Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION:

·         Its about how the product and services offered by the company satisfies the customer need and wants.

·         Or in other words how the product and services meet the expectation of the customer.

·         Customer satisfaction=delivery –satisfaction.

·         Delivery refers to customer perception of delivering actual product and services.

·         Expectation refers to customer expectation about product and service.

Major factors influencing customer satisfaction:

1. Product-meeting customer expectations.

2. Sales-concentrating on major customer touch points.

3. Post purchase activity-rendering best services to the customer.

4.Culture-bringing a positive environment among employees for rendering better customer service.

 BUILDING CUSTOMER SATISFACTION:

1. Building good business practices:

-Concentrating on satisfaction at all the levels of the organization,.

-Designing best business practices and design, policies helps to deliver better customer satisfaction.

2. Creating and delivering value-

-Its about identifying the requirements and meeting the expected at all levels of the organization.

-Once the requirements is met it has to be delivered at right time through delivery process .

3. Customer relationship management-

-Its about how to retain the customer and build customer satisfaction level.

-Segmenting and targeting customer for delivering better customer satisfaction level.

 

IMPORTANCE OF BUILDING CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

1. Building customer oriented management-meeting the expectation of the customer.

2. Comparison with competitors-comparing product and services with the competitors.

3. Increasing profit level.

4. Helps to build loyalty among customers.

5. Helps to retain customer for a long period of time.

6.Helps to increase loyalty among customer.

7.Helps to bring new ideas for development of the product.

8.Helps to generate new referrals for the company.

CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT (CRM)

CRM is a business philosophy and set of strategies, programs, systems, that focuses on identifying and building customer loyalty with a marketer profitable business.

Ultimate aim of this CRM is to build a base of loyal customers.

 

Major objectives of CRM:

1.To provide updated information.

2.To customize the strategies.

3.To identify the problem.

4.To  manage follow up.

5.To solve customer related issues.

6.To integrate all the departments of the organization to provide better customer services.

BENEFITS OF CRM:

1. Increases revenues and cost reduction of the product.

2. Increases better customer satisfaction

3. Increases customer retention and loyalty

4. Helps to identify profitable customers

5. Helps in providing better customer service.

6.Helps to share  information about customers in organization.

7.Helps to develop better customized solution in all the process of the organization.

8.Helps in cross –selling  and up-selling of the product.

LIMITATIONS:

1.Requires top management support.

2. Confusion in delivering of services.

3. Problem in implementation .

4. Building relationship

5. Customer dissatisfaction

6.Front line staff.

CUSTOMER ACQUSITION:

-Broad term used to identify the process and procedures used to locate, qualify and ultimately secure the business of new customer.

-One of the basic customer acquisition strategies is to identify quality potential customer.

MAJOR FACTORS INFLUENCING CUSTOMER ACQUISITION:

1. Type of buying of the customer-

i) Rational buying-these type of customer move from one stage to another.

ii)Emotional buying-these type of customers are emotionally oriented they will not move from one stage to another.

2.  Product-it depends upon the type of product the company produces.

3.  Customers-whether the customer is an individual or organization.

4.Economic environment-supply  and demand prevailing in the market.

5.lifestyle of the customers.

 

Different stages involved in customer acquisition process:

Stage 1: When customer starts enquiring about the product he searches for prospective information about products.

Stage 2:This stage starts when the customer starts interacting about the products and services to the organization.

Stage3:This stage is  about delivery process where the exchange process is done.

Stage4:This stage starts when customer starts using the product and the acquisition process starts.

DIFFERENT STRATEGIES FOR CUSTOMER ACQUISITION PROCESS:

1.Focussing on targeting customer.

2.Providing better services to the targeted customer.

3. Provide direct interaction with the customer.

4.Remove fear ,doubts and uncertainty from the minds of the customer.

5.Differentiate the product and services.

6.Focussing on influencers who involve in decision making process.

7.Focussing on decision making process of the customer.

8.Grabbing more attention on acquisition of the customers.

CUSTOMER RETENTION

Customer retention is about when customer continues to buy products and services within determined period of time.

Specific levels of retention strategies:

Level 1:Financial bonds-offering lower price for large volume of purchase.

Level 2:Social bonds-viewing customer as clients by offering customized based services to the customer.

Level 3:Customization bonds-offering one to one solution to  the customer.

Level 4:Structural bonds-offering technology based services that fits customer based services.

 

DIFFERENT STRATEGIES TO FORMULATE CUSTOMER RETENTION STARTEGIES:

1. People: Employees should be trained to provide better service to the customer.

2. Process: Identifying customer needs and wants and delivering better products and services based on their needs.

3. Product: Concentrating on product to provide better value to the customers.

4. Organization: Should able to identify better ways to satisfy customer needs by investing in latest technology.

5. Competitors-comparing with competitor’s products and services.

6. Cost factor-reducing the cost of the product by concentrating on methods of production.

7. Customer analysis-concentrating on reducing the cost of the product by not reducing the quality of the product.

8. Studying customer buying behavior pattern

9. Differentiating prices and quality of the products

10. Focussing on reducing dissatisfaction among customers.

BENEFITS OF CUSTOMER RETENTION:

1. Helps to have regular business with the customer.

2. Helps in reducing cost of customer acquisition.

3. Helps to win more loyal customer to the organization.

CUSTOMER DEFECTION:

Customer defection is about customer turnover. When the customer is not satisfied with products and services they will switch over to other companies product.

MAJOR TYPES OF DEFECTORS:

1. Price defector-customer switchover to other company’s products because of low prices

2. Product defectors-customer switchover to other company’s products who offer better products and services.

3. Service defectors-customer switch because of   poor customer service.

4. Market defectors-customer exit because of major shift in economic conditions.

5. Technological defectors-advances in technology make customer to switchover

6. Organizational factors-customer switchover because of the problems prevailing in the industry.

MAJOR REASON FOR CUSTOMER DEFECTION:

Customer loyalty programs, price are the basic cause for customer defection.

HOW TO AVOID CUSTOMER DEFECTION PROCESS:

1. Identify the cause for customer attrition.

2. Implement better service handling process.

3. Measuring customer retention rate.

4. Concentrating on customer retention process.