PROMOTION STRATEGIES OF CUSTOMER

RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT (CRM)

ABSTRACT

In an era of rapidly changing technology and increasing reliance on the web, lasting customer
relationship are critical to thrive in the market place, reorganizing company has become competitive
mandate, not an option. e-CRM is just the right way to go about it. The need for e-CRM is dictated
primarily by the new global electronic economy. CRM is a well defined business strategy, is a fusion of
series of functions, skills, processes and technologies which together allows companies to more
profitably manage (acquire and retain) customers as tangible assets. Customer relationship
management is a management approach to understanding and influencing customer behavior by
managing relationships through meaningful communication to improve customer turnover. Today, the
tone of the conversation has changed from customer acquisition to retention. This requires a different
mindset and a different and new set of tools. A good thought experiment for an executive audience is to
ask them how much they spend and/or focus on acquisition versus retention activities. While it is
difficult to perfectly distinguish the two activities from each other, the answer is usually that acquisition
dominates retention. It is a business philosophy and set of strategies, programs, and systems that
focuses on identifying and building loyalty with a retailer’s most valued customers. The essence of the
information technology revolution and, in particular, the World Wide Web is the opportunity to build
better relationships with customers than has been previously possible in the offline world. By combining
the abilities to respond directly to customer requests and to provide the customer with a highly
interactive, customized experience, companies have a greater ability today to establish, nurture, and
sustain long-term customer relationships than ever before.

Keywords: CRM, e-CRM, Customer, Retention, Strategy

Introduction
 The essence of the information technology revolution and, in particular, the World Wide Web is
the opportunity to build better relationships with customers than has been previously possible in the
offline world. By combining the abilities to respond directly to customer requests and to provide the
customer with a highly interactive, customized experience, companies have a greater ability today to
establish, nurture, and sustain long-term customer relationships than ever before. The ultimate goal is
to transform these relationships into greater profitability by increasing repeat purchase rates and
reducing customer acquisition costs. Indeed, this revolution in customer relationship management or
CRM has been referred to as the new “mantra” of marketing. Companies. The need to better
understand customer behavior and focus on those customers who can deliver long-term profits has
changed how marketers view the world. Traditionally, marketers have been trained to acquire
customers, either new ones who have not bought the product category before or those who are
currently competitors’ customers. This has required heavy doses of mass advertising and price-oriented
promotions to customers and channel members.

The concept of customer relationship management has gained its importance in marketing
domain. Although it is difficult to make a totally approved definition of CRM, we can generally describe it
as a comprehensive strategy including processes of, retaining and partnering with selective customers to
create value for both the company and customers. Today, the tone of the conversation has changed
from customer acquisition to retention. This requires a different mindset and a different and new set of
tools. A good thought experiment for an executive audience is to ask them how much they spend and/or
focus on acquisition versus retention activities. Based on the philosophy that retailers can increase their
profitability by building relationships with their better customers, the goal of CRM is to develop a base
of loyal customers who patronize the retailer frequently. In other words, it is the process of developing
and managing long term relationships with customers so that they will keep coming back make repeat
purchases. 70 percent of the average company’s sales come from present customers. It makes more
sense to focus resources on keeping the best customers than to spend than chasing fair weather
customers who will defect to any better deal that comes along. Customers have a life time value to a
business and that keeping the best customers over time may be a company’s greatest sustainable
advantage.

CRM means different things to different people. For some, CRM means direct e-mails. For
others, it is mass customization or developing products that fit individual customers’ needs. For IT
consultants, CRM translates into complicated 4 technical jargon related to terms like OLAP (on-line
analytical processing) and CICs (customer interaction centers). A major purpose of this paper is to
provide a managerially useful, end-to-end view of the CRM process from a marketing perspective. The
basic perspective taken is that of the customer, not the company. In other words, what managers need
to know about their customers and how that information is used to develop a complete CRM
perspective.

This change in perspective is supported by research indicating that it costs three to six times
more to sell products and services to new customers than to existing customers and that small increase
in customer retention can lead to dramatic increases in profits.

