GROUP PROJECT ON CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT (CRM)

CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT

PREPARED BY

NAME
y NIHARIKA DEVI

ROLL NUMBER
11202194

y SUMAN TRIPATHY

11202195

y ABHILASH MISHRA

11202196

y PANKAJ KUMAR PANDA

11202197

CLASS- MBA 1

SECTION C
SUBMITTED TO :- Prof. Ruchi Sharma

Date of submission : 05 August 2011

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CONTENTS
 INTRODUCTION  GOALS OF CRM  FUNCTIONS OF CRM  COMPONENTS OF CRM  FEATURES OF CRM  TYPES OF CRM  SUB MODULES IN CRM  VARIATION IN CRM  BENEFITS OF CRM  CHALLENGES IN CRM  SUMMERY

Introduction
Customer relationship management (CRM) is a widely-implemented strategy for managing a companys interactions with customers, clients and sales prospects. y It involves using technology to organize, automate, and synchronize business processesprincipally sales activities, but also those for marketing customer service and technical support. y The overall goals are to find, attract, and win new clients, nurture and retain those the company already has, entice former clients back into the fold, and reduce the costs of marketing and client service. y Customer relationship management describes a company-wide business strategy including customer-interface departments as well as other departments. Measuring and valuing customer relationships is critical to implementing this strategy. y

 Goals Of Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

Goals of CRM system is to learn more about customers needs and behaviors in order to develop stronger relationships with them, and to facilitate acquiring, enhancing and retaining customers. CRM system can be used in: y y y y Develop, maintain or improve customer relationships Capture customer interactions information and provide your customer-support teams a single integrated information of your customer Become customer-driven and therefore be successful Increase revenues and profits while lowering the costs of marketing, selling, and servicing your customers.

 Functions of CRM:
CRM in its broadest sense simply means managing all customer interactions. In practice, this requires using information about your customers and prospects. It helps you interact more effectively with your customers in all stages of your relationship with them. These stages are known as customer life cycle. The customer life cycle has three stages: 1. Acquiring customers 2. Increasing the value of the customer 3. Retaining good customers One of the primary functions of CRM software is to collect information about customers. As such, a company must consider the desire for customer privacy and data security as well as the legislative and cultural norms. Some customers prefer assurances that their data will not be shared with third parties without their prior consent and that safeguards are in place to prevent illegal access by third parties.

Components of CRM System

The CRM system basically consists of four components, they are: CRM Software: The core of a CRM system is module-based CRM software application. Each software module automates business activities pertaining to one functional area of the CRM. Common modules in CRM software system include customer contact management, direct marketing, sales automation, call centre applications and helpdesk module.

 Business Processes: Business processes within an organisation are grouped into three levels strategic planning, management control and operational control. While ERP has been promoted as solution for supporting or streamlining business processes at all levels, CRM systems are clearly designed to enhance management control and operational control in the chain of customer relationship. Users: The primary users of CRM systems are workers that perform management control and operational control. In an extended enterprise environment, the CRM users may include customers and business partners. Hardware and Operating Systems: UNIX is the most common operating system for running CRM software. Larger CRM systems are usually UNIX based. Windows NT and Linux are other popular operating systems to run CRM software.

Features of CRM
CRM is all about managing your customers, partners, vendors and other stakeholders efficiently. The CRM module provides a platform for enhanced customer service and customer satisfaction. All features from order acceptance, execution, delivery, and invoice issue to after-sales service can be routed through the CRM module. There are certain features that you should look for when you select an ERP CRM module for your organization. The CRM should be: A centralized communication platform Either a standalone or integrated module User-friendly Platform-independent Remotely accessible Capable of seamlessly integrating with other ERP modules Integrated with the service and sales management To further enhance the service delivery proposition, the CRM module can be integrated with mobile devices (smart phones and Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs)), enabling field personnel to access, administer and enter data directly into the system. CRM is not merely a technology; it is in fact the move towards serving your customers better and more efficiently. The top management should utilize CRMs complete potential to maximize the benefits for their organization.

Types of CRM
There are three main types of CRMs. They are Operational CRM, Collaborative CRM and Analytical CRM.

