CONCEPT OF CRM

According to Gartner , A business strategy designed to optimize profitability, revenue and customer satisfaction. It refers to a business strategy that enables organizations to better serve the needs of their customers. It encompasses a number of technologies used to streamline customer interaction, which helps in finding, acquiring, and retaining customers.

EVOLUTION OF CRM
CRM has gone through various development stages, which are as follows:
Stage I: Refers to the first stage where, CRM is used as a functional approach and involves only two aspects, namely Sales Force Automation (SFA) and Customer Service and Support (CSS). Stage II: Refers to the second generation of CRM. In this stage, CRM was used to support front-office activities and fulfill the requirements of customers. Stage III: Refers to the third generation of CRM. In this stage, organizations realized the need of integrating front -office CRM systems with back-office CRM systems.

OBJECTIVES OF CRM
The following are the main objectives implementing a CRM system in an organization: Simplifying marketing and sales processes Providing better customer service Acquiring new customers and retaining the existing ones Improving organizational efficiency and productivity Reducing operational costs of

BENEFITS OF CRM
The following are some other advantages of CRM: Establishing effective communication channels Gathering information related to customers Creating detailed profiles of individual customers Achieving a high level of customer satisfaction Tracking new sales opportunities Increasing market share and profit margins Enhancing customer loyalty Fulfilling customer requirements

MISUNDERSTANDINGS ABOUT CRM

Some of these misunderstandings about CRM are as follows: CRM is a database of customers CRM is only a part of marketing department CRM is too technical to learn CRM is a promotional tool

BARRIERS TO CRM IMPLEMENTATION

Lack of Guidance

Employee Problems

Barriers to CRM Implementation

Integration Problem

Inaccurate Data

T YPES OF CRM
Based on its dif ferent applications, CRM can be classified into four main categories, which are:

Types of CRM

Operational CRM

Analytical CRM

Sales Intelligence CRM

Collaborative CRM

CONTD
Operational CRM: Provides suppor t to the front -of fice operations of an

organization, such as sales and marketing. It can be of two types

namely, Enterprise Marketing Automation ( EMA ), and Sales Force Automation ( SFA ). Analytical CRM: Helps an organization analyze the collected information and take various product related decisions. Sales Intelligence CRM: Indicates is a tool used by an organization to optimize and evaluate key sales processes. Collaborative CRM: Refers to an approach of managing customer relationships in which the various depar tments of an organization share information that they collect while dealing with customers.

CRM IN FRONT-OFFICE AND BACK-OFFICE OPERATIONS

Operations of an organization

Front-office Operations

Back-office Operations

The front-of fice operations of an organization are the activities that involve direct interaction with customer s, such as sales and marketing. The back -of fice operations of an organization do not require direct customer interaction; rather they suppor t the front -of fice operations. For

example, human resource management,and information technology.

RECAP
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is a tool that helps an organization to strengthen relationships with its customers. It is essential for an organization to establish clear CRM objectives prior to its implementation.

CRM can be classified into four main categories such as,

Operational CRM, Analytical CRM Collaborative CRM. , Sales Intelligence CRM , and

The operations of an organization are divided into two types,

namely front-office operations and back-office operations.

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