CRM系统及其在提高竞争力方面的作用

PobranezczasopismaAnnalesH-Oeconomia

http://oeconomia.annales.umcs.pl

Data:07/06/202020:06:30

DOI:10.17951/h.207-24

ANNALES

UNIVERSITATISMARIAECURIE-SKŁODOWSKALUBLIN–POLONIA

VOL.LIII,2 SECTIOH 2019

ALEKSANDRADEWICKA

aleksandra.dewicka@put.poznan.pl

PoznanUniversityofTechnology,FacultyofEngineeringandManagement,ul.Strzelecka11,60-965Poznan,Poland

ORCIDID:/0000-0001-8238-6602

MICHAŁTRZISZKA

michal.trziszka@put.poznan.pl

PoznanUniversityofTechnology,FacultyofEngineeringandManagement,ul.Strzelecka11,60-965Poznan,Poland

ORCIDID:/0000-0003-0170-5849

JOANNAZIOMEK

joanna.ziomek@put.poznan.pl

PoznanUniversityofTechnology,FacultyofEngineeringandManagement,ul.Strzelecka11,60-965Poznan,Poland

ORCIDID:/0000-0002-4063-6463

TheCRMsystemanditsroleinraisingthecompetitivenessofenterprises

Keywords:CRM;competition;entrepreneurship;customerrelations

JEL:M15;M31;O32

Howtoquotethispaper:Dewicka,A.,Trziszka,M.,&Ziomek,J.(2019).TheCRMsystemanditsroleinraisingthecompetitivenessofenterprises.AnnalesUniversitatisMariaeCurie-Skłodowska,sectioH–Oecono-mia,Vol.53,No.2.

18 ALEKSANDRADEWICKA,MICHAŁTRZISZKA,JOANNAZIOMEK

Abstract

Theglobalisationofcountries’economiesandthegrowthofthemarketintheWestarebecomingimportantfactorsdeterminingtheactivityofenterprises.Inthischangingeconomicenvironment,thesearchfornewsourcesofconcurrencyadvantageoftendeterminesthesurvivalanddevelopmentofanenterprise.Knowl-edgeaboutthemarket,speedofdecisions,innovationsandcustomerrelationshipmanagement(CRM)arebecomingsomeofthekeysuccessfactors.Followingananalysisoftheliterature,thisarticlepresentstheessenceanddefinitionaswellasthebenefitsofCRMintermsofraisingthecompetitivenessofenterprisesforwhichtheclientplaysaleadingrole.

Introduction

Intoday’seconomicoutlook,theclientplaysakeyroleintheoperationsofen-terprises,andallcompanyactivitiesshouldbecarriedoutinsuchawayastomain-tainthebestpossiblerelationshipwiththecompany.Competitionforthecustomerandthepatternofgeneralcompetition,aswellasthemodernglobalisationoftheeconomy,havebecomeimportantfactorsconditioningtheoperationsofenterprises.Inthedynamicsofthechangingeconomicenvironment,thesearchfornewsourcesofconcurrencyadvantageoftendeterminesthesurvivalanddevelopmentofbusinessentities,andthebroadknowledgeofthemarketandthespeedofde-cisions,aswellasinnovationandmanagement,becomesomeofthekeysuccess

factors(Zając,2007).

Oneofthosefactorsisthecustomerrelationshipmanagement(CRM)strategy,whichassumesthatthesourceofenterprisegrowthis,first,thepropernurturingoftherelationshipwiththeclientandtheconsumer,whoisincreasinglyawareoftheadvantagesanddisadvantagesoftheproductsandservicesoffered.Inthe21stcentury,thestrategyofindividualcontactwiththeclienthasbecomeimportant,therefore,thisstudyusestheliteratureandtheavailableresultsofmarketresearchtopresenttheessenceofCRMintermsofraisingthecompetitivenessofbusinessentities.

