Managing CREAM customer through CRM...

"Managing CREAM customer through CRM…"

By

Vineesh Garg
Group Product Manager
Intas Pharmceuticals Ltd.
Ahmedabad

How many of our customers are loyal customers?

More importantly how does one manage the loyal customers?

The answer lies in Pareto's 80/20 thinking, which holds true in any business environment. Customer loyalty has been a buzz term in marketing for some time and with good reason. Estimates suggest it can cost 5 times as much to get a new customer as it does to keep an existing one.

And the surest way to build loyal customer is through "relationship" marketing. Just what is it? And why is it important? Relationship marketing is so much more than "networking. It's gathering support of your friends, peers, and business contacts. It's developing strong, lasting, unique relationships with your most valuable asset, your customer.

It's what keeps people "coming back for more." It's an excellent way to shorten the traditional routes of building trust, create opportunities, increase valuable contacts, to achieve success and excel in business.

Businesses are scrambling for ways to retain these customers, and attract new ones in the process. Customer relationship begins with understanding the smallest habit, interest, likes & dislikes of your customer. It is then reflected by addressing those likes & dislikes in various ways. CRM does not get limited to your direct customer only but it stretches to those who are closely related to your customer. CRM is all about building "trust".

No matter what precautions you may take when planning and implementing a CRM initiative, the only thing that can assure its success for the company are the people. After all, the whole concept of CRM is based on relationships. And those can't be completely automated. There is no technological substitute for a friendly voice or face that understands a customer's troubles and is willing to go above and beyond to provide the best service. CRM can only help a company manage these relationships to provide a more personalized service to loyal customers.

Vineesh Garg
Group Product Manager
Intas Pharmceuticals Ltd.
Ahmedabad

Source: E-mail June 1, 2007