Overview

The effective management of information has a crucial role to play in a CRM strategy not only for supporting each of the CRM processes but also as the glue which integrates these processes, giving coherence to this strategy. If we examine the strategic framework for CRM introduced in Chapter 2, we can explore the role that information plays within each process.

Strategy development process. Developing an effective customer strategy depends on having information that provides a clear understanding of both the marketplace and its characteristics. Industry structure, market and customer attributes and profiles, buying behaviour, and the value of the customer base can all be assessed if appropriate information has been collected. Information for strategy development comes from both internal and external sources. Customer databases across the organization can provide a wealth of information about the behaviour, buying patterns and value of existing customers. Information from sources external to the organization, such as consultancy reports and market research analysis, provides market intelligence. All this information enables strategic decisions to be made product/service positioning, segmentation granularity, approach to communication, channel and media development, etc. Of course, the actual strategy ultimately developed depends on analysis and interpretation of all the information coupled with insight, judgement and inspiration.

Value creation process. Information is crucial for addressing the three key elements of this process: determining what value the company can provide to its customers the value proposition; determining customer value the worth of the customer to the organization;