CRMsystem

WhendescribingtheCRMsystemitshouldberememberedthatitisprimarilyabusinessphilosophyinwhichtheclientplaysaleadingrole,andsecond,itisanana-lyticalandITsystem.CRMisnowacommonelementofmarketingformodernbusinessenterprises.Itisusedinallbusinessentitieswhovaluemaintainingastablerelationshipwithclients.TheideaoftheCRMsystemistoconnecttwoentities–theenterpriseandtheclient–andthisrelationshipbringsmutualfinancialandbusinessbenefits.

CRMisabusinessstrategybasedonselectingandmanagingclientstooptimiselong-termbenefits.Itrequirestheintroductionofacustomer-orientedphilosophyandbusinessculturethatensureseffectivemarketing,salesandserviceprocesses.

ThECRMSySTEMANDITSROLEINRAISINgThECOMPETITIVENESSOFENTERPRISES 19

OnlineCRMapplicationsprovidetheopportunitytoeffectivelymanagecustomercontacts,leadingtothesuperiorityofthisapproachovertheoverallcultureandstrategyintheenterprise(Grzanka,2009).

ThestrategyandimplementationoftheCRMsystemrequiresthatenterprisesuseappropriateresourcesandknowledge,thus,therearemanydefinitionsofCRM.AccordingtoTiwana,theCRMsystemisaprocessofmanagingrelationswithcurrentclientsinordertomaintainthem,maximisetheirloyaltyandincreasetheirrevenues,andatthesametimeselectivelyattractnewcustomers.Accordingtootherresearchers,theCRMsystemcreatesacultureofimprovingthefunctioningofthecompanyintermsofmaintaininganddevelopingrelationshipswithclients.TheadoptedCRMstrategyfocusesonsupportingmarketingactivities,thesalesprocessandallactivitiesrelatedtocustomerservicebydirectingattentiononlytotheneedsoftheconsumer,withaparticularemphasisonculturally-developedbehaviourpatterns(Tiwana,2003).

Intheopinionofthesystemresearchers,CRMextendsthedefinitionandcon-ceptofsalesfromaconsciousacttoacontinuousprocess,coveringallemploy-eesofagiveneconomicentity.CRMdefineseachclientbymeansofcontinuousacquisitionandtheappropriateuseofavailableloyaltyinformation.Onthebasisofanothertheory,theCRMsystemisaimedatimprovingandimplementingsuchactionstrategieswhich,supportedbymoderntechnologicalsolutions,reducethediscrepancybetweenthecurrentandfutureactivitiesoftheorganisationintermsofmaintainingandacquiringnewcustomers.

CRMisamodernmanagementmodel,themeasureofwhichisthebestwaytomeetconsumerneeds.Thegoalofthisapproachistodevelopinternalandexternalrelationswiththeconsumer,whichwilldirectlyincreasetheprofitandproductivityofthecompany.Therelationshipssoughtariseasaresultoftheuseoftechnologicalsolutions,strategicplanningmethods,andanyothermarketingandorganisationalimprovementtoolsandtechniques.

CRMappliestoallaspectsofmanagementthatmeetindividualcustomerneeds,aswellasimprovingtheirlifecycleinthecompany.CRMisarelativelynewap-proachinthefieldofmanagementthatintegratessales,orderfulfilmentandserviceofferingswhilecoordinatingallcomponentsoftheinteractionprocesswiththeconsumer.TheCRMsystemalsofindsitsdefinitioninIT.Itcoversthemethods,softwareandotherITpossibilitiesthatenablethecompanytoorganiseitsrelationswithconsumersinanorderlymanner(Grzanka,2009).

CRMisnotonlyatoolbutalsoastrategyforbusinessphilosophy,forwhichconstantcontactandcustomerretentionisakeyvalue.AnimportantissueoftheCRMsystemistoensuretheuniformoperationinallbusinessprocessesoftheenterprise,startingfromstatisticsandendingwiththeportfolioofofferedgoodsandservices.

