CRM: Competitive Strategy & Benefits in Tourism Holding Limited

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and its strategic importance in business development, particularly within the context of Tourism Holding Limited (THL). It identifies and evaluates the benefits of leveraging a CRM system like SugarCRM, emphasizing standardized processes, elimination of manual spreadsheets, and improved data accessibility. The report also examines the importance of CRM in developing a competitive strategy, highlighting its cost-effectiveness and ability to enhance customer relationships. Furthermore, it assesses the stakeholder impact of THL's CRM system, the role of information technology in CRM, and critical elements such as market automation, sales force automation, and customer service. The report concludes by discussing factors influencing CRM success and ways to create value through CRM and marketing activities, ultimately underscoring how CRM can provide a competitive advantage by enabling better customer service, timely service, and a centralized customer database.

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Question 1
1a) Identification and evaluation of benefits and competitive strategies
One of the main benefits of leveraging CRM system is that is creates a standardized
process. For example, there are mainly three divisions in the business organization
manufacturing, rentals and sales. Different department or division in the organization has unique
process. There are various stages in the sales process; therefore it needs to market its products
and services by creating campaigns targeted to prospects (Rahimi & Kozak, 2017). However, the
divisions in the department are depended on each other for successful operations. It is essential
for the divisions in the organization to function individually while interacting with each other.
The SugarCRM system benefits the organization by providing those tools to manage measure
and improve the operations and activities of the organization. For example, there are specific
stages in the sales process, the CRM systems helps the team to automate the process of sales
stages from managing approvals to logging information about the communications and
interactions between the reps and the prospects(Koegler et al., 2013).
Another major benefit of implementing CRM system in Tourism Holding Limited is
elimination of managing large amount of manually created spreadsheets and excels sheets, which
was one of the challenges faced by the company. With the help of CRM systems in the
organization, the teams can track the opportunities without stressing on compiling and
organization data into various different documents(Rahimi & Kozak, 2017). This reduces time
and effort of the teams and increases efficiency. The management of the organization can access
the data of different teams automatically. It minimizes the lag time in the company which can be
competitive advantage to the company. For example, it automatically created quotes and

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contracts in pdf file, all the customer information are centralized in one place. The job sheet
allows the employees to check the job status and determine the time when the vehicle will be
ready to pickup (Hassan et al., 2015).
b) Importance of customer relationship management in developing competitive strategy
According to Choudhury and Harrigan, (2014), customer relationship management is
considered to be one of the most critical areas for successfully operating the business
organization. It is the most efficient approach in maintain and building good relationship with the
customers of the business organization. This can help the business organization to create loyal
customers which is a competitive advantage for the business organization. Therefore, it can be
said, that developing bonds with the customers enables the business organization to fins new
levels of success. As mentioned by Nyadzayo and Khajehzadeh, (2016), the CRM system that
has been implemented by Tourism Holding Limited contains important data and information
about the historical view and analysis of the customers. As mentioned above, this reduces the
time lag of the company and helps the organization to analyze the expectations of the customers
and make alterations in the operations of the company.
According to Saarijärvi, Karjaluoto and Kuusela, (2013), one of the strongest aspects of
customer relationship management system in the business organization is that it is highly cost
effective. The CRM system helps the business organization to reduce tedious and manual works,
which has been one of the challenges faced by Tourism Holding Limited. As mentioned by
Symons, (2014), this CRM system reduces the process time and increases efficiency in the
business organization, which in turn helps the business organization to build competitive
strategy.

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Question 2:
a) Stakeholder Impact by THL’s CRM system
The entire success of implementing CRM system lies entirely on the acceptance of its
usage by different stakeholders in the business organization. The main stakeholders involved in
are the senior level management of the business organization, the manufacturing department’s
managers, sales agents, employees and the customers of the business organization (Choudhury &
Harrigan, 2014). Various stakeholders of the organization have different expectations from the
implementation of customer relationship management system. The implementation of the Sugar
CRM in the business organization might positively influence the stakeholders. The CRM system
might enhance the customer experience, reduce the cost of operations, improve the business
reporting and finally contribute towards better governance by the top level management (Nguyen
& S. Waring 2013).. The department heads such as the marketing managers; manufacturing
managers of THL can effectively track the marketing or manufacturing budgets, determine the
marketing campaigns, identify customer segmentation on the basis of various parameters and
help them to monitor the performance of the dealers. CRM system positively impacts the
employees of the organization for example, The CRM system can ease navigation, prevents work
duplication, reduce work load and eliminate paperwork activities. This increases the level of
integration in THL Company. However, implementation of CRM system in the organization
requires new ways of performing or executing the work (Hassan et al., 2015).. Therefore it
requires additional training and development for the employees which is time consuming and
increases the cost of the company. Therefore, it has both positive and negative impacts on the
employees of the THL Company (Khodakarami & Chan, 2014). Further, the CRM system has

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positively impacts the customers, who have been identified to be one of the major stakeholders
of Tourism Holding Limited. For example, it facilitates ease of navigation, search the services
and products in an enhanced manner, it ensures speedy delivery of services, facilitates online
payment, get status updates and ensure quick redemption of loyalty points. However, CRM
system might cause various change management issues and challenges. There might be
resistance to change by the employees and the managers (Koegler et al., 2013). The customers
might prefer having personalized communication methods rather than self service. This might
increase the cost of operations as well. Therefore, the stakeholder expectations must be taken
into consideration on CRM implementation.
b) Role and importance of Information technology in CRM
Initiating and developing information technology in THL Company can help to improve
the relationship of the company with the customers in various ways. The information technology
helps all the departments in the organization to run smoothly. It is considered to be one of the
most important factors in managing the relationship with the customers, retaining the existing
customers and gaining new customers (Nyadzayo & Khajehzadeh, 2016). The informational
technology tools plays an important role in collecting and analyzing the customer data and
information and build long term effective relationship with the customers. Further, information
technology develops tools and techniques for databases as market sales in the business
organization (Rahimi & Kozak, 2017). Effective implementing and utilization of information
technology in the organization can develop a customer oriented culture in the organization. For
example, Tourism Holding Limited can use the information technology to enhance the customer

