Customer Relationship Management y

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CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT

By Swati Mukhi


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What is Customer?

The customer is the only source of the companys present profit and future growth of the

company.A good customer, who provides more profit with less resources is always scarce becausecustomers are knowledgeable because competition is fierce.Sometimes it is difficult to distinguish who is the real customer because the buyingdecision is frequently a collaborative activity among participants of the decision-makingprocess.Information technologies can provide the abilities to distinguish and manage customer.

Definition of Customer

A Person who buy goods or services. An individual with whom one must dealA Person, Company or other entity which buys goods and services produced by another

person, company or other entity.

Customers can be divided into three zones

Zone of defection where customers are extremely hostile and have the lowest level ofsatisfaction.Zone of indifference where customers are not sure. They have a medium level ofsatisfaction and loyalty towards the company.The third level of customers are in the zone of affection described as "Apostles". CRMfocuses on bringing customers from level 1 to level 3 and retaining apostle customers

What is Relationship?

The relationship between a company and its customers involves continuous bi-

directional communication and interaction.The relationship can be short-term or long-term, continuous or discrete, and repeating orone-time.Relationship can be attitudinal or behavioral. Even though customers have a positiveattitude towards the company and its products, their buying behavior is highly situationalFor example, the buying pattern for airline tickets depends on whether a person buys theticket for their family vacation or a business trip. CRM involves managing thisrelationship so it is profitable and mutually beneficial.

What is Management?

CRM is not an activity only within a marketing department. Rather it involvescontinuous corporate change in culture and processes.The customer information collected is transformed into corporate knowledge that leadsto activities that take advantage of the information and of market opportunities.CRM required a comprehensive change in the organization and its people.


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Specific software to support the management process involves

Field service, E-commerce ordering, Self service applications, Catalog management,

Bill presentation, Marketing programs, Analysis applications.

DEFINITIONS OF CRMTraditional marketing strategies focused on the four Ps (price, product, promotion, andplace) to increase market share. The main concern was to increase the volume oftransactions between seller and buyer. Volume of transactions is considered a goodmeasure of the performance of marketing strategies and tactics.

CRM is a business strategy that goes beyond increasing transaction volume. Its

objectives are to increase profitability, revenue, and customer satisfaction. To achieveCRM, a company wide set of tools, technologies, and procedures promote therelationship with the customer to increase sales. Thus, CRM is primarily a strategicbusiness and process issue rather than a technical issue

What is eCRM ?

eCRM provides companies with a means to conduct interactive, personalized andrelevant communications with customers across electronic and traditional.It utilizes a complete view of the customers to make decisions about messaging, offersand channel delivery.eCRM gives the internet users the ability to interact with the business through their

preferred communication channel.It adheres to permission based practices, respecting individuals preference regardinghow and whether they wish to communicate with you and it focuses on understandinghow the economics of customer relationship affects the business.

Why Employ eCRM?

Companies need to take firm initiatives on the eCRM frontier to

Optimize the value of interactive relationships.Enable the business to extend its personalized reach.Co-ordinate marketing initiatives across all the customers channels.Leverage customer information for more effective e-marketing and e-businness .Focus the business on improving customer relationship and earring a greater share ofeach customers business through consistent measurement, and accountable customerstrategies.


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The Six ES of eCRM

Electronic Channels New electronic such as the web and personalized e-messaging have become medium for fast, interactive and economiccommunication.

Enterprise- Through eCRM a company gains the means to touch and shape acustomer experience through sales, services and corner offices.

Empowerment eCRM strategies must be structured to accommodate consumerwho now have the power to decide when and how to communicate with thecompany- Through, which channel, at what frequency.

.Economics An eCRM strategy ideally should concentrate on customereconomics.

Evaluation Understanding customer economics relies on a companys ability toattribute customer behavior to market programs, evaluate customer interactionsalong various touch point channels , and compare anticipated ROI against actualreturn through customer analytic reporting.

External Information The eCRM solution should be able to gain and leverageinformation from such sources as third party information networks and web pageprofile application.

eCRM Features

Driven by a data warehouse.Focused on consistent metrics to access customer action across channels.Built to accommodate the new market dynamics that place the customer in control.Structured to identify a customers profitability or profit potential, and to determineeffective investment allocation decisions accordingly, so that most profitable customerscould be identified and retained and the resources could be invested in relationship s,which are most profitable.

The loopholes in CRM traditional package can be outlined as follow:

The CRM offering remains channel- centric, not customer centric.Customer centric metrics is non-existence Most CRM offerings have weak metrics and

measurement capabilities.Contemporary customer facing system such as sales force automation and customer carethere own IT set up, these systems rarely interact with each other.


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Difference between CRM and eCRM

CRM eCRMCriterion

Customer contact Customer contact usuallyinitiated rough traditional

means of retail store,telephone or fax

In addition to telephone,contact also initiated ,through the Internet, e-

mail, wireless, mobile andContacts or fax. PDAtechnologies.

System Interface Works with the back-endapplications through ERPsystems

Designed for front-endapplications, which in turnthrough ERP systems.interface with backendsystems, data warehouses,and data marts.

CustomizationandPersonalizationof Information

Different audience requiretype of information anddifferent view. Personalizedviews for different audienceare not possible. Individualcustomization requireprogramming changes

System is designed around

the customer need.Enterprise wide portals aredesigned and are notlimited to a department orbusiness unit.

Highly individualized dynamicand personalized view basedon purchases and preferenceare possible. Each individuallycustomizes the view

System Focus System is designed

around product andfunction. Web enabledapplication are designedaround one department orbusiness unit

Systemmaintenanceand modification

Implementation is nolonger and management iscostly because the systemis situated at variouslocations and on severalservers.

Reduce time and cost.System implementationand expansion can bemanaged in one locationand on one server


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Technology Map of CRM

Back end operations Back end operations

ERP System ERP System

Technology Map of eCRM

Front end operation

supported through

retail stores and

through in-house

customer services

Front end operations

supported through retail

stores, customer call centre,

voice response centre,

kiosks, through in-house

customer service

Customer Database

Metrics

Campaign History

Responses

Customer analytic

softwareCampaign

management so ftware

Cross- Channel Optimizer

eMessaging

Customer opt-in-info

Website

Directmails

E-mails

Callcentre

Response

Management

Customertouch

point

External

and legacysystem

Evolving t o eCRM : How to Optimize interactive relationships with your customer


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CRM technologyThere are following types of CRM technology

Operational CRM

Collaborative CRMAnalytical CRM

Operational CRM

Typical business functions involving customer service, order management, invoice orbilling or sales and marketing automation and management are the parts of operationalCRM.Operational CRM is the possibility of integrating with the financial and human resourcesfunctions of ERP applications.With this integration, end-to-end functionality from lead management to order breakingcan be implemented

Collaborative CRM

It is the communication center, coordination network that provides neural paths tocustomer and its suppliers.It could mean a partner relationship management [PRM] application or a customerinteraction center and communication channels such as web or e-mail, voice applicationsand even

Analytical CRM

Analytical CRM is the capture, storage, extraction, processing, interpretation andrecording customer data to the user.

