CRM applications make contact with customers transparent throughout, marketing is a complementary tool for sales. Yet both disciplines must form the CRM world together, and in general - isn't sales rather a tool of marketing? Why this view?
Campaign management has always been an essential functional area of CRM systems. For years, leading CRM applications have had powerful campaign management tools (or at least modules) that allow marketers to plan, execute and analyse multi-level and cross-channel campaigns. By mapping multi-level campaigns and tracking them accordingly, follow-up activities can be triggered based on customer reactions, which are ultimately to be executed by sales-related staff - pure push marketing thus becomes "dialogue marketing". But for many customers, only a small part of the possible functionality is often used. So there is a need for action!
In many companies, marketing is technologically outdated, too little has been invested in the necessary marketing infrastructure, for too long marketing has been seen as a mere support function for sales, too many important communication and sales channels have been ignored. In future, marketing must take on more responsibility for the entire corporate communication with the customer. Together with sales and service, new ways must be tried out, data must be better used, more tested and customer feedback must be listened to. Marketing then becomes Customer Experience Management (CXM). Three aspects need to be considered.
Firstly, CRM aims to control the customer relationship and customer-related processes; the company thereby specifically controls the interactions with the customer. CXM, on the other hand, consistently starts from the customer and the customer journeys and tries to improve them from the customer's perspective. Both are correct: company processes and customer journeys must be harmonised in order to ensure both the economic success of the company and the satisfaction of the customers.
Secondly: Modern communication takes place in real time, takes into account customer reactions and preferences in great detail, uses a wide variety of communication channels, is an integral part of CRM and offers real-time reporting. The boundaries between sales, service and marketing disappear with a consistently customer-focused approach, as do the boundaries between different channels or end devices.
Thirdly: In recent years, technology in marketing has evolved (side note not to be taken entirