IST309 Term Paper

Customer relationship management is very commonly referred to as CRM within the business world. It is perceived as both a customer-driven and customer-focused strategy that in part is used to aid the communication between businesses and their customers (Rainer & Prince, 2020). It does in fact also contribute a great deal to many businesses marketing tactics and more specifically allowing them to focus on customers individually. Then, providing them with the proper information needed to meet their individual customer’s needs and desires, which in essence contributes to creating a customer intimacy that so many businesses lack today. With living in a very digital and internet driven world today, customer relationship management has been able to really fill a void that has unintentionally been created by the Internet because of how impersonal it has made what used to be in-person experiences, now digitized.

      The process in which customer relationship management is utilized, is by employing information technologies through numerous systems and applications.  It is a technology used to manage businesses relationships and interactions with both current customers and potential customers. In addition to communication aid, CRM also helps streamline processes and improve profitability within many businesses (CRM 101,n.d.). Some areas that CRM can help ease the communication process are through contact management, sales management, and productivity (CRM 101,n.d.). This strategic form of business organization has led to many great successes, but most importantly it has led to the overall sustainability in providing long-term relationships between all sorts of companies and their customers. Due to the increase in competition as a result of the internet, customers tend to have the upper hand in a business relationship because of the fact that they can research so many more options just at the tips of their fingers. Which is why it is so incredibly important to maintain a strong communication with customers in any business, because their profitability really does depend on sustainability. The stronger the relationship, the more likely a customer is to continue supporting a particular business, which should be every company’s top priority. Similarly to any other relationship, communication is the key to maintaining a healthy well-rounded relationship.

      With addition to communication, we will now shift our focus onto how customer relationship management programs can be used to acquire new customers. The greatest objective in achieving new customers in any form of business is that new customers tend to turn into repeat customers. As we know, it’s always cheaper to keep a returning customer satisfied than it is to have to regain their trust and business after switching to a competitor (Rainer & Prince, 2020).  Rainer & Prince noted that “an organization’s overall goal is to maximize the lifetime value of a customer, which is that customer’s potential revenue stream over a number of years” (pg. 341).

The Problem- My Part

The Context - My Part

The Architecture

CRM architecture can be envisaged in one of the following categories. Collaborative CRM, analytical CRM, and operational CRM as follows. Analytical CRM is the type of CRM that could lead to cross-selling products to certain customers by looking into their previous purchasing behavior or acquiring information that is only relevant to certain segments of a company’s customer base.  Analytical CRM is crucial to identifying general industry changes and allows businesses to respond quickly to shifting market demands and remain agile. In this kind of CRM, data analysis can be conducted through various forms such as diagrammatically, through reports, and graphically, to better represent results. Analytical CRM is essential to the basic architecture of customer relationship management and with the advancement in technologies such as telecommuting and social media, the market has seen the introduction of more refined systems (Diffley et al., 2018).  The basic structure of CRM can be complemented by employing cloud technology to allow for accessibility and flexibility.

Integration is critical to CRM and refers to data integration as a way to make it usable in processes and strategies that can be beneficial to the employees of the business, suppliers, customers, and the business itself.  The use of social media and mobile technology can help businesses target an entirely emergent consumer demographic that is keen on technological advancement and accessing items online, buying them there and having them delivered.  

Analytical CRM

Analytical CRM mainly deals with data analysis of data collected as part of operational CRM or from different sources. This data analysis is geared towards the identification of the approaches and mechanisms a business can use to bolster its relationship with its customers. This

means that what is gathered can be used to conceptualize and design targeted marketing campaigns.  The data analyzed can be used to market strategically, optimize prices, improve customer satisfaction, bolster customer communication, retain customers, and up-sell or cross-sell by using acquisition data among others.  Data analysis and collection is envisaged as an iterative and continuous process (Bhat, 2016). This means that business’ decision making based on feedback from other decisions or previous analysis is refined. Numerous analytical customer relationship management activities manage data by using a data warehouse.  

Operational CRM

Operational CRM is the type of customer relationship management mainly concerned with the automation of business processes including customer account management and information, industry trends, competitor data, and customer service.  Collection of data ensues and the data is stored in a database in a way that it is usable in general strategic planning and daily operations including customer account management. Sales force data on the special needs of customers is also stored in the database in a way that it is usable.  This means that the business can personalize its service and interaction with customers. Operational CRM seeks to automate the support for business operations on the front end of the business, such as customer service, marketing, and sales. All interactions with customers are generally added to that individual’s history and employees can retrieve customer information from the customer relationship management database when needed.  Operational CRM can be seen in one of the following categories. Automation of enterprise marketing, this provides information on the business environment such as macro-environmental variables, trends in the industry, and competitors’ information (Rahimi, 2017). Customer support and service which deals with automating particular product inquiries and returns, complaints and service requests. Lastly, the automation of the sales force. This includes the automation of some of the business’ sales force management tasks and critical sales, including quote, contact, account, lead, and performance management, tracking the demographics and preferences of customers, sales administration, and forecasting.  

