CS507 Assignment # 2

Information System (CS507)
Spring 2010
Assignment No. 2
Due Date:
Your assignment must be uploaded/submitted before or on 08th May 2010.
Max Marks: 20
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Q. 1: What is the role of CRM in challenging economy?
(Marks: 10)


Answer:
CRM in challenging economy?
In today’s economy organizations can’t rely on brute strength t s and tools. CRM is a technology that allows organizations to track and leverage every customer o maximizes the value of their customer relationships; rather, they need enabling technology interaction to maximize revenue opportunities and improve customer loyalty.
But CRM does much more than just track customer interactions. It also helps organizations optimize their operations by automating routine tasks and standardizing best practices. Ultimately, CRM allows organizations to better acquire, manage, serve, and extract value from their customers while improving operational efficiency something that is critical in today’s economy.
While there are surely many approaches being espoused in the market today, we believe there are five main strategies that companies can employ to survive and thrive during uncertain economic conditions:
1. Focus on existing customers
2. Maximize revenue opportunities
3. Do more with less
4. Reduce operational costs
5. Optimize existing IT assets

Q. 2 Why Many CRM initiatives, however, fail to deliver the expected benefits?
Marks (10)
Answer:
Many CRM initiatives, however, fail to deliver the expected benefits. This is largely due to the same set of issues:
Customer privacy is an important issue in CRM. CRM deals with large amounts of customer data through various touch points and communication channels. The individual firm is thus caught in an ethical dilemma – collecting as much information as possible but still respecting limits for personal privacy. . Poor quality customer data and information. CRM being primarily about information it is vital that this aspect is considered before the initiative commences.
Software issues: There are little standardized technologies and protocols for CRM implementation in the market. Vendors publish new versions of CRM software as frequently as they can thus adding to client’s expenses. CRM software requires highly integrated environment for high productivity, which is rarely available.
Business support was lacking - poor buy-in from the business was obtained or no buy-in from the business was sought. This resulted in little ownership within the business and therefore failed implementation or poor usage.
The planning had insufficient detail or depth - introducing CRM into an organization is a major initiative and if it is not planned adequately then it will fail. Usually the scale and nature of the operational change (as opposed to the systems change) was underestimated. It is easy to install a system. It is much harder to change people's work practices.
It was poorly implemented - which usually means that staff were not trained adequately and neither were the right changes put in place to introduce a new culture
The Executive had little customer/CRM understanding or involvement. Too often it was seen as a tactical issue and therefore insufficiently senior sponsorship is sought