Assessment of the Key Success Factors of Customer Relationship Management

Assessment of the Key Success Factors of Customer Relationship Management Meysam Bagheri Pamsari, Maria Dehban, & Hossein Karimi Lulemani M.A. Student of Business Management, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Guilan, Iran Abstract Undoubtedly, it can be said that customers are the most important asset of most organizations. The customers due to direct relationship with actions of organization are valuable source for opportunities, threats and operational questions related to the industry. For growth and survival in today's competitive economy, companies and organizations must have particular importance to customer and increase communication with buyers of goods more than before. In new business trends, to gain customer satisfaction allocated critical position in business objectives and senior management as well knows their success in achieving business major objectives is depends on customer satisfaction. On the other hand cannot be said all customers are equally involved in the company's success. So to attract key customer satisfaction, will be more sensitive. Keywords: Customer Relationship Management, Key Success Factors, Organizational Strategy. 1. Introduction In today's business environment is characterized by increasing competition, each day war is going to win more customers. No business, including manufacturing, service, and... cannot continue as sustained and success without "satisfied customers". Demands, expectations of consumers increased every day and this process will be accompanied by increasing growth. Due to this reality, the concept of customer relationship management opened solution, which today as a strategy for long-term relationships with customers is considered (Keramati & et al, 2009). Thus, new forms of structural reforms and competition and exchange processes has cause emergence of communication paradigm for creating longterm relationships between customers and suppliers. Part of this relationship is created due to the globalization of trade, the international communications and information technology development, shorter product life cycles and the growing recognition the problem that relationship is related to the retention of customer (Rasooli Poshteh & Bagherinejad, 2010). Undoubtedly, it can be said that customers are the most important asset of most organizations. The customers due to direct relationship with actions of organization are valuable source for opportunities, threats and operational questions related to the industry. For growth and survival in today's competitive economy, companies and organizations must have particular importance to customer and increase communication with buyers of goods more than before. In new business trends, to gain customer satisfaction allocated critical position in business objectives and senior management as well knows their success in achieving business major objectives is depends on customer satisfaction. On the other hand 23

cannot be said all customers are equally involved in the company's success. So to attract key customer satisfaction, will be more sensitive (Farhangi et al, 2010). Today's technology for business has brought system that can help to company to customers interaction with companies and information exchange and to allow employees that quickly retrieve all customer data. This paper examines and discusses key success factors of customer relationship management. In first will provide comprehensive definition of CRM, then importance, benefits and factors about it are described. Finally, is presented also conclusions of the discussion. 2. Definitions 2.1. Principles and concepts related to CRM: Customer Relationship Management or CRM is composed of three main parts: customer, relationship and management. Purpose from consumer is final consumer that in valuable relationship has a supporting role. In order to relationship is creation of loyal and profitable customers through relationship learning and management is the process of innovation and leading a customer oriented business and putting the customer at the center of the organization's processes and experience. The term of CRM emerged in the 1990s to today's concept and in the form of business strategy to select and manage the most valuable customer relationships is developed. CRM requires a customer-centric philosophy and culture to support effective process for marketing, sales and service aftersales in organization. Customer-centric culture is based on the simple concept from a relationship between customers and suppliers. This approach looks each customer as an individual with demands, the needs and purchases related to them. By using CRM, customer relationship with the company and their requirements are analyzed. CRM is the process to collecting and integrating information in order to operate effectively and the purposeful from it. This information can be in a relationship with customers, sales, effective marketing, and sensitivity and the needs of the market. Scholars and theorists offer different definitions of customer relationship management that it can be classified in four overall groups with titles: strategy, technology, process and information systems. Some definitions of customer relationship management from view of different theorists as follows: 1. CRM is part of a strategy to identify and satisfy customer and turns them into a repeat customer. Also in line with the company's customer relationship management in order to maximize the value of every customer can help to the company. 2. CRM is set of methodologies, processes, applications and systems that help to Institutions and companies in effective management and organized of the customer relationship. 3. Customer Relationship Management is to establish and maintain private relationships with profitable customers through the appropriate use of information and communication technologies. 24