Companies such as Micro strategy have developed applications that can capture thiscustomer data from multiple resources and then use hundreds of algorithms to analyzeand interpret the data as needed.The value of the application is not just in algorithm and storage, but also in ability toindividually personalize the response using the data.

CRM technology componentsThe following are the components which are common to different CRM approaches:-

CRM EngineFront Office SolutionEnterprise Application Integration

CRM Engine

This could be the customer data repository. The data mart, the data warehouse is the onewhere all the data on customer is captured and stored. This could include basic stuff suchas your name, address, telephone number, birth date etc.


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It could also include more sophisticated information like how many times you haveaccessed a particular web site and what you did on the web pages you accessed. It couldalso include the help desk support and the purchase history.

Ultimately, the purpose is a single gathering point for all individual customerinformation so that a unified customer view can be created throughout the company

departments that need to know the data stored in this CRM engine house.

Front Office Solution

These are the unified applications that run on the top of the customer data warehouse.They could be sales force automations, marketing automation, or service and supportcustomer interaction applicationsIn the client server environment (and now in the internet environment), they provideemployees with the information on the basis of which the decision of what is to bedone? or What next is to be done with the customer? is madeThe more specific applications provide an element of self-service for the customer.

Enterprise Application IntegrationThey sit between back office and front office. They also sit between the newly installedCRM system and old systems implemented by the enterprise.They permit CRM to CRM communication. They are pieces of codes, connectors andbridges that as a body are called as EAIs.

EAIs provide messaging services and data mapping services that allow one system tocommunicate with different other systems regardless of their formatting.

Customer Life Cycle

It is far cheaper to retain existing customers than to acquire new customers.

During period of economics decline, this become a survival necessity, not just a valueproposition.Therefore, presuming that this is the goal of most companies, whether prosperous orstruggling the next thing to determine in the value of the customer to your company.A customer who is consistently loosing money for you, while he has been with you for40 years, is not valuable to you directly, though there may be some value in themarketing.The life cycle of the customer is the process the customer has been undergoing to bewith you for all these years. This include customer purchase history, perhaps how oftentaken advantage of special offers directed or customer class.Depending on what you identify as important to you on (ROI), it could also include

marketing value and how much revenue that marketing value could be worth indirectly.To find out what is expected revenue generated from a single customer over theanticipated lifetime of the customers relationship with you is both the CLC and CLV.


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CASE STUDY OF TITAN

WHAT DID TITAN DO?

The titan was one such CRM initiative undertaken at TITAN in may 1995 to provide that

extra touch to its special customers at exclusive world of Titan Stores

Building a special relationship with high life time value Titan customers.Recognizing his / her loyalty to Titan.Providing a platform for direct feedback from these valued customers to the company.

Where It initially started in 6 showrooms in Bangalore. Today the Titan has beenextended to 102 world of titan showrooms across 59 cities all over India.

How The strongest customer bond require what is called the Three Ds Database,Dialogue, and Direct media.

To Create a Relationship means one has to

Know the customers likes and dislikes (database).Keep up a continuous learning process about the customer (dialogue).Have some way of communicating directly with them (direct media)

Critical Success Factors : Recognition, Reward,Response

Create Your Customer BASE.

Retain Your Loyal Customer.Maximize the Relationship with your Customer.Is Customer satisfaction enough?Creating Customer Loyalty.Is a CRM Programme Cost Worthy.Technology Takes Matters Forward.

CRM IN BANKING SECTORS

Delivering Quality Services

Involvement of all staff members in customer service.An elegant and customer-friendly atmosphere.VisibilityMaking the system simple and customer friendly.Providing customized services.Innovativeness.Empowering employees.Motivating the employeesWelcoming employeesCentralized Information


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2. Sales Force Automation (SFA)

Sales Force Automation

SFA is a subset of the e-CRM front end system functionality and includes contact

management, prospecting, lead qualification, opportunity management and accountmanagement.SFA helps to keep track of customers and prospects and allow for greater control in thesales process.SFA reduces the cost of sales by reducing the time used by salespeople in coordinationof effort, in continuous, repetitive data entry, and by making it easier to extract andinterpret data.SFA systems enable salespeople to find and retrieve product information far morequickly than they could by consulting paper catalogues or data sheets.SFA also increase mobility of the sales force.

Accounts

Contact

Sleepers interestedclient, Prospectspotential buyerCustomer preferred

Creation ofopportunityE-mail

In person

Fax

Phone

Internet

Interaction

Product

Analyzeandforecastsales

E-CRM

database

Integrationtools External

database

Externalapplications

Order

Create,manage, close

Sales force automation

Define and managesales pipeline

Assign/transferopportunity

Create tasks,appointment, synchronize

with master database etc.

SFA Functionality

Contact ManagementContact management covers the basics: name, address, phone number, company title,personal and business information, activities related to the taste and preferences,attachments related to the individual, and the level of decision making in organization.This guides the salespeople in dealing with the customer and is useful. It is continuinghistory with an individual contact through e-mail, chat, telephone and other media.For each new meeting , a thread is created in the interaction. Interaction may be open,resolution pending, resolved, closed or auto expired.


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For e.g. If a customer contacts X the first time, then the next time the customer logs in,he should be assigned to X.The contact and interaction data can be used to provide highly individualized solutionsand target them to specific prospects to register higher sales closure rates.

Account ManagementIt represents the organization and contains all the corporate information. This helpsalespeople to handle individual corporate accounts.SFA helps individuals to manage their contacts and business to manage their accounts.This is especially helpful in large companies where more than one person involved in aparticular customers account.Therefore, ideally in such a system a company would be able to continue a successfulrelationship with the customer regardless of who is on the account.There are multiple department that are interested in viewing the status of invoicing andbilling for the same accounts.For example, the sales department need to see the status of opportunities. The

accounting department needs to see the status of invoicing and billing for the sameaccounts.Each of them has the individual view that allows them the data that is required for themto see.

