International Consultants' Guide

Issue Contents

Customer Relationship Management Success Factors

“Drive faster, man!” – The road to
CRM success

What makes CRM work, why, and how is success measured?
Rebecca Bucnis of NCR reports from the pit lane.

Customer relationship management (CRM) is increasingly recognised by board level decision makers as a critical weapon in the battle for market share.

Several factors serve to reinforce the strategic and economic value of a sustained CRM strategy: the networked economy, dotcom highs and lows of the last nine months, and radical changes to the structure and nature of telecommunications businesses and to the regulatory framework (as, in the UK, the impact of the Financial Services and Markets Act). While retaining customers, building one-to-one loyalty and reducing churn rate are fundamental to effective customer service management, it has become clear that closeness with the customer is not an end in itself. In a service-based economy, it is critical to have the flexibility to be able to communicate the right offer to the right customer, through the right channel and at the right time.

CRM for any company is about treating customers in a way that has an emotional impact. ‘Delighting the customer’ sets the stage for long-term return on investment while achieving quick wins through better customer management.

European perspective

To many businesses, CRM strategy is about delivering tailored information sourced from contact management solutions or analytics. However, some companies, including Lowes Home Improvement, Union Bank of Norway and Telia, have realised CRM is a part technology-based, part cultural management process.

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