CRM+Systems

=**Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Systems**= Sunday, September 25, 2011 <>

Topic overview:
Over the past decade, many organizations have invested large sums of money, time, and energy implementing Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems. In some cases, these systems have provided incremental improvements to the way that the company already deals with its customers. In other cases, companies have seen these projects as an opportunity to completely transform the way that the organization interacts with, sells to, and supports its customers. Results have been mixed with success and disaster stories to be found for both approach.

By the end of today's class you should be able to:
 * Describe some of the functionality typically found in CRM systems, why it is useful, and the types of situations in which it is likely to be effective.
 * Explain some of the common challenges to implementing a CRM system.
 * Recognize some of the common challenges to implementing any type of enterprise information system. In particular, consider how the challenges in implementing a CRM system are the same as those faced with an SCM system, and also how the challenges differ.

**Preparation for class:** Prior to class, you will need to read chapters 11 and B9 from the book:


 * Stephen Haag, Paige Baltzan, and Amy Phillips, Business Driven Technology, 3rd Edition, McGraw-Hill Irwin, 2009, ISBN 978007337645.

A digital reserve version of the book is available on Blackboard in the 'Course Materials' section. As you read this material, focus on how it helps you address the learning objectives listed above. Also, be sure to read and think through the case study example(s)

**Reference materials:**
Slides:

**Pre-class exercise: CRM system experiences:**
Think back to a recent experience that you have had as a customer of a business in which you are fairly certain that the person you were dealing with (sales clerk, call center person, tele-marketer, service technician, etc.) used a CRM system in his or her interaction with you. Post a brief write-up on this experience to the wiki (no more than one paragraph), that describes the situation where you think the company used the CRM system, what/how/why happened, and whether it made the experience better or worse for you, the company, or both

[Bob Monroe] I recently took my car to the dealer to have its air conditioner serviced. When I arrived at the dealer, I gave my key fob to the person at the service desk. He put the key into a device that read both the information from the car's computer and looked up my records of previous service at the dealership. He had all of my service records at his fingertips in about 30 seconds, along with detailed information about maintenance that my car's onboard computer was recommending. The end result was that instead of spending just 400 Riyals to get the air conditioner serviced, I ended up spending an additional 1000 Riyals on maintenance work that the car needed to stay in good running condition. The end result was that the dealer got more business from me than it would have otherwise, and I have a car that is likely to continue running smoothly and less likely to leave me stranded, all handled very quickly and conveniently.

[Nasser Al-Khori] Qatar Airways online reservation, after booking I was able to print my boarding pass, get airmiles points, and choose my seat and meal preferences. Also, i would get frequent offers online and could get hotel deals as well. This is where they manage the relationship of customers but at the same time Qatar Airways is increasing its sales, efficiently.

[Mohammed Kamal] When I first got my QNB Mastercard I was using if for many online purchases. One time purchased an item for my car but somehow the website was not secured so someone got my Mastercard number and started using it to buy things with my money. QNB immediately noticed that there was some shady activity with my Mastercard and blocked the card. They immediately called me and told me that someone got my Mastercard's number online and started using it. They blocked the card and refunded me the money that was stolen from me. I feel very safe and secure with QNB knowing that they pay close attention to customer security.

[M Hammad Abbasi] For telecom businesses in Pakistan, the service tends to be very unreliable. As a result, the customer service desk is swarmed by complaints every day. One of the companies I was trying to talk with used a CRM system. I would first call the number, and then had to direct my query to the specific department through an automated system that would tell me 'press 1 for internet...'. Then, I spoke to a customer sales representative who would ask for my ID number and go through a list of basic questions as requested by the system to verify my ID. The process of identifying my username and account was very fast and efficient, for both sides. However, the system also forced the sales representative to ask basic questions before he/she could go on further to fix my problem, increasing the hassle. In short, the CRM for identifying the customer and the account was excellent, but the CRM for dealing with the customer complaints was very inefficient and left bad experiences.