Opportunity Management

Opportunities is linked to the account or the contact.Opportunities grow through interactions with the contacts in the accounts.Opportunity management covers specific opportunity details such as the company itbelongs, the salesperson or team that is working on it, the potential for closing this salesopportunity, the final result of this opportunity, the stage of the sales process that is

opportunity is in, potential closing date etc.

Lead Management

This functionality may be seen as a subset of opportunity management.Therefore, some criteria are set based on the company policy to qualify a lead. Once alead is qualified, it becomes an opportunity.Salespersons can import leads from multiple sources and, using criteria establishedthrough the sales process, weigh the potential of these leads to became opportunities.The SFA should also support routing of leads to the appropriate system users.

Pipeline Management

Each company has its own criteria on what constitutes the sales force.A typical sales process may consist of the following steps:Prospecting.Recognition of a potential lead.Lead qualification.OpportunityProposal generation.Negotiation


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Opportunity closedOrder acceptance.SFA provides these basic function and if a company is able to fit its sales process intothe SFA application.

Sales ForecastingPart of PM is getting forecasts from sales and then managing sales activities to thoseforecasts;e.g. if the salesperson is expected to do $2.5 million business and eh does 40% of it, thenthe company have serious problems. If that is due to poor forecasting tools, SFA also hasproblem.However, most SFA programs have adequate sales forecasting tools. But most salesforecasts are still nothing more that good guesses regardless of how many algorithmspeople stuff in program.

Proposal Management

When implemented, it is a way of coordinating and tracking external proposals.It normally has an overflow which is determined by who is responsible for what part ofproposal.Additionally, it can control the effective completion of the proposal by guiding thestages of evaluation of cards of proposal.

Quota Generation

A simple tool that generates quotes for customers.Normally, it uses information on pricing in the product catalogue that is available withSFA application and has been customized for individual company offerings.

Territory ManagementThis is another important feature that solves a complex problem. It is not particularlycomplicated until there is a change in the territory.That can mean a new person takes over an existing territory or a territory can be restrictedand re-divided among existing sales people geographically. Re-dividing a territorybecomes a very political issue that has to be managed carefully.

Commission Management

This is a tool that calculates commission for sales people. Though it looks very simple, itis not easy thing to implement.Sales persons can often share the opportunities, which complicate the calculation ofcommissions.Additionally, depending upon the company, the sales team might have some privatearrangements going. These arrangements are known to the managers and have to beprogrammed into the application so as to cut accurate commission cheques.

Technological aspects of SFA

The SFA should not only offer the necessary functionality, it should also flexible enoughto capture the sales process and endorse future changes.


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It should also help to analyze the data for better decision-making on the sales force.This involves the use of data synchronization, which in the process of updatinginformation among disconnected computers.Sales people can maintain a subset of the master data and update there local data whileothers are sharing the same data simultaneously.

Data Synchronization

Data synchronization allow the sales managers and sales team to share informationcreated by the salespeople, such as meeting notes, schedules, and forecasts.Remote databases are created for mobile salespeople and branch office. Each database isa relevant subset of the corporate database.For e.g., the information on the field salesperson's laptop need to pertain only to hisaccount.Remote salespeople can connect to the central server using low-bandwidth modems or aWAN connection.By using the localized version of data synchronization, where only updates are required,

the communication requirements are reduced.For example, in case of Talisma e-CRM system, the server is integrated with MSOutlook Express during the set-up process.In case of an off-line client, the communication with the main server is only through e-mails.For an off-line client, there is a time lag association with the synchronization.This synchronization of data allows both remote and on-premises personnel to have up-to-date customer information and thus can be utilized to build relationship and increasesales.

RemoteData

Remote Syncprocessor

Remote

transactionlog files

Bidirectionalexchange oflog files

Servertransaction logfiles

Synch &conflictresolution

ServerDatabase

RemoteSalesperson

Hostserver

Remote

networkconnection,email or LAN


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Flexibility and Performance

Synchronization system should be capable of supporting large scale fieldimplementation with potentially 100s of reasons.Besides using most efficient means to distribute and post data, flexible support tomodern client-server database is critical to meet demands of data synchronization.

High performance synchronization requires powerful database capabilities andperformance capabilities which are available in databases such as MS SQL server andOracle.The synchronization engine should be database-independent.

Reporting Tools

Lack of or poor reporting can lead to bad decision making, redundant work effort, andmissed opportunities.Reporting is the creation of customized on-screen or printed views that provide theviewer with information in the form they want and with the content they want.Most e-CRM packages have a report-processing engine that is web-optimized. It can use

dynamic data sources to generate a report and pass it to client browser page by page as itgetting generated.The engine pulls information from multiple sources, such as financial applications,customer data repositories, SFA applications, and generate the reports.For e.g. a user may view the sales figures for the year or the quarter by customer,salesperson, or profitability through the drag and drop option provisioned in the package.

The Barrier to Successful SFA

SFA provides organizations with best practices for selling, and the technology andtraining to effectively automate them.If they dont enter the customer contact information and properly track their sales

through the predetermined corporate sales process as Solution Selling other suggest, thedata that management is using will be inaccurate and essentially useless.SFA emerged to allow individuals to not only manage their contacts, but also to allowbusiness to manage their accounts.The difference is that in a business, the relationship is owned by the company, not theindividual.The larger the organization, and the larger the customer account, the more people areinvolved with each sale.If more than one person is involved in an account, such as telesales helping the majoraccount to representative to generate business in remote offices after you get a contract, itis critical that everyone understands the history and future plans for the accounts.Business would be able to continue a successful relationship with a customer regardlessof who is on the account.But an online shared history of an account that includes not only all contacts, but alsopromises, conversations, negotiations.


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3. Enterprise Marketing Automation(EMA)

Enterprise Marketing Automation

Campaign management systems automate the planning, execution, and assessment of

marketing programmes. These system worked with data stored in database.The marketing application uses campaigns which may consist of direct mail, e-mails,promotions, interactive voice response, newsletters, contents, events, etc.Indirect marketing campaigns such as advertising in the print media, radio and TV reachtraditional massed. The traditional methods of advertising are getting more expensive andmore competitive, but yielding less return.The marketing automation module of e-CRM attempts to increase efficiency of themarketing programmes.The marketing activity involves the identification and capture of potential long-term andpro-fitable customersMarketing automation technology improves the effectiveness of traditional marketing by

creating new methods of Web-focused marketing and campaign management.EMA uses a combination of e-mail, fax, the web, telephone and other tools.The tools help define customer segments that are appropriate to a company business andcan help in evaluating the success and failure of EMA campaigns in near real time.The utility of EMA is more in the B2C.The EMA module work on the concept of permission marketing.In this the customers permission is asked for a speak regarding a product and hisacquiescence is taken at every step of the marketing cycle.It has two function intelligence and engagement. Intelligence may be obtained by askingthe customer to fill a form online and engagement may be obtained after taking hisconsent in a check box.