Operational CRM: This CRM deals with providing complete front office support to sales, marketing and similar services. Each customer interaction is recorded and added to customers history. This can be easily retrieved from database for future reference. The benefit of maintaining this customer interaction history is that the customers can easily communicate with the service personnel without having to repeat any of the earlier communication or information. This CRM is mainly useful in automating customer-centric processes and providing appropriate support to sales and marketing services. Hence, this CRM software is used popularly in call centres or Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) companies for supporting the call centre staff. Collaborative CRM: This CRM directly communicates with customers without the involvement of any sales or service representatives. This direct communication can be carried out through a variety of channels such as email, phone, SMS etc. Collaborative CRM includes: Providing efficient communication with customers across a variety of communications channels Providing online services to reduce customer service costs Providing access to customer information while interacting with customers
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This Collaborative CRM reduces the company costs and improves the services provided. Analytical CRM: This CRM analyses data (gathered as part of Operational CRM, or from other sources) in an attempt to identify means to enhance a companys relationship with its customers. The results of this analysis can be used to design targeted marketing campaigns, for example: Acquisition: Cross-selling, up-selling Retention: Retaining existing customers Information: Providing timely and regular information to customers

 Sub Modules in CRM

The functionality of a CRM system can be studied under three sub modules. They are Marketing, Service and Sales. All these modules are Operational, Collaborative and Analytical. Marketing module The functionalities of marketing module of CRM comprises short term execution of marketing related activities and long term planning within a company. It also helps in activities like campaign management, lead management, and planning. Marketing module enables your company to run marketing campaigns using different communication channels. This targets potential buyers using a product or a group of products as a message. It generates sales related opportunities which then can be converted into sales. Service Module The service module of CRM focuses on managing planned and unplanned customer service. This module helps in activities such as Service Order Management, Service Contract Management, Planned Services management, Warranty Management, Installed Base (Equipment) Management, Service-Level Agreement Management, Resource Planning and Scheduling and Knowledge Management Sales Module The sales module of CRM focuses on managing and executing the pre-sales process of the company by making it more organised. The sales teams in most companies are responsible for capturing opportunities and customer interaction. The CRM helps the sales team in processing this data and following-up it in the future. The CRM also helps in organising all relevant data received and captured for a deal, into one place. Some of the captured data can include expected budget, total spending, prospective customers, key players, products interested in, important dates and expected closing dates of a deal.

Each of these modules can be stand alone applications depending on organisational need. It is important that the right software is selected and implemented correctly. Then only any CRM can be effective.

 Variations in CRM
CRM module can be customised for specific business process. The following modules are a few variations in Operational CRM: Sales Force Automation (SFA) As the name implies, SFA system provides an array of capabilities to streamline all phases of the sales process, minimising the time spent on manual data entry and administration. This enables companies to successfully follow more customers in a shorter span of time. The heart of SFA is a contact management system for tracking and recording every stage in the sales process for each prospective customer. SFA automates a companys critical sales and sales force management tasks, such as forecasting, sales administration, tracking customer preferences, performance management, lead management, account management, contact management, and quote management. Enterprise Marketing Automation (EMA) The EMA systems for marketing help the enterprise identify and target its best customers and generate qualified leads for the sales team. A key marketing capability is managing and measuring multi channel campaigns including email, search, social media and direct mail. EMA also encompasses capabilities for managing customer loyalty, lists, collateral, and internal marketing resources. EMA provides information about the business environment, including information on competitors, industry trends, and macro environmental variables. EMA applications are used to improve marketing efficiency. Customer Service and Support (CSS) CSS automates certain service requests, complaints, product returns and enquiries. Organisations have recognised that customer service is an important differentiator. They are, therefore, increasingly turning to technology platforms to improve upon their customer relationship. A 2009 study revealed that only 39% of corporate executives believe their employees have the right tools and authority to solve customer problems. In fact, todays surplus customer service channels have prompted many companies to deploy integrated support applications that deliver knowledge-enabled solutions across all customer service channels. Implementing CRM

