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Customer Service Information |
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CRM - Its Relevance
In today's demanding economy, the first line of any business during economic uncertainty is to get closer to the customer. Customers often want information along with a quote or invoice on the spot. With lack of information, the customers do not fix loyalty to a particular product or service and tend to depend on impulse decision. The companies are no exception to this. In the process "hot prospects" turn ice cold. Speed of information flow and speed of converting information into prospect are vital factors for survival. So access to data is a must. E-business has revolutionized the way for business to interact with customers. What is CRM? Business's effort to get closer to a customer is considered Customer / Constituent Relationship Management (CRM). CRM is a concept that combines management thought and business practices. CRM is about developing, implementing business strategies through supporting technologies to narrow down the gap between an organization's current and potential performance in terms of customer acquisition, growth, and retention. The sole purpose of CRM is to connecting the company to its customers and providing direct support. It is an effort of the business to personalize, source business intelligence and warehousing customers' requirements. CRM is re-designing of functional activities to drive the process of re-engineering. Its focus is on managing and optimizing the entire customer life cycle. Customer / Constituent Relationship Management (CRM) encompass the totality of the business processes that an organization performs to identify, select, acquire, develop and retain its customers. CRM encompass a wide breadth of functionality. CRM improves Return on Assets. The asset in this case is the customer and potential customer base. In other words, Customer / Constituent Relationship Management (CRM) refer to management of all interactions with the customer that an enterprise indulges in. Why CRM? Today, enterprises are finding that they no longer have the initiative. Customers are now empowered by ready access to information and have greater access to businesses than ever before they are demanding. It is essential to excel with each customer by sales, service agents, traditional face-to-face interaction, while contacting by phone, fax, and e-mail correspondence. Management is interested in improving productivity, profitability and enhancing management/operational information and reduction in cost of handling customers. The organisation is interested in high powered continuous information for analysis. CRM aims in improving the ability to plan and use finite resources, increase customer support, improve the customer experience, improve morale for customer support personnel and reduce the cost of providing service and support. CRM integrates all the different requirements of different functions to that of customer's requirements by co-coordinating and unifying all points of interaction to provide a big and better picture on customer satisfaction. This functionality is portrayed as: ? CRM (Customer / Constituent relationship management), ? CRM process management, and ? CRM access management. CRM is critical to all industries, a dominant business driver. CRM based business objectives are for improving customer service, enhancing customer relationships and reducing distribution (channel) costs. Customer / Constituent Relationship Management (CRM) helps an enterprise build a database about its customers. Therefore, management, and functionaries of management could access information about all areas for value addition. Benefits of CRM ? To develop and design strategy for their business ? To develop business intelligence ? To develop innovative solution ? To improve customer service relationships as a competitive differentiator. ? To integrate customers' view in changing market conditions ? To achieve business objectives, increase service level commitment ? To provide investment protection by increasing profitability, productivity & cost reduction. ? To re-engineer business strategies. ? To transform business. ? To transform to a common form of user interaction with the enterprise. ? To identify primary determinants of loyalty. ? To understand the reason why customers defect. Hurdles in implementation: ? Lack of awareness, ? Affordability ? Slow adoption rate, ? Lack of proper databases ? Usage of old processes ? Implementation of CRM in a phased manner. ? CRM is seen only as a technology that automates certain processes ? Lack of understanding of the concept Conclusion There are many reasons why CRM has not taken a leap. Though there are technologies and systems to gather useful information about their customers, they either not use the system to collect information or do not use the collected information. CRM solutions are seen among many as just a software packages for call centre management and not as a strategic initiative to customer relationship management. An effective CRM is the one that enables an organization to easily gather critical information that becomes a valuable resource for improving both the top (revenue) and the bottom (profit) lines. The top line is improved by increasing sales through better data management, and improving marketing effectiveness by collecting, analyzing, and using valuable customer information. The bottom line is improved by reducing service times and costs, and by improving the general productivity of the staff. Some realise the importance of service as a differentiator due to stringent competition. It is service that drives organization to CRM solutions. This will only change when management truly understands and is committed to CRM as a way of doing business. A total appreciation of CRM is gaining momentum. J. Solomon Prabakar