The objective of CRM is more than having customers make repeat visits to a retailer and being
satisfied with their experiences. Customer loyalty to a retailer means that customers are committed to
purchasing merchandise and services from the retailer and will resist the activities of competitors
attempting to attract their patronage. They have a bond with the retailer, and the bond is based on
more than a positive feeling about the retailer.

Programs that encourage repeat buying by simply offering price discounts can be easily copied
by competitors. In addition, these types of price-promotion programs encourage customers to always
look for the best deal rather than develop a relationship with one retailer. However, when a retailer
develops an emotional connection with a customer, it is difficult for a competitor to attract that
customer.

Emotional connections develop when customers receive personal attention. For example, many
small, independent restaurants build loyalty by functioning as neighborhood cafés, where waiters and
waitresses recognize customers by name and know their preferences.

CRM PROCESS

CRM is a process that turns customer data into customer loyalty through four activities:

1. Collecting customer data: The process begins with the collection and analysis of data about a
retailer’s customers and the identification of target customers.
2. Analyzing the customer data and identifying target customers: The analysis translated the
customer information into activities that offer value to the targeted customers.
3. Developing CRM programs: The activities are executed through communication program
undertaken by the marketing department. Having segmented customers according to their future
profit potential, the next step in CRM process is to develop programs for the different customer
segments.
4. Implementing CRM programs: Customer service programs implemented by customer contact
employees, typically sales associates.
Customer Retention: There are four approaches that retailers use to retain their best customers:

1. Frequent shopper programs

2. Special customer services
3. Personalization
4. Community
Till recently, most marketers focused on traditional modes of marketing to segment and
acquire new customers from its target segments, using the tools and techniques developed for
mass marketing in the industrial era, as a way to engender growth. In the present competitive
era, this is highly ineffective. Today, there is a different approach to business that involves
relationship marketing, customer retention and cross-selling, leading to customer extension,
which is a far cry from the traditional segmentation models. The relative and marked emergence
of CRM as a business strategy has radically transformed the way organizations operate. There
has been a shift in business focus from transactional to relationship marketing where the
customer is at the center of all business activity and organizations are now desperately trying to
restructure their processes around the needs of their strategically significant customers. The
critical driver of such a dramatic shift towards customer orientation is the realization that
customers are a business asset that when managed effectively can derive continuous and
sustainable economic value for an organization over their lifetime.

The dynamics of the business ecosystem have changed the way in which companies do business
both in relationship management and the streamlining of their operations. Relationship management is
emerging as the core business activity for companies operating in fiercely competitive environments.
On an average, business spends six times more to acquire new customers than to keep them.
Therefore, many firms are now paying more attention to their relationships with existing customers to
retain them and increase their share of customer’s purchases.
Customer retention strategies

The cost of acquiring customers is nine to ten times more than the cost of retaining existing
ones. Instead of rushing headlong into CRM, it is important for companies to realize the customer it is
targeting the kind of loyalty they need to build with them and identify the technology that will be used.

Retaining and developing customers has long been a critical success factor for businesses. In
that sense, Customer Relationship Management is not new, previously falling under the guise of
customer satisfaction. Worldwide, service organizations have been pioneers in developing customer
retention strategies. Banks have relationship managers for select customers, airlines have frequent flyer
programs to reward loyal customers, credit card companies offer redeemable bonus points for increased
card usage, telecom service operators provide customized services to their heavy users, and hotels have
personalized services for their regular guests. It is, however, with the rapid rise of new entrants into the
market place and increased competition that companies in other sectors have recognized the business
potential within a captured base.

CRM software applications facilitate the coordination of multiple business functions (such as
sales, marketing, customer services, and support) and also coordinate multiple channels of
communication with the customer face to face, call centers and the Web – so that organizations can
accommodate their customers preferred channels of interaction.

