Suki On My Mind

When some people think of CRM, they think of software that handles database. True. But not completely. Given today’s business environment, where information and knowledge is a competitive advantage, the use of CRM now becomes an integral part of a total business strategy.

For CRM—customer relationship management—to be successful, many CRM experts cite three elements that must be present: people, process, and technology.

People include everybody. From the CEO to the marketing team to the call center agents and all of us reading this column, since we are all customers.

Process means managing of data and information that allows learning more about customer behavior. Whatever process is in place, it must result to a competitive differentiation. And contribute to a designed customer experience, which ultimately benefits the customer and the company.

Technology would be the engine that drives CRM.

The right technology depends on the size of the company and the scope and depth of data. These technologies often begin with database software that stores and processes customer information.

Last week, I caught up with Prof. Joe Miranda of the Asian Institute of Management. He is one of the “gurus” of direct marketing and a director of the Direct Marketing Association of the Philippines. He was my professor at the UST Graduate School. We got into a lengthy discussion on CRM.

He said that CRM is sometimes pure technology and pure database. “Companies must be able to translate transactional data into behavioral data,” he said.

Let’s say you want pizza or fried chicken delivered. When you call —yes, they would greet you by name and even know your home address, but beyond that, almost nothing. Ideally, the person on the other end could ask questions that would have been results of analyzing transactional data. “Would you like extra cheese to go with your order like you did last month?” “I have not heard from you in a long time, we hope everything has been well.” “This is the 4th time this month you have called for delivery, it seems that you are enjoying our new flavors.”

Most fast-food delivery services have all transactional data but this is hardly used to drive content of communication to customers. “But often, the process starts all over again. It is like a reacquisition cycle,” Miranda added.

Technology is the enabler of CRM

Ernest Custodio, managing director of MRM Worldwide said, “Technology is the enabler of CRM. It facilitates interaction between the customer and the brand and helps companies handle more customers.”

He added that technology provides for on time and even real-time messaging. “With all the media clutter and messages customers get, it is imperative to cut through the clutter. One way to achieve it is to be more relevant, more personal to the customer. Talk to the customer directly as an individual,” said Ernest.

Often at the frontlines of CRM initiatives are customer agents using support software, an interactive website, automated phone systems, etc. that manage and translate information in real-time.

Today, call-center agents work in a fast-paced environment. Calls. E-mails. Live chat sessions. And even more calls. They must navigate through systems to respond in real-time to customers. An impatient customer in a long queue would easily result to an abandoned call. How often has this happened to you?

In an article written by Vish Thirumurthy at the Destination CRM website: abandoned calls, rose for the third year in a row in 2005 to a record 13.3 percent according to Dimension Data. He said many companies face the challenge of reversing this slide in the customer care experience to create a compelling customer experience.

Proof of Value

Good customer experience results to “proof of value.” In my Advertising classes in UST, one of the first lessons my students learn is the difference between the customer and the consumer. The customer goes to the store and buys. The consumer uses the product. A customer and consumer can be one person. But in CRM, Ernest emphasizes the customer must have “proof of value.”

CRM probes deeper into customer buying habits and lifestyle. “Don’t treat customers equally. Each is different in their proof of value, in size, in quantity, purchase habits, etc.” said Ernest.

At least Globe Telecom recognizes subscriber’s “proof of value” by offering free mobile phones to loyal subscribers. You would probably even get a call or a text message about the promo. But that’s the catch, sometimes, CRM programs are linked to promotions.

The suki on my mind

My “proof of value” for Globe has now extended for seven years. That makes me one of their suki (frequent customer). Am sure you are suki to many sari-sari stores (convenience stores) and stalls at the palengke (wet markets). Despite being busy and talking to other customers, whenever these store or stall owners see you, their suki, they would smile and quickly attend to you.

Even if you have a huge utang (debt), a storeowner can still extend your credit line. Ernest says CRM is really “suki marketing.” Come to think of it, the storeowner remembers your name, family background even your favorite brand of sardines or beer. All that data may be in the storeowner’s mind. Memorized. And they make instant decisions, like whether to extend your credit or even open up the store late at night just for you.

As much as possible, storeowners never leave or abandon a suki. Today, chances are you would get your call abandoned by a call center agent. At times, you would suddenly hear a dial tone. I do hate it when I am talking to a prerecorded message. Press 1. Press 2. Press 3.

Direct marketing and CRM is basically “marketing with personal relevance,”said Ernest. “Just like above the line, mass media and traditional media share the same principle of communicating to large amounts of people, CRM and DM are very relate; they share the same principle of being relevant with the consumer.”

Prof. Miranda said that the key to CRM is communication. “CRM needs to set customers apart from each other.” I believe that everybody in any business organization should imbibe a CRM-driven culture. Connecting to the customers on a more personal level. Just like a suki.

Come to think of it, maybe, the sari-sari storeowners around us were probably the pioneers of CRM. While they didn’t have all the technology to keep track of customers, they made full use of one piece of technology that everyone has, the human brain