Marketing which is a continuous human effort involves the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion and distribution of ideas, goods and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organisational objectives.
Being that these processes involve the ultimate satisfaction of human beings whom are either consumers or customers then the necessity to care and manage the customer becomes absolutely unavoidable.
The culture of customer care has begun to grow in Nigeria what that means is that organisations are beginning to see the importance of their "publics" and consumers. Proponents of competitive marketing strategy have always made it clear that Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is very important because it involves the tracking of customer behaviour for the purpose of developing marketing and relationship-building processes that bond the consumer to the brand, which is achieved via various channels such as over the telephone, internet or in person.
Many organisations have gone ahead to push products in the market without actually having the end users in mind thereby producing what people do not need. So a continuous interaction with consumers ensures that their pulse is felt. Also with the aid of a brandscape which depicts the customer base of a brand by segments and the extent to which their customers are committed, satisfied or vulnerable, churn can be managed effectively.
Often organisations have taken the onus of thinking for the consumer but this consumer is beyond just a demographic entity but an embodiment of personal desires, wants and thoughts. This unspoken truth makes every individual distinct such that what appeals to one might not appeal to the other.
However by consciously being in touch with consumers, an organisation is able to draw some ideas and insights into understanding the place of the brand in the world and identifying opportunities for growth.
The continuous interaction with consumers enables an organisation to modify products to include features which could enhance its Differential Product Advantage, (a feature a product possesses that is valuable to customers and not found in other products of the same category).
This increases loyalty and repeated purchase which automatically translates into more revenue. However, it is equally important to note that for more revenue to translate into profitability would be a concerted effort of other activities including cost management.
Companies use Customer relationship management (CRM) methods to interact with customers, from the outside, customers interacting with a company perceive the business as a single entity, despite often interacting with a number of employees in different roles and departments these methods include employee training and special purpose CRM software such as the Siebel which is a CRM software used in some call and contact centres.
As CRM is a combination of policies, processes, and strategies implemented by an organisation to unify its customer interactions and provide a means to track customer information, it involves the use of technology in attracting new and profitable customers, while forming tighter bonds with existing ones.
Emphasis is laid on handling incoming customer phone calls and email, information collected by CRM software may also be used for product promotion, customer profiling and surveys such as those polling customer satisfaction.
Customer care/service could even be used for sales purposes because it needs to be put into consideration when planning automation and sales forecast.
CRM includes many aspects which relate directly to one another:
Front office operations — Direct interaction with customers, e.g. face to face meetings, phone calls, e-mail, online services etc.
Back office operations — Operations that ultimately affect the activities of the front office (e.g., billing, maintenance, planning, marketing, advertising, finance, manufacturing, etc.)
Business relationships — Interaction with other companies and partners, such as suppliers/vendors and retail outlets/distributors, industry networks (lobbying groups, trade associations). This external network supports front and back office activities.
Analysis — Key CRM data can be analyzed in order to plan target-marketing campaigns, conceive business strategies, and judge the success of CRM activities (e.g., market share, number and types of customers
Proponents of CRM software claim that it doesn't only allow more effective ways of managing customer relationships, but also more customer-centric ways of doing business. Executives often cite the need for the proper tools as a barrier to delivering the experience customers expect.
In summary, the importance of Consumer Relationship Management cannot be over emphasised, especially for any organisation that is expecting incremental loyalty and a paradigm shift from brand adorers to brand adopters.
Adim ChineduM
Strategic Brand Planning
TBWA\Concept
Lagos.