Advantages of CRM

The advantages of customer relationship management are manifold. It allows organizations not
only to retain customers, but enables more effective marketing, creates intelligent opportunities for
cross selling and opens up the possibility of rapid introduction of new brands and products. To be able
to deliver these benefits, organizations must be able to customize their product offering, optimize price,
integrate products and services and deliver the service as promised and demanded by the customer
base.

Keeping the customer happy is obviously one way of ensuring that they stay with the
organization. However, by maintaining an overall relationship with the customer, companies are able to
unlock the potential of their customer base and maximize the contribution to their business. Whilst the
value of customer relationship management has been identified by organizations, the full implications
and benefits are yet to be. Those responsible for delivery are perhaps the most informed about these
strategic benefits yet the transformation is a long-drawn-out process.

The strategic benefits of customer relationship management allow companies to reduce the cost
of customer acquisition and give established players the ability to react like a new market entrant. The
very people they are battling against. Ironically these are increased and the potential of customers can
be then capitalized through cross selling of other products and services. It is important to understand
the key benefits of CRM for most companies. These benefits generally fall into three categories: cost
savings, revenue enhancement, and strategic impact.

Technology – an enabler for CRM

Developments in information technology, data warehousing and data mining have made it
possible for firms to maintain a one above relationship with their customers. Firms can now manage
every single contact with the customer from account management personnel, call centers, interactive
voice response systems, on-line dial-up applications, and websites to build lasting relationships. These
interactions can be used to glean information and insights about customer needs and their buying
behavior to design and develop services, which help create value for the customers as well as the firms.
Although customized as well as off the shelf technological solutions are available in the marketplace,
businesses need to do a lot more than just adopt these solutions to implement customer relationship
management (CRM) practices.

CRM offers huge potential benefits but requires a more sophisticated approach adapted to
specific opportunities and circumstances. At the core of any technology enabler for CRM is the
customer database. This represents the data hub that integrates the various statistical modeling,
campaign management, contact history and response tracking components of the marketing campaign
life cycle. The technology layer and its integration with emerging business processes is therefore the key
to successful implementation of a data-driven customer relationship management.

To take advantage of the benefits of CRM, a company must undertake a structured process that
ensures the automation venture does not become the automation misadventure. For effective
implementation of CRM concept, it is important to identify which process to automate and which not to
automate. Reengineering could be improved for providing complete end-to-end set of activities that
together create value for a customer. It should be coupled with the complete vision of the business
process – keeping customer as its base. Top management commitment, personnel motivation, user
training and prototyping the system are the other key factors for successful implementation of CRM
concept.

Implementation

Customer relationship management is accomplishable. However, the following guidelines must

be taken into consideration before embarking upon its implementation. Namely,

 Evaluate and plan. All aspects of customer relationship management, including technology
solutions, must be fully explored to effectively deliver the competencies required to realize the
business benefits.
 Tackling any one competence alone will lead to a dysfunctional business. One competence does
not make customer relationship management.
 Take pragmatic steps with a clear view on delivery of all the components in the medium term,
rather than adopting a piecemeal approach in the short term.
 Successful mass customization is crucial to reducing customer acquisition costs and improving
the cross-selling capability.
 Channels are a delivery mechanism. The effectiveness of the mechanism can be achieved only
when it is seamless.
Customer relationship management, if implemented successfully, enables companies to
capitalize and grow their business. Still relationship marketing appears to be an expensive alternative to
firms practicing mass marketing due to the relatively high initial investment. Firms would adopt
relationship marketing only if it in CRM has the potential to benefit them. The benefits come through
lower costs of retention and increased profits due to lower defection rates. When customers enter into
a relationship with a firm, they are willingly foregoing other options and limiting their choice. Some of
the personal motivations to do so result from greater efficiency in decision making, reduction in
information processing, achieving more cognitive consistency in decisions and reduction of perceived
risks with future decisions.

It is generally accepted that it costs more to acquire a customer than to retain an existing one.
However, identifying valuable customers is also important. There is still a trend that a customer must be
kept no matter what the cost to the organization, even if it means incurring a loss. It is a realization that
countless organizations have been oblivious to and in the process have experienced substantial
customer churn. Successful implementation of CRM requires a strategic approach, which encompasses
developing customer eccentric processes, selecting and implementing technology solutions, employee
empowerment, customer information and knowledge generation capabilities to differentiate them, and
the ability to learn from outstanding practices.

