CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT

CRM or Customer Relationship Management simply means the methodology or the process of building stronger relationships with existing customers. This can be helpful for any business specially in knowing their customers needs and behavior. Many businessmen take this for granted and stay under the impression that once they have served a customer, he or she, will stay with them. But this is where they go wrong. Then after a couple of years they open their old customers files and are left wondering where they suddenly disappeared. A customer can desert you on many grounds including you not caring enough for them or because of an unresolved complaint. In fact, these 2 are the biggest reasons for the customers to shift to competitors products.

SUMMARY

CRM is a new business philosophy based on trust and value The core function of CRM is the value creation process Customer relationships develop over time The role of global salespeople in the process is that of both relationship builders and relationship promoters The basic premise of CRM is to offer superior value to customers in an effort to turn prospects into customers, customers into loyal customers, and loyal customers into partners. Find a useful way to manage all the customer data gathered/needed, and then commit to using the information to better serve your customer.

IMPORTANCE OF CRM:

CRM Gives a 360 Degree View of The Customer Statistics prove that: a. Repeat customers spend 33% more than new customers. Referrals by old customers are 107 % more than new customers. Maintaining existing customers is extremely crucial and its not secret now. 80% of marketing budget is allotted to CRM in most big companies. Every part of your organization which is related to the customer should be integrated. A 360 degree approach or the end-to-end customer management also takes into account the following things:

Executive management contact with key accounts Customer support functions, such as a help-desk customers may call for technical support

Customer service functions, such as billing and accounts receivable

CRM Is a Mindset And a Philosophy CRM is not a tool, although many aspects of the customer relationship can be automated using packaged or customized software solutions. In fact, CRM is just a part of the equation that includes changing business practices to focus more on customer needs and re-organizing databases so customer data is made available easily. Implementing CRM Requires Patience Most businesses start expecting results soon. But it is required that they understand that a CRM solution can only give them an estimate as to how much time will it take to implement the change. The reality is that it takes much longer than estimated for the people to get used to the change. CRM cannot take place overnight. CRM= Customer Analysis Any marketing strategy which loses out on the CRM aspect is sure to be a failure in todays business world. Customer is the GOD for the company. It is important to carry out a detailed analysis to find out the buying habits and the reasons of their decision making. For eg. You may find out that a particular group of customers is interested in buying a set of products. Then when you get a new customer with the same buying characteristics, you can try to up-sell something that goes along with it as well. CRM For Optimizing The Timing of The Sales When going into depth, CRM can actually help you customize the sales cycle for the individual customers so that you have the best chance of completing the sale. The customized sales cycle is flexible to meet the needs and motivations of the individual customer and is based on tracking the results of similar customers in the past. CRM For Future Customers Holding back the rights of CRM can be very dangerous for a companys existence. UPS went through a low phase during 1997 because of a strike. Their major customers were forced to shift to the competitors. At this point, UPS only had one thing in mind Win back the customers or die. After successfully clearing off the strike, UPS sent an apology letter to all the customers accompanied with personal phone calls expressing their apology for the inconvenience caused to them. This helped them gain 87% profits following the year strike took place. So until and unless the existing customers are made happy, new ones will also not stick. It is quite clear the role that CRM carries with itself. A companys future depends on the way it deals with its customers. The customer should never be in a situation where he/she is left wondering Why did the owner not call or send an apology for the inconvenience caused by

him? A well designed CRM can cut down the costs in long run by more than 50%. This can further help the business to identify potential sales opportunities. CRM ENHANCES: 1. Customer satisfaction 2. Return on relationship 3. Competitive advantage 4. Number of consumers 5. Retention rate 6. Assessments in the collection of analytics that help measure your customers value. 7. Revenue per customer

CRM REDUCES:

1. Cost to acquire customers 2. Cost to sell 3. Cost to serve 4. Time to serve

Recommendations for RCF

1. 24/7 helpline number in the respective regional language: This helpline number will be toll free and farmers who are the end consumers can call us anytime and we will always be at their service. Queries, doubts and questions related to aspects like; a) How to use the product? b) How much quantity should be used? c) Method of application d) And all what when how which questions will be answered.