ThereareseveralaspectsandconceptsandmodulesforCRM,butthemostimportantare:

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toensuretheentitiesoftheeconomyarefocusedontheselectedgroupofclients;

toensuresuppliersandrecipientscollaboratetorelateagreedandsharedintentions;

tousesophisticatedtechnologytoindividualisecontacts;

toincreasetheoperationalefficiencyofpremises;

toestablishlong-termcooperationwithclients;

toindividualisedirectcontactswithclients;

toensurethebasisforthecompany’soperationisthesatisfactionoftheclientandguaranteeofhisloyalty.

TherearemanyotherdefinitionsandaspectsoftheCRMsystemthatareencap-sulatedinvariousclassificationandcommunicationmodels.

ClassificationofCRMsystems

Theliteraturereviewindicatesthestudiesthathavepreviouslydealtwithsimilarresearchtopicsbeforeandtheirresults.Theliteraturebackgroundshowstheresultsofthepriorstudies.Additionally,differentoptionsandperspectivesfromtheliteraturecanbeidentifiedanddocumented.

CRMenjoysconsiderableinterestamongbusinessentities.Theessenceofthesystem,accordingtothedefinitionsquoted,istheclient,whoshouldbeapproachedindividuallyinordertobuildhisloyaltyandsenseofexclusiveness.ThemainareasoftheconceptofeffectiveCRMinclude:

estimatingthepotentialvalueoftheclient;

themanagementofadvertisingcampaigns;

acquiringandobtainingclients;

riskreductionandmanagement;

systemssupportingcustomercommunicationchannels;

integratedcallcentresystems;

usingtheInternetincooperationwithclients(Grzanka,2009).

Basedonitsapplication,theCRMsystemisdividedintothreeimportantele-ments.Thefirstoftheseisthecommunicationelement(interaction),responsibleforcommunicationwiththeclient.Thetaskofcommunicationistohandleallpos-siblecustomercontactchannelswiththeorganisationandensuretheindepend-enceofthecustomerservicestandardfromtheinformationandcommunicationchannel.AnotherelementoftheCRMsystemistheoperatingpanelresponsiblefortheautomationofbasicbusinessprocessessuchasmarketing,salesandservice.Thisinvolvescollectingandsharingallpossibleinformationabouttheclient,whichenableitscomprehensiveandfullservice.Theoperatingpanelincludesthreegroupsoffunctionalities,targetedatmarketing,salesandtechnicalsupport(Januszewski,2018).ThelastelementoftheCRMsystemistheanalyticalfunction,responsible

ThECRMSySTEMANDITSROLEINRAISINgThECOMPETITIVENESSOFENTERPRISES 21

foranalysingcustomerbehaviour,onthebasisofdatacollectedintheoperatingsystem.ItsmaintaskintheCRMsystemistoperformacomprehensiveanalysisandprocessingofcustomerdata.

ThetypicalfunctionalfeaturesoftheCRMsystemareconstantcontactwiththeclientfromthefirstmeetingandbuildingapermanentrelationshiptosolvingtheproblem,aswellas:

automaticroutingoforderstootherpeoplesothattheclientfeelsthatanappropriateemployeeisassignedtothem;

shorteningworkingtimeandfacilitatingworkforemployees;

generatingautomaticcontractsbetweenaclientandanenterprise;

efficientelectroniccommunicationbetweenthecompanyandtheclient;

reportingtoolsthathelphighlightthemostcommonproblemsrelatedtocustomerservice,learnaboutthecustomers’needsandevaluateserviceper-formance;

theCRMsystemprimarilyhasamailmergefeature,whichissenttopotentialandexistingcustomers,thus,reducingthescopeofworkofenterprises(Zając,2007).

