Management - Implementation of Automated CRM Systems - Essay Example

?Mid Semester Test number What are differences in the three businesses that you can recognize from the above vignette? Catherine's Company George’s Company Alan’s Company Catherine's company works with clients indirectly – through its franchisees. For that reason it is difficult for the business to clearly identify its clients. Furthermore, since the business is a food chain, nearly everyone can, potentially, be its client. So the target market of the company is quite large. The company receives information about its customers from the franchisees. The company does not offer its clients any post-sales service of further support. Catherine's company is responsible for advertising campaigns for the business, thus it delivers the marketing message to customers directly. George’s company sells its products through builders, electrical retailers, and department stores. Therefore, the target market of this company is more definite than that of Catherine's business. Still, the business works with most of its clients indirectly. The target market is narrower than that of Catherine’s company. Though some clients are dealt with directly, most of the information the business can get about the end users may come from the retailers. The company offers its customers help repairing the goods and solving warranty issues. George’s company, though does implement some internal marketing, communicates its message to the customers through builders, electrical retailers, and department stores Alan’s company is a retailer of motor cars and, therefore, has direct contact with its customers. The target market is relatively narrow is even geographically bound. Nevertheless, the company’s salespeople closely work with the prospects. Therefore, the company, since has a direct communication with the customers, can gather information about them directly. The mechanics of the company are to help clients if they have any problems with the car after it’s purchased. Alan’s company’s direct responsibility is to implement its marketing strategies on its own. So company’s salespeople, in most cases, are the ones who deliver the marketing message to the clients. 2. How would these differences provide challenges for each general manager? Catherine’s and George’s companies have limited opportunities for receiving customer feedback. Such feedback, when integrated into the CRM process and communicated to the customer contact employees would improve the effectiveness of business-customers communication. In addition, frequent and more improved communication would improve customers’ efficiency in using the products of the companies and, as a result, increase the rates of customer satisfaction and loyalty. However, such improvements in communication would require the companies to improve their internal communication channels and modify communication processes for them to deliver more valuable information about the customers. For Catherine’s company this would mean imposing on the franchisees the responsibility to gather customers’ feedback. George’s company would have to work closer with its retailers in order for them to give information about the end users of the company’s products. Alan’s company would have to implement a program that would ensure customer feedback is gathered, analyzed and used properly. Among the advantages of closer and improved communication with the clients is, first of all, leads generation. More personalized approach to sales would enable all the three companies to receive information on the potential clients from the existing ones. It is especially appropriate for Alan’s business model. In addition, word of mouth – information exchange between people – is to be of a great help if the company’s clients are satisfied and loyal. At the same time, improving communication with the customers, as well as communication channels, would require each company to somewhat restructure their sales strategies and business structures. New forms of communication should be developed and used by each of the companies. This, in its turn, will cause the situation when a company has to deal with change and, of course, resistance to change. 3. What concepts from this unit would help each of the general managers to manage their business? A marketing audit is the very first step each of the companies should take in order to improve its CRM. A marketing audit would require a company to define and analyze its marketing strategies and activities with the purpose of improving them. This would involve an audit of marketing strategies, marketing structures and systems, productivity and marketing functions. All these activities will help the managers to get a clear understanding of how the marketing and CRM functions are implemented by company, to identify problematic areas and clearly define what in particular should be improved in order to improve the effectiveness of interaction with the customers. As the problems and some of the potential improvement strategies are identified, a new marketing plan should be created on their basis. It should incorporate the company’s mission and vision and reflect them in the improvement and development strategies. Such a plan would clearly outline the target market of the company, differentiate between the customers in order to determine the most perspective segment, and define strategies for implementing changes and monitoring the results. The plan’s objectives should, of course, be well communicated to all the segments of the business for all of them to work in cooperation. The major purpose of the plan, however, is to determine how the products of the company will be sold in order for the business to achieve the newly set goals of making business-customer interaction more effective. Then, on the basis of the marketing audit and marketing plan, an action plan should be created. This plan’s goal is to break large strategies into smaller tasks with definite deadlines. This will help the manager to control the fulfillment of the marketing plan and correct activities if needed. In addition, the action plan will help to measure how effective the new marketing activities are. 4. What broad strategies and tactics would you recommend for each business to build quality relationships within each business. Since Catherine’s company is a product-based selling company, it might wish to upgrade its marketing strategy to managed service and support structure. This would involve the company to introduce new operational techniques that would enable it to, first of all, effectively gather information from customers and, secondly, appropriately respond to the received data. The very first prerequisite for such a change would be a modified vision and mission statements of the business. Then certain processes of client-franchisees-company and back communication should be developed in order to effective serve the new goals. A good solution for George’s company would be to adopt a customer based marketing approach. This would help the company to get a better understanding of its customers’ needs and, consequently, the business will be able to meet those needs in a more effective manner. Certain strategies should be implemented in order for the customer-business interaction to become closer. This goal may be achieved with the help of upgraded levels of service and support. It might be recommended that the company provides clients that buy from its retailers an opportunity to contact the business directly. In addition, contact management and sales force automation systems might be useful tools for improving the CRM of the business. As for Alan’s company, its marketing is already customer-based. However, it is recommended that the company conducts such activities as analysis of customer profitability and loyalty in order to determine the target segment of the market. Then the customer-satisfaction oriented vision of the company should be communicated to all the employees. They might be offered new, based on customer satisfaction, remuneration policies in order to be motivated to satisfying the needs of the customers. Salespeople of the company should be encouraged to differentiate between the clients and even offer different clients different kinds of offerings. 5. What are the advantages of implementing a CRM program and how would this improve the ability of each general manager to manage their business? Among the advantages of implementing an effective CRM program is the fact that improved customer relation will lead to higher levels of customer satisfaction. Satisfied customers, in their turn, are more likely to become returning customers and more frequent users of the company’s product. These processes, consequently, will lead to higher sales and profit. Though in the process of program implementation cost efficiency is likely to decline because additional resources are needed for the program implementation, profit efficiency is sure to increase. In the process of preparing a good CRM program marketing audit of the company is carries out. This helps to identify the existing and potential problems of this business and, therefore, take timely measures to eliminate or avoid them. In addition, since implementation of a CRM programs involves introducing certain changes to the organizational operations, the overall structure of internal and external communication may be rethought and improved for it to correspond to and satisfy the needs of new business processes. A CRM program benefits the company in terms of clarification and remodeling of internal structures and processes for them to be more efficient. The program is also beneficial to the customers because they, if the program is being implemented effectively, can enjoy better service, more personalized treatment and more attention from the business. Implementation of automated CRM systems will help companies to communicate with the clients more effective. Salespeople, for instance, might need less time to close a deal. The company might get more prospects. All this leads to increases in sales and, as a result, revenue. Read More