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relationship; it can help THL to personalize its communication and interaction with the
customers (Rosman & Stuhura, 2013). This in turn can increase the levels of customer
satisfaction in the company as well as offer new and innovative services to the customers and
enhance the relationship between the customers and the departments of the business
organization. Tourism Holding Limited can utilize customer behavior analysis and other
information technologies to acquire new customers (Saarijärvi, Karjaluoto & Kuusela, 2013).
Therefore, Information technology plays an important role in this mechanism.
c) Critical analysis of 3 elements of CRM system
The customer relationship management enables the business organization to manage
interaction with potential customers. According to Stein, Smith & Lancioni, (2013), the three
elements of customer relationship management system in the business organization are market
automation, sales force automation and customer service. Tourism Holding Limited requires
market automation which can help the business organization to systemize the tasks and the
operations of the sales and the marketing agents and invest their time in organizing events. As
per Koegler et al., (2013), it needs to develop marketing automation from creation to execution.
This will enable the organization to ensure collaboration between the divisions in Tourism
Holding Limited. Sales force automation can help the business to track the prospects and
accurate forecast the sales values and successes of the organization. According to Nyadzayo &
Khajehzadeh, (2016), this element is vital for the organization as it helps to forecast future sales
and performance of the employees in the organization. It enables the organization to determine
revenue generation opportunities. The relationship with the customers continues after the closed
deal in order to analyze the customer satisfaction and resolve the issues. Hence customer service

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is an essential element of CRM system. As mentioned by Rahimi & Kozak, (2017), it focuses on
collecting customer information, information about the service purchase and the purchasing
patterns of the customers. The sales department needs to undertake initiatives to understand the
needs and preferences of the customers.
d) Factors that would influence the success of CRM system
It is highly recommended that Tourism Holding Limited must consider direct and indirect
involvement with the customers for strengthening the practical CRM system (Rosman &
Stuhura, 2013).. Increased involvement with the customers of Tourism Holding Limited can help
the organization to determine its relationship life cycle and identify the issues to be resolved.
Customer relationship can be enhanced by involving them in building CRM system in the
organization. It is also recommended to ensure inter-departmental integration as the CRM system
has organization wide influence. The activities and the operations of different divisions in
Tourism Holding Limited must be integrated to support the flow of information in the
organization (Saarijärvi, Karjaluoto & Kuusela, 2013).. Moreover it is suggested to provide
training and development facilities to the employees of the organization. Training and
development programs will enhance the skills of the staffs, motivate them and overcome change
resistance (Koegler et al., 2013).
e) Ways to create value through CRM and marketing activities
Implementing data driven marketing and sales activities can help the business
organization to incorporate strategies for building customer loyalty and retaining customers in
the THL Company. Mapping sales cycle to CRM might help the organization to create
benchmarks, identify leads and prospect, convert into sales and final close the deal. THL can

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incorporate new innovative techniques for interacting with the customers (Choudhury &
Harrigan, 2014). The marketing campaigns must be linked through CRM to customer feedbacks
and suggestions. This might help the sales and marketing personnel to analyze customer response
and engage with them (Choudhury & Harrigan, 2014).. CRM system can be used to track return
on investment, it helps to measure and track the marketing campaigns. It creates value by
enabling the organization to analyze the overall marketing activities and operations of the
business (Rahimi & Kozak, 2017). CRM marketing metrics can be implemented to allocate
resources and set budgets. This helps the organization to create competitive strategy and enhance
customer service. This can also be incorporated in product based organizations (Rahimi &
Kozak, 2017).
Question 3: Benefits of Customer Relationship Management
CRM system in the organization can help business organizations to gain competitive
advantage. It helps the company to define the process of the business operations in an effective
manner. The CRM system implemented by the business organization helps to have to single
view of the customers and their purchasing patterns considered the historic sales analysis. All the
teams and the divisions of the business organization are able to access the information as per
their needs and requirements (Rahimi & Kozak, 2017).. This system has helped the organization
to address several challenges and issues faced. CRM system reduces the process time and
increases efficiency in the business organization, which in turn helps the business organization to
build competitive strategy. As mentioned by Taylor et al., (2015), having a centralized customer
data base with the help of SugarCRM system, enables the team to provide better quality service
to the customers and timely service which increases customer satisfaction. This helps the

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organization to build competitive advantage and build better relationship with the customers by
providing them personalized and timely service. The CRM solutions of the business organization
can help the business organization to yield better results and build diverse customer base.
Implementation of CRM facilities in the company enables it to create visibility throughout the
departments and help the organization to track the marketing and sales efforts of the company
through managing post sales support and closing the deal. It enables the organization and its
teams to share information with each team which might result in faster sales process and
increased revenue in the organization (Rahimi & Kozak, 2017). The sales processes are
automated which ensures customer satisfaction. CRM system can ease navigation, prevents work
duplication, reduce work load and eliminate paperwork activities (Tseng, 2016). It enhances the
customer experience, reduce the cost of operations, improve the business reporting and finally
contribute towards better governance by the top level management

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