There are literally hundreds of definitions of CRM (customer relationship management) out there. My own personal one is: a company-wide business philosophy embodied throughout an organization that puts customers first, with the objective of engaging them to build mutually-beneficial long-term, valuable relationships.
What is your definition or what are attributes that you believe it should include?
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I believe that the current definitions of CRM are very polarizing: one is very marketing-focused and the other is heavily technical. Very rarely do you hear professionals refer to the greater purpose of CRM, which is to put the customer squarely into business focus. With the customer at the center of all marketing, sales, product and other disciplines, then you start to have a clearer picture of the "attributes" or supporting structures necessary to support that mindset. For example, the customer-centric organization should have 1) the willingness to listen and respond to customer need, 2) the ability to provide a product or service that fills that need, 3) systems which allow for continuous customer learning and improvement and 4) transparency and honesty. These are just the beginning. Only after a company commits to getting the relationship right with their customer, then can they begin to develop the tactics of the program to support it.
ReplyDeleteWhat companies have you seen that understand customer focus and promote at the highest levels?
I like the definition, but think it needs a bit more specificity in terms of implementation. Speaking from my own experience, I have heard organizations talk about this philosophy yet not have the data and support infrastructures to implement it...so they wind up cranking out a lot of direct marketing STUFF. Suggest something about "a unified view of its engagement with customers at all touchpoints" or similar language to clarify that you need to put your money where your mouth is, or else suffer being a CRM wannabe!
ReplyDeleteThank you both for your perspectives. In summary, you added on to my original CRM definition to provide more details on some of the attributes that make up a customer-centric organization. These include the ability to implement the processes & systems and all other infrastructure that fully enables the company to deliver what they say
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