2. Define relationship:

This can be done in the following ways:

Providing advice to farmers in , use of inputs, production technology, harvest management , information on harvesting (time and method), post harvest management pre-cooling, grading, sorting, packaging, storing on farm. Extending credits for farm inputs, Ensuring availability of quality inputs at reasonable rates recommending proper crop rotation Inter-cropping and developing close relationship with the farmers.

3. Issue electronic cards with points scheme:

Give every farmer an electronic card on his 1 purchase along with a pin number for security. On every purchase there will be some amount of points which will be added to his account. Once he has reached a particular slab of points he will be liable to get about 35- 40 % discounts on his next 5 purchases.

Eg:

1bag = 100 kg = 10 points. Till the time he comes to 500 points the company would have sold him 50 such bags. Giving him a 35-40% discount on his purchase of further 5 bags will not harm the company at all as the company has already marked their BEP.

4. Slogan :

AGAR CHAHTE HO ACHI FASAL....... TOH ISTAMAAL KI JIYE KHAAD KI ACHI NASAL!!!! JO MILEGI AUR KAHI NAHI...... PAR SIRF AAPKE RCF MAIN...............

5. Collect soil samples : Collect samples of soils from villages, give reports to the farmers and accordingly provide them with solutions to enhance productivity. EG: RAM KISEN (head of village). They are opinion leaders.

6. Use media as a tool :

The above activity can be covered live taking the views of the farmer before and after using the RCF product. This can be shown as an advertisement on TV at prime time in rural states of India and at the end of the ad there can be a message like AGAR AAP BHI RAM KISEN JAISE TARRAKI KI RAH PAR CHALNA CHAHTE HO TOH HUME JAROOR CALL KAREIN HAMARE TOLL FREE NUMBER PAR . 18009001010. Also give advertisements on local newspapers and cable TV.

7. Issue free booklets: Provide farmers with free booklets annually in their regional language which shall include latest trends and technologies in farming. Also the company can provide them with new methods and procedure of effective farming.

Note:

1. Indian customers are cost and benefit conscious. Company must keep this in mind and must strive to give the customers some extra value along with the core. The customer should be made aware of the benefits he shall acquire with the purchase. 2. GO RURAL BE RURAL. 3. Word of mouth plays a big role. Target the opinion leaders who will themselves market the product of behalf of the company if they are convinced. 4. Rural market is huge as 65-70% population reside there. This gives a huge scope to the players in the market. 5. 3 important Cs of Rural Market: Customer, Channel and Competition.

If the essence of CRM is customer and continuity, the term CRM can as well be an acronym for any of the following cognate marketing terms:

Caring Relations Management Continuous Relations Management Creative Relations Management Customer Retention Management Cost Reduction Management

Conclusion
India is a country having tremendous growth opportunities in almost every field and the competition at each level is growing like number of children in a family. In a competitive economy being a leader in any field requires a pool of many activities like heavy advertisement, good brand ambassador, effective promotion tools, good customers relations, and many more. Having a good CRM (Customers Relation Management) will surely help in gaining a good edge over competitors and slowly and gradually being a leader in that sector. In any sector if you have a good relation with customers and give him what he wants along with the basic product he will surely prefer to purchase the goods from you only which builds the brand image of the organization in the market.

The key points what they need to focus on in order to built a relationship with the farmers will be:-

1) Providing proper guidance regarding the usage of the product. 2) Instructions on how to use the product 3) Details about the product showing on which crops it can be used and which crops it have to be kept away from. 4) Showing a live demonstration to the farmers by using the sample product on the crops which has been asked by the farmer. 5) Giving assurance about the time limit during which the desired results would be seen. 6) Being a consultant and advising them in order to increase their production and steps followed to have a high yield. 7) Advising them about the various loans facilities available to them by the government and the private sector banks.