CRM vital lifeline for company’s survival: Competitive environment, eroding margins, need to reduce
costs, finding and keeping customers are the prime drivers for organizations. The need for CRM,
however, varies across different industries citing an example, the need for a manufacturing industry to
use CRM would be to tailor made products for its customers, while range of product offerings. Many
experts view that happy employees in turn give happy customers. Employees in a company should get
the service mind set. Management of customer information is what CRM is all about.

CRM is basically an offshoot of data mining: There is a serious necessity to keep an intelligent
database, which is the key for a good implementation of CRM. Data mining ensures to change the
heavily loaded database into an intelligent database worthy of taking intelligent decisions. It’s a process
of extraditing valid previously unknown actual business information into useful data capable of taking
intelligent decisions.

The need for CRM, however, varies across different industries citing an example, the need for a
manufacturing industry to use CRM would be to tailor made products for its customers, while range of
product offerings.

CRM Applications:

1) Customer knowledge

2) Sales effectiveness

3) Customer retention

4) Customer segmentation

5) Product presentation

6) Customer fulfillments

7) Customer acquisition
8) Channel management

9) Marketing intelligence

10) Campaign management

STRATEGIES FOR THE PROMOTION OF CRM

There are three strategies that are widely used to boost the sales promotion activities. These
three strategies are; a push strategy, a pull strategy, and a combination of both. Some of the major
questions that impact the decision of following a certain sales promotion strategy include brand loyalty
towards the product, brand equity, market share, competitive promotional strategies, unique selling
proposition, and advertising strategy.

Push strategy

The term 'push strategy' describes the work a manufacturer of a product needs to perform
to get the product to the customer. This may involve setting up distribution channels and
persuading middle men and retailers to stock your product. The push technique can work
particularly well for lower value items such as fast moving consumer goods (FMCGs), when
customers are standing at the shelf ready to drop an item into their baskets and are ready to make
their decision on the spot. This term now broadly encompasses most direct promotional
techniques such as encouraging retailers to stock your product, designing point of sale materials
or even selling face to face. New businesses often adopt a push strategy for their products in
order to generate exposure and a retail channel. Once your brand has been established, this can
be integrated with a pull strategy.

In a push strategy the company is sure that its customers want the product. The only thing
lacking is the lack of push the products have from the intermediates i.e., the wholesalers and
retailers. In this the company provides incentives to these intermediaries and asks them to push
the product by increasing its sale. This kind of strategy is usually involved in products where
there is fierce competition amongst producers and the intermediaries are given heavy margins by
each producer to ensure his product is given the preference.
Push tactics

 Trade show promotions to encourage retailer demand

 Direct selling to customers in showrooms or face to face
 Negotiation with retailers to stock your product
 Efficient supply chain allowing retailers an efficient supply
 Packaging design to encourage purchase
 Point of sale displays

Pull strategy

'Pull strategy' refers to the customer actively seeking out your product and retailers
placing orders for stock due to direct consumer demand. A pull strategy requires a highly visible
brand which can be developed through mass media advertising or similar tactics. If customers
want a product, the retailers will stock it - supply and demand in its purest form and this is the
basis of a pull strategy. Create the demand, and the supply channels will almost look after
themselves.

This strategy is quite the opposite of the push strategy discussed above. The assumption
in this strategy is that the customers either don’t know at all or not enough about the
manufacturer’s product features to have an interest in it. By adopting this strategy the producer
works with the intermediaries, especially the retailers to better present the products not only in
shelves but also improve its general outlook.