[Amal Osman] karwa reservations, i once needed a cab, all i did was call karwa and give them my phone number. Then the call center person who picked up was able to identify who i am, where do i live and where do i usually head to. Using CRM system makes the process of karwa reservation way easier for me and defiantly a better experience. In less than 5 minutes i'm able to book a cab and in the same time the company gains a customer.

[Haya AlMannai] Qtel internet wireless service. I purchased a wireless modem from Qtel long time ago, and I didn't choose to put a security password to protect it. However, once whenever I try to log in to the internet, I receive a message that says that I need to contact Qtel. When I did so, qtel's employee told me that they noticed that some strangers started to use my wireless machine with me, and tried to get some information from our won computers. So, they advised me to simply put a password to the wireless modem. The CRM for dealing with customers’ problems was very efficient in Qtel and made me feel safe and secure.

[Walied El Hag Ali]: The most recent experience i had with a CRM system was in Ritz Carlton, Dubai. When i arrive at the Ritz, all i have to do is give them my I.D and after the receptionist enters my name in the system, all the information about my previous visits appear on the screen and they know exactly what they are supposed to do. If the room you prefer to stay in is available, they would directly make the necessary arrangements without hesitation. Even when you go to their restaurant, they would know which table you usually sit in and guide you to it. They organize all of their customer's preferences information in such a way that makes their work flow smoothly and efficiently while maintaining customer's satisfaction.

[Sara Al-Mannai]: My last experience with a CRM system was when I ordered food from a restaurant to be delivered to my house. The person from the restaurant asked what was my phone number and checked with their systems that they have my information already listed (direction of the house, name and phone number). I think CRM made the experience better for the both of us, saving time for them and myself increasing efficiency and effectiveness of their services.

[Maryam Al-Thani]: The most recent experience I had with a CRM system was at an Apple store in the US. I made a purchase with my credit card. Every sales person at Apple has a credit card swiper attached to their iphone which means you can make a purchase on the spot in stead of going to a cashier desk and wait in line. This was definitely a positive experience as Apple stores are very crowded and this procedure saves customers a lot of time. They had a record of my previous purchases as well as my email. They sent the receipt to my email, instead of printing out a paper copy. This was also a unique experience.

[Ayah Abujarbou] an experience i had with a CRM system was when my ATM card suddenly stopped working and i then received an SMS from the bank telling me to change its password. i called the bank and the call center worker told me that it seemed that one of the countries i had recently visited was declared unsafe by the bank system and that made my card easily accessed by various individuals. i believe that that made me more confident that my account is safe and that the bank is taking good care of its clients.

[Fatima Abdulla]: My latest experience that I had to deal with CRM system is when I purchased a Camera on one of the websites. When I purchased the camera, they delivered the product on time and the packaging was secure. Also, the website has "Live chat" button where you can ask customers service if you have any questions about the products. And, also they has "Track order" button where you can track your order and know when it will be delivered to you. This experience was very helpful for me since the product was delivered to me with couple of days which was fast and it was in a good shape.

[Hind Al Khulaifi]: Once my visa was not being accepted online therefore I had to place my order through the phone with an oversees representative. Unfortunetly, my call was cut off while I was giving them my details. It was dissappointing to know I wuold have to repreat my situation again to another representative if I called again. Because of the CRM system, a new representative knew exactly my situation and I hardly needed to do any explaining and continued placing my unfinished order.

[Dua'a Althabatah]: My experience with CRM is at a library, they have a machine where I have to scan my ID card and I would got all my infos (name, email, major and how many books I have borrowed, plus the names of the books which I hadn't returned yet and the deadline to return them), after that I have to scan the book in order to check it out and borrow it. Also, I got list of suggestions of books related to the ones I had taken and directions on where to find them. I find this system really smart and effective.

[Maryam Al-Subaie]: My most memorable experience with CRM was when I ordered something (by phone) from a shop abroad a couple of months ago; the items were charged on my credit card and shipped over to Doha. When the things arrived, I unwrapped the package and accidentally threw the bill with the wrapping tissue away. Later on I realized there was an item missing and I was wondering whether I forgot to order it or did they forget to ship it…so I called the shop and asked them if I was billed for this item. After verifying my personal and payment information, their system confirmed that I wasn’t charged for this item which meant that I initially forgot to tell them about it, so I went ahead and placed a new order. The CRM in this incident simplified the sale process, which satisfied me as a customer because even after losing my invoice they were able to provide me with the information I needed. It was beneficial for the shop as well because: a) it helped them identify a new selling opportunity. b) it created customer loyalty (through their responsiveness/understanding).