Marketing Campaigns

E-marketing software from many of the major players such as Siebel, Uncia, Chordiantand Annuncio is the process identified by the permission marketing mantra opt-in, opt-out.

Opt-In, Opt-Out

When you fill out an online form at this website with your vital statistics, often at thebottom of the form there are checkboxes that ask you whether you would like to receivefurther information or an email product. This is opting in.There is also an opt-out variation the checkbox is already checked and you have to

uncheck it to opt out of the newsletter update or further information.Opt in marketing has two functions: intelligence and engagement.The first stage, even prior to clicking your mouse on the checkbox, is the forms you fillout with information about yourself.The information is stored along with your website activity, which is monitored as youmeander your way through the site.After the form is filled out, at the point youve clicked or unclicked on the checkboxes,you are engaged. Congratulations!


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Opting In to Web-Integrated E-marketing

Using available EMA technologies, opt-in campaigns- or, for that matter, all marketingcampaigns are honed, sharpened, and thrust into a segmented marketplace so that thelevel of success is potentially much greater.EMA provides the templates and tools for planning, executing, and analyzing these

campaigns in real time.

Campaign Planning and Management

This is the most important part of an EMA module.Campaign management is the creation of personalized marketing efforts that not onlyengage the customer or prospect, but also engage the entire enterprise in the effort andprovide a single view of the activity to any department or segment of the company.Campaigns may be in the form of loyalty programmes, seasonal office, cross-sell/ up-sell offers, product launches, partner and channel schemes, trade show registrations andnews letters.

The campaign management features of EMA include the following:Identification of the prospectGeneration of the lead suspectProspect and customer information captureLead qualificationDistribution of leads to appropriate segments.Campaign planning.Campaign execution.Response managementRefinementChannel management.

Marketing automation uses the Internet to capture, extract, and analyze informationabout each customer and each market segment.EMA tools provide a consistent, continues representation of a value proposition acrossmultiple channels.All parts of the organization see a single view of the customer due to tight integrationbetween the front-office, customer-facing part of the enterprise and the back office whichcontrol functions such as HR and Finance.EMA facilitates campaign definition and planning using work flow , customer profilingand segmentation, personalization of contents and offers, scheduling of events andmailing lists, response management and mailing list.The work flow captures the logic of the campaign and enable the user to define,schedule, run and manage campaigns.Customer profiling and segmentation is done based on the demographics andpsychographic information available in the e-crm.


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Campaign Planning

E-sales

Handoff

ResponsesAnalytics

Other Email Web Direct mail

1

2

3

1 Campaign team

2 Revenue andcampaign goals

3 Revenue and costtracking

Analytics

Offering Selectedcustomersegment

IndirectOffering

Advertising

Phonefollow-up

Phone, fax

Business Analytic Tools

EMA tools are distinguished from traditional marketing tools by their ability to capture,extract and analyze customer information from multiple and often platform-independentsources and realize the result through the web.This can mean emails, the Web, direct mailing, voice mail, faxes other sources that maybe indirect.Good analytic software can not only reduce the cost of customer acquisition via targeted

and segments result, but can also identify those customers who are potentially going totake their business to competitors.They have to be clear and distinct with reporting tools that provide with the informationneed to utilize the data it creates in a readable and understandable format.The tool also interpret in-depth profiles of customers who are accessing websites,responding to emails, answering direct mail campaigns, and accessing what is calledCustomer Touch Point.Touch point are either active or interactive nodes of customer communication. They areareas of customer interactions that are considered central to the success of any marketingeffort.For example, Siebel emarketing provides extensive prebuilt market, customer, product

and geographical analyses.The EMA analyses provides in-depth profiling information on customer preferences ,buying behavior, revenue, profit, and purchasing frequency.Successful analytical tool give organizations the view of data that lets them interpret,identify and capitalize on emerging trends in key markets and focus their marketing.


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EMA Functionality / Components

Most EMA tools provide functions such as customer intelligence, extraction andanalysis of the intelligence, campaign definition and planning based on the data analysis,campaign launch, campaign monitoring tools that handle lead generation, responsemanagement and work flow, so that there is a uniform customer view across the

enterprise.

Promotion Management

Web-integrated marketing also depends on promotions, contests, cross-selling, anddiscount coupons.Some of the business models are loss leaders and sell below cost, as the aim is to gainlong tem customer value through repeat customer over time.Companies believe that loyal customers will stay loyal despite price increase later on.The EMA system allows personalizing mailers in terms of content and offering(discount rate).

Event ManagementEvent management tools try to capture customer information through event registrationand online interaction.Registration for seminars, exhibitions, and so on is possible via the Internet. Then thereare webinars seminars that are conducted over the Web.A Web-based registration form is filled out and an e-mail reminder is sent some timebefore the webcast.With proper tools like a video plug-in, such as real player, window media player, or aproprietary Web player, customer may watch the pre-recorded or live webinar.The registration form and news letter are part of the EMA campaign management toolsset.

These EMA programmes provide the flexibility to opt out of the newsletter whenever auser desires.The flexibility to opt in and opt out increases customer satisfaction and helps themarketing people to acquire and retain the customers.

Other registration and lead management features provided by EMA vendors are:Registration page with provision to opt in.Unsubscribe capabilities.User-controlled profile management.Lead follow-ups from trade shows and other similar venues.User group registration and follow-up


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Loyalty and Retention Programmes

Customer loyalty is difficult to retain in this age where is takes just a different URL anda click or two to switch brands.Customers are constantly bombarded by next great deal and access to that deal might notbe a great effort.

Even if the product is good, there is going to be a better new generation EMAapplications built in those small, personalized touches that ensures quality and retaincustomers ; e.g. Unicas affinian campaign management has templates for the following-Birthday greetings.Holiday and special occasion reminder.Welcome programsDelivery of gift ideas.Point based programs.Win back programs for inactive customers

Response Management

Response Management features include banner ads, direct mail, print ads,email, website links, surveys, event registration results, Internet registrationand online survey results.

Traditional response management is tedious, even with the use of computers.The time it take for response gathering, analysis and refinement is lengthy andcostly, and often unsuccessful.

After the analysis, need to work through plans to revamp the next campaign,since the response gathering was often completed after the campaign wascompleted after the campaign was completed.

Using the Internet as a tool that works in real time, what is now calledclosed-loop feedback.

