Companys CRM Efforts - Case Study Example

Relationship Management al Affiliation         CASE STUDY ON CRM Relationship Management (CRM) is an approach for managing all of your company’s relationships, interactions and mutual co-existence with your current clients and future potential customers (Anderson & Kerr, 2002). This tactical approach aims at improving the business model and the profitability of your business entity and hence places the firm in stable condition. CRM also improve social networking (pg. 95) within the business enabling it to attain a competitive advantage over other companies in the global business environment. Objectives/Purpose CRM enables one to focus on organizational relationships with individual people irrespective of their nature whether they are consumers or not. The biggest advantages in productivity can come from going beyond CRM as a sales motivator and marketing tool that is inclined to your business from HR activities to customer services. Improved relationships will help improve satisfaction, supply management, and emotional and functional loyalty (pg. 96). Customer relationship management (CRM) is a very wide concept that entails a combination of organizational strategy, HR activities, information systems and technology that is focused on providing better customer service in an efficient manner. CRM uses the latest technological advancements that allow organizations to provide swift and efficient customer service through development of a mutual and iterative relationship (mutuality) (pg. 96) with one another through the effective use of customer database information systems.  The main aims of CRM may include acquiring new customers, retaining the right current clients, and growing mutual relationship with an organizations existing consumers. Here, Critical Data Elements (CDEs) will assist in the formation of a business model that draws together technological advancements, information systems, and business practices along the whole value chain. This is important in the success of CRM in the business environment. Again, CRM can also be viewed a corporate strategy since it is an essential methodology that is widely applied in doing business. The objective is to be customer-oriented and customer-driven, running all aspects of the business to satisfy the customers by addressing their requirements for products and by providing high-quality, responsive customer service (Peelen, 2005). CRM will stabilize the customer churn and promote distributive fairness (pg. 96). In simple term its agenda is to ensure that customers are well taken care of since they are essential to organizational success. Companies that embrace this approach are called customer-centric and not product-centric as they are since to work towards satisfaction of customers. For a company to be customer-centric, it needs to gather and store meaningful information in a comprehensive customer database which is an organized collection of information and material pertaining individual customers or prospects (Prideaux, Moscardo, & Laws, 2006). By building a customer interaction center the business will be able to extend the customer life cycle and for success. The database therefore must be current, reviewed, updated, accessible and also actionable in order to support the generation of leads for new customers while on the time supporting sales and the preservation of present customer interactions.  Some organizations usually collect information whenever a customer comes into interaction with the organization. Based on what they understand about the individual customer, these organizations can modify its CSR and FCR to rhyme with the market offerings, services, programs (pg. 97). A customer database would comprise of the customers history of previous procurements, activities, and favorite media including other valuable information that are important in encouraging repetitive purchases and drip irrigation dialogue. Also, this database should be accessible to any other organizational units that usually interact with the customer. Case Study on Disney Theme Parks Jeff Pawlowski and his family were sitted on their cab in one of the humid October afternoon in Walt Disney World’s Orlando Park. They were not in a good mood since they were tired of waiting for long queues for up to two hours so as to get served in the restaurants. “This has been the worst day”, complained Pawlowski. His wife was disappointed too. “Our neighbor didn’t find these long queues in Friday (Prideaux, Moscardo, & Laws, 2006). We have been caught up this Saturday.” The problem is not with the Pawlowskis alone. Several people are seen in long queues in the amusement park. Tickets are selling at high prices as well. Over the last few days, the Disney theme Parks have registered low revenue collection due to low attendance levels. The president of the company, Mr. Bob Iger told securities analysts that the resorts and parks departments generated a revenue of $6.4 billion at the end of the year. This value represented a 1% decrease in revenue as compared to the year 2002. Analysts say that the shrinking global economy, increasing anti-American sentiments as well as the Sept. 11 terrorists attack are keeping away international tourists. The rising of ticket prices for up to 20% from 1998 do not increase revenue. Analysts say that the $52 charged per person a day is the consumer’s psychological limit. In an effort to stimulate its businesses, Disney has cut prices in some cases for up to 42%. However, the executives say that though it improved attendance, there was no significant improvement in the departments operating income which already fell by 18% in the fiscal year 2003 to register $957 million down from $1.2 million in the fiscal year 2002. From the above scenario we realize that the company is trying to make changes in the prices in order to meet the demand from consumers. They have been unable to meet the demand despite changes in price of tickets simply due to poor CRM.  