INTRODUCTION OF CRM A Peep into the Past CRM first appeared in 1980s.

In the budding stage it was in the form of Customer Information System (CIS). This first generation applications were single function solutions designed to support a specific set of employees. Typical applications were at help desk, sales and marketing department, or a particular function within a call center. Then it shaped to Contact Management, Sales Force Automation (SFA), Call Center and Customer Contact Center(CCC). These CRM applications increased the functionality of the software. These applications offered inter-operable modules that included marketing, sales, analytics, customer service and call center support functions. Today it has matured to CRM and also Mobile CRM (m-CRM). The term CRM was first coined in early 1990s. It is a major strategic approach to customers and businesses are investing millions of dollars to acquire CRM services and solutions. It is the leading business strategy of the new millennium. Customer relationship management (CRM) is a model for managing a companys interactions with current and future customers. It involves using technology to organize, automate, and synchronize sales, marketing, customer service, and technical support Definitions (2) 1. A management philosophy according to which a companys goals can be best achieved through identification and satisfaction of the customers' stated and unstated needs and wants. 2.A computerized system for identifying, targeting, acquiring, and retaining the best mix of customers. Customer relationship management helps in profiling prospects, understanding their needs, and in building relationships with them by providing the most suitable products and enhanced customer service. It integrates back and front office systems to create a database of customer contacts, purchases, and technical support, among other things.

What is CRM CRM methodology enables the organization to understand the customers' needs and behavior better. It introduces reliable processes and procedures for interacting with customers and develop stronger relationships with them. The process helps organization in assimilating information about customers, sales, marketing effectiveness, responsiveness, and market trends. Then this information is used to give insight into behavior of customers and value of retaining those customers. The whole process is designed to reduce cost and increase profitability by holding on to the customer loyalty. A simple installation and integration of the software package doesn't ensure success. It has to be absorbed into the system. Employees have to be convinced about its positive attributes, then they have to be trained. The existing business processes have to be modified. The company has to decide what kind of information is to be collected about the customers, what is to be done with the information, and prioritize this accumulated information. The company must drill into this database of its customers and ascertain their buying patterns, product preferences, the potential for add on sales etc. A good strategy will be to integrate every area of touch point with customers like marketing, sales, customer service, and field support. This is achieved with the integration of the people, process, and technology in the business.

Advantages of CRM
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Reduces advertising costs Increases awareness of customer needs Tracks the effectiveness of promotional campaigns Allows competition for customers based on service, not prices

Prevents overspending on low-value clients and under spending on high-value ones Speeds the time it takes to develop and market a product Improves use of the customer channel

Objectives of CRM CRM, the technology, along with human resources of the company, enables the company to analyze the behavior of customers and their value. The main areas of focus are as the name suggests: customer ,relationship , and the management of relationship and the main objectives to implement CRM in the business strategy are:

To simplify marketing and sales process To make call centers more efficient To provide better customer service To discover new customers and increase customer revenue To cross sell products more effectively Understand customer needs better Maintain long--term customer relationships Be able to pursue a strategy of Relationship Marketing

Main Objectives of CRM

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Customer Retention - retain loyal and profitable customers and channels Customer Acquisition - acquire customer based on known characteristics which drive growth and increase margins Customer Profitability - increase individual customer margins by offering the right product at the right time Uses Technology to: Collect Sort Integrate customer data

Benefits The following are the benefits of adopting CRM processes:

Develop better communication channels Collect customer related data Create detailed profiles of individual customers Increased customer satisfaction Access to customer account history, order information, and customer information at all touch points Identify new selling opportunities Increased market share and profit margin Increased revenues More effective reach and marketing Improved customer service and support Improved response time to customer requests for information Enhanced customer loyalty Improved ability to meet customer requirements Improved quality communication and networking Reduced costs of buying and using product and services Better stand against global competition

Implementation To implement CRM, following factors need to be given due consideration:

- Easy interaction between customers and company, enhancing quick response to customers' request and suggestions - Easy access to information about company like content of customization, advantages of the company, benefits doled out to the customers. This establishes profitable relationships with the customers based on mutual trust and respect - Abundant supply of customer information which have been accumulated and integrated from different channels - Grow with customers i.e. customers' information should be updated along with the passage of time - Have cordial relationship with other companies targeting the same customer segment. Thus giving relevant solution to customers' need and increasing acknowledgement to customers

- Customers' information must be segmented to provide support for customization based on personalized information i.e. tailoring the company's product and services accordingly

Improvement in customer relationships increases customer loyalty, decreases customer turnover, increases sales revenue, and decreases marketing costs, thus increasing profit margins.

The CRM processes should fully support the basic steps of customer life cycle . The basic steps are:

Attracting present and new customers Acquiring new customers Serving the customers Finally, retaining the customers

Five Step Process for CRM CRM is the acronym commonly used for customer or client relationship management. CRM refers to a process used by an organization to learn more about its consumers and to improve marketing productivity. The goal of any business is to derive maximum profitability from its customer base. The CRM value chain describes the process that a business must have in place to gain the profitability wanted from customers. Five key steps are necessary for the successful implementation of a CRM strategy, and are commonly referred to as "the five step process for CRM." Customer portfolio analysis

This first step involves analysis of your organization's customer base to determine what groups and kinds of customers are the most profitable. This will define your organization's target customer base. Customer intimacy is the process of getting familiar with the individual customers within the organization's target customer base. Relationship building is

predicated upon how well you know your customer and that includes everything from buying habits to when their birthday is. Every interaction with a customer is an opportunity to improve customer intimacy and learn more about your target market. This step usually includes building a customer database to store the gathered information.

Network development refers to the identification and development of strong relationships with organizations, networks and people that are critical to your success in servicing your customers. These relationships will include external partners such as suppliers and investors, as well as internal partners, your employees. Value proposition development This step builds on the information gathered while working on customer intimacy. Once you have identified your target customer, you can move forward and create a tailored value proposition for this customer. In creating value for your customer, your value proposition must also create value for your organization. Customer life cycle management The customer life cycle refers to the ideal customer journey: from potential client to product/service advocate. It also relates the continuing relationship you maintain with your customer. Managing this cycle requires structure and attention to process. Your organization must determine how it will organize itself to effectively manage customer relationships (structure). As well, thought must be given to determining how your organization will approach customer acquisition and retention, as well as the performance measurement of your CRM strategy (process).