Customer Relationship Management as a Customer-Centric Business Strategy

CRM is fundamentally essential for the future of the company. CRM technologies enable the company to understand customer behavior better, predict their future behavior, deliver customized customer experience, and establish long-term customer relationships. However, considering that CRM is only limited with technology would be a big mistake for the company. Companies cannot deliver outstanding customer value, service, and experiences only through investing in CRM technologies. Strategic integration of CRM philosophy into company culture and operating processes are required to deliver superior customer service and experience. In the absence of CRM strategy, companies fail to harvest the benefits of CRM. The main purpose of this chapter is to discuss the characteristics as well as the strategic objective of CRM strategy. This chapter explains the customer life cycle management and proposes a holistic framework for customer life cycle management. This chapter ends with discussing the strategies to turn customers into assets and create devoted customers.

A Framework for CRM

This chapter aims to develop a framework for CRM in order to understand CRM concepts and ecosystem better. To achieve this aim, this chapter starts with giving definitions of CRM from different perspectives. Reviewing the definitions of CRM reveals the essential pillars of CRM implementation. A well-developed CRM implementation framework can help companies see the big picture and develop successful CRM implementations. This chapter explains the vision and strategy; customer value proposition and customer experience; organizational culture and customer centric processes; and enabling technologies and information management as the fundamental components of a successful CRM initiative. After mentioning the benefits of CRM implementations, this chapter continues with analysing the architecture of the CRM ecosystem. Key functionalities and the role of analytical, operational, and collaborative CRM in managing relationships are also clarified. This chapter ends up with discussing the functionalities of CRM technologies in understanding customers, customer targeting, customer acquisition and retention, and customer service and support.

The Evolution of Relationship Marketing Orientations

There has been a shift in the business focus from transactional to relationship marketing. Companies have been increasingly implementing relationship-marketing practices in order to survive in highly competitive markets. The main objective of this chapter is to understand the emergence of the relationship-marketing orientations. This chapter starts with examining the marketing practices of the pre-industrial, industrial, and post-industrial periods with the purpose of demonstrating that relationship orientation in the post-industrial era is rebirth of marketing practices of the pre-industrial age. After outlining the factors that cause re-emergence of relationship orientation in the post-industrial era, the emergence of the relationship-marketing school of thought is briefly discussed. This chapter ends with comparing the transactional marketing practices with relationship marketing practices.

Customer Retention Strategies and Customer Loyalty

Since loyal customers are the most important assets of a company, companies have been giving attention to developing customer retention and loyalty programs. The fundamental purpose of customer retention efforts is to ensure maintaining relationships with value-adding customers by reducing their defection rate. Creating customer loyalty is essential for the survival of the company in highly competitive markets. Thus, this chapter starts with indicating the significance of customer retention marketing strategies for the company by revealing the economics of retention marketing programs. Requirements for developing effective customer retention strategies are explained. Finally, after discussing types of commitment, this chapter ends by explaining loyalty programs and win-back strategies.

Managing Relationships in Business Markets and Role of Information Communication Technologies

Companies can deliver superior customer value through managing their relationships in business markets. Information communication technologies play a critical role in developing effective relationships in business markets. This chapter starts with analysing the nature of relationships in business markets and continues with identifying the determinants of relationship development process in business-to-business markets. Commitment, trust, cooperation, mutual goals, interdependence and power, performance satisfaction, structural bonds, existence of alternatives, adaptation, non-retrievable investments, shared technology, and social bonds are explained as essential determinants for continuation of business relationships. After indicating the significance of value-creating business alliances and networks in customer value creation, main motivations for forming strategic business alliances are outlined. Factors that are critical for the establishment of successful ongoing supplier-customer relationships are also analysed. This chapter ends up with discussing the impact of ICTs on value-creating networks.

The Conceptual Framework of Relationship Marketing

Relationship marketing has been receiving widespread attention in the business world as well as in the literature. Different streams of marketing handle the concept of relationship marketing from their perspective; because of this reason, various definitions of relationship marketing have emerged in the marketing literature. This chapter aims to review the different definitions of relationship marketing and provide a comprehensive understanding of the relationship marketing concept. Based on the literature, basic constituents of relationship marketing have been analysed in a detailed way. This chapter handles the relationship marketing concept beyond the typical supplier-buyer relationships and analyses all collaborative relationships that allow companies to deliver superior customer value. Main motivations of customers to engage in a relationship and their relationship termination reasons are also examined. This chapter ends with identifying the facilitators and barriers for relationship marketing success.

Customer Acquisition Management Strategies

Achieving customer retention and loyalty is vital for the success of the company; however, acquiring new customers has to be considered equally significant to the customer retention process. Since the company's ability to grow its customer base determines the long-term success of the company, companies need to consider customer acquisition as an ongoing process. Customer acquisition management process involves identifying, attracting, and retaining potentially profitable customers. This chapter starts with examining the phases of the lead management process. Understanding customers is seen as important for effective lead management. After explaining the lead generation and lead nurturing within the context of lead management, this chapter ends up with underlining the importance of lead management automation for customer acquisition.

Customer Service in Digital Era and Role of Internal Markets

Enterprises require focusing on managing relationships in internal markets because internal marketing activities play a critical role in creating an organizational climate that supports customer relationship management strategies. The main objective of this chapter is to identify requirements for creating customer-centric culture in organizations. Customer service can cause the success or failure of a company; hence, the role of internal market in service profit chain cannot be ignored. After explaining the significance of the service profit chain for the company, the chapter continues with clarifying the role of customer experience management in creating customer retention. In this chapter, creating customer-keeping culture, getting 360 degrees of customer insight, using big data and predictive analysis, engaging customers through social media, and managing experience across multi-channels are explained as requirements for achieving excellence in customer service experience. This chapter ends up with discussing the characteristics of customer service in the digital era and key business trends about the future of customer service.

Marketing Strategies in Competitive Markets and Challenging Times

The challenging times and competition pose a serious threat to the survival of enterprises. The main objective of this chapter is to discuss the marketing strategies that help enterprises to continue their financial health in challenging times such as during the period of recessions or in rapidly changing competitive markets. A framework of strategies, which may enable enterprises to sustain and thrive their profitability in challenging and competitive markets, is proposed based upon the strategies on which the literature has reached a broad consensus. The proposed marketing strategies for challenging and competitive markets include creating customer value, differentiation and innovation, finding alternative ways to price cut, emphasizing brand value, maintaining marketing and advertising, focusing on targeted marketing communication, reviewing and measuring marketing budget effectiveness, understanding marketplace, developing strategies based upon customer insight, becoming customer-centered, focusing on customer retention and loyalty, and re-evaluating and prioritizing customer segments.