4. Customer relationship management as a process include monitoring the customer (such as their appropriate data collection), management and evaluation of data and ultimately a real advantage information extracted in dealing with them. 5. Customer relationship management is comprehensive business and marketing strategy that integrates process technology and all business activities around the customer. From the above definitions can be concluded that CRM is a business strategy to optimize profitability, revenue and customer satisfaction that is designed based organizing providing services based on customer needs, raising customer satisfaction according to the principles of customer-centric and implementing customer-centered processes. 2.2. Advantages of CRM: Advantages of Customer Relationship System are as follow: To reduce cost of sales To identify and target customers better To reduce marketing costs To increase customer loyalty To increase customer retention To identify trends and patterns of customer use To help the flow of the information correct and true in every place where it is needed Achieving properly understood and applied to assess the effectiveness of marketing activities To attract new customers faster and more efficiently Better understanding of customer wants and needs Changing its products and services according to customer needs To provide conditions of customer returns Understanding and monitoring buyers' choice (Moetameni & Jafari, 2009). 2.3. Goals of CRM Customer relationship management goals can be stated as follows: Understanding the customer A To collect complete information of customer B - Analysis of customer data C To attract new customers D To improve employee skills E To improve customer relationship management techniques Customer transactions: A - Correct response to customer requests B - Business process integration C To improve management of communication channels D To increase the effectiveness and efficiency of organizational operations E - Providing personalized products and services 25

Customer value: A - To improve customer retention B To increase profits C To improve service delivery (service and support) to the customer D To create online virtual environment Customer satisfaction A To improve the quality of customer service B - Relationship with customers (Abbasi & Torkamani, 2010) 2.4 Process of service delivery in customer relationship management: In the first phase of service delivery in customer relationship management, customer database are made based on data and information of customers. Then information collected is analyzed in database based on different techniques. Target customers are selected based on profitability criteria for company. In next step for target customer is designed appropriate mix marketing. Then by using information of previous stages connect with customers and finally, after the implementation of relationship marketing the monitor and evaluate results obtained. Process of service delivery in customer relationship management can showed according to figure (1) (Seyedi & et al, 2009). Creating a database Data Analysis Selecting the customer To target Customer To establish a relationship marketing Control Figure 1: Implementation Process of CRM (Seyedi, et al, 2009) 26

Also, the information structure of CRM can be showed in Figure 2: Verbal communication Internet Email Advertising Telephone marketing Appropriate data classification Combine and insert the data in organization database Analysis of data collected Dissemination of information to the various parts of organization Support Sale Marketing Management Figure 2: the information structure in CRM (Seyedi & et al, 2009). 2.5. A key success factor in CRM: Key success factors are minimum capacity that the company should have to enter the competition. Because key success factors in CRM can greatly affect performance should be very important by the managers. Since the inception of the key success factors has been created the different views about how define this concept. These views are classified into three categories. A - In first view of the key success factors are defined as factors required for success in the industry. But these factors do not count for competitive advantage in the industry. According to this view, all active firms in an industry to sustain the industry require attention to the key elements. But investing in these factors is not considered a competitive advantage to other competitors and companies to gain competitive advantage should be invest in other factors along with key success factors (Keramati & Nikzad, 2008). B - Many experts believe that companies can by gain and identify good results in their key success factors create competitive advantage for themselves and the other competitors. Some also consider important role for the key success factors in developing competitive strategies and organizational success knows depends on matching internal capabilities with the requirements of the organizational environment. These capabilities know under the "key success factors" (Ibid). C - Meanwhile number of experts believes that there is no such thing as the key success factors in an industry and believed to invest on these factors is false and useless belief. As a 27