[Khadeejah Al-Husseiny] The app store on I-tunes for me is best examples of CRM. Whenever I buy a game or a movie on line, whenever I go back to the site they recommend other games and movies according to what I had purchase before. So last week when I downloaded a comedy, this week they recommended other comedies with the same actors. This was they have narrowed my search and provided me with what I was looking for before I typed it, and gave them more sales.

[Orkhan Rustamzade]: My family has been a customer of Republic Bank of Azerbaijan for more than 15 years as a result all my information is stored in the banks database. This is very helpful as sending money from Azerbaijan to Doha is very easy and fast. However because some banks in GCC are very unprofessional when it comes to customer service im constantly having problem with taking money from my QNB or other bank accounts. Nevertheless because of effective CRM and i have been a customer with my bank for a long time the issues are settlled pretty quick.

[Fatima Al-Khayat]: My recent CRM experience was with QNB. One time I was trying to login into my account on eazyinternet - QNB's online e-banking service, in fact I asked my sister to do it. I gave her my username and my password, but somehow the password was wrong (invalid) which until this day I am 100% sure that I gave her the right password. She tried to login so many times, I think around 10 times, and every time I received an SMS that said that login failed. And then I received a warning SMS that my account will be suspended for security reasons and if I wish to re-activate it again I must contact the customer service at QNB. When I contacted the customer service, they asked for my name and personal information, and then I was told exactly what should do to re-activate my account and they recommended me to change my password. This was a funny experience, but somehow it made feel more confident and secure that I choose QNB because of the security they provide for their customers.

[Abdullrahman Al-Muftah]: My recent experience with a CRM system, came when I was applying for my US visa this summer. After working on the visa online, my internet suddenly crashed and all the information I had included in the visa was gone. After calling the embassy and explaining to them that my information had been lost, they were able to track down my unfinished visa application by giving them just my name, date and time of when i had last been on their website. They immediately gave me my user ID, allowing me to start the application from where I had previously stopped. I later discovered that their application allowed its 'visitors' to save drafts of their application if they could not finish it at once, edit, etc. This definitely made it a smoother process for myself and undoubtedly other visitors to the site.

[Nahan Arif]: A few months back, myself and my family traveled with Qatar Airways to Pakistan. During the Check-in process, the system broke down indefinitely, but those 20 minutes caused us to miss the check-in time of one hour before the flight departure. No one was willing to help us that time. I went and spoke directly to the Duty Manager in charge and he was really sorry for the inconvenience they had caused for us. They compensated us with QR 980 each person along with upgrading us with Business Class seats on-board.They also gave us access to the Business Class lounge until our next flight departure. Everything was done automatically, i.e, the next available flight to Pakistan, meal vouchers etc. It was a very pleasant experience and instead of losing customers like us, will go around praising this brand by word of mouth to our friends and families.

[Anas Ali Chaudry]: Last summer when I went back to Pakistan, I faced a problem regarding my SIM card. I had my SIM lock on for security purposes so every time I turned my phone on I had to enter a password to make my SIM operational. Someone tried to unlock my SIM and entered wrong password twice due to which the SIM got blocked. Another issue with the SIM card was that I was not able to get it unblocked because it was not on my name so the call center customer service was not able to help me. Next day I went to their customer care offices to get my SIM unblocked and register it under my name. To verify that I was the sole user and owner of the SIM, they asked me the most dialed phone numbers. After verification they added some personal information to the existing database such as a security question and in half an hour the SIM card was activated under my name. This helped me from the hassle of buying a new SIM card and then giving out the number to my friends and family. The service was quick and I didn’t have to wait in line for my turn.