MORE RESOURCES: AI Chatbots Are Ready to Talk to Customers. Sort of. The Wall Street Journal Pricing, AI, DPA, Customer Service Tools; Bill Emerson Interview; Training This Week; STRATMOR CD Workshop Mortgage News Daily Samsung Electronics Canada Customer Service Wins Bronze in ‘Best Use of Omni Channel' at International CX Awards 2024 Yahoo Finance Qme secures $3M funding to streamline customer service across Africa Techpoint Africa Building Competitive Advantage in Customer Care Through AI The Business of Fashion 311 Customer Service Center City and County of San Francisco FTC Finalizes Order with H&R Block Requiring Them to Pay $7 Million and Overhaul Advertising and Customer Service Practices for 2025 and 2026 Tax Seasons Federal Trade Commission News Ikea expands integration with assembly services platform Chain Store Age JEA is inviting bids for 19-story downtown tower that used to be its headquarters The Florida Times-Union Consumers Demand Enterprises Modernize to Improve Ailing Customer Experience, Says Research Business Wire American Lamprecht Enhances Visibility for Air and Ocean Shipments Using Descartes Solution Supply Chain Dive Women in Fintech: A Conversation About Loyalty Ecosystems in Financial Services with Becky Hill Finovate Neterra Enhances Its Customer Service Monitoring System Total Telecom Gladly Named a Leader in Constellation ShortList™ for Digital Customer Service and Support PR Newswire QueueKiosk™: Saving Thousands of Active-Duty Man Hours & Improving Customer Service at the MPF Office Kiosk Marketplace Finally, hard data on a real-world AI business use case: It’s huge for customer service Sherwood News Liverpool reinvents customer service through digital platform ComputerWeekly.com CSPI & Nutrition Action Customer Service CSPI Newsroom Firm to expand customer service in Yorkshire with new service centre Golf Business News Textron Aviation to Open New Service Facility at Essendon Fields Airport, Expanding Capabilities in Australia Pittsburg Morning Sun Help Department of Taxation and Finance Six Game-Changing AI Customer Service and CX Strategies Hospitality Net Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP) New York State Department of Health Cigna's customer-centric strategy could ripple across the sector Modern Healthcare Major AI Success Story: Giftify Achieves 40% Faster Customer Response Times with Enterprise AI StockTitan Contact Us About Your Bill myclearwater.com Customer Service Center apps.tampagov.net 311 - Birmingham’s Customer Service Center City of Birmingham (.gov) Palm Coast Utility Department Celebrated for Enhanced Customer Service City of Palm Coast DESCO's meeting held to enhance customer service and power reliability The Business Standard 70% of customer service to rely on AI by 2028: Gartner Outsource Accelerator Customer Service & Support Hillsborough County (.gov) My experience as a Customer Service and Sales Intern Toby Shapiro's Experience at A.D. Sutton and Sons Chapman University 3 Ways To Quickly Make $50 GOBankingRates Delta’s annual profit-sharing day spotlights ‘people first’ strategy The Atlanta Journal Constitution Welcome to Riverside Public Utilities City of Riverside (.gov) Celebrate Customer Service Week City of Riverside (.gov) Which companies have the best customer service? Amazon, Shein, Costco among top-rated brands USA TODAY Con Edison Proposes Investments to Meet Growing Demand for Clean Energy, Enhance Customer Support T&D World Fulton County Recognized as a 2024 National Customer Service All Star Fulton County Government Contact Reverb Support Reverb Charter Names Robyn Tolva Senior Vice President, Customer Service Reliability | Charter Charter Communications America's Best Customer Service 2025 Newsweek 8 strategies for using AI for customer service in 2025 Sprout Social Attorney General Bonta Demands Better Customer Service for Californians California Department of Justice AI for Customer Service Market worth $47.82 Billion by 2030 - Exclusive Report by MarketsandMarkets™ PR Newswire Can artificial intelligence rescue customer service? The Economist Permits–customer services King County Lifeline Support for Affordable Communications Federal Communications Commission Shep Hyken, HPU Customer Service Expert, Mentors Students and Staff High Point University Department of Transportation Governor Tom Wolf President Biden Announces New Customer Service Actions, Targets Subscriptions and ‘Doom Loops’ CX Today 11 key elements of excellent customer service Business.com Launch of New Districtwide Customer Service Platform The School District of Philadelphia Summer EBT | Department of Human Services Governor Tom Wolf Video Quick Take: Intercom’s Brian Donahue on How AI Agents Can Be Your First Tier of Customer Service Support HBR.org Daily |
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