Customer Relationship Management Systems Customer relationship management plays a fundamental role in the development of any successful business. CRM systems “became part of the business world when business leaders came to the conclusion that they needed to Improve the way their customer Information was being managed using technology’ (Kyle Lacy, 2013). The purpose of CRM systems is to manage customer interactions with the idea of keeping the client happy, thus increasing company revenues.
In 1995, research firm Garner created the first definition of CRM, “Customer Relationship Management is a business tragedy with outcomes that optimize profitability, revenue, and customer satisfaction by organizing around customer segments, fostering customer satisfying behaviors, and Implementing customer-centric processes. ” (Kyle Lacy, 2013) Many companies have felt the impact of losing their revenues because there has not been any thought put into client retention. Once you have a client that buys your product, how do you keep them coming back to you?
Companies must have systems in place to monitor, track, and analyze constant needs of the customer. In addition, if the company does to provide dependable and effective customer service; the client will take their business elsewhere. Customer demands have become increasingly higher because service. Importance of CRM Systems Customer Relationship Management Systems build continuous long lasting relationships that create value not only for the company, but for the customer. Businesses must rely on CRM systems to become market intelligent.
Every part of the business could use the data stored in their CRM systems for customer service representatives to properly retrieve the profile of a client and track the status of their order. You can quantify the profitability of each customer, use data for sales and marketing efforts, integrate results of marketing campaigns into forecasting and planning, determine how each of your customers likes to be contacted, among many others. “Companies that reengineering to become market intelligent can increase revenues 2. 8 percent to 3. 5 percent.
In a study published by PAW’S Research in the year 2000, The Market Intelligent Enterprise 2000, of a nationwide chain store with more than $30 billion in US retail sales, more than $845 million in revenue opportunities were uncovered. A domestic airline with $2. 6 billion in annual sales had $90 million in potential additional revenues. ” (Brown, 2000) Types of CRM Operational CRM systems Operational CRM systems are services that allow a business to directly address the needs of their customers. It supports several business processes such as service, sales, and marketing.
Some examples of operational CRM systems are: call centers, contact centers, websites, data aggregation systems, etc. Operational CRM systems are divided into two categories: Customer facing applications: are applications where there is a direct interaction twine the customer and actual people from the organization’s sales, customer service, marketing, campaign management and other related departments. Customer touching applications: is when customers interact with a system rather than with a person. They use technology or applications set by the company for their customers.
Some examples are customer loyalty programs, technical information, reviews, research and compare products. Analytical CRM systems Analytical CRM systems are the analysis and evaluation of customer information using business intelligence. It is the back office of CRM systems in which there is no direct contact with the customer. Analytical CRM systems allow customer data to be measured and used to identify trends, business opportunities, competition, etc. Data mining, business intelligence, customer data warehousing are some examples of analytical CRM systems.
On demand CRM systems On demand CRM systems (Rainier) is a “CRM system that is hosted by an external vendor in the vendor’s data center. ” The benefits of an on Demand system is that there are no hardware requirements and set up costs are low. The drawback of On Demand CRM Systems is that it cannot be customized to suit your specific business needs. This type of system remains appealing to certain customers because it can be implemented fairly quickly, and it costs much less than an On Premise CRM System. Sales Force is a well-known vendor for on- demand CRM systems.
They have helped third of the cost of implementing a custom designed database. They only have to pay a low monthly maintenance fee. On premise CRM systems On premise CRM systems are created, designed, and customized for a specific many. The company is required to purchase or lease the entire infrastructure and install the system in the company’s data center. This CRM solution is suitable for larger companies that need complete control over the operation and maintenance. It is very costly and sometimes not very flexible.
Open source CRM systems Open Source CRM Systems are programs that provide the customer with a source code enabling them to customize their CRM systems to meet their specific needs. You can increase the value and success of the program by customizing systems to the customer’s specific needs. They may be used on premise or on demand. Mobile CRM systems Mobile CRM systems are applications designed to perform, function and be accessed with the use of mobile platforms. Mobile CRM allows organizations to manage their interactions with customers through mobile devices such as tablets and smart phones. The Hard Rock Hotel (Rainier) in Lass Vegas had issues with their servers, taking the right orders due to high noise levels at their bars and nightclubs. They decided to create a mobile CRM system with the help of Kickback Mobile where customers can place their orders directly from their smart phones and have them delivered to their table by a server. All the customer had to do is download the application and start to order. ” Case Study: USA Fact Problem: USA Fact (Sugar CRM, 2013) is an Internet pre-employment screening company.
Part of its clientele is fortune 500 companies and non-profit organizations. Because of the nature of their work they run many reports on a daily basis and need access to accurate information quickly. In 2010, USA Fact underwent a change in their management. The new executives determined that Sugar CRM Solutions was not supporting its sales and operations as it should. For this reason they had lost user adoption, the sales team did not have a quote configuration, managers could not track sales, business opportunities, accountability, among others.
What they need: Build a sales platform to support all customizations. Successfully streamline company’s operations cost effectively. Solution: Since USA Fact had previously implemented Sugar CRM it worked with PepsiCo to expand services offered by Sugar to strengthen the company. Consequently, USA Fact increased revenue, reporting, web to lead processes and quotes. Benefits: Increase revenue by 20% and highest sales performance quarter in 2010. Sales cycles went down to 3 from 6 months within the same week of an inbound call.
Reduced quote generation process from 30 minutes to 5 minutes. Implemented a mobile CRM system for agents to access from their phones. Customized quote model for customer upgrades. There is a CRM system to fit the needs of every company. As we saw in this case study, the openness of senior management to acknowledge their weaknesses were impasses in which managers are in denial of their own mistakes and pay a high price for not taking corrective actions before it’s too late.