[Aisha Al-Zaman]: My recent experience with CRM was with Q-Tel. Suddenly, and without any intention from my side, I received a call from one the employees working in the mobile services section. The employee called to re-check if I have any problem regarding my mobile service or if there is any feedback I want to deliver. The way Qtel used to recheck with me as a customer showed that Qtel wanted to build a good custmer-relationship base by using CRM. As a customer, Qtel's initiative made feel that I'm a valued customer. For future concerns, I would always be encouraged to ask for help.

[Noof Al-muzaffar]: My last experience with CRM system was with QNB customer service. Few months ago i used "easy internet" to add my sister account in my QNB account to transfer some money to her. After few minutes, i got a call from an employee who introduced his selfs as a representative of QNB customer service. He wanted to make sure that i was the person who made the transfer, and he asked for my ID number , mobile phone number , and the added person's name. He told mr that customers service have to check all the transfers in the easy internet to approve and effective the process. After this experience, i am happy with having an account in QNB and i feel more safe with their security system through approving and checking the transfer personally with the customers.

[Al-Jawhra Al-Mana]: The recent experience I had with CRM system was when I contacted Qtel to resolve many of the issues that i was experiencing with its services. One of it was with the USB Broadband Internet. Most of the times, The USB Broadband device disconnects and it takes long time to reconnect. I dialed the Qtel call center and had to wait for more than 20 minutes to connect to the agent. once it got connected, the agent asked me questions that are irrelevant to the context of issue and then abandoned my call since she didn't have any answers to me. I called back again, after waiting for a long time someone answered and asked the same questions and at the end of the conversation she said that she had to transfer me to the technical department, after waiting for a long time i somehow got connected to them; he asked me the same questions again and i was informed that a ticket has been logged and someone would contact me within the coming 48 hours to insure that the issue is resolved, but unfortunately none has bothered to call back. since there were no improvements; i had to withdraw the connection and stopped using it's services.

[Layal Al-Alami]: I had an experience that involved a CRM system this summer. I was in Amman, Jordan and me and some friends were going to another city, Aqaba. We had a reservation in Kempinski hotel, which is the same hotel we go to every summer. In Jordan, you travel to different cities using public transportation, and it is very disturbing that when you reach Aqaba and get off the bus, you can never find a taxi to take you to the hotel you want to stay in. However, when we reached Aqaba, and the bus stopped, we found a car waiting for us with our name written on it. The driver had welcome packages and soft drinks in the car. We were very curious because we were confident that we didn't ask for a pickup service. The receptionist then reminded us that we complained during our last stay that it was very difficult to find a taxi, and when they saw our reservation again for this year, they wanted to make sure we do not struggle to get to the hotel again. This was a very good start for the vacation, and we all felt very welcomed and valued.

[Najla Al-Madhadi]: My las experience with CRM system was with a fast food restaurant. The person who answered the phone directly asked for my order without asking me about any other details (like phone number, name or even location) to deliver my meal. This made me feel that the people working at the restaurant valued my time through saving my information. I didn't have to repeat my information again which saved me some time. This also made me feel that they truly considered me one of their valued customers. Therefore, I believe that The restaurant has a very useful CRM system that allows the restaurant to receive more calls and orders through saving the customers' time by having their information saved from previous calls. So simply by knowing the number of the phone from which the customer is calling, the restaurant can know other useful details needed for a better delivery service.

[mohammed al ahmadani]: One experience I had with a CRM system was this summer, we were staying in a hotel that we usually stay at during our holidays (the W barcelona) and when they put in the reservation information, they checked to see if we had stayed with them previously and when they found out that we stayed with them a number of times they upgraded our rooms, gave us a free ride from the airport to the hotel, along with other things. I was very satisfied with what they did because not only did it show me that they cared about making our stay comfortable, but they wanted to find ways to get us to come back to them and made an effort in trying to personalize the services of each client.

