The Hindu Business Line : Missing in action!

MY mobile rang. The caller ID wasn't familiar but nonetheless I decided to answer it. The voice at the other end introduced herself as a representative of a multinational bank. And before I could ask anything further, she launched into details of an offer of a credit card from that bank. And finally, when she did give me an opportunity to speak, I had to tell her that I already hold her bank's card!

On many an occasion at the end of a meal, I have had to fill up feedback cards that also seek your date of birth and other important dates. And although I do get mailers reminding me about the next food festival, I am yet to receive any communication on my `special days' from these fancy restaurants and hotels!

My friend, a frequent traveller on business, was recently surprised at being told of the downgrade in the frequent flyer status because he had not clocked enough miles. It was not entirely his fault as he was bedridden for a few months due to an accident. But, for the airlines, only miles matter!

These `customer contact' experiences are among the milder ones that many of us would have encountered. But it did set me thinking about initiatives such as customer relationship management (CRM), database marketing and so on. If the fundamental premise of such initiatives is to generate customer loyalty by meeting their expectations, obviously it's being missed by miles!

Being customer-centric

CRM has gained a lot of currency since the mid-'90s. But the concept is age-old. The fact that the customer has always been at the heart of any business and the very reason for its existence was said almost a century ago by a guru (not a marketing one, though!): "A customer is the most important visitor on our premises. He is not dependent on us, we are dependent on him. He is not an interruption of our work, he is the purpose of it. We are not doing him a favour by serving him, he is doing us a favour by giving us the opportunity to do so." — Mahatma Gandhi

Today, the marketplace and the customer-seller dynamics have changed. The cycle from product introduction to obsolescence has gotten shorter, resulting in myriad options to the customer. Therefore, initiatives such as CRM evolved as `magical' solutions for the marketers to understand their customers better and manage the complex market matrix. But predictably enough, the `magic' hasn't worked — many reports have mentioned CRM programmes failing in seven out of 10 cases! To my mind, it is not the concept that's at fault but the failure lies in its deployment.

The fundamental problem is that CRM has been largely equated with investments in technology like processes automation software, call centre, Web-enabling of services and so on. While technology is certainly a very useful tool in terms of efficiency and time, an effective CRM deployment isn't about being tech-savvy only.

3 Ps: Getting it right

Getting CRM deployment right calls for paying attention in equal measure to three basic (and perhaps, obvious!) issues.

Purpose: `Building valuable relationships'

What is the objective or desired result of a programme such as CRM requires a revisit to the subject of customer loyalty. As the customer-brand ladder (at the bottom) illustrates, loyalty results from `real and lasting' relationships, which require a great deal of investment in building the customer's trust and confidence. The operating word is `long term.' Unfortunately, many organisations give importance to the value of a singular interaction and try to maximise on that. And yet talk of customer lifetime value! Haven't we all seen customers getting discriminatory service (not to mention the strange stares) at fancy hotels and retail points.

I know of a very successful automobile dealer who spent a fair amount of time understanding his customers' `mobility' needs. The rapport developed to the extent that most of his customers `involved' him in their decision-making process. This trust enabled him to actually get more of customer's wallet by way of spares and servicing. Simple as it may sound, I have only seen lip service being paid by every other service provider to such simple ideas. Not surprising that for many organisations, setting up a call centre or customer service points is seen as CRM having been implemented.

In some cases, it is all about generating a lot of data on customer transactions. The key question is: Do applications such as data mining and business processes evaluation merely lead us to an understanding of the `value of customer purchases?' Instead they should provide strategic directions for building `valuable relationships' that make the emotional connection with customers.

Process: `Every customer contact matters'

"It's our marketing department's domain" is what I was told by the head of an organisation that had initiated a CRM programme. Another response very generously included the IT department. The other functions such as HR, Finance, and Logistics seemed to be at a pretty distance from CRM initiative in their organisation. On the other hand, the senior management talks of integration, cross-functional teams, 360° customer view and so on. Well, we will not dwell on the Indian corporate `duality'!

However, what's critical in our context is that all constituents (of an organisation) who interact with customers — both, internal and external — should be aware of their contribution to the relationship. Therefore, the CRM initiative must be designed in a way that not only (very obviously) puts the customer at its core but also has all other customer-contact elements and business processes aligned with the objectives and service quality metrics. Aside from server logs, click-stream data and other tools, it's necessary to consider customer experience. The design must enable the art of peering into the hearts and minds of customers rather than just following them. My friend's son was pleasantly surprised to receive an `All the best' card before his school-final exams from a hotel abroad where he had never been but his father had stayed on a business visit last year. The card was a small yet important gesture that had the entire family warm up to that brand of hotel. It was all about `reading' data well and indeed a smart piece of CRM at work!

People: `Ultimately, human technology connects'

The most important change has never been technical but involves people who use all that technology. People inside organisations must embrace and believe in the purpose of CRM. It is, therefore, a prerequisite to have initiatives such as CRM integral to the business strategy and hence seen as a companywide activity rather than a functional domain. This would help in removing the functional silos and the wrong belief that only sales and marketing teams interact with customers. I have seen customer information being collected through various methods from registration forms to contests and so on. But they end up being information islands. Personally, I have had to provide the same personal and professional details to the car loans and insurance division of the same bank. And I won't be surprised if some other division like `home loans' were to ask for same details all over again!

Obviously, people under the same roof are not communicating. Neither is the data! The onus lies on management to shift the focus from measuring efficiency from, say, the number of customer calls attended to measuring the effectiveness of interaction with customers. It's this focus that will go beyond number-crunching to looking at customers as people. It also gives CRM, hitherto called a `techno-tool', a `human' dimension. This outlook is key to successful deployment of CRM as people connect with people.

As an MNC CEO remarked, "Initiatives such as these (CRM) have to be sustained and be part of a larger approach to the consumer."

Relationship building is a slow process, especially in a country like India where markets and consumers are much more complex and heterogeneous.

An effective CRM deployment is by no means a walk in the park but surely ... a long, long walk, peak by peak ... just like scaling a big mountain! Worth it? You bet, it is worth the customers you want.

(The author is Director, Mindspark Consulting, Chennai.)

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