CRM in digital era

The important aspect of marketing is CRM which is maintaining the relationship with customer. The important aspect of marketing is CRM which is maintaining the relationship with customer. But with new technologies developing and specially with increasing use of software in every operation of the company CRM is no exception.

It is to be noted that the three major components of CRM – marketing, sales & customer service have all to be co-ordinated so that customer remains loyal. Extensive research on identification of stakeholders and suitable strategy for each stakeholder has been done which gets complex with advent of new age technologies with use of Big data & Analytics and how are useful insights can be derived for customer retention.

CRM is simply not Big Data

But there lies the problem like many companies are so much baffled with “big data” phenomena that they get diverted on the fundamental job that they are supposed to perform i.e. marketing. Similarly many experts have pointed that installing CRM tools is good but it is more critical to have a proper CRM strategy in place that will help company in what they want which only justify investment of CRM tools acquisition.

The direct marketing to targeted customer got a big boost with rise in mobile technology and gradually value added services with evolution of smart phones. This has taken CRM to the next level. Usually marketer had to spent a lot in physical mail or in other media where the effective PR can be done like in public events or exhibitions.

Human Touch to CRM

However using the mobile technology as well digital media now individual customer can be reached directly using apps, e-mail & social media etc. But in spite all these channel it has been analysed using these CRM tools that   human interaction and follow up is very critical. . If the company does not indulge in it then they will never get loyal customer. Whether it is after sales service or follow up offer on new season this need to be done using a sound strategy so that customer remains continuously engaged. The various research studies and many marketing companies have realised and documented over a period of time that cost of retention of customer is much less than acquiring new customer.

D-Amies Technologies clearly explain the process below

CRM Process- People Orientation

So in order to achieve the primary objective there should be uniform knowledge dissemination across the company like sales department who directly deal with customer, should be appraised of latest trends in order to achieve more effective communication with customer.

CRM – Integration must for Effectiveness

In context of the CRM tools available they are a comprehensive package which caters to every aspect which is to be looked upon. They are very useful in understanding the business process and systems which generate maximum user value. Therefore it is very necessary that these tools are completely integrated with ERP systems of the company because then only seamless flow of data will be possible which help in richer data analytics.  .  The major purpose of integration is that during its marketing research process companies study user experiences as well as identifying those attributes which was responded well by the customers.

Therefore in this dynamic market with ever changing technology and customer preferences all companies have to focus on the fundamental aspect of market which is maintaining the relationship with customer and the employees have to get directly involved in it  since any technology like mobile or digital cannot in any way replace the human touch. The available CRM tools should be used to analyse and then strategize a plan but it is necessary that that company should execute it the way it is required to be executed so that customer can be retained and a proper value is generated. 

Always remember customer will remember you by your actions not by the software you possess.