[Ahmad Al-Sarraf]: My last experience with CRM system was with Vodafone customer service. Last year, I lost my Vodafone Sim Card and I did not notice that till August. One of my friends told me that if you did not make phone calls from that Sim card for 6 months, Vodafone would cancel your Sim card and resell it again. Therefore, I called the Vodafone customer service to make sure the number is still mine. After I told the person who works there about my story, she told me that the number was not canceled and began to ask me questions for security reasons. She asked for my full name, ID number, Nationality and, of course, the phone number. After that, she asked me about my house location and gave me all the branches’ locations that are close by my house. After this experience, I really liked the security systems at Vodafone and the way they valued me, as a customer, through directing me to the closest Vodafone store.

[ Jevika Shetty]: One of my recent experiences with CRM system was with Sterling Holiday Resorts, a resort company in India. We have been regular customers of the resort whenever we toured several places in India since a few years. Before we travel, we make online room reservations through the resort's website. Sterling Resorts have a database with the personal information records of their regular customers. During our summer trip to India, we recieved a promotion email from the resort stating that they offer stays at discounted rates along with other additional hospitality offers at a number of favorable tourist destinations. We decided to visit the place and enjoyed a wonderful hospitality service by the resort as they were aware that we were regular customers of their resort services. In this manner, the resort managed to attract a number of customers, thereby providing customer satisfaction, boosting customer loyalty as well as their seasonal profit rates. While we had a wonderful summer holidaying at the place.

[Mohammed Al-Rawahi]: Before choosing a health insurance plan, I was browsing different options and I logged into Bupa international website and started entering my information to get an estimate of the price. I closed the website as soon as I got an estimated price for the plan, I didn’t finish all the form. After few minutes, I was surprised by a call from Bupa, knowing my name and other details about me and they tried to offer me any additional help about their plan. This made me buy the health insurance from them because I felt that they had good customer service. Their CRM attracted more customers to their business. [Hamsa M Al-Massri]: The most recent, and in fact, the most memorable example I experienced of CRM was the CRM that //Curves// uses; //Curves// is an international fitness center for women. It has a branch here, in Doha, which I have a membership in. When I went to Jordan, for my summer vacation, I did not have to get another membership from the branch in Amman. My membership in Doha turned out to be an international membership. The just got my name and my personal information, and it appeared in the system that I already have a membership. This was a very pleasant experience, since I did not have to bother and get another membership for the other branch. I believe CRM is very helpful for international, multi-division businesses.

[Noor Al-Mohannadi]: My last experience with CRM system was with Aramex. I have purchased some items online and they took longer than usual to arrive therefore I called customer service and provided them with my information and the order number, apparently there was a mix up in the shipment and my order ended up in the wrong mailbox. This made me question their credibility however they resolved the matter immediately and were able to track down my shipment.