Closed loop feedback is the nucleus of Internet based responses management, it is in real time.

It is the use of the Internet and the tools to compile, extract and analyzeinformation while the campaigns are in progress

The return on investment here is: Information gathering, extraction, and analysis time is dramatically reduced. Refinements to the campaign can be done in the midstream, improving

possibility of return within the existing campaign. Automated tasks free up labor time for other marketing tasks that are not tedious

or laborious.


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Market Campaign

Other

Email phone

CampRefinement

RegistrationInfo

New Market Campaign

email

Camprefinement

phoneotherRegistration

info

T

I

M

E


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4. Call Center

Introduction

First, there was the customer service counter the place where you would return to live

human representatives. Then came the helpdesk.Then there was the call centre, which used the voice technologies of the 1990s toprovide your service representative with enough information.The customer interaction centre (CIC), also known as the customer contact centre ormultimedia call centre.Calling this facet of CRM a customer interaction centre or a customer contact centre isnot something to treat as a marketing pitch.Collaborative activity is one aspects of what makes the CRM application.The Customer directly interact with the company through a company representative anda variety of communication channels, and both use tools that make the interactionsvaluable.The customer could be interacting with the website through self service application.One of the problems in the world of rapidly changing customer expectation is that theevolution of the call centre to the CIC or contact centre is slow , though its rate of changeof accelerating.

The Functionality

Think about a typical call you might make to computer company technical servicerepresentative:You dial the computer companys number.You press several button on the telephone that gets you through menu options, ordinarilyguided by a human voice.

You wait for a customer service rep while music plays.If you haven't punched in an ID of some sort prior to this on your phone, you are askedfor an ID.The representative, reading off a screen that outlines your entire history with thecompany, including the recent calls or email inquires.Once you have spoken with the rep, the rep enter the information, check severalpossible results that shown up on a screen and if one of them resolve the problem marksits off, if none of tem resolves the problem you are sent to new level to undergo a higherlevel of customer service.But think about all the functionality involved in this call. There is a call routing,assignment management, queue management, call tracking,, workflow, problem

resolution, performance measurement, service management.There is also an audit trail that is keeping track of all the information through a log.For example, if a call is opened, it is tracked and a record is kept of its disposition.

The Technology

The technology for CIC and customer contact centre is complex and involves a mix oftelecommunications and others communications channels, such a s email, the Internet,faxes or CRM software.


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The bottom line of any CIC technology, classic phone centre only or Internet-enabled, isit effectiveness in helping to resolve a customer interaction successfully.

Some of the technologies that are involved

Automatic Call Distribution This is phone call workflow, which is how a call getsrouted based on the defining characteristics of the call.Interactive Voice Response This is one that is menu-driven voices that specify whichchoices you can make by hitting numbers on your telephone pad. For example whenyou call in to a credit card company and get your balance automatically.Computer Telephony Integration These are the technology applications andinterface that allow data integration with telephones. For example CTI,-enabledfunctionality allow both Internet based information and phone based information to begathered and sent to particular agent or routed to a particular desktop.

Web-Enabling the Call Centre

Web-enabling the call centre is in agreement with the New Economic principle thatcustomer want control over their decision making.They dont want to be forced into their vendors rules, nor do they want to be railroadinto decision.The problem with IVR is that it involves time for a virtual human voice to provide youwith information that could be visually understood in a millisecond, so it becamefrustrating.The Webs greatest strength is comfortable self-activity that provides a true measure ofcontrol.It is easier to sell on the Web because a cross-sale or up-sale is impersonal. Its very easyto solve a problem by going to FAQ

So how do you web-enable the call centre? Start by planning around certain

concepts:

Though it is technology being implemented, the customer is the focus. The customer iscalling the centre to get answer to issues and questions.Even while problem resolution is the purpose, the experience has to be pleasant for thecustomer, which means that the customer need as much interactive control over themultichanneled as possible.The technology chosen to e-size the call centre is the one that is the most appropriateto the business rules of the company.Web enablement is time consuming, not just for functioning and technicalimplementation, but in the retraining of support personnel, the increased intricacy of thejob and the change in the mindset of the personnel necessary for success.Use the existing tools, if possible. Dont build from the ground up. Integrate the existingtools with your legacy system.There are packages like PeopleSoft and Siebel Call Centre for the enterprise and thereare packages that handle piece of the puzzle.


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For example: a package was released in 2000 called Virtual Hold, by what else-Virtual Hold technologies, It work like this.

1. Customer Listen to record message while waiting for an agent.2. If he doesnt want to wait, he chooses a phone option that tells the system to make a

call as soon as an agent is available or allow the customer, via the phone number pad, toschedule a date and time up to seven days ahead.3. The phone number is captured and holds a place in the ACD queue for the customer.4. The Unified Queue Module does the same thing for the Web. If your agents are busywhen the customers clicks on the Web site, a similar choice is available: telling thesystem to have an agent call back as soon as one is available or a calendar pops up toallow the customer to schedule a time and date up to seven days ahead.

Plan to give higher priority treatment or some other reward to self-services Web users.Encouraging that behavior is important because two things have occurred with the use ofthe web. First, the user normally isnt interacting with alive agent. Second, the

information captured is a lot more effective and there is simply more of it, providing aquicker ability to put the publicly available problem resolution back up on the Web sothat more people can be solved by self-service.Try to implement software that will capture information well constantly improve yourknowledge base.Keep the interface simple. It is important that the customer sees the same interface thatthe CCR sees. That way, customer interaction with the CCR is consistent, either on theweb or phone.

Automated Intelligent Call Routing

Call routing gets difficult when email, chat, VOIP and web routing get involved

Managing this means using call-routing software that can be handle increasing volume,geographical dispersion of the CCRs, multiple channels and workflow.Typically it would be identify who is calling and why they vae calling, use the customerdata base to identify the history, and then find appropriate party who is available at thetime callers calls.It should be easily scalable, since all volumes will vary widely between companies,times of day and use it conjunction with the historical data on the customer that exists inthe customer data repository.It should be web-enabled so that web-based routing to the appropriate menus can occurand so that the information given is easily captured and centrally stored.The software should have strong scripting capabilities and an open interface. This meansthe interface can control IVR scripting that is governed by applied business rules.The large companies outlined build much of this functionality ito their CIC software.It won multiple awards in 1999, with the most significant being product of the tear fromboth Computer Telephony magazine and call centre solution magazine.


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Logging and Monitoring

Logging and monitoring software provides the basic detail needed to do accuratescheduling and improve performance management.Collecting information based on caller IDs of some sort, there are several other featuresthat logging and monitoring software has.

