CUSTOMER-RELATIONSHIP-MANAGEMENT

CUSTOMERRELATIONSHIPMANAGEMENTAs.univ.drd.MihaelaCorneliaPrejmereanLect.univ.dr.AlinaMihaelaDimaAcademyofEconomicStudies,Bucharestin2012.Abstract:After17yearsofeconomicalandmarketdevelopment,Romaniancompaniesfaceanewchallenge:thetoughcompetitionfromtheEuropeanUnionandthebattleforthecustomers.TheRomanianenterpriseswillhavetolearnnotonlyhowtoattractcustomers,butalsohowtokeepthem.Marketingprogramsincludenowaspectsregardingcustomerorientation,relationshipmanagement,loyaltyandquality.Inthispaper,wewillfollowthemainaspects,characteristics,dimensionsandprocessesofCustomerRelationshipManagement,andwewillanalyzethechallengesthatthelocalcompanieswillhavetoface.ExamplesfromthefinancialservicesectorwillroundtheactualsituationoftheimplementationoftheCRMrulesandprinciplesinRomania.Keywords:marketinginformationsystem;customerrelationshipmanagement;businessasset,customeracquisition;customerretention.1.IntroductionInthelastdecade,themajorityofthecompanieswerepreoccupiedwithproduction,recession,mergers,newtechnologiesandbusinessregulation.Romania’saccessionintheEuropeanUnionwillbringmanyadvantagesforfurtherdevelopment,togetherwithmembershipinaCommonMarketwithcommonpoliciesonproductregulation,andfreedomofmovementforallthefourfactorsofproduction(goods,services,capitalandlabor).ThismeansthatRomaniancompanieswillcompetewithothercompaniesfromtheEUdirectlyintheirhomemarket.Europeancompaniesaremoreflexibleandmobileandwillputahighpressureonthelocalcompaniesinordertoproducebetterproducts,launchbetteroffersandservicesandorientatemoretowardstheircustomers.Highrevenueequalsimportantcustomerisaclassicrulewhenthecompanyorganisesitscustomerpolicy.“Animportantcustomerbringsagrossamountofmoneyforourenterprise”hasbecomeareflexformanycompaniesabroadandperhapsinRomania,too.Butisthisalwaystrue,ordoweneedmoreinformationthanasimplefigurereportedattheendoftheyear?2.MarketinginformationsystemAwinningcompanyismoreproductiveinacquiringandretainingcustomers,toexpanditsclientele(Kotler,2003).Thiscompanyimprovesthevalueofthecustomersbyreducingtherateofdefection,increasingthelongevityofcustomerManagement&marketingrelationship,makinglow-profitcustomersmoreprofitableorterminatingthemetc.Gatheringinformationontheactualorpotentialmarketplacenotonlyallowstheorganisationtomonitortrendsandissuesconcerningitscurrentcustomers,butalsohelpsitidentifyandprofilepotentialcustomersandnewmarkets,tokeeptrackofitscompetition,theirstrategies,tacticsandfutureplans(BrassingtonandPettitt,2003).Inordertocollectandorganizeahighquantityofdiverseinformation,theenterprisesstartedtobuildmarketinginformationsystems.Thereare,mainly,asetofproceduresandmethodsbywhichpertinent,timelyandaccurateinformationiscontinuallygathered,sorted,analysed,evaluated,storedanddistributedfortheuseofmarketingdecisionmakers(ZikmundandD´Amico,1993).Themarketinginformationsystemincludesdatafromexternalandinternalsources(salesrecords,customerrecords,marketingcommunications,andsalesforceinformation).Thefocusonthecustomerandtheintegrationofthemarketingfunctionhelpsthecompanytocreatecustomerdatabaseswithcomprehensiveinformationaboutindividualcustomersorprospects.3.CustomerrelationshipmanagementCustomerRelationshipManagementhasbeenaroundforthelast30years,butitbecameveryimportantwhencompanieschangedtheirattitudetowardsmarketingfunction.Nowadays,thecross-functionalapproachtomarketingrequiresanorganizationalcultureandclimatethatencouragescollaborationandcooperationbetweendepartments.Peoplewithinthebusinessmustunderstandtheirroleinservingcustomers,internalorexternalone.CRMbuildsontheprinciplesofrelationshipmarketingandrecognizesthatcustomersareabusinessassetandnotsimplyacommercialaudience,impliesthestructuringofthecompanyfromfunctionstoprocesses,informationareusedproactivelyratherthanreactivelyanddevelopsthene-to-onemarketingapproaches(Payne,2006).WhendefiningCRM,wemustfirstexplainthedifferencebetweencustomeracquisitionandcustomerretention.Thetwoconceptshavedifferentdrivers.Attractingcustomershasbecomeverydifficultthesedays,whenpeoplearehardertoplease.Theyaresmarter,priceconsciousandsensitive,moredemanding,lessforgiving,andtheyareapproachedbymanymorecompetitorswithequallygoodorbetteroffers(Kotler,2003).Companiesfocusmoreonsalesanalysis,customersegmentation,advertising,merchandisingandcampaignmanagement.Themoredifficultpartiskeepingthecustomers.AccordingtoBruhn,acustomerissatisfiedwhenthecomparisonbetweenofferandconsumptionfulfilshis/herexpectations,afterhe/sheacceptsthecompany,trustsitandexhibitsapositiveattitudetowardsit,becomesloyaltothatcompany.Inthissituation,thecustomertalksfavourablyaboutthecompanyandaboutitsproducts,payslessattentiontocompetingbrandsandislesssensitivetoprice,whichturnstransactionsintoroutine(Bruhn,1999).Withcustomerretention,thecompanymustpayattentiontoservicesatisfactionandtrustinCustomerrelationshipmanagementtheorganizationanditsstaff.Somecompaniesbelievethatifacustomercomplaintstheproblemwillbesolved,but96%ofunsatisfiedcustomersdon’tcomplainandgotoanothercompany.Therefore,CustomerRelationsh