Success with Customer Relationship Management

Customer Relationship Management is the Key to Business Success

Dec 17, 2008

Customer relationship management is an old concept. It's all about how you treat your customer after the sale. Businesses that handle well succeed.

Referrals and repeat sales are the lifeblood of business. They are also a direct result of effective customer relationship management. Can you get referrals without effectively serving your current customers? Yes. Will you get as many, as often? The answer is unequivocably, no.

What is Customer Relationship Management?

Customer relationship management (CRM) is a practice that puts the customer at the center of the equation. Over the years myriad software applications have sprung up to simplify and streamline this process. While they can be useful tools, your business need not be high tech to do a good job serving customers.

What are Customer Relationship Management Techniques?

The most common techniques include using information gathered during the sales process to build emotional anchors and connections so that customers think of you and your business first when they have a need. Storing and categorizing this information in an electronic environment allows you to use it more effectively but simply noting important facts and refreshing your memory before periodic marketing calls can be equally effective.

Why Does Customer Relationship Management Matter?

The 2008 Executive Survey by Gartner and Forbes.com states plainly that, "retaining and enhancing relationships with current customers is the number one business issue, followed by attracting new customers."

Businesses that properly implement a customer relationship strategy stand a significantly higher chance of achieving both of these goals.

You can have the best products at the best prices, but if you neglect customer service or customer relationship management you won't have the one thing you need to succeed: customers. Showing existing customers that they matter and that you appreciate their business inspires loyalty. That loyalty translates into the referrals and repeat sales that move your bottom line in the right direction. In addition, it is far less expensive to retain an existing customer than it is to attract a new one. Translation: taking care of your clients means more for you.

What Can I Do to Improve Customer Relationship Management?

It doesn't take much. Simple things like birthday cards, opinion surveys and focus groups are a great way to connect with your customers. Coupons, discounts and special perks for loyalty and referrals are also a good way to show your appreciation for your customers.

Business are facing unprecedented pressure to deliver value. Lowering customer acquisition costs, decreasing administrative waste, and improving the outlook held of the customers they serve has become of paramount importance. Inefficient, impersonal processes threaten the future success of many businesses. Sound customer relationship management practices are the answer.

The copyright of the article Success with Customer Relationship Management in Customer Relations is owned by Anthony Vultaggio. Permission to republish Success with Customer Relationship Management in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.