Customer relationship management (customer relationship management), this concept was originally proposed by Gartner Group to define CRM. There is currently no unified expression, but in terms of its function, CRM is through the use of information technology , a management software system that informs business processes such as corporate marketing, sales management, customer service and support, and achieves effective utilization of customer resources. Its core idea is to focus on customers, improve customer satisfaction, improve customer relations, thereby improving the competitiveness of enterprises. So what is CRM? Let's first look at the background of CRM in order to better understand it.
1. The emergence of customer relationship management
The reasons for the emergence of modern customer relationship management can be summarized into the following three aspects: emphasis on the value of customer resources (update of management concepts), customer value Realization process needs are driven by information technology.
(1) Emphasis on the value of customer resources
Obtaining and maintaining competitive advantages is the driving force behind the survival and development of enterprises. The competitive advantages of enterprises include scale advantages, Absolute low cost advantage, differentiation advantage, etc. The resource capability school believes that in CRM today, what forms the competitive advantage and core competitiveness of enterprises is no longer tangible material resources such as machinery and equipment, factories, capital, and products, because these resources are easily obtained from the market and you can buy them. , your competitors are also easily available from the market. Intangible resources such as management, talent, technology, market, and brand image play a very critical role. These resources are not easy to flow, are not easy to be copied,
the transaction frequency is low, and other companies cannot easily obtain them from the market. They are relatively monopolistic and can produce certain monopoly advantages. Customer resources are such an important market resource, which has important value for enterprises.
The value of customer resources to an enterprise is mainly reflected in the following aspects:
1 Cost leadership and scale advantage
On the one hand, there are facts that show that customers can provide a cost advantage and thus a revenue advantage. The cost of serving new customers is much more expensive than that of old customers. This is because serving new customers requires higher initialization costs. If the company can increase the proportion of repeat customers, total costs will drop dramatically. On the other hand, if a company's loyal customers occupy a relatively large share of the company's market, it will bring corresponding barriers to the company, form a scale advantage, and also reduce the company's costs. Generally, customers have a strong herd mentality, and a large number of customer groups will also become an important factor for them to consider
2. Market value and brand advantage
From a strategic perspective, customers are not only the acceptance It is the custodian of funds for income streams and is a valuable asset that can increase market value, which is mainly expressed through the value of trademarks. Trademark value is the product of the interaction between a company and its consumers or customers who play a decisive role. Trademarks cannot exist in isolation. They exist because of customer recognition. Without customers as a starting point, companies cannot create or maintain the value of their trademarks.
A larger market share itself represents a brand image. In addition, customers' public opinion propaganda also plays a significant role in the company's brand image, especially the public opinion leaders among customers play a greater role. It should be noted that there are two value orientations in customer publicity. One is that customers who are satisfied with the company's products and services will promote the company's brand in a positive way; the other is that customers who are dissatisfied with the company's products and services will make negative comments about the company. publicity. The impact on both aspects is very large. Only by providing high-quality, customer-satisfying services and establishing a good corporate image can a company gain positive publicity from customers.
3 Information value
Customer information is the most important value for enterprises. It will directly affect the business behavior of an individual industry and the grasp of customer consumption behavior. For example, the Wal-Mart supermarket chain will formulate a product and service portfolio for the customer and provide corresponding corporate care based on the analysis of member customers' purchasing behavior, consumption habits and other information. Amazon analyzes customers' consumption characteristics and personal preferences through member customer information, members' web browsing habits and procedures, and uses this to formulate different strategies to serve different customers.
4 Network value
The network value of customers means that there is a business customer using your products and services. In order to facilitate business activities with him, the business customer’s customers also may adopt your products and services. In the same way, the customers of this business customer may also adopt your products and services, thus forming a networked consumption behavior. Based on the above understanding of customer value, companies attach great importance to maintaining and developing relationships with customers by changing business management concepts and using modern science and technology to provide customers with more satisfactory products or services. The focus of some advanced companies is undergoing a shift from product-centric to customer-centric.
(2) The pull of demand in the customer value realization process
Business with customers involves almost all departments of the company, but in many companies, the degree of informatization of sales, marketing and service departments Increasingly, it cannot adapt to the needs of business development. More and more enterprises require to improve the automation and scientificization of daily business of sales, marketing and service. This is the basis for the demand for customer relationship management. We often hear complaints from customers, sales, marketing and service personnel, and business managers.
1. Voice from the sales staff
It is difficult to find real customers from the customer leads provided by the marketing department, and I often spend a lot of time on these leads. Should I look for clues myself? It would be great if I could see the customer and product information on the company computer when I am on a business trip. I am facing an old customer this time. What price should I give him to retain him?
2 Voices from marketers
20 million was spent on marketing last year . How can I know the return rate of these 20 million? At the exhibition, we collected 4,700 business cards in one go. How to use them? At the exhibition, I distributed company information to more than 1,000 people. These people are interested in What is the perception of our product? How many of them have been in contact with sales? I should have more contact with those real potential buyers, but how do I know who the real potential buyers are? How do I know my colleagues in other departments? Contact information with customers to prevent sending the same information to customers repeatedly? More and more people have visited our site, but how can I know who these people are? We have many product lines, what do they want? What to buy?
3 Voices from service staff
In fact, many computer failures raised by customers are caused by their own misoperation. In many cases, they can be solved by themselves, but the answer to this question is These types of customer calls take up a lot of engineers' time, and the work is boring and boring; why do colleagues in other departments think that our after-sales service department only spends money but cannot make any money?
4 Questions from customers Sound
I got different quotations for the same product from two salespeople of the company. Which one is reliable? There is something wrong with the thing I bought before. These problems have not been solved. Why do they come again? Door-to-door sales? A month ago, I sent an email through the company's website, asking the sales staff to contact me. Why is it that no one has responded to me yet? I have already stated that I do not want a large number of promotional emails to be sent to me anymore. Why hasn't the situation changed? I signed up for a seminar that was posted on the company's website, but I haven't received the confirmation message. The seminar is going to be held in a few days, should I go or not? Why was my maintenance request made? It’s been a month, but still no door-to-door service?
5 Voices from Managers
A customer will come to discuss the final signing of the order in half an hour, but he has been following the order. He recently resigned, and as a sales manager, I don’t know anything about the ins and outs of contacting this customer. I’m really worried. There are three salespeople who have contacted this customer. As a sales manager, how do I know that they all What have you promised to your customers? Now that I have a big order in hand, as a sales manager, which salesperson should I send to feel confident? The technical requirements for product maintenance this time are very high. I am a new manager, which salesperson should I send to repair? What about personnel?
We are all familiar with these complaints and have become accustomed to taking an indifferent attitude towards these issues.
The above problems can be summarized into two aspects: first, it is difficult for the company's sales, marketing and customer service departments to obtain the required customer interaction information; second, the information from sales, customer service, marketing, manufacturing, inventory and other departments is scattered in Within the enterprise, this scattered information makes it difficult for various departments to have a comprehensive understanding of customers and face customers on the basis of unified information. This requires various departments to integrate various customer-oriented information and activities, form a customer-centered enterprise, and achieve comprehensive management of customer-oriented activities.