Pull tactics

 Advertising and mass media promotion

 Word of mouth referrals
 Customer relationship management
 Sales promotions and discounts

A successful strategy will usually have elements of both the push and pull promotional
methods. If you are starting a new business and intend to sell a product through retailers you'll
almost certainly need to persuade outlets to purchase and stock your product. You'll also need to
raise brand awareness and start building valuable word of mouth referrals. If you have designed a
product around the customer and have considered all elements of the marketing mix, both of
these aspects should be achievable.

Mix Strategy

This kind of strategy is adopted when the company thinks that the products need a push
from both sides. Neither the intermediaries are pushing the product of the company to the extent
nor the customers know or are interested in the product. To make this thing really happen the
company simultaneously launches a two prong battle. This strategy is obviously more cost
bearing and takes more time to materialize. In this strategy the company not only gives heavy
margins to the intermediaries like the wholesalers and distributors, but also tries to attract the
customers by making its products more attractive in shelves and packaging.

This is one of the most comprehensive sales promotion strategies. The company should
properly plan for the expenses and the expected outcome. A misdirected campaign will not only
result into great financial loss but may hurt the brand in the market.

CRM in Banks & Financial Services

The focus of the bank has shifted from their orientation from transaction marketing to
cultivation of relationship marketing.

a) IDBI

b) ICICI

c) UTI Bank Ltd.,

d) HDFC Bank Ltd.,

e) IndusInd Bank Ltd.,

f) Bank of Punjab

g) Centurion Bank Ltd.,

 Customer relationship management has become a requisite fixture at many companies around
the world. Also, organizations are realizing that customers have different economic value to the
company and are subsequently adapting their customer offerings and strategies accordingly. Thus,
organizations are in essence, moving away from product or brand-centered marketing towards a
customer-centered approach. Yet, the existing academic literature and the practical applications of
customer relationship management strategies do not provide a clear indication of specifically what
constitutes customer relationship management processes.

Many organizations turn to CRM software to help them manage their customer
relationships. CRM technology is offered on-premise, on-demand or through Software as a
Service (SaaS) CRM, depending on the vendor. Recently, mobile CRM and the open
source CRM software model have also become more popular.

Sales promotion has been one of the most heavily used weapons of the producers or
manufacturers. It is counted amongst one of their most affective ways of boosting their sales.
Sales promotion has certain misconceptions attached to it. One of the most obvious is that sales
promotion is only considered as targeted only at the wholesalers. However, this notion is totally
wrong.
There are many ways to promote the sales. Sales promotion can be targeted at the
wholesaler, retailer or even at times the end customer. There are various methods that are used.
First of all, a producer or manufacturer should be able to know his channel members i.e., is the
intermediaries and the end customers very well. Moving a product through all these members to
the end customer is not an easy job. It takes a lot of patience and understanding. There are many
strategies built around the philosophy of moving the products through. 
As consumer preferences mature and they look beyond product utility, marketers are trying to
establish long term relationships with buyers. A look at how they are building new bonds. While
relationship management can do wonders for brand loyalty, it can also dispel myths about brands.

It’s inevitable fallout of brand proliferation and mounting competition. And, one that not even
the bluest of blue chip brand marketers have been able to escape. As parity products abound,
advertising alone can no longer provide the edge in the marketplace. And to beef up their brands,
marketers have taken resort to direct marketing, promotions and tele-marketing. But all that is still not
enough to keep customers loyal to brands. “Relationship management is an attempt at a long-term
relationship and is in an exercise in brand building, with interaction between the brand and the
consumer the companies have to move beyond the conventional methods of marketing to relationship
marketing. They have to make for a more enduring relationship with our consumers.

The first step in relationship marketing is, not surprisingly, dependent on finding as much data
on consumers as possible. And its quality is what could make or break a company’s relationship with its
consumers.

Parle Agro has discovered that clubs are an important tool in building brand loyalty. While the
Frooti Funtoon Club is targeted at youngsters, the idea is to carry over the brand’s appeal to the second
generation. Twenty years hence, the members will become parents and will still have a fondness for the
brand. And to make sure that their children inherit the same fondness for Frooti, the club organizes
visits to plants for school-children, animation film shows and quiz contests. Takeaways badges with
whacky slogans like “Let’s Pingo” and “Have an Appy day” are thrown in. And birthday cards are a must
to help establish Frooti’s bonds with its young consumers.