Extensive and very flexible reporting tools.Universal connectivity to ACD system.Analytic tools that can score data so that weight can be assigned to capture information.Easy export to other systems.

They provide some of the most comprehensive logging and monitoring tools in thebusiness and have four applications. The two that are apt for this usage are:

Recorder Enable customer contact centers to record and evaluate customerinteractions simultaneously through telephone, email, and web interaction.

It even allows for live monitoring and recording session. Recorder can be accessed froma touchtone phone.

Advisor - A tool that measures agent or agent group performance.

It imports productivity data from ACD and other business

systems and combines it with your quality criteria to give you a complete picture of youragent performance. This is a web based evaluation tool.


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5. Implementation of CRM

Pre-Implementation

The time frame on this varies from several weeks to several months according to the

depth of preliminary work company need to do.The criteria are those questions the CRM software functionality need to answer andthose corporate software and process need to address.In this phase where selection of software is occurred.Picking the software is nearly an endgame, pre-implementation step.

Some of the criteria for the selection:Scalability of software.Toolset flexibility for customization.Compatibility of the CRM application with legacy systems and Internet systems.Level of technical support available during and after implementation.Upgrade support.Availability of additional modules such as EMA complementing SFA

Kickoff meeting

Once software selection is made, move on to the kickoff meeting.This meeting, which should one or two days , is where the customer and the partnerdecide which responsibilities are assigned to whom.The team members meet each other and the chemistry for the implementation isestablished.

What should a typical vendor or partner like SalesLogix team look like

Project ManagerThe PM is responsible for all the aspects of the implementation including cost control,quality, testing and customer satisfaction.The project manager is the one with the connections back to the vendor companyheadquarters and his own companys HQ.If there are changes to the statement of the work, it is the PM who must work out thedetail with the customer.There should be a change management process in place that is approved by both thecustomer and the implementation services company.

Implementation LeaderThis person is called the technical lead.He is responsible for technical aspects, directs the system engineers and is usuallydedicated to only one project at a time.He tends to be onsite full time until the end of the project. His strength is a combinationof people skills and technical knowledge.


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System Engineer

Their primary role is to do coding.In many implementations, technical and functional expertise is necessary to do the work.For example, to work with SalesLogix Architect tool, its important for the systemengineer to know how corporate sales processes tend to function.

Systems or Business Analyst

These employees are the functional experts. They provide input on business process andflow that are enterprise-specific.

IT Staff

These are the administrators of the system, the people who are maintaining and settingup the network and its software.They have to see that there is no significant downtime or problems during theimplementation period.

Integration ExpertThe person guides the integration of the CRM system with other information system likeSFA and EMA.

Heads of Non - Technical departments

They provide input and approval on aspects affecting their departments.They can make the implementation is succeed if the partner implementation teammember understand that they are non technical, which means patience and explanationsare necessary.

Requirement GatheringThe length of the requirements gathering phase can be markedly change if the scope ofthe project is significantly bigger.The complexity of the project means the requirement phase is more complicated.CRM implementation is going to affect the interactions of every appropriate departmentin the company.Marketing, sales, finance, and so on all have a direct need to have input in the teamsduring the requirement gathering phase.Legacy system need to be analyzed. This is both a technical and a functional issue.A good requirements analysis bring out some of these issues and some of the answers,though certainly not all of them.Most CRM packages are fairly flexible in their toolsets, allowing for wholesale or smallchanges to the business rules that govern the customers corporate life.Once the requirement for the front-office practices are gathered, the next step isidentification of the inputs and outputs. This way the user interact with the system.

Some of the questions to be answered in this phase include:9Which screens will be needed to input data?9How will information be retrieved from the system?


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9How will the customer want to work with the system?9How many users must the system accommodate and how will they connect to it (LAN,individual remote users, remote offices, Web?

While these questions are being answered, there is a lot of other work to do.

For example, what would be the systems optimal functionality .The identification of what data must be imported to the systems and what must beexported.To make the requirement gathering go smoothly, it is obtain to obtain all informationpossible about the existing system and the CRM implementation will be fit.To get this information, nondisclosure agreements and all other necessary paperworkneed to be signed during this phase.The nondisclosure agreement states that neither the implementation partner nor thecustomer will disclose each other information given during the course of the project toanyone outside those identified at the ones need to know.

Prototyping and Detailed Proposal GenerationThe next phase is where the actual hands-on work begins-with a prototype.The purpose of the prototype is to develop some of the key functionality for thecustomer to examine before the roll out.For example, if the customer wants to able to click a button in SalesLogix that wouldpopulate a customer reporting system, it can be examined in minute detail. This confirmsthat it can be done or not.The same goes for the creation of mock screens, with the creation of the screens, theworkflow can be demonstrated.This allow user to participate at each step of the workflow and prototype development.The result is happy customer because they not only verified the workflow and, often, the

look and feel of the screens, but they are also giving input to the team at all times.The prototype can be demonstrated to varying departments, each with their own agendasand ways of viewing data , and can be worked by the development team, even if the datapresentation from department to department is conflicting.Once the prototype is done and demonstrated, and the proposed changes to the workflowand functions are acceptable to both the customer and the development team, a formalproject proposal that states the deliverables, timeliness and final cost is written for theclient.

This CRM projects are often divided into four phases:

Phase I:

The product catalogs, the sales process, the account and contact databases, and the salespipeline management criteria, among other things are developed.

Phase II Marketing Module Customizations

These are no different in technical process from sales module customizations. They aremerely different in what need to be customized.


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Phase III : Integration with external applications

This is where there are possible difficulties. The as is review is often done in thebeginning of the requirement gathering.This is an analysis of the existing IT infrastructure and the network functionality .

Phase IV: Reporting IntegrationReporting is a vital function, especially for business that are scattered beyond one office.The customization of those reports and their generation are critical to corporate success.By making sure the appropriate templates are created and the right reports are autoroutedto the right recipients, the danger of incorrect decision making is reduced dramatically.

Development of Customization

Once there are the appropriate signoffs on the formal and the final proposal document,the next phase is the development of customization.The time length of the customizations varies widely, with five to seven weeks anddepends on a substantial numbers of factors:

9The size of the project.9The complexity of:

a. The interfacesb. The workflowc. The functions

9The availability of employees/ user to work with the team to improve the customizationin a given iteration.9Technical problems unrelated to the implementation that affect it. These can beresolved by creating an independent environment for development, testing and eventuallyproduction.9

Midstream workflow and rules changes for the customization, necessitated by changingcorporate business process.9 These are a few of the many reasons the project can exceed it five to seven weekanticipated timeline.