Many enterprises have derived great benefits from CRM. Some of them include dramatic increases in revenue, higher rates of customer satisfaction and significant savings in operating costs. However, choosing and implementing a system is a major task. The process of building CRM system can be divided into two phases: CRM selection and CRM implementation. Choosing a CRM System Although CRM is powerful software, many companies find that choosing the right CRM is a difficult task. Many companies realise that providing a high level of service to their partners and customers is an important factor of being successful in the market. Many small business owners have realised the importance of CRM for a long time, even if they were not familiar with the actual term and the extend of difference it can make to their businesses. Most small business owners realise that customers are the lifeline of their business, and hence they work hard to provide customers with the best service possible service. CRM is more important to large companies compared to smaller businesses. This is because large companies being so large that it is difficult for them to maintain a strong relationship with their customers. In many cases, both the employees and customers of large company often complain that the company "treats them like numbers." Smaller companies do not have this problem because their customers often interact with them on an individual basis. To choose a right and powerful CRM solution, a company must know what to look for. Following is a list of points to be considered: Understand the companys strategies and goals: This assists in picking a CRM solution that will help in becoming successful. Consider web based CRM: Internet has become a global tool and being used by more and more people everyday, companies that do not use it to their advantage are left behind. Check for product cost: Companies must purchase a CRM solution that is within their price range. It is not advisable to spend too much than what is actually required. Check for scalability: The CRM solution should be capable of adapting to changes and compliant to emerging technologies. Implementation time: The best CRM solutions are those which can be deployed within a short period of time. The sooner the system is implemented, the faster the company can improve both its quality and profits. Check for usability: The CRM solution should be user-friendly. Employees must be able to learn its usage within a short period of time.

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For all sizes of enterprises, a complete and detailed plan is required to obtain the funding, resources, and company-wide support. This can make the initiative successful. Benefits must be defined, risks assessed, and cost quantified in three general areas: Processes: Though CRM has many technological components, business processes is always its core. CRM is a more customer-centric way of doing business. This way of business is enabled by technology that consolidates and intelligently distributes pertinent information about customers, sales, marketing effectiveness, responsiveness, and market trends. Therefore, before choosing a technology platform, you need to analyse its business workflows and processes. Moreover, planners need to determine the types of customer information that are most relevant, and how best to employ them. People: For an initiative to be effective, you must convince your staff that change is good and that the new technology and workflows will benefit them as well as customers. Collaboration, teamwork, and two-way communication should be encouraged across hierarchical boundaries, especially with respect to process improvement. Technology: In evaluating technology, key factors include: Alignment with your companys business process strategy and goals The ability to deliver the right data to the right employees Ease of usage A chosen group of executives who understand the business processes to be automated as well as associated software issues must select the platform for CRM software. Selecting appropriate application can take a long time depending upon the size of the company and the volume of data. Implementation Issues The CRM technology should be implemented only in the context of careful strategic and operational planning. Implementations invariably fall short when one or more of the following aspects are ignored: Planning: Initiatives can easily fail when efforts are made only to choose and deploy software, without an accompanying rationale, context, and support for the workforce. In other instances, enterprises simply automate flawed customer-facing processes rather than redesign them according to the best practices. Working toward a solution: Organisations should overcome lack of communication and common goals among departments. Experts advise organisations to recognise the immense value of integrating their customer-facing operations. In this view, internally-focused, departmentcentric views should be discarded. This favours the reorienting processes toward informationsharing across marketing, sales, and service. For example, sales representatives need to know about current service issues and relevant marketing promotions before attempting to cross-sell to
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a specific customer. Marketing managers should be able to leverage customer information from sales and service to better target campaigns and offers. Integration: For many companies, CRM is a form of initiative that addresses a glaring need like improving a particular customer-facing process (via simple contact management or sales planning) or automating a favoured sales or customer support channel. Such point solutions offer little or no integration or no alignment with a companys overall strategy. This can result in customer dissatisfaction. Hence a seamless integration of these point solutions along with alignment to the companys business strategy is necessary for successful CRM implementation.

