Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

CRM, or Customer relationship management, is a number of strategies and technologies that are used to build stronger relationships between companies and their customers. A company will store information that is related to their customers, and they will spend time analyzing it so that it can be used for this purpose. Some of the methods connected with CRM are automated, and the purpose of this is to create marketing strategies which are targeted towards specific customers. The strategies used will be dependent on the information that is contained within the system. Customer relationship management is commonly used by corporations, and they will focus on maintaining a strong relationship with their clients.

MEANING OF CRM

            Customer Relationship Management is the establishment, development, maintenance and optimization of long-term mutually valuable relationships between consumers and the organizations. Successful customer relationship management focuses on understanding the needs and desires of the customers and is achieved by placing these needs at the heart of the business by integrating them with the organization's strategy, people, technology and business processes.

            At the heart of a perfect CRM strategy is the creation of mutual value for all the parties involved in the business process. It is about creating a sustainable competitive advantage by being the best at understanding, communicating, and delivering, and developing existing customer relationships in addition to creating and keeping new customers.

GOALS OF CRM

1) Increase in Customer Service   :

            Establishing customer loyalty as one of your top CRM goals is absolutely fundamental to CRM successful implementation .For this task it is essential that the whole organization realize that they play a part in this goal. This objective cannot be achieved with the help of a few employees only. Customers need to feel that they have received excellent service. This ensures their continued patronage. This is by far one of the most essential goals of customer relationship management. Customer retention and brand loyalty is absolutely essential to ensure success. Undoubtedly it is far harder to gain a new customer than to actually keep one. Customer service is the pivotal point around which CRM revolves.

 2) Increasing Efficiency:

            One of the most important goals of CRM is the increase in organization efficiency and effectiveness. This is almost always adopted by every organization. It is necessitated by the fact that increase in efficiency is required to boost success. CRM achieves this through cost reduction and customer retention. Adequate CRM training achieves this goal.

 3) Lowering Operating Costs:

            CRM goals also include the reduction of costs of operation. This goal should be clearly established and conveyed to all those involved in the CRM implementation process. CRM manages to reduce operating costs through a workforce management system. This helps to maximize skills and thus reduce cost. These reduced costs enable an organization to achieve greater efficiency. If cost reduction is management's objective then the CRM implementation should be carried out in such a way that this is achieved. Throughout the process maximum reduction in costs should be adhered to in order to meet this particular CRM goal.

4) Aiding the Marketing Department:

            Another goal of CRM is generally aiding the marketing department in all its efforts. This includes marketing campaigns, sales promotions etc. If this is fixated as one of the goals of CRM, then it should be communicated to those involved. This goal is fundamental as it boosts sales indirectly thereby increasing the profitability.