Traditionally, the focus of implementing
customer management (CM) strategies was to reduce cost and to
an extent make customer management more efficient. But, firms
have started to realize that the implementation of CM strategies
is not only to retain loyal customers but also to play a strategic
role in helping businesses grow their revenues and profit.
Firms should realize that CM is
not and end in itself, but a means to an end. Firms should employ
“customer-centric” strategies to reap the full benefits
of CM strategies. By doing so, firms will be able to successfully
implement CM strategies in lucrative business scenarios, set reasonable
expectations for returns, and evaluate and understand new business
opportunities that will arise.
For implementing the interactive marketing approach, firms need
to make an assessment of individual customers including their
needs, wants and ways and means of communication. This will include
an assessment of lifetime value and profitability. This will involve
establishing a department that identifies the necessary components
and interfaces for delivery of product or services to the customer.
The department also appoints monitors and measures the impact
as well as any change in the firm’s consumer base.
In the future, a firm that is
able to accurately assess the customer feedback and market trends
through interactive marketing approach will be able to respond
to the market changes and customer needs within a day or may be
the instant a customer walks in. This will involve having the
right systems in place to effectively control and capture all
relevant Customer Data. If the right information system is in
place, the data can be processed in real time and relevant information
for the ideal marketing strategy can be provided instantly. Therein
lies the future of Customer Management, where you have a marketing
plan for each and every customer, to make them even more profitable
as soon as the purchase information is updated.
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