106 7.3 The end of chum
7.3
ment and even transaction. However, as indicated in the chart, the role for
CRM is somewhat different from the role for direct marketing. Direct
marketing's objective is to create prospects. CRM operates at the level of
improving customer satisfaction, according to Gartner.
I would disagree with that that last point for reasons articulated in the pre-
vious chapter. I believe that CRM has both customer satisfaction and brand
equity responsibilities. Only when customers are satisfied and highly involved
with the brand will CRM be effective.
However, I am in total agreement with Gartner when they state that we
are witnessing a move away from the four Ps of marketing toward the
four Cs of CRM: content, context, collaboration, and community. But, I'd
be inclined to replace the world "collaboration" with "championing" or
something similar to convey the importance of a strong and appropriately
positioned brand within the CRM mix.
So if mass marketing is going away, what is it going to be replaced with?
Well, in my view it will not go away entirely. There has to be a role for adver-
tising in building awareness so that relationships can start (and then be
enhanced through CRM processes). Word of mouth and viral marketing
techniques may be the primary method of spreading the message about
great companies with excellent CRM processes~who knows? However, only
where awareness exists can customers be given the opportunity to experience
new brands and (hopefully) become champions of those brands.
The end of churn
CRM's objective and business imperative is to cause near elimination of cus-
tomer churn. In certain businesses customers stick around simply because
exiting the relationship is too difficult. However, regulation is slowly banish-
ing barriers to exit. Legislation in most European countries has now enabled
consumers to switch banks much more easily than in the past. Previously,
customers stuck with their banks because moving required automated bill
payment instructions to be moved manually from the old bank to the new
bank. However, banks have been forced to cooperate to house such automated
bill payment details in shared databases so that customers can move freely
without having to worry about the logistics. This ensures that the psychologi-
cal barrier to bank switching has all but been removed.
Similarly, car warranties should not be voided in the future if (say) a non-
Chrysler garage services a Chrysler vehicle. Now, the use of warranties as a way
..................Content has been hidden....................
You can't read the all page of ebook, please click here login for view all page.