Allthisispossiblethankstothreemodules.Thesalesmodulethatautomatesthesalesprocess.Theresultofthisprocessistheautomaticcollectionofdetailsoftheinformationthatisthesubjectofthetransaction.however,forthetransactiontotakeplace,itisnecessarytoperformanumberofelementaryactivitieswhichcanbeincludedasstandard:therecognitionofcustomers’needs,submittinganofferandinsomecasesitspresentation,negotiatingacontract,collectingorders,preparinginvoices,sendinggoods,andsettlingthesuppliesofsoldgoodsandservices(Dembińska-Cyranetal.,2004).Salesfunctions,duetothethematicandtechnologicalscope,canbedividedintothefollowingsub-functions:customerrecords(companies,naturalpersons),recordsofcontactpersons,salesplanningandforecasting,salesrecords,andsalesanalysis.

Anothermoduleismarketing,whichincludesthescopeofautomationofac-tivitiesrelatedtothecomprehensiveregistrationofstandardmarketingactivities.Detailedsub-functionsimplementedinthemarketingfunctionareprimarily:thereg-istrationofadvertisingcampaignscarriedout,handlingofcorrespondencereceivedfromcustomers,telemarketing(telesales),marketsegmentationandthemonitoringofcompetition,aswellasamarketingencyclopaedia.

ThelastmoduleoftheCRMsystemisserviceandafter-salesservice,whichissimilartothesalesmoduletoacertainextent.Itisrelatedtothewarrantyandpost-warrantyserviceforsoldproducts,goodsandservices.Theimportanceofthismoduleliesinshowingspecialinteresttothecustomerwhohasalreadyboughtsomethinginthecompany.Thisaction,referredtoasanafter-salesservice,includes:examiningthedegreeofcustomersatisfaction,obtaininginformationfromcustom-ersabouttheassessmentofthepurchasedproductandservice,testingpreferences,opinionsandfurtherneeds,andencouragingyoutomakefurtherpurchasesinthiscompany(Rudawska,2008).

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AllthisispossiblethankstotheuseofappropriateandtailoredCRMcommu-nicationchannelssuitedtothepreferencesofusersandconsumers.

CRMcommunicationchannels

Fromthetechnicalandcommunicationside,CRMsystemsconsistofapplicationserverlayers,adatabaseserverandinterfacelayers.ThemostimportantelementofCRMiscommunication,whichhelpstocreateclient-enterpriserelations.Therearemanyformsofmediathatofferthemosteffectiveandefficientcommunicationwiththeclient.Currently,mostCRMsystemsusecommunicationmoduleswiththeclientviaSMS,webpage,e-mailandcallcentre(Wilde,2011).

ThetaskofanSMStextmessageistoprovideinformationaboutproductsandcontests,aswellaspreventiveinformationaboutpaymentdates.Asimilarroleisplayedbye-mail,which,viaanautomatede-mail,enablesthemasssendingofdataformarketingorinformationpurposestoaselectedgroupofrecipients.

Webpagesenablethedisplayingofpresentationsandmapsoftheclient’svisitstothewebsitetodeterminehispreferencesandneeds,whilethecallcentremoduleenablestheidentificationofthecaller,thereceivingofinformationaboutthehistoryofcooperationorcontacts,andmanymorefunctions.

Therearemanyothermeansofcommunication,however,itisimportantthatselectedcommunicationchannelsenableefficientcommunicationwiththeclientandbringtangiblebenefitsforthebusinessstrategy.

CRMbenefits

ThemainrecipientsofCRMsolutionsincludeenterprisesandorganisationsthatarecharacterisedbyhavingalargenumberofclients.Theseareprimarily:largecorporationsandretailchains,telecommunicationscompanies,suppliersofcomputerhardwareandsoftware,manufacturersofcomplexsystems,companiesinthefast-movingconsumergoodsindustry,pharmaceuticalcompanies,banks,insurancecompanies,pensionfunds,realestateoffices,andclientsinhealthcareandeducation,aswellasstateadministration.

AllthesebusinessentitiesgainmanybenefitsfromrunningaCRMsystem,bothintermsofmeasurableandnon-measurablevalues.First,usershighlighttheadvantagesofCRMincludingtheavailabilityofinformationatanytime,shorteningthetimeofpreparingoffers,knowledgeaboutcustomers,relieffromroutineworkandincreasingcustomersatisfaction,aswellassavingtime.

