|
COPYRIGHT 2007 Centaur Publishing Ltd.
Customer relationship management is evolving into something new - a holistic approach to reaching consumers that makes them feel they are in charge, rather than 'managed'. Emma Rubach investigates
A few years ago, you couldn't move for CRM managers and directors with responsibility for the customer. Suddenly, that job title doesn't seem to be found as often. Does this mean organisations have given up trying to make customer management a standalone function? Or has the issue simply been absorbed into other roles - and if so, which?
The demise of the customer manager does not suggest that companies don't care about their customers (though the customers may have an entirely different opinion, especially if they own a mobile phone or have travelled on a train recently). Rather, it indicates that philosophies about customer relationship management (CRM) have moved on. The current theory seems to be that 'customer experience' and 'CRM version 2.0' - two of the names being used for evolved CRM practices - no longer require just one person to oversee them. The customer manager appears to have gone out of fashion, in the same way that large CRM systems are now scoffed at for being a thing of the past.
"The line is increasingly blurred between customer management and marketing," explains Broadsystem chief executive Caroline Worboys. "Hence a brand's customer management must be integrated with all marketing communications at every customer touchpoint to ensure that a customer's contact history is recorded and used to inform all communications, creating a seamless brand experience. Such communication is underpinned by the central marketing dataset, which - if maintained effectively - can provide...
Read the full article for free courtesy of your local library.
|
Bookmark this article
Print this article
Link to this article
Email this article
Digg It!
Add to del.icio.us
RSS
