CRM: A Business Imperative

Four perspectives on why business organization needs Customer Relationship Management

Let's try to map the four building blocks that make up a CRM system and its impact to the company as a whole.

Marketing: Find Revenue

Driving marketing campaigns, promotions and PR/branding initiatives aims to generate interest about the company and the products/services we sell. Marketers are being tasked mostly to generate demands in turn bring in business interests (Leads) that becomes part of our sales pipeline. Therefore the CRM function on Marketing should be able to Find potential revenue for the company.

Sales: Generate Revenue

Perceived to be the most important aspect of CRM that brings much needed dollars for the company and keeps the cash flow engine running. Sales team turn sales leads into business transactions where customers decided to make a purchase. No doubt that every salespeople are tasked to Generate revenue through profitable business transactions for the company.

Customer Service: Protect Revenue

Sometimes we call this the "Moment of Truth" as this is where companies should deliver the promise of good after sales service to their customers. A very crucial part of CRM where companies has to ensure that their customers are satisfied and if not, eventually they might lose them and also lost current and future revenue. That is why I consider any Customer Service activities like Contact Centre, Helpdesk, Customer care and Help lines in whatever form is done to Protect much needed Revenue.

Customer Knowledge: Sustain Revenue

Understanding our customer better, their needs and behaviours leads most organization to personalize service and products. Knowing your customers is one thing, understanding them is another as this will also impact the level/type of engagements we do for them. While its proven that having an in depth knowledge about our customer will help us Sustain profitable growth and revenue as we are able to deliver relevant offerings.