
solutions can also be used to allow customers to perform their own service
via a variety of communication channels. For example, you might be able
to check your bank balance via your WAP phone without ever having to
talk to a person, saving money for the company, and saving you time.
