Customer Satisfaction

Frank Lord and Adrian Bisaz discuss evolutions in the CRM landscape and the need to interact with costumers on the many platforms they are now using.

“Many organisations now realise that the traditional way CRM systems worked are not adapted to new forms of customer interactions.”
-Adrian Bisaz

In this era of economic woe, what impact has the recession had on organisations’ approach to CRM?

Frank Lord. The recession has made companies more aware of the need to obtain ROI from all their technology and systems investments. This has made organisations investigate and discover more efficient – and innovative – ways of using CRM.

For instance, realising that knowing the customer can also be a dynamic experience, and that personalisation and individual service tailored to customers’ needs can be achieved even before we collect data into the CRM system. A case in point is the use of automated recommendations on the website: this technology automatically recommends products or services to a customer based on their browsing behaviour during a session and/or previous purchases. It also ensures relevant content is offered to shoppers while giving the company control by ensuring, for example, that only those products in stock are recommended. Automating and personalising online merchandising gives businesses a powerful means to convert browsers into buyers and increase the value of orders placed.

Adrian Bisaz. Recession puts pressure on enterprises to reduce costs while increasing or at least maintaining revenue. The only way to satisfy this demand is by enhancing productivity and improving business processes. CRM systems need to be adjusted accordingly. There is a “perfect storm” emerging from economic, structural and behavioural changes. First, there is a pressure to deliver more with less, second, social networks create a new way of interaction between people and customers and third, traditional enterprise communication channels are breaking down. In order to cope with these changes, traditional CRM need to morph into Social CRM. What used to be a system for improving interaction with customers on a one-on-one basis (traditional CRM) is now required to be a system that offers the management of social networks; where customers engage, discuss and interact with each other outside of the companies control and influence. Customer relations’ management is becoming social network relationship management. Social CRM is not just an extension to enterprise software, but it addresses a fundamental paradigm shift on the next wave of how enterprises will deal with customers.

How can effective CRM strategies lead to tangible benefits and, ultimately, improve a company’s bottom line?

AB. Forward-looking enterprises have recognised the tremendous power and benefits social CRM systems can provide, and have started to adjust their workflow accordingly. They do this by integrating social networks and online communities to leverage the benefits for reducing support costs and to accelerate promotion and marketing through peer-to-peer customer interactions. As more customers rely on other peers for support questions, and the more customers get influenced by other socially connected customers for their purchasing decisions, the more important it becomes for enterprises to optimise their CRM strategies. The cost for an online community are less than 15 percent of the traditional support costs. Leveraging the power of peer-to-peer interaction in social media can accelerate the purchasing process, reduce sales cycle, increase lead generation, amplify awareness, and hence, reduce the customer acquisition cost. But most importantly, adjusting traditional CRM strategies by embracing social CRM strategies will give the customer the ultimate voice and enable enterprises to be more responsive, increase agility, and be more productive in their interaction with customers and other stakeholders.

FL. By understanding their customers’ needs, and using customer insight, companies can improve their service, increasing customer loyalty and retention. This is particularly important online: knowing why the customer came to our site, making their search fast, seamless and accurate will make them complete the purchase.

Additionally, delivering an individual, personalised service can give companies an edge over competitors. Offering the same level of service online and offline is often thought to be challenging, especially since consumers today are more demanding than ever, but thanks to developments in technology this need not be the case.

Finally, this has to be done using the right channel (phone, web, in store…) at the right time and seamlessly: customers use various channels to browse, communicate with and purchase from a company. They expect the company to follow them seamlessly from one channel to the next. Organisations who provide this level of service to their customers will reduce abandonment rates, increase customer satisfaction and revenue.

What are the common mistakes organisations make when trying to manage CRM strategies?

FL. Some organisations fail to have a “single view” of the customer: either by treating the customer differently depending on the channel selected, or by not understanding the evolution of the customer’s needs.

The first type is due to considering the various channels (physical store, web, phone…) as independent. A typical example is a customer having a problem when filling in a form online and calling the company, only to have to give the same information over again.

The second type of mistake stems from the inability to manage data – or the lack of data altogether – to understand customers and predict what they should be offered. An example would be to receive an attractive discount on a TV screen just days after the customer has purchased that item.

The solution, in essence, is to offer the right thing at the right time to the right person, via their preferred channel.

AB. One common mistake in managing new CRM strategies is to utilise the same processes and information that have been used in the past, namely dealing with customer relationship management on a bi-lateral relation. Many organisations now realise that the traditional way CRM systems worked are not adapted to new forms of customer interactions. Implementing and managing CRM strategies without understanding the customer’s behaviour will lead to failure and the selection of the wrong programmes and inappropriate communication channels. In addition, information available through traditional CRM methods will lack insight and details required to effectively act on and react to customer’s needs and requirements. More than ever, people trust the opinion of peers when it comes to product or service recommendations, and CRM systems need to be able to incorporate the discussions and information exchanged between customers wherever they occur.

How have your products and services been put to good use by clients? Do you have some recent examples?

AB. Lithiums’ communities are structured and organised to foster interaction and growth. Most online communities die after six to 12 months, 100 percent of Lithium’s communities are continuously growing and demonstrate very healthy interactions between members. We achieve this through the creation and fostering of superusers through a sophisticated ranking and reputation platform. Our clients reap huge benefits due to Lithiums’ in-depth analysis of user behaviour and our detailed understanding of social dynamics inside of the communities. Companies like Best Buy have been able to demonstrate more than €5m worth of benefits derived from online communities. Creating vibrant communities and connecting other social networks guarantees a thorough understanding of the customer requirements and hence provides a powerful tool optimising the customer relationship.

Lithium has close to 500 customers in all kind of industries, ranging from telecoms such as British Telecom, Swisscom and O2, to retail with BestBuy and Barnes&Nobles and also technology companies like Sony Playstation, Logitech and Nokia, to name just a few.

FL. Companies use different products depending on their needs, which vary as well with time. The end objective is, in most cases, to provide a true cross-channel experience to the customer.

At ATG, we recently helped Tommy Hilfiger launch an iPhone application. The application gives consumers the convenience and opportunity to explore, search, and purchase Tommy Hilfiger merchandise anytime, anywhere. It provides a strong brand experience for Tommy and a rewarding experience for shoppers but, most importantly, it allows users to buy the products they want, when and where they wish – using the channels they prefer.

This is a good example of how to deliver customers the same level of service they can enjoy on the main website. The application melds capabilities such as personalisation, automated recommendations, and search and navigation, providing shoppers with a highly personalised shopping experience. It also demonstrates how new channels can be well integrated with existing ones. For instance, if a shopper decides not to checkout using their iPhone, their cart will follow them back to the main website. This integrated functionality is not only something consumers want but will ultimately help retailers increase sales.

Biographies

Frank Lord is Vice President for EMEA at ATG, where he is responsible for leading the company into these markets, managing the teams that sell and support e-commerce solutions to some of the largest retailers, consumer product manufacturers, and telecommunications companies. Frank has 19 years experience in the software industry.

Adrian Bisaz is Director Marketing and Business Development, Europe. He has over 20 years experience as an IT and telecommunications industry sales and marketing executive in both Europe and the US. Adrian lives and works out of Switzerland and is responsible for partnerships, business development and marketing in EMEA for Lithium.