[Dalia Hassan]: My last experience with CRM system was with Centerpoint. They have a card called Shokran, which you can get it if you purchased items with 250 QR and more from any shop from their group. This card gives the opportunity to customers to get points every purchase you do, for every 10 QR you get 1 point. At the end of every month they count how many points you gained and then send coupons with the amount of points you have to spend them at any shop from their group. Before, 5 months I bought items with more than 15,000 QR and I suppose to get coupons with 1500 riyal the month after, but I didn't get the coupon until almost before 2 weeks. Also, when I was calling them to ask about how many points I have they were just telling me that the system is broken and we don't have the details call us after one week and every week I call I hear the same story. This experience gave me a bad reputation about the group and how they deal with costumers. [Meshail Al-Misnad]: I encountered an interesting CRM experience this summer with a website call net-a-porter. While I was in Switzerland this summer, I purchased a few items from this website in hopes that it would arrive just in time before I returned to Qatar. I called their customer service center after realizing that the package did not arrive, they asked for my name and order number, and automatically had access to my order, Swiss address, and Qatari address. Without much hassle, my package was rerouted to Qatar by the time I had arrived. I have been using this website for over 2 years now and they have effectively used my brand loyalty to collect information about me and improve their customer service. The website, of course, does not only benefit from satisfied customers, but also benefits in higher revenues by charging slightly higher prices for their superior service. [Mohammed Hadi]: My last experience with CRM system was with the Taxi services in Spain, when you take the taxi he has a screen next to him where he types in the time, date, and whither you have bags with you or not. this can help the customers a lot because they won't need to argue about the prices of the services because everything is recorded and initiated in the system. [Fatima Fikree]: One of my recent CRM experiences, and my least expected one, was with Porsche. I bought a car from them sometime last year, and until a few weeks ago I was completely unaware of exactly how old my car is. I came hope to a package from Porsche, within that packaged was a letter that was titled "Happy 1st Birthday" and said "Dear Ms Fikree, your car's first birthday is approaching on the 19th of September..." To celebrate the birthday, they also sent personalized gifts for the car. Before this letter, I would not have remembered that I purchased this car on the 19th of September. It was a very interesting experience, which even though barely explains the high prices, made me even more satisfied with the company in the sense that they kept all this information about me and acted upon it. [Laura Jaber]: For the past couple of years I have been using a sub credit card from commercial bank with a limit of 5000qr, My dad received an increase of 20000qr on the limit within a year, mainly because of how much I spent and because of the number of times the credit card reached its limit way before the end of the month. So the CRM noticed this fact, and the bank started increasing the limit, giving me the chance to spend more, until it reached 20000 by the end of the year. I enjoyed buying stuff, although after realizing what I had done, I felt bad for my dad, but due the CRM, the bank was able to benefit a lot from my constant increases in purchasing items. [Mughees Ahmed]: Earlier this summer I was flying in Pittsburgh from Boston via US Airways and my baggage was misplaced. I only found out about it at the arrival's gate. What would have been my least favorite customer service experience turned out to be not so bad. So, apparently my luggage was booked on the wrong flight to Charlotte. Anyway, the ground staff coordinated very well with me and explained me the inconvenience that had occurred. They took my billing and mailing address and I was told that I would receive my baggage in the next couple days. Eventually not only did I get my baggage, I also received a formal letter from the authorities at the Logan Int'l airport apologizing about the mishap and I was rewarded additional(twice as many) miles on my flying card. Moreover, the package I received in my mail also had a coupon saying that I'd get a 20% discount on any walk in fair in the future. I never got a chance to try it though hope it works.. Anyway its not the greatest CRM but it did made flying with them worthy. [Patrick Steinhagen]: One of the rather frequently used CRMs is that of McDonald's delivery service. McDelivery uses personal data such as address, name and telephone number to increase the speed and reduce the hassle of ordering in the future as well as using the phone number as a reference for customer queries. It saves time and helps induce clarity, as it can be a pain to try and spell your name every time etc. [Firas Bata]: Three days ago, I bought a new phone from Vodafone. They mentioned that I get a free sim card along with the phone. The Vodafone sales clerk used the CRM in two ways. First, She asked me if I had bought a Vodafone sim card in the past, and I had. Knowing this information, she pulled out the scan of my ID card in a split second rather than having to take it and scan it. Second, instead of manually looking through packets of sim cards, she gave me the option to browse through the numbers available on her computer, which seemed to have accounted for this option. The CRM system made the whole purchasing process faster, and consequently I was satisfied with the service. [Ognjen Popovic]: Several weeks back I took my car to fix a problem with the CD reader. While at the service-room, one of the sales managers introduced me with all the special offerings that are offered for my car. All the offers he gave me regarded small perks to the car rather than major changes and expensive packages. At the same time, my friend who owns the car of the same producer, came with me to do a usual check up. The promotions another sales manager offered to him didn't include any of the ones I was offered. I ended up ordering certain products that help me integrate my phone and multimedia system, while my friend ended up ordering a full body kit for his existing car and another car. I assume that the company used CRM to acquire information about the two of us, they have notice that I constantly spend small amounts to improve my car and based on that I am always presented with products that fit this category, small and cheap perks. On the other hand, my friend owns a company and has so far bought two cars for personal use and several cars for the needs of his company. As a result of this, the offers they give to him are regarding major upgrades to his vehicle and promotions for the new models. Based on the fact that we both bought something out of the things we were offered, and that if they were offered all at once or the other way around, it would be likely that neither of use would buy anything, I would say that the CRM system they use is very effective at acquiring information about the customer, understanding their needs and wants, and helping sales people approach customers accordingly with best possible offers.