Benefits of Customer Relationship Management

This article discusses the benefits of customer relationship management (CRM) for businesses. It explains how effective CRM can help in identifying and fulfilling customer requirements, improving overall business processes, reducing after-sales costs, gaining a competitive advantage, and creating transparent communication with customers. The article also highlights the importance of CRM in improving customer satisfaction, sales processes, and brand positioning.

CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP
MANAGEMENT

Benefits of customer relationship management
Customer relationship management refers to the art of establishing and maintaining relationships
with customers. Various organizations have been putting increasing efforts to maintain customer
relationships owing to various benefits associated with it. Firstly, effective CRM helps in
identifying and analyzing customer requirements better (Wang & Feng, 2012). A better
understanding of customer requirements helps businesses in identifying a need gap and hence
fulfilling the same in order to keep customers satisfied. This helps in improving customer
satisfaction level leading to increased customer loyalty. When an organization puts efforts in
understanding customer requirements and fulfilling the same in an effective manner, the
customers tend to be satisfied and loyal towards the brand. This in turn leads to building a loyal
customer base and enhanced revenues from these customers.
Effective CRM also improves overall business processes (Goddard et. al., 2012). For example,
while contacting organizational clients or potential customers, it is beneficial that the company’s
CRM software contains all the details about the customers, their requirements as well as logs of
previous conversations with them. This is specifically beneficial for new employees who do not
have prior knowledge about the client.
For a sales personnel, there are various benefits of managing customer relationships. Keeping
customer conversation logs also largely assists sales team in effectively following up with the
client. This improves sales process and reduces overall time consumed by the sales team (Li &
Mao, 2012). After sales costs are also reduced with the help of competent CRM strategies
adopted by the firm. Sales process is also improved through CRM as effective client
relationships also help sales personnel in gaining referrals for further sales.
Most importantly, building and managing proactive customer relationships leads to improved
goodwill of the brand (Keller et. al., 2011). Brand positioning also improves if customer
relationships are maintained well. This resourceful managing of customer relationships also
helps businesses in gaining a competitive advantage over other players in the industry.
Customer relationship management allows firms to customize their products and services as per
the needs of the clients. This will further leads to increased customer satisfaction. Brands can

also instil improved loyalty by valuing their loyal customers and offering them augmented
services.
Lastly, effective relationships with customers also creates a transparent communication process
between the organizations and clients. Transparent communication also allows customers to
provide constructive feedback to the organization which in turn leads to improved service quality
by the brand.
These improved relationships with customers are highly beneficial for the firm. The data
gathered through CRM helps organizations in catering to customers in a better manner. Sales
process becomes more efficient and doors of transparent communication are opened through
effective adoption of CRM strategies by businesses. This is the reason, why businesses invest
heavily on customer relationship management. The benefits of CRM are plenty and effectively
managing customer relationships is critical to the success of a business.

References
Goddard, M.G.J., Raab, G., Ajami, R.A. and Gargeya, V.B., 2012. Customer relationship
management: a global perspective. Gower Publishing, Ltd..
Keller, K.L., Parameswaran, M.G. and Jacob, I., 2011. Strategic brand management: Building,
measuring, and managing brand equity. Pearson Education India.
Li, L. and Mao, J.Y., 2012. The effect of CRM use on internal sales management control: An
alternative mechanism to realize CRM benefits. Information & management, 49(6), pp.269-277.
Wang, Y. and Feng, H., 2012. Customer relationship management capabilities: Measurement,
antecedents and consequences. Management Decision, 50(1), pp.115-129.