Managing customer relationship is being followed from ages. In earlier days there was a direct relationship between the customer and the supplier, but over the time the distance is increased to such an extent that we can say there is hardly any contact between the consumers and the suppliers.
The challenges today are:
*The customers being spread over the globe
*Most of the business done over the telephone
*The customers are more aware of the products and services
*The expectations are going high day by day, quality being the most important among them
*Fierce competition in market
*The suppliers are not in contact with the customers
CRM today is all about retaining the customers even if you can’t see them, to satisfy the customers by making use of the modern day’s technologies, making each and every one in the organization to know the customers needs and work according to them. Maintaining customer relationship is not the sole responsibility of any one division; all divisions in the organization should interact with the customers in the same way. If one employee does not understand the customer needs and delivers unsatisfactory communications, he or she stereo types the entire organization in that customer’s perception.
The organization should interact with the customers in such a way that they will be waiting for a chance to get the same experience of buying again!!! For any organization the deal is not closed once the sale is made but it is opened i.e. CRM all about maintaining the after sales services.
Today customers can make a choice of their suppliers, so the organization should concentrate on the buying habits of the customers and all the other companies in the target market.The organizations should understand the customers choice, they want exactly what they want and at the right time, nothing more or less than that. But in today’s world how easy is it to give individual attention?? Why is mass marketing increasing day by day?? One of the most likely answers being with the increasing markets and the competition we have to make our existence in the first place and in this run mass marketing is taking over. In most cases the mass marketing concepts will not help in retaining the customers as they do not feel special, and they tend to go to a supplier where he gets more personal attention.
One of the solutions for the organization to maintain good customer relations may be following the 3 phases of CRM likely:
*Acquire: Innovating the products according to the customers needs, may be in a mass level in this stage, but by giving excellent service
*Enhance: Modifying the products based on smaller segments of customers and cutting down on cost and maintaining the quality levels
*Retain: Listening to the customers and implementing the changes and having a regular follow up about the performance of the product with the customer.