Among the first ones to capitalize on relationship marketing as a strategic option has been
Hawkins Cookers Ltd. While training of its 500-odd dealers on how-to-deal-with-consumers has always
been an important feature of the company’s strategy, incentives offered ensure that the dealers are
constantly on their toes. A personal touch is added by salesmen who drop in on consumers and even
cook to demonstrate the product. The guarantee card that the customer returns on purchase of a
cooker has helped Hawkins to build a strong database. And it sends out cookbooks to keep interest level
in its cookers high.

It’s not just branded products that are beginning to rely more and more on relationship
marketing. But the service industry too has made it an essential part of its marketing efforts. Both the
Taj and the Oberoi hotel chains have built up a customer database from guest comment cards, feedback
cards and their hotel registers. “Working out a database is far more cost-effective, Communication here
is more focused and effective.

The Future of CRM

 With the increased penetration of CRM philosophies in organizations and the concomitant rise
in spending on people and products to implement them, it is clear we will see improvements in how
companies work to establish long-term relationships with their customers. However, there is a big
difference between spending money on these people and products and making it all work:
implementation of CRM practices is still far short of ideal. Everyone has his or her own stories about
poor customer service and emails sent to companies without hearing a response. More companies are
recognizing the importance of creating databases and getting creative at capturing customer
information. Real-time analyses of customer behavior on the Web for better customer selection and
targeting is already here (e.g., Net Perceptions) which permits companies to anticipate what customers
are likely to buy. Companies will learn how to develop better communities around their brands giving
customers more incentives to identify themselves with those brands and exhibit higher levels of loyalty.
One way that some companies are developing an improved focus on CRM is through the establishment
or consideration of splitting the marketing manager job into two parts: one for acquisition and one for
retention. The kinds of skills that are need for the two tasks are quite different. People skilled in
acquisition have experience in the usual tactical aspects of marketing: advertising, sales, etc. However,
the skills for retention can be quite different as the job requires a better understanding of the
underpinnings of satisfaction and loyalty for the particular product category.

Summary and Conclusion

Customer relationship management is a strategic approach that is concerned with creating

improved value through the development of appropriate relationships with key customers and
customer segments. Customer relationship management unites the potential of relationship
marketing strategies in long-term and in the relationships with customers and other employees.
The key aspects of customer relationship management, are customer satisfaction and customer
retention. Customer relationship management provides enhanced opportunities to use data and
information to understand customers. This requires a cross-functional integration of human
resource and marketing capabilities. CRM is a widely-implemented strategy for managing a
company’s interactions with customers, clients and sales prospects. It involves using technology
to organize, automate, and synchronize business processes—principally sales activities, but also
those for marketing, customer service, and technical support. 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. Customer
relationship management describes a company-wide business strategy including customer-
interface departments as well as other departments. CRM consists of four dimensions such as
customer identification, customer attraction, customer retention, and customer development.
Customer identification is meant to identify segments of potential customers, each of which
includes customers who are relatively similar. Customer attraction attempts to attract the target
customer segments by motivating customers to place orders through various channels. Customer
retention refers to the activity of preventing the existing customers from switching to competitors
by enhancing the level of customer satisfaction through one-to-one marketing, loyalty program,
complaints management, etc. Customer development, the ultimate goal of CRM, aims to
maximize the revenue by expanding transaction intensity, transaction value and individual
customer profitability through customer lifetime value analysis, up/cross selling and market
basket analysis. Information-technology enabled strategy aimed at identifying, targeting,
acquiring, and retaining the best mix of customers. CRM helps in profiling prospects,
understanding their needs, and in building relationships with them by providing the most-suitable
products and a very high level of customer service. It integrates back and front office systems to
create a database of customer contacts, purchases, information requested, technical support, etc.
This database helps the firm in presenting a unified-face to its customers, and improving the
quality of the relationship.

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