Themostimportantbenefitasenjoyedby83%(Internetdata)ofentrepreneurswhohaveimplementedthisstrategytotheirentitiesistheincreaseinrevenuesandprofitsperoneclient.CRMsoftwareallowsyoutodevelopaplantoincreaseyour

ThECRMSySTEMANDITSROLEINRAISINgThECOMPETITIVENESSOFENTERPRISES 23

salesandprofitsinthelongterm,bymakingsalesdataorforecastsavailableimme-diately.CRMenablespolicymakerstocloselyexaminerevenueandcosts,andthishelpsdeterminethenecessarydiscountsorrebates(Wereda,2009).

CRMintroducesachangeofstrategytowardsthecustomer,thankstowhichtheresponsetimetothecustomerisshortened,withthepossibilityofextendingthetimespentwiththeclient.Thisefficientandeffectivecommunicationallowsnewbusinesscontactstobeestablished,aswellasexistinglinkstobeimproved.Enterprisesthusincreasetheirsalesandrevenuesbygeneratingmorepotentialcustomers.ThankstotheautomationfoundintheCRMsystem,itispossibletomonitorcontactswithcustomers,aswellastocreatetwistedsalesareas.

Theneedofeachcompanyistogainacompetitiveadvantagethatcanbecre-atedbyfindinganicheinthemarketandsatisfyingmarketneeds,whichallowsflexibilityduetoscalability.ThescalabilityoftheCRMsystemplaysaparticu-larlyimportantroleinthefunctioningofbusinessentitiesthatwanttoexpandthenumberofclientsinthenearfuture.ManyCRMsolutions,suchasSalesProCRM,orlicensedsoftwareonacomputer,helpcompaniesintegratealltheirbusinesssolutionswhilereducingtheamountoftimethatisrequiredtosolveadministrativeandofficematters.

CRM,introducingsignificantchangesinthemarketingactivitiesofenterprises,streamlinestheserviceofthetargetcustomer,asconfirmedby91%(Internetdata)ofbusinessentities.TheCRMsoftwareincludescentralisedcustomerdatawithwhichyoucanquicklycontactthecustomerviaane-mailtemplate.CRMstorescustomerdatathroughsalespointsandpurchasedata.AnotherbenefitofrunningCRMinenterprisesisincreasedcross-sellingandexpandedsalesfornewandexistingcus-tomers.Ithasbecomecleartocompaniesthatinfinancialtermsitisimportantnotonlytoacquirenewcustomersbut,aboveall,ensuretheloyaltyofexistingones.CRMcreatesalistofvaluableclientsfromcallcentres,databasesandothersources,allowingcustomerserviceemployeesorsellerstomakeanextendedoffertotheirclients(Wereda,2009).

CRMincludesacompetitorandcustomertrackingfunction.Themanagementandsalesdepartmentcanaccessthesereportstoidentifytrends,forecastandtrackthesalesprocess,andevaluatetheirbusinessresults.CRMsoftwareregulatestheavailabilityofinformationthatfacilitateskeydecisionsandalsocontainsmanyimportantarticleandpamphletresources.CRMprofilescustomersbyconductingbettertargetmarketing.TheCRMsystemcapturescustomerdetailssuchaspendingorders,paymenthistoriesanditemspurchased,theregionfromwhichthecustomercomesandmanymore.CRMcentralisesdatabasesthatareusedtoprofileclients,aswellaspredictswhatservicesacustomermayneedinthefuture.

ThegeneralbenefitsforthebusinessentitiesoperatingtheCRMsystemaretheongoingcontrolofthequalityofcustomerservice,thefullandcurrentanalysisoftheeffectivenessofmarketingandcommercialactivities,and,aboveall,accesstotherealknowledgebaseaboutthesurroundingeconomicmarket(Januszewski,2018).

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Conclusions

TheCRMstrategyrequireschangesinacompany,primarilyinitsorganisa-tionalandmarketingculture.CRMbringsmanybenefits,suchasestablishinga