After
having established a brand strategy and competitive positioning of a product or
service and having defined the sales process it is very important to find a
system that could help the company to manage its customer relationships and all
the useful information (see figure below). This system should allow the company’s
representatives track the steps each account goes through.
While using CRM “an enterprise might build
a database about its customers that described relationships in sufficient
detail so that management, salespeople, people providing service, and perhaps
the customer directly could access information, match customer needs with
product plans and offerings, remind customers of service requirements and know
what other products a customer had purchased.” Williams, 2006
In
your everyday life, while using the internet, you provide valuable information
for different companies through the sites you access. After studying the CRM
topic more thoroughly, I could see how often the information that we provide is
used without us actually realizing it. For example I am a usual user
of the IMDB.com website, when I search for movies to watch. Through their
platform, IMDB gathers the information about all the movies I searched, the
genres of films I prefer, the languages I understand (through the movies I
watch) etc. This information gave IMDB the possibility to offer me suggestions
about movies that could attract me. In this way IMDB creates a personal
approach to each of their customers, building a strong and efficient CRM.
At the same time, using social media has already
become a strong trend nowadays. It is a very powerful tool in the life of any
company and when handled properly, it can bring huge benefits to the business.
Companies benefit from this tool by being able to connect with the consumers,
receive their feedback, separate them into groups according to their needs and
approach them in a more suitable personal way.
All these advantages create high value for the businesses but also for
the customers who have the freedom of sharing reviews, have access to more
information about certain brands, companies, and can influence in a way the
activity of the company.
“While still associated with
teens and twenty-somethings, social networking is quickly catching on with
older generations. Many experts are now saying that in order for businesses to
stay competitive, they must start using social networking tools to stay in the
game.” AllThingsCRM
Therefore it easily perceived that social media could be a very useful
tool for companies, being able to link to the CRM of the company. The important
question here is how can social media be integrated within CRM?
While the social media tools are countless, this project will address
the most popular ones like: Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. “These sites can
not only provide another way to connect with an audience, but also help provide
deep insight into their lives, likes and dislikes wants and needs, and also
help to connect with potential customers.” CRMSocialMedia
Therefore companies create free accounts on Twitter and Facebook where
they get involved in two-ways communication with their customers.
Finally it is clear that a strong CRM is also a strong competitive advantage if used effectively. Social media is a very helpful tool when building the CRM.
Now that I found out more about the topic of CRM, I believe it is an
extremely interesting and also important topic, which must not be neglected by
any company. An advice for you: take care about what information you provide
without realizing it!
