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Integration challenges Liz Gaertner of Cincom Systems
looks at the role of the call centre in CRM strategies and at how perceptions
need to be changed. |
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Customer relationship management (CRM) has evolved considerably in the past year, with consequences for the planning and implementation of systems. Information management has become central to successful CRM implementations, and this in turn depends on an integrated infrastructure. At the risk of oversimplification, it may be argued that CRM was originally about customer satisfaction. CRM has moved on from there. Astute companies now see CRM as more of a two-way street than previously. They aim to be more selective in gathering and analysing the information that will help them find and keep the customers most likely to spend money with them. This may perhaps be seen as a form of one-to-one marketing, but it is based on careful groundwork and it should include the simple psychological factor of making people feel warm. Call centres present a number of challenges in this respect. They are widely regarded by the public as highly impersonal. Their contribution to ‘outbound’ telemarketing campaigns is perhaps even less popular. Both of these adverse perceptions can be addressed. With the right information management infrastructure, a customer’s contact with a call centre can convey a sense of immediate, personal attention. With the right insights, outbound communications can be highly effective – if you personalise letters, for example, the response can be six times as great as that generated by phone calls. |
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International Consultants' Guide January
2001 |
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Customer
Relationship Management