Customers can be seen as the most important stakeholder in a business’s success.
Without customers purchasing goods or services, most businesses would not have a revenue stream. But it can be difficult to shift from realising this important fact to implementing it into day-to-day business decisions and strategy.
A successful relationship with a customer is based on meeting (and perhaps even exceeding) their needs. It is in determining what problems the customer has, and in providing solutions to those problems.
Maintaining good customer relationships is critical to the success of a business. The costs associated with a acquiring a new customer are generally far higher than the cost of maintaining an existing customer relationship. This is why is investing in CRM should result in increasing revenue for the business.
The cycle of CRM starts with determining what problems potential customers might have, and then presenting solutions to those problems. Solutions are implemented, and then ongoing service maintains the relationship with the customer.
Without customers purchasing goods or services, most businesses would not have a revenue stream. But it can be difficult to shift from realising this important fact to implementing it into day-to-day business decisions and strategy.
A successful relationship with a customer is based on meeting (and perhaps even exceeding) their needs. It is in determining what problems the customer has, and in providing solutions to those problems.
Maintaining good customer relationships is critical to the success of a business. The costs associated with a acquiring a new customer are generally far higher than the cost of maintaining an existing customer relationship. This is why is investing in CRM should result in increasing revenue for the business.
The cycle of CRM starts with determining what problems potential customers might have, and then presenting solutions to those problems. Solutions are implemented, and then ongoing service maintains the relationship with the customer.
Take, for example, two people booking an overseas holiday. One is a 23 year old recent graduate who is visiting Argentina for three months with a friend; one is a 38 year old mother of two young children planning a family holiday to Thailand. If they both walked into a travel agency, the travel agents would make judgements on their dress and appearance to determine how they will aid each of them in booking their holiday (and how much commission the agent will be able to earn). The travel agent will also ask further face to face questions to try to sell additional services to these two customers.
For the 23 year old, additional services might include travel insurance that covers extreme sports activities and a calling card that allows her to call home from anywhere in the world. For the 38 year old, additional services could include babysitting services included at a hotel reservation.
For the 23 year old, additional services might include travel insurance that covers extreme sports activities and a calling card that allows her to call home from anywhere in the world. For the 38 year old, additional services could include babysitting services included at a hotel reservation.
Seat the two potential travellers in front of their computers, and you no longer have human travel agents to make snap judgements based on appearance or to try to sell additional services based on the type of traveller they see. Of course, you also no longer have the overhead costs of a travel agency and agents. However, web technology does allow for similar, and often superior, judgements and sales opportunities.
For example, both travellers are likely to have started researching their trips using a search engine. Creating landing pages tailored to the types of searches being made can allow the opportunity to tailor the products being presented to each traveller.
Technology can also be used to allow the online business to interact personally with a web visitor, and also to provide the visitor with information they might not get in a travel agency - unbiased reviews from other customers. Technology can and should be used to treat different customers differently.
Web technology allows for customer related marketing decisions to be made and tested relatively quickly, and adjusted as required.
For example, in 2002, Jeff Bezos of Amazon.com launched free shipping for orders over $99 in value. While the offer was advertised as being for a limited time only, this time limit enabled Amazon to test the effect of the offer on its bottom line and still retract it if necessary. Over the months, the order threshold for free shipping dropped, and today US Amazon.com orders over $25 ship for free. However, free shipping does not mean priority shipping, so orders can be delivered in a shorter period of time – for a
delivery fee.
eCRM uses technology in a number of ways to cement CRM into the way that organisations conduct themselves. Once a business shifts its focus to consumer needs, they will find that all these technologies feed each other. However, the fundamental principle of eCRM is to remember that technology should be used to enable customer relationships, not replace meaningful relationships.
Firstly, the data that is collected online should be used to build meaningful profiles of potential customers, and that information should be used in fostering relationships.
Web analytics tools gather a wealth of data that can inform customer relationships, from search keywords used to reach a website, to navigation paths on a website. It is even possible to capture this kind of information against specific customers when they perform an action such as purchasing or subscribing on a website. Without the customer knowing, the referral source of their visit and even an indication of their navigation path can be captured along with their order or registration details and stored for future use.
Bespoke CRM software enables businesses to manage all customer and lead information across all departments in a centralised place. No matter whom a customer speaks to within a business, all employees can access the same information recorded over time – a 360 degree view of the customer. This means that any time someone inside the organisation looks up the customer, he can see every interaction the organisation has had with the customer, what previous queries have been raised, and how these have been solved in the past.
Bespoke CRM software also enables businesses to automate much of the sales cycle, freeing salespeople to spend time on creating personal relationships where it matters – with potential and existing customers.
Technology, of course, has also changed the ways that customers can contact companies. In the chapters on social media and online reputation management (ORM), the importance of letting the customer select communication channels was highlighted. Customer relationships are no longer driven by telephone contact centres,
but instead blogs, Twitter, email and instant messenger (IM) are all used as customer service channels both pre and post sale.
For example, both travellers are likely to have started researching their trips using a search engine. Creating landing pages tailored to the types of searches being made can allow the opportunity to tailor the products being presented to each traveller.
Technology can also be used to allow the online business to interact personally with a web visitor, and also to provide the visitor with information they might not get in a travel agency - unbiased reviews from other customers. Technology can and should be used to treat different customers differently.
Web technology allows for customer related marketing decisions to be made and tested relatively quickly, and adjusted as required.
For example, in 2002, Jeff Bezos of Amazon.com launched free shipping for orders over $99 in value. While the offer was advertised as being for a limited time only, this time limit enabled Amazon to test the effect of the offer on its bottom line and still retract it if necessary. Over the months, the order threshold for free shipping dropped, and today US Amazon.com orders over $25 ship for free. However, free shipping does not mean priority shipping, so orders can be delivered in a shorter period of time – for a
delivery fee.
eCRM uses technology in a number of ways to cement CRM into the way that organisations conduct themselves. Once a business shifts its focus to consumer needs, they will find that all these technologies feed each other. However, the fundamental principle of eCRM is to remember that technology should be used to enable customer relationships, not replace meaningful relationships.
Firstly, the data that is collected online should be used to build meaningful profiles of potential customers, and that information should be used in fostering relationships.
Web analytics tools gather a wealth of data that can inform customer relationships, from search keywords used to reach a website, to navigation paths on a website. It is even possible to capture this kind of information against specific customers when they perform an action such as purchasing or subscribing on a website. Without the customer knowing, the referral source of their visit and even an indication of their navigation path can be captured along with their order or registration details and stored for future use.
Bespoke CRM software enables businesses to manage all customer and lead information across all departments in a centralised place. No matter whom a customer speaks to within a business, all employees can access the same information recorded over time – a 360 degree view of the customer. This means that any time someone inside the organisation looks up the customer, he can see every interaction the organisation has had with the customer, what previous queries have been raised, and how these have been solved in the past.
Bespoke CRM software also enables businesses to automate much of the sales cycle, freeing salespeople to spend time on creating personal relationships where it matters – with potential and existing customers.
Technology, of course, has also changed the ways that customers can contact companies. In the chapters on social media and online reputation management (ORM), the importance of letting the customer select communication channels was highlighted. Customer relationships are no longer driven by telephone contact centres,
but instead blogs, Twitter, email and instant messenger (IM) are all used as customer service channels both pre and post sale.
