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CRM and the Indian CIO
 CRM
is something that most CIOs are quite familiar with and many would have gone
in for these solutions. This technology is available as a module for an existing
ERP system or as a separate product or even as a service. No matter how you
go about it, there are some things that always hold true for CRM and they are:
Need to customize: You'll always need to customize, be it on demand or on premise
software. The customization effort can range from 5-25% with the latter being
in extreme cases.
Integration: You'll have to integrate the CRM system with your existing ERP
system a task which will take months.
CRM is for everyone: Be it a private company or a government department, every
organization can benefit (and its customers or citizens as the case may be)
from deploying CRM.
Its relevance goes up in a slowdown: CRM is more relevant
during turbulent times during which it can act as a competitive differentiator
enabling a company to corner a bigger chunk of the market by offering superior
service and higher levels of customer satisfaction. That being said, many companies
did put their projects on hold during the slowdown but are taking them up now
with the economy improving.
On demand to grow faster: On demand CRM is expected to grow faster as it involves
a lower (much lower) upfront investment.
Industry-specific systems: Also known as verticalization, this is a trend that
we saw emerge in ERP many years ago and it's true for CRM as well. The nature
of customer relationships vary from sector to sector and therefore the tools
being used to manage them should recognize and accommodate the same.
Enabling targeted focus: Companies would always like to reach out to those consumers
who spend the most but usually they don't know who these are. CRM systems can
help here. By allowing a company to collate and analyze reams of customer data,
the technology enables more effective campaigns to be devised.
Multi-channel approach: Today touch points have mushroomed and you need solutions
that can reach out through the Web, phone, e-mail, IM and even social networks.
Enforce uniform pricing: CRM can help do away with arbitrary discounting that
alienates potential customers.
Prashant L Rao, Editor
prashant.rao@expressindia.com
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