The elasticity of the application is very important in the ease of the creation of thecustomization application. SalesLogix, for example has an open architecture, a large thirdparty integration base, and a very flexible toolset, making the customization fairly easy.The next step is to assign task to developers. These developers may not be, for example,SalesLogix toolset specialists. Rather there may be Oracle database administrator.The project manager is responsible for a project plan at this phase. The plan is achecklist of what developers and what team members are assigned to what tasks.Depending on the formalities of the project, status reports can be phone calls or formallywritten document with the specific successes.The change management document should include the understanding that changes to thestatement of the work in function or scope will incur extra costs, will increase thedelivery time and due date of total implementation .The final part of this phase is development team testing- making sure the basic systemwork.


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Power User Beta Test and Data Import

This is where the star users (usually called power users since they are among thenontechnical people who get it) get to play.They get involved in finding the systematic problems that crop up when thecustomizations are moving to completion and the data migration is being prepared.

By involving power users, verification and acceptance of the system are ensured.The first major step in this two-to-five day process is to create testing environment at thesite.The successes or failure, and strength and shortcomings of the IT team beta determinewhat type of backup resources are necessary, what kind of training will be paramountwhen the times for the vendor/ consulting services company to leave the premises.Once the beta installation is complete and analyzed, then comes a very tough part: thetest data import.The run will identify the usability and accuracy of the data.The best thing about beta testers is that they often have a recommendations forimprovement that go beyond simply finding bugs.

Rollout and System hand-off

This is the time when the production environment has to be installed at the site.The final phase is both a delicate and huge task. If anything goes wrong and there isalways ample opportunity for that to happen it could means disaster.The migration data has to convert all data into format of the SalesLogix PeopleSoft,which could be Oracle, MS SQL Server, Interbase, or any number of other formats.When this is done and acceptable, the new system is powered up.The other significant part of the rollout is remote user and satellite office preparation.This differs according to different software and methodologies.Each remote user is given a copy of the general database installed on their desktop or

laptop.Each of them will be customizing it as they move through a given day. Initially all usersare guided through the use of the system by trained implementation personnel who, ifphysically possible, will walk around and work with each person in the hands-on use ofthe system, answer any questions, and using overall comfort level in using the system.

Training

Training time depends on the number of users and available facilities for training, Thereare four parts of training:

1.Basic Training.2.Customization Training3.Documentation4.Additional Training

Basic Training

There are no pushups in this training. This is the plain vanilla training for users on theapplication. Normally this is run by the vendor.


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For example, to get training at SalesLogix headquarters. That means youd pay the costof the training plus the cost of hotel, food, airfare and other incidentals.

Customization Training

This is done by the now-trained employees who have been engaged in the project,

thought it doesnt have to be..Knowledge transfer, for those of you never involved in IT techspeak is the continuouseducation on what has been learned from the vendor/integrator and taught to the customerteam who will be using knowledge in an ongoing fashion.It is very important that the knowledge transfer is an intentional written part of thestatement of work.

Documentation

The vendor or consulting companys implementation team has full responsibility toprovide documentation on the customized system to see that future use is ensured.Often, as a part of a team, CRM vendor companies or integrators will provide

documentation experts who know how to piece together useful documentation.Bad writing is endemic to the IT world and making sure that a bad writer isnt writingthe documentation is something that while sounding funny, is deadly serious.

Additional Training

Train the trainer As the names implies, whomever you send to this course will be theone who will train the users on your staff. This is a major time and money saver.

Integration Course This course teaches IT staff how to make their own customizationto SalesLogix or to the other vendors who have such a course.

Ongoing Support, System Optimization, and Follow - up

This is all optional of course. There are a substantial number of companies who opt tonot follow through on support after the rollout.The implementation partner has some liability here, too. What that liability is needs tobe part of the contract before the implementation ever start.Presuming who is responsible for what in the post-implementation era has beendecided, the implementation partner must be ready to provide customer with rapidly turnaround support.The support has to be there until the client can swim. Even then, it is good CRM tocontact the person to make sure they are happy and functioning.


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6. Application Service Provider

What is ASPs

An ASP provides applications as a service specifically, software and services having

to do with the information technology requirements of companies and individuals.The service offered by ASP may include processing credit card payments, providingcustomer relationship management (CRM) services to business or customizedapplications.The operational concept is straightforward a service provider identifies a function oractivity that is common to number of companies.The ASP then offers the service to identified market for a fixed fee, in effect removingthe personnel, equipment and logistical challenges inherent if each company is going toset up its own system.An ASP is a business that provides computer based service to customers over a network.Software offered over using an ASP model is also sometimes called On-demand

software or Software as a service.The most limited sense of the business is that of providing access to a particularapplication program ( such a CRM) using a standard protocol such as HTTP.The need for Asps has evolved from the increasing costs of specialized software thathave far exceeded the price range of small to medium sized software.The issue of upgrading have been eliminated from the end firm by placing the onus onthe ASP to maintain up-to-date services, 24x7 technical support physical and electronicsecurity and in-built support for business continuity and flexible working.

Features of an ASP

The service provider operates and owns the software or application, the hardware (e.g.server) and the support personnel.The application is made available on through the Internet or a thin client ( a computerwhich depends on another computer to handle the majority of its functions, rather thandoing data processing itself).The customer is billed by the service provider on a fixed, time bound schedule (usuallyon a monthly basis) or on a per-use format.

Common Features associated with ASPs include:

ASP fully owns and operates the servers that support the software.ASP owns, operates and maintain the server via the internet or thin client .

ASP bills on a per use basis or on a monthly/ annual fee.

Advantages of ASPs

Software integration issues are eliminated from the client site.Software costs for the applications are spread over a number of clients.Vendors can built more application experience than the in-house staff.Key software systems are kept up to date, available and managed for performance byexperts.


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Improved reliability, availability, scalability, and security of internal IT system.A provider service level agreement guarantees a certain level of service.Access to products and technology experts dedicated to available products.Reduction of internal IT costs to predictable monthly fee.Redeploying IT staff and tools to focus on strategic technology projects that impact the

enterprise bottom line.

Disadvantages of ASPs

The client must generallyaccept the application as provide since Asps can only afford acustomized solution for the largest clients.The clients may rely on the provider to provide a critical business functions, thuslimiting their control of the function and instead relying on the provider.Changes in the Asp market may result in changes in the type or level of service availableto clients.Integration with clients non-ASP system may be problematic.

The Advantages of Outsourcing to an Application Service ProviderFor one, it cuts down on the cost of either starting up or maintaining an in-house IT unit.For another, it ensures that software upgrades, new technologies and the like areavailable by experts who are bound to provide these under clearly defined servicesagreements.

