Customer Relationship Management

CRM Makes Relationship Marketing Possible

It sounds a bit unorthodox to rely on a computer to create lasting relationships with customers and clients, but more and more this is exactly what businesses are doing. Although customer relationship management programs do not replace the face-to-face interaction with real people, they can streamline the process. As a result, these computer programs are often seen as just the right tools to build relationship marketing efforts.

When the desire is to build and develop relationships with customers that last, CRM's relationship marketing tools are rather amazing. Depending on the program put into place, they can include:

• Total client management. When customer databases are created and used to their fullest potential, every employee with access to the database can quickly see what a customer's relationship with a company is. They will know what products and services appeal, what the customer has purchased or used in the past and what particular, unique needs that customer might have. This is invaluable for ensuring hands-on service that is seamless and tailored to meet an individual client's needs. In addition, some of these programs enable employees to offer a personalized touch to meet customer needs. For example, some programs kick out client birthday lists, reminders of client needs for service calls or warranty repairs and so on.
• Tailored sales and marketing. When building relationships that last through relationship marketing efforts is desired, bugging the wrong clients with the wrong products and services doesn't help a business at all. CRM programs can help generate sales leads based on client preferences, target marketing efforts and more. Depending on how much is put into a database, company efforts can be completely customer-driven right down to the fliers that are sent out in the mail. This means customers are not bothered with calls they don't want or mail they are not interested in.
• Interaction. Some companies focus their relationship marketing efforts online or they use these measures as part of an overall package. When giving clients control over when and how they do business is important, online solutions can help. Some of the components that go into this might include online feedback forms, account management over the Internet and even online ordering and booking of services. The idea here is not to close a person-based customer service department, but to add options for customers to do things the way they want to. Interactive web sites can get the job done.

Customer Relationship Management