When a customer has a problem, concern, or question about their purchased product or service, they expect answers—quick answers—from their vendor. In the manufacturing world, this response is commonly referred to as customer service and it is informed by a variety of information portals. In addition, the initial point of contact for service with a customer is often determined by the customers themselves, depending on the urgency of the issue and the historical reliability of the vendor to react to customer inquiries.

These points of customer service contact can include telephone, the Internet, and even traditional face-to-face interactions. To this end, customer information portals in a company and communicated between departments within a company, in combination with customer service points of contact, are the foundation of Customer Relationship Management (CRM).

When it comes to CRM and customer contact, it is simply common sense (though less commonly realized) that customers not only want the quickest possible service response, but they want intelligent service. In customer service, perception plays a great psychological role in the way a customer feels about a response. For example, in some of the most automated CRM applications, and some service web methods, real time does not always seem to translate into real person.

This is not so much a problem where smaller companies know most of their customers very well, and vice versa, but in large institution-type operations where most customers and their profiles are initially distant from service people. In this instance, service web—even rapid service web service—becomes just another way of distancing customers from their vendors.

When it comes to CRM and the real time response (RTR), smaller companies can gain the edge over their larger competitors by asking themselves, “Is customer service one of the most important parts of our product, and if so do we integrate web, telephone, and other point of contact systems?” These are some of the most vital factors to consider in implementing RTR in CRM, and in knowing the answers it is possible to begin employing real time analytics in a relevant and knowledgeable service response.

In short, RTR involves real time analytics that coalesce as many CRM information portals and points of contact as possible. Telephone contact, web-based customer profiles, web-based customer transaction histories, pricing and product information, and company business rules are the elements that provide the best analytical approach to CRM—especially one that seeks to engage a RTR that must, on occasion, transcends the typical service web Q&A format.

The bottom-line in building brand loyalty through CRM is that a company must make the customer, and their problems, relevant and important. This is not so much a notion of perception-building (for that becomes transparent to customers in short order), but one of RTR to customer service contacts. Integrating information portals is the CRM solution to ensure customers leave the service experience satisfied, happy, and loyal.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 30th, 2008 at 9:00 am and is filed under CRM. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.