5
Analytical CRM
5.1 Enhancing relationships
Previous chapters have discussed how appropriate communications with
customers form the backbone of CRM strategy. However, as hinted at in
Chapter 1, communications need to be appropriate and considered rather
than inappropriate and bland. Why?
Well, I've labored the point already that if communications are appropri-
ate, they relate exactly to the customer need. And if customers are engaged in
the process of transacting, fine-tuned communications can enhance the cus-
tomer relationship on a number of different levels. The key to appropriate
communications is a deep understanding of the customers' needs and motiva-
tions. With the arrival of the Internet, there is an opportunity (if the customer
engages directly) to understand the customer's needs and desires at a disaggre-
gated level.
We talk in this chapter about three "waves" of CRM and suggest that for
CRMprocesses to be effective they need to be customer centered and embed-
ded. To date, analytical CRM has stopped short. (See Figure 5.1)
The move toward disaggregating customers is perhaps what we call
"Wave 3" CRM analytics are all about. There are hints in other chapters of
this book, and later in this chapter, that CRM processes and technologies have
often emanated from market research disciplines. However, market research
has traditionally operated at the aggregate or subaggregate level (i.e., market
research attempts to describe consumer attitudes
en masse).
Researchers talk
about types or clusters of customers with unifying traits or homogeneous
behavioral patterns. When researchers use analytical tools, they attempt to
identify like-minded bunches of respondents using multivariate techniques.
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