 "Marketers need to think CRM differently")
Customer relationship management (CRM) software was developed to serve both customer service and marketing functions. In reality it is hardly ever used by marketers. Seldom do they log into their CRM databases to do a pulse check of customer satisfaction, let alone draw insightful customer statistics. CRM is perceived and used as a tactical customer service or complaint tool to monitor and manage efficiencies, response times, and gauge other controls. Companies did make a lot of effort and investment with regards to their CRM systems, but they have ended up being perceived more as a tool for employee efficiency rather than one that can help improve and enhance customer relationships.
Since the early 2000s, marketers witnessed an increasing number of channels being used by customers to interact with brands and as a result have felt a need to provide a consistent experience and evolve prevalent legacy-customer relationship or experience - systems. This became a necessity for marketers to help them respond satisfactorily to savvy customers, and the creation of more modern CRM systems though underway is still a work in progress.
Taking the changes in the environment as a stimulus, marketers have now started seeing CRM systems through an externally focused lens as offering better and memorable customer experiences versus the earlier internally focused lens that merely helped in efficiencies with campaigns, customer service etc. Marketers are also realising that they do not have the same luxury of time to adapt and evolve CRM systems as they did when they were more internally focused. If they miss the boat now they will have to play catch-up later as competitors chasing the same customers may already be in the reckoning.
In essence, in a competitive and fast-moving world where the number of channels customers can tap into to communicate with brands has increased, CRM systems can't afford to slip on two counts. CRM systems today need to enable seamless interactions both in the internal and external sphere of the brands. And two, they need to live up to customer expectations of consistent interactions between both traditional channels such as in-store, call centre, online and new and popular ones such as social and mobile.
To observers and analysts, this consistency across offline and online experience provided by the brand will prove the level of commitment and agility within the company; the success of varying IT partnership models they have evolved; and most importantly the marketers' readiness to make it all happen.
A modern CRM system that embraces all the elements described above will help brands live up to customer's expectations in a fast paced environment that requires providing solutions across all channels including social and mobile.
More importantly by connecting together customer transaction data, frontline interaction, and other information and non-enterprise data such as social and mobile, marketers can help companies understand the current and future needs of customers. Big data and analytics garnered through holistic CRM systems will also play a key role in understanding preferences of customers, giving brands a much required edge considering the number of alternatives available.
Traditionally marketers have thought of consumer research differently. However, with marketers understanding the large potential and scope of CRM, this attitude towards CRM will change and they will get more involved with CRM software, even as early as at the procurement stage of CRM software
CRM may appear to be only about technology, but in reality it is also about organisational culture. Companies that embrace the fact that CRM will continue to evolve due to innovation and changing customer trends and require an ecosystem that is agile and nimble versus rigid and static will succeed. CRM systems that are more attuned to a brand's requirements and meet them will increase in their value. Customers will be the beneficiaries of this successful marriage between brand and technology and will reciprocate in terms of their loyalty and commitment.
Since the early 2000s, marketers witnessed an increasing number of channels being used by customers to interact with brands and as a result have felt a need to provide a consistent experience and evolve prevalent legacy-customer relationship or experience - systems. This became a necessity for marketers to help them respond satisfactorily to savvy customers, and the creation of more modern CRM systems though underway is still a work in progress.
Taking the changes in the environment as a stimulus, marketers have now started seeing CRM systems through an externally focused lens as offering better and memorable customer experiences versus the earlier internally focused lens that merely helped in efficiencies with campaigns, customer service etc. Marketers are also realising that they do not have the same luxury of time to adapt and evolve CRM systems as they did when they were more internally focused. If they miss the boat now they will have to play catch-up later as competitors chasing the same customers may already be in the reckoning.
In essence, in a competitive and fast-moving world where the number of channels customers can tap into to communicate with brands has increased, CRM systems can't afford to slip on two counts. CRM systems today need to enable seamless interactions both in the internal and external sphere of the brands. And two, they need to live up to customer expectations of consistent interactions between both traditional channels such as in-store, call centre, online and new and popular ones such as social and mobile.
To observers and analysts, this consistency across offline and online experience provided by the brand will prove the level of commitment and agility within the company; the success of varying IT partnership models they have evolved; and most importantly the marketers' readiness to make it all happen.
A modern CRM system that embraces all the elements described above will help brands live up to customer's expectations in a fast paced environment that requires providing solutions across all channels including social and mobile.
More importantly by connecting together customer transaction data, frontline interaction, and other information and non-enterprise data such as social and mobile, marketers can help companies understand the current and future needs of customers. Big data and analytics garnered through holistic CRM systems will also play a key role in understanding preferences of customers, giving brands a much required edge considering the number of alternatives available.
Traditionally marketers have thought of consumer research differently. However, with marketers understanding the large potential and scope of CRM, this attitude towards CRM will change and they will get more involved with CRM software, even as early as at the procurement stage of CRM software
CRM may appear to be only about technology, but in reality it is also about organisational culture. Companies that embrace the fact that CRM will continue to evolve due to innovation and changing customer trends and require an ecosystem that is agile and nimble versus rigid and static will succeed. CRM systems that are more attuned to a brand's requirements and meet them will increase in their value. Customers will be the beneficiaries of this successful marriage between brand and technology and will reciprocate in terms of their loyalty and commitment.
By Ankur Singla, CEO & founder, Akosha