The Disadvantages of Outsourcing to an Application Service Provider:

Mainly in relation to matter of data and customer confidentially since an outside entitywill have access to confidential data)Lack of flexibility in terms of software choice.


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7. Impact of CRM on Marketing Channels

How Does The Traditional Distribution Channel Structure Support Customer

Relationship

Channel

intermediaries

Manufacture End Customer

Firm Interaction with Customers Through Channels

What are Channels?

The word channel is used mainly in two ways. The first use refers to the flow of the

organization's offering (e.g., physical goods or information) to the ultimate end users (endcustomers), as well as that of sales proceeds or realization from the customer back to themarketing firm.The term marketing or distribution channels stands for all entities (e.g., distributors,wholesaler, retailer, broker, agent. Etc) who perform certain functions for the marketingfirm.These functions include stocking inventory, conducting sales transactions, conductingpayments, providing point of purchase information, and some times providing upfrontliquidity to the manufacturing plants.The second use of the term channel refers to the mode of communication between firmsand its customers.These so-called communication or contact channels convey information to the customersto raise their awareness about the firms products and services and persuade them tomake purchase.Whereas the term distribution channel often refers to several organizations (in thechannel), the term contact channel refers to two parties.


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ExampleThe distribution channel ofAdidas includes several entities such as wholesalers andretailers.The contact channels between Adidas and its end customers refers to the mode ofcommunication comprising Internet, direct mails and SMS or wireless text messaging

Channel

Management of:

Distribut ion Channels

Managing the flow ofgoods and services frommanufacturer to end user

Contact Channels

Managing the flow ofinformation between anytwo parties, using one ormore contact mode

The Role of Traditional Channels in Customer Relationship

Indirect Customer RelationshipThe process of managing customer relationships involves the gathering and processingof customer and sales transaction information, which can be done by both the channelmember as well as the marketing firm.The entire focus of CRM in the traditional channel structure has been on1. Building a good working relationship with the channel member.2. Providing the channel member incentives to build a strong CRM.Big consumer nondurable marketing firms, such as Henkel and Procter & Gamble,traditionally had significant power over the distribution channels.

Direct Customer Relationship

Traditionally, a direct channel between the firm and the consumer took the form of thecommunication or contact channel.The firm communicates product information to the consumer through contact channelssuch as TV or print.Point of purchase advertising and promotions at the channel outlet (retail point) furtherpersuades to consumer to make this purchase.Another traditional form of direct customer relationship is achieved through brandequity.


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By building brand equity firms often try to build a pseudo-relationship with allprospective consumers.The term Pseudo relationship implies that even before an individual consumer hasmade a purchase or has made an interacted with act as prior relationship between firmand consumer.

Key Factors Affecting CRM through Traditional Channels

Incentives for Coordinating Information Exchange

The focal firm should provide adequate incentives to the channels member to gather andprocess sales and customer information, and share information with the firm.For example, Procter & Gamble and its powerful retailer Wal-Mart shed theiradversarial association and invested in an EDI technology which allowed Procter &Gamble access to real-time customer data to forge customer relationship as well asreduce the cost of operations involving distribution.By making investments specific to their relationship with Wal-Mart, P&G secured the

trust and commitment of a powerful retailer- not only to improve its own relationshipwith the end customers but also to reduce the cost of operations for Wal-Mart.

Protecting the Interest of the ChannelsThe focal firms needs to further safeguard the proper interest of channel members whileexecuting its own CRM strategy directed at the end customer.To this end, the firm need to nurture its relationship with the channel member to inducethem to build and maintain relationships with the customers in accordance with the CRMstrategy of the firm.This implies that both the upstream and downstream relationship are important factorsleading to the success of CRM.

Major Challenges Facing CRM Through Traditional Channels

Prevent Dilution of CRM Strategies

The challenge for most firms that interact with their final customers through channelintermediaries is that traditional intermediary entities make a continual and directinteraction with the end customer very difficult- to accomplish.The firm should ensure it messages and offerings of the relationship program reach thetarget consumer without dilution or digression.

For example: most European retailers such as Carrefour, Dia and J.Sainsbury sell high -quality private-labels brands which directly compete with the established brands ofrenowned manufacturers. This creates a conflict of interest with the manufacturers, sincethe private-label promotions often go diametrically against the customer relationshipprograms of the national brands.


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Indirect Control Of CRM through Channels

The primary methods of implementation of CRM includes direct control and monitoringof the CRM program at the channels by manipulating the upstream relationship with thechannels, the channels has incentives to manage the downstream relationship.Although there may be multiple source through which an end customer receives

marketing information such as advertising,.Thus, the focus should be on the implementation of CRM at the customer s preferredchannel, with the overall marketing strategy of the firmThe P&G Wal-Mart strategic alliance is a notable example.

Eliciting Customer Information from all Channels for Central processing

The lack of precise information about individual customer does complicate theimplementation of CRM in the traditional channels. Firm often obtain from theirdistribution channel partners only an approximation of customer preference.Customer identification associated with CRM demands the physical distribution be

responsive to variation in customer mobility and contact channels preference in terms ofshopping habit.CRM therefore demand that customer information from different contact channel becentrally processed by the firm and form a critical input to the planning and execution thephysical distribution of the goods.Central customer data processing across different contact channels is essential evenamong the traditional channel agents.

Emerging Channel Trends that Impact CRM

Proliferation of direct Channels

The presence of the Internet and electronic channels in business and daily life hastremendous impact on the firms channel options.Whether through a website, a self service kiosk, or sophisticated voice response system,consumers are taking advantage of this great variety of direct channels to seekinformation as well as to transact business directly with the firm.Under this scenario, firms suddenly have not only direct access to the end-customers butthey can also recognize at every instance of interaction a prior customer, and since theinteraction occurs through a technology enabled channel, the option exist to record andstore all the relevant information about the customer, and training a third party channelmember, such as retailer.

Channel Proliferation and Emergence of Multichannel Shoppers

Internet, email, kiosks, mobile phones, cable TV,SMS, MMS. Each of these newchannels is vying for different individuals, and each is obtaining only limited attention ofthe overall customer base of the firm.Depending on the product (e.g., books), some customers may switch completely fromtheir original transaction channels to the new outlets like the Internet (e.g., Amazon.com)For Example, one may search the web for the best price quotes to be better informed ofprices and to be able to better negotiate the deal.


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This proliferation of channels and its effect on customer behavior and information offersnew opportunities to the firm, but it also create new difficulties in managing themarketing flow.

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