Benefits of CRM
An excellent CRM is the heart of every business success. With CRM, we can easily understand customer requirements, meet those needs effectively, predict market trends and enhance our business bottom line. A properly implemented CRM system can bring significant benefits to your organisations. System means, the complete consortium of 3 Ps, People (employees, culture), Procedures (way of doing business), and Programs (supporting applications and not just an application running on a computer). The advantages that a CRM can bring are: Shared or distributed data: Customer relationships are happening at many levels and not just through customer service or a web presence. They start to understand the need for sharing all available data throughout the organisation. A CRM system is an enabler for making decisions and follow-up at levels. Better customer service: All data concerning interactions with customers is centralised. The customer service department can greatly benefit from this because they have all the information they need. And through the use of push-technology, customer service representatives can lead the customer towards the information they need. The customer experience is greatly enhanced. Increased customer satisfaction: The customer feels that he is more "part of the team" instead of just a subject for sales and marketing. Customer service is better and the needs of the customer are anticipated and addressed. Many companies believe that more satisfied customers means a good predictor for repeat business. Better customer retention: If a CRM system can help to fascinate customers, it increases customer loyalty. Customers keep coming back to buy again and again. Hence, higher customer retention is assured More business: If you are delivering the ultimate customer experience, this seeds the word-ofmouth buzz, which brings in more new business. More profit: More business at lower cost equals more profit.
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Customer relationship management tools have also been of great help to companies in attaining their business objectives.

Challenges of CRM
Customer-centricity is the key to success in any business today. Building lasting customer relationship is a strategic advantage. Many companies around the world have leveraged CRM strategies to gain competitive advantage. As more and more companies rush to implement CRM, precautions must be taken to do it right. It is approximated that 50-70% CRM implementations fail. Hence, it is essential to identify the key challenges, and address them to build a strategy that can make your CRM successful. The key challenges that companies face are: Understanding CRM: CRM is not a software. It is a business strategy and is implemented using a software solution. The solution typically encompasses all customer facing departments like sales, marketing, customer service etc, of a company. Hence, CRM is a term collectively used to refer to a combination of business strategy and associated software. Getting clarity on objectives: What are the set of objectives the company wishes to achieve with CRM? Ensure that these objectives are listed. No core CRM team: Unlike other software implementations, IT team alone should not be expected to roll out a CRM system; it is very critical for companies to form a core CRM team which in addition to IT must draw participation from Top Management, Senior Executives of Sales, Marketing and Customer Service departments and finally the end-users. The costing: It is not unusual for CRM implementations to overrun costs and timelines. When assessing the costing, always calculate the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). There are two ways of getting CRM, the license model or the ASP (hosted) model. In the licensing model, licenses typically represent 9 - 18% of the TCO. The actual TCO needs to include the cost of hardware, software, engineering, operations, and AMCs etc. On the other hand, in the ASP model, a subscription fee represents the true TCO. Since ASP models offer a fully managed and a continuously evolving system, it also saves implementation time, upgrade costs and ownership hassles. Product evaluation metrics: In most companies, investment in IT is need-based. While shortlisting CRM products, it is essential to analyse overall capabilities of the product. As the company matures in its CRM initiative, the expectation from its CRM system multiplies. Getting user adoption: User Adoption is the key for success of any CRM. It is important to design effective training programs. This provides enough skills and understanding to employees to be able to effectively use the system. Ensure that the user interface is kept simple. Consultants often underestimate or miss the motivation user friendly interface can create.

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 Managing the application: Once the CRM has been rolled-out, it is important to re-align the working culture of teams around it. Define process: Clearly defined processes and their implementation and control are critical to the success of any CRM rollout. It is advisable to create a central depositary, accessible to all, which stores all the process definitions. Some key processes that need to be defined are Change Management process, Feature re-evaluation process, Success evaluation process, Business flows etc.

Summary
In todays world, ERP CRM can bring numerous business advantages to an organisation. Though the model is not entirely without risks, with a well-planned strategy and implementation framework companies can implement CRM successfully. This results in better productivity and customer satisfaction. CRM helps businesses use technology and human resources to gain insight into the behaviour of customers and the value of those customers. CRM begins with knowing your customer. The CRM module provides the perfect platform for enhanced customer service and customer satisfaction. All features, from order acceptance, execution, delivery, and invoice issue to aftersales service can be routed through the CRM module. To further enhance the service delivery proposition, the CRM module can be integrated with mobile devices (smart phones and PDAs), enabling field personnel to access, administer and enter data directly into the system while on the move. One of the primary functions of CRM software is to collect information about customers. As such, a company must consider the desire for customer privacy and data security as well as the legislative and cultural norms. Some customers prefer assurances that their data will not be shared with third parties without their prior consent and that safeguards are in place to prevent illegal access by third parties. The boundary of a CRM system is the boundary of extended enterprise that implements the CRM system.

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