Customer Relationship Management or CRM is an important part of every business. It is, like what the name implies, a strategy for communicating with customers and prospects in the point of view of a business. It encompasses all interactions, may it be personal, on the internet, or through a phone call.
Customer relationship management system has only one end goal: to improve a company’s profitability. The system itself is a tool that aids management like contact, sales, the workflow process, productivity, and many more.
Many people think that Customer Relationship Management is solely for sales and revenue but that is not true. As more and more people are being aware of it, it will open tons of opportunities for SMEs.
Though a good customer relationship is indeed very important, CRM also deals with employees, their colleagues, suppliers, service users, and all the people or individual that the business interacts with.
CRM As Technology, Process, And Strategy
Customer relationship management is a term which refers to three things: the technology or the tool (software), the process, and the strategy. Businesses use it to examine and analyze interactions with customers and data throughout the customer lifecycle.
The software or the system does the act of recording, reporting, and analyzing interactions between the company and its customers. It has one goal: to provide data and information that the company can use to improve its customer service to have better customer retention resulting in more sales and revenue.
The second one, the process, refers to the way the company handles relationships. It determines how they act after the system tells them what to do, whether they would follow what is needed to improve it or not. The strategy is almost the same as the process but the tasks they do determines the accomplishment of the work. It is like their mission and philosophy about customer service.
But How Does Data Mining Affect CRM?
Since CRM lets businessmen focus on its relationship with customers and other individuals it interacts with, data mining is a big help for the CRM as a tool or software. With all the information data mining can gather and process, it will be easier for the business to use the tool to interact with customers and future clients.
It will also be easier to make a connection with customers, clients, suppliers, and even employees with the CRM tool or system if data mining is present. The company can study previous data and information about their customers and input it into the tool for a better process. Customer service and retention will definitely improve with all the information CRM process can do.
However, data mining and customer relationship management can only do so much. It is still up to the business and its employees if they will follow the information given to them if they will act upon it. Having all the data presented to them does not guarantee a successful change in the CRM process. Mined data does not automatically mean it will increase sales and revenue and improve customer retention; it is up to the application or execution.