Strategies for managing CRM Identify; this involves analyzing all the customers (using golden questions) to identify their tastes and preferences. This is important in giving information that enables the company link the consumer to the interaction touch map. It is vital for this company to identify and differentiate the customers and promote Interaction through the use of explicit bargain. Self-orientation; this involves focusing on the interests of people whom you are attending to. Have self-interest on your firm and have the belief that the bottom line is best served by satisfying the need of the consumers (Prideaux, Moscardo, & Laws, 2006). Generally CRM has also grown in a wide scope. CRM originally referred to technological initiatives to make call centers cheaper and more efficient. Now, a lot of organizations are looking at more extensive organizational modifications (Prideaux & Moscardo, 2006). Organizations are current looking for means in which they can change their business practices to use the customer data that they have collected. CRM is shifting into a business process instead of just a technology progression. Tactics used by the Business A customer relationship management system can be an influential tool in your publicizing field. By recording your customers product likes and dislikes, their spending patterns, and even their location, age and gender, the business can use collaborative and cosmetic customization in building desired behaviors (pg. 98). This hence enables an individual to segment his/her customer base into the group of buyers with varying budgets and tastes. The most profitable consumers, for instance can be identified, while targeting them with marketing offers and messages that are devised for them. If there is a rightful messaging unit as well as its ultimate timing one can be in dire position of making a considerable improvement of the overall sales conversion rates. The Customer Relationship management happens to be the strongest and more efficient method in creating and maintaining relationships with the consumers (Peelen, 2005). The business can also modularize its demand chain business rules in closing the satisfaction gap and boosting its value stream. The entire establishment and development of such kind of bonding takes the given business into greater heights of success. Once an emotional and personal linkage is established, it becomes easier for each and every organization make a clear and proper identification with regards to the actual customer needs. To promote customer equity and ROC the business will need consider implementing lifetime value drivers to its supply chain (pg. 99). It basically means that; in an given management unit, there is a dire belief on the fact that, the more sophisticated the strategies are involved in the implementation of the customer relationship management, the more fruitful and stronger the business unit will be (Peelen, 2005). Through the use of leading indicators, the business will be able to identify value creators, harvesters, and destroyers and take appropriate actions (pg. 99). Batch Book, Buzz stream, and Sugar CRM, among others include the most efficient tools that have often been utilized by various highly valued firms and organizations. From the above case study, and the general analysis, it can be concluded that Customer Relationship Management is indeed a customer focused business technique that has been designed with the aim of revenue and profit optimization and the customer satisfaction. The more an individual understands his/her customers, the more it becomes easier to target the upcoming prospects, thereby boosting the sales units. CRM enables one to focus on organizational relationships with individual people irrespective of their nature whether they are consumers or not (Peelen, 2005). The greatest advantages in productivity can come from going beyond CRM as a sales motivator and marketing tool that is inclined to your business from HR activities to customer services and satisfaction together with supply chain management. So, the existence of a proper marketing database allows the sales delivery and pipeline to go through the established Customer Relationship Management system. It also enables proper monitoring of the relationships and the accurate measurements with regards to the ROI. The effective utilization of such data and information can on the other side work towards driving sales from the existing customer base, instead of spending a lot of funds on trying to draw new clients. References Anderson, K., & Kerr, C. (2002). Customer relationship management. New York: McGraw-Hill. Peelen, E. (2005). Customer relationship management. Harlow, England: FT Prentice Hall. Prideaux, B., Moscardo, G., & Laws, E. (2006). Managing tourism and hospitality services: Theory and international applications. Wallingford: CABI.     Read More