Until recently, company operations focused on matching products to market demand in order to achieve the highest possible sales. Today, this is no longer the best method and it is being replaced by a customer-oriented approach. Offers are tailored to the customer, and this does not just include the right goods or services; often, an attempt is made to provide the customer with additional benefits that will make them loyal to the company and bring it further profits.
This stems from the observation that a company incurs a lower cost of selling a given product to a regular customer than to an occasional one, where the cost of such a transaction can be up to six times higher. Therefore, the customer is now viewed as an element of the company’s assets, and maintaining contact with them has begun to play a major role in the strategy of many firms. As a company develops and expands its offerings and sales market, firms begin to use increasingly advanced marketing methods. To ensure these reach the right address—that is, a person who will respond positively to the message—market segmentation is performed according to many various criteria. In this way, many market segments are created, to which well-chosen marketing campaigns can be directed, increasing the chances of financial profit.
However, such an approach requires the company to collect a large amount of data, as well as to process it appropriately in order to obtain valuable information or analyses. It is also necessary to use a more advanced tool, which is a Customer Relationship Management system – CRM. This is a system that enables the determination and increase of customer value, as well as the appropriate means by which the best customers are motivated to be loyal, i.e., to make repeat purchases. Several areas of CRM system application in a company can be distinguished, depending on its needs and specifics.
The first application of CRM systems is in the area of marketing. In addition to supporting relationship marketing, the system enables cross-selling so that the customer perceives the transaction as beneficial to them, while at the same time bringing additional income to the company. Appropriate data can also motivate customers who are willing to pay more by purchasing larger packages or more expensive models. Well-thought-out actions can increase a given customer’s total ability to generate profit.
It is also possible to develop mechanisms and schemes that, based on collected data, allow for determining why customers resign from the company’s services and to develop actions that can prevent this. It is also possible to predict customer behavior.
Customers can also be divided according to their value to the company. The value of a customer who only makes purchases during promotions is different from the value of a customer who constantly buys the company’s goods and simultaneously brings in three subsequent buyers. All the above actions aim at maximum customer personalization and optimal adjustment of all relations with them to their personal preferences, so as to achieve the maximum marketing effect, translating into increased profit in the long term.
The second area of CRM system application is broadly understood customer service, i.e., handling the process in which contact occurs between the company and customers. The sales process itself, as well as subsequent customer loyalty, depends to a large extent on the quality of service during the transaction, but also on other factors, such as, for example, the company fulfilling all its promises. To cope with this task, many companies create special customer service centers.
Many questions are reported by the customer to the company by phone. It is important that every customer receives an individual response in the fastest possible time. One can also try to maximize the use of this short time of direct contact to propose another product to the customer while they are waiting, for example, one that complements a purchase already made. This applies not only to telephone contact but also to websites, where additional information can be easily posted.
A large field for display in the aspect of customer service is the possibility of contact with the company via the Internet. Often, obtaining information on a website can be faster and cheaper than by phone. The Internet also hosts so-called FAQ, or Frequently Asked Questions, where the customer can find the answer to their question among other most frequently asked questions. Contact with customers can also be carried out using chats with competent company employees.
Another no less important aspect of customer service is examining the degree of customer satisfaction through surveys conducted by phone, email, or on websites. Information collected in this way can be very useful in organizing the work of customer service centers. A large amount of information gathered in the system can also enable the development of conversation scripts, thanks to which two customers will not receive different information on the same topic. The CRM system also enables effective personnel management, thanks to the possibility of better work organization based on the analysis of contacts with the center.
CRM also gives the possibility of automating the work of salespeople. In this area, there is a large field for the application of new technologies, especially in the process of remote transmission of information from headquarters to field offices. Having up-to-date information by a salesperson driving to a client can significantly influence the choice of conversation tactics.
Until recently, salespeople’s knowledge about customers disappeared along with their departure from the company or transfer to another position. Today, thanks to extensive IT systems, much information can be saved in electronic form and used also by other interested persons. Thanks to data collected in the system, it is possible to manage the entire sales system depending on various factors, for example, region or customer value to the company. The system facilitates employees’ access to the company’s knowledge resources such as contract templates, forms, instructions, etc.
In the aspect of the system, it is very important to transmit information quickly and remotely using modern mobile devices such as laptops, palmtops, mobile phones, etc. This is also a condition for introducing the automation of tasks for employees working in the field, who can receive full information regarding their work in the region without the need for physical presence in the company, e.g., to pick up an order, relevant documentation, etc.
Thanks to CRM systems, companies can better manage their relationships with customers and employees. Currently, companies no longer mass-produce products with the assumption that everything will be absorbed by the market anyway; instead, thanks to competition, products have begun to be adapted to customer requirements. The days of long queues for goods are gone; today, it is the seller who courts the customer and tries to satisfy them as much as possible so that they return and make a purchase again. Applying CRM strategies in practice by a company can become an element of success for it, and for the customer – satisfaction.