Customer relationship management (CRM), the business practice which aims to help enterprises leverage technology solutions to better understand and cater for their clients` needs and wants, stands to benefit significantly from the convergence of computing, content and communications technologies.
This was the theme of a panel discussion organised by USKO Software, Andersen Consulting and the University of Pretoria`s Gordon Institute of Business Science. The discussion focused on the means by which businesses can adapt existing CRM strategies to take advantage of this industry evolution.
Phillip Kotze, head of Andersen Consulting`s Customer Insight Practice division, expounded on the concepts of improving CRM functionality through interaction with clients across various channels, and applying the insight gained from that interaction in a self-perpetuating closed loop system.
Kotze believes that with the advancements in data mining technology complemented by decreasing prices of storage technology, effective CRM is available to many more enterprises today than ever before.
The key to success for complex organisations, according to Kotze, is to converge existing CRM capabilities into a company`s business architecture.
This sentiment was echoed by Mark Ritacco, market analyst for Business Objects, who noted: "Information is raw material for creating better business practices."
Ritacco argued that while business decisions are generally made by a limited number of people based on previous experience and rules of thumb, the introduction of a converged CRM solution would empower a broader cross-section of employees to make informed decisions which help bring a company closer to its goal.
This strategy of leveraging off an e-business intelligence solution will open doorways to even better client insight information, Ritacco said, because it creates an environment flexible enough to ask even more questions about the customer.
However, enterprises should be wary of trying to "own" their customers, cautioned Sam Michel, MTN e-business group executive. "Though the new economy brings with it new rules, we shouldn`t be too quick to discard the lessons learnt from operating in the old economy."
The lesson, according to Michel, is that the market is too big for any one player to dominate. The only successful way forward is through shared opportunities which empower the customer, rather than owning him.
Ultimately, said Michel, e-business technology and devices leveraging off CRM convergence will transform the way people live, work and play.
Looking to the future, the panellists agreed that while Internet penetration in SA is still marginal, the introduction of new technology and better business practices is inevitable. One of the primary differentiators of the way in which CRM will be used, they said, is the European trend towards opt-in, permission-based marketing, which the South African model emulates.
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