Integrated CRM is seen as a solution for the front office part of the business and this is due to the way it deals directly with customers. Numerous call centers utilize CRM software to store information on customers. On the retrieval of a call, the system determines the caller using the number and portrays their associated customer information. After and as the call is ongoing, the agent at the call center dealing with the customer can add to the system’s information on the customer (Ascarza et al., 2017). Other services for customers can be automated fully including letting customers access their account details i.e. bank account details, through the internet.  

Collaborative CRM 

Collaborative CRM is where the entire communication between customers and businesses are processed, organized, and recorded in the collaborative feature of CRM software. This translates to all communication that happens via email, in person, or by telephone.  Relationships with customers can be nurtured using data they have provided themselves that show the amounts that they would spend on average, the frequency of purchasing, their dislikes and likes, and their purchasing behaviors and patterns. Businesses can, therefore, utilize this information to offer targeted deals to certain segments of their customer base, cross-sell products based on previous purchasing history, and provide customer service that is enhanced.  Moreover, there can be customer segmentation using numerous criteria such as profession, gender, age, and geographical location (Tseng, 2016). This means that there can also be customer targeting through newsletters and personal emails offering deals and discounts.  Collaborative CRM is geared towards customer interaction through various forms including email, internet, phone, fax, letter, and also through personal interaction.  It entails the following: the provision of access to customer information during customer interactions with the business, the provision of online services as a way to limit customer service costs, and lastly, the provision of efficient customer communication across numerous channels.

Recommendations

The recommendations for CRM touch on the use of CRM systems to undertake advertising on social networking platforms including Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. The offering of trial periods that exceed a minimum of thirty days by CRM platforms. Also, the increased availability of CRM platforms through mobile applications i.e. in android and iOS operating systems.  

Extended Trial Period

 For a limited amount of time, CRM software free trails allow businesses to ultimately decide if the software is a good fit, get familiar with its functionality and features, and test it on the business and its CRM activities. For all these activities to be effectively done, there needs to be a minimum trial period of thirty days. It could however, be more beneficial to various customer relationship management platforms to offer even longer trial periods, i.e. 3 months. This would allow the business to better understand the CRM software and see how it integrates with their systems. Also, it would allow for the observation of how well the business does while using the software meaning the business can quantify the improvement to CRM activities, and also make projections of how well the business will do if it used that particular software long term.

Typically, free trial software versions are used to see whether the software can assist in dealing with particular problems. In the evaluation of CRM software, the challenge could be the following.  Improving sales pipeline predictability and forecasting, improving sales force productivity, and sales revenue (Sigala, 2018). Acquiring a history of conversations, deals, leads, and contacts. Lastly, making the business more organized and centralized.  To observe whether the software does what the provider says it does, there is the need to spend effort and time to learn the new software tools even if it is just a trial version. This is part of constructing the best business case when it comes to CRM.

Mobile CRM

As there is rapid growth in mobile application adoption and as businesses become increasingly flexible in their employee working arrangements, CRM, previously utilized as a part of traditional desktop applications, is becoming increasingly mobile.  Acquiring a mobile customer relationship management strategy is becoming less optional and more of a necessity for businesses. The usage of mobile devices and software is growing rapidly and sales forces all over the world are increasingly out in the field talking to and meeting with potential customers. As such, there is a need for CRM encapsulated in mobile applications. The mobile sales force and mobile applications have come together to form mobile CRM.  This is a tool for customer relationship management, it is designed for mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones, both for android and iOS operating systems. Connecting through mobile CRM allows sales forces to access customer information and data through mobile CRM applications. This can also be done through cloud CRM making this data available through a web browser on mobile devices. Using mobile CRM can be very beneficial as it allows a sales force to access real-time data in the field while meeting and talking to potential customers.  A mobile CRM app could also increase usability. The sales force would seldom need access to the entire functionality of CRM on their mobile app in terms of the reporting and data that they could access on a desktop. As such, businesses can commence this transition through the provision of basic access that is essential for use daily (Thakur, 2016). This could be functionality for activities such as updating contact information, scheduling meetings, and sending and writing emails. All in all, mobile application forms of CRM could potentially lead to an increase in the efficiency of customer relationship management platforms.

Social Network Advertising

Social networking sites are best equipped with getting closer to customers as they allow businesses to connect with customers from any geographical location and at any time. This allows a huge potential for the businesses in terms of the flexibility, access, and closeness they can achieve in terms of advertising.  This means that the businesses can also build more meaningful and personal relationships with customers and this could lead to increased revenues. The increasingly connected the businesses are with their customers, the more loyal the customer will be to the business and its brand. Social media is a juggernaut in terms of the various approaches businesses can have to advertise and reach customers. Social media tools and applications such as Hootsuite allow businesses to undertake one-on-one communication, schedule posts, acquire customer analytics and promote their businesses.  This means that there are opportunities for businesses to cross-sell and upsell their products (Nyadzayo, 2016). If businesses give attention to the sentiments of the consumers, then they can provide the needed solution at the right time and in the right way, which would be much easier to acquire through social media platforms.

The Conclusion

Referencence

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