result, every company should have find way to success and competitive advantage according to their competence and resources (ibid). Generally key success factors describes in influencing of particular manager but since there are different levels of management in any organization. Each of them may have different operating environment than others.it can considered 5 source or 5 key factors in the success of the organization as follows: 1. The industry of organization. 2. A clear understanding of competitors 3. Atmosphere and general conditions of business or organizational environment 4. Problems, barriers, or challenges that organizations are facing it. 5. Layers of management (Hampe and Swatman, 2002). Also other researchers, key success factors in CRM in company strategy can be divided into three categories which are discussed below: Teaching company personnel: company personnel should learn technical and application training courses in the field of engaged with customers to be able to effectively communicate with customers and also have the ability to use new technologies. Review processes and design of new processes: firms without well-designed and logical processes cannot achieve their goals. Companies must define their commercial needs and goals and processes associated with CRM improve and expand to meet these needs. Business process reengineering, or BPR is one of the effective tools in this part. Applying new technologies: CRM implementation requires changes to the infrastructure of the organization and deployment of new technologies, such as new business rules, databases, information technology, etc., these changes will lead to useful and effective changes in the organization (Keramati & Nikzad, 2008). 3. Conclusions Customer Relationship Management is an integrated system that is used for planning, scheduling and controlling of activities before and after the sale and its purpose is to obtain and sustain long-term of customers and valuing for them and also enable customers to interact with businesses and companies through various means such as web, phone, fax, email and... receiving services. CRM application programs can be used support the entire customer-oriented processes in organizations of any size and level, including marketing, sales and customer service. In order to maintain competitive power in the market nowadays, all organizations are looking to develop maintain and retain stability, accuracy and timely collection from customer, product, and service during the term of marketing and sales, service, support and product development units that rely on CRM. CRM is part of an organization's strategy to identify customers, attract their satisfaction and turn them into repeat customer. CRM customer relationship management is also in line with the company in order to maximize the value of every customer, helps to the company. The main task of CRM is facilitating customer relationship with the company, without the constraints of time, place and nationality so that the customer feels that is in contact with 28

organization that knows him/her and him/her needs to be resolved quickly and with the easiest method of communication. CRM is a marketing strategy that Its purpose is not merely limit to raise the transaction that in fact is to improve profitability cross-sectional, it is trying to achieve unique and integrated view from customer with customer-oriented solutions that increase customer satisfaction and increase company profits in the long term. If improve customer relationship management method, its result is to increase productivity, customer satisfaction and better performance than competitors. However, companies should avoid looking at CRM as a solution to cope with competitive pressures because customer relationship management is plan, which should be seen as a strategy. References Abbasi,M.R;Torkamani,M.(2010). Theoretical models of customer relationship management (CRM), Business Survey, No. 41, pp. 19-35. Farhangi,A.A;Nouri,R;Sfidani,M.R.(2009). Needs of students from relationship management systems with student, Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, Year VII, No. 27, pp. 73-97. Feinberg J. & N.C.Romano.(2003).ElectronicCustomer Relationship Management-Revising the General Principles ofusability and Resistance - an IntegrativeImplementation FrameWork, BusinessProcess Management Journal, Vol.9,No.5. Hampe J.F & P.Swatman (2002), CustomerRelationship Management, Case Studies offive Swedish, Luella university otechnologies Jarahi,M.H;Ardakani,S;Zareia,M.(2009). The role of information technology in establishing customer relationship management in form of electronic, Journal of growth centers, No. 21, pp. 11-1. Keramati,A;MESHKI,H;SHIRKOUHI,S.(2009). Identifying and prioritizing risk factors in project implementation of customer relationship management, Journal of Business, No. 51, pp. 199-240. Moetameni,A;Jafari,E.(2009). Review of the implementation of customer relationship management in hotel industry, journal of management view, No. 30, pp 49-65. Rasooli Poshteh,B;Bagheri Nejad,J.(2010). The effect of IT investments on customer satisfaction, Journal of growth centers, pp. 65-55. Seyedi,M;Mousavi,A;Heidari,Sh.(2009). Evaluation of factors affecting performance of customer relationship management and provides a suitable model and new measurements (case study: in the electronics industry), Journal of Educational Management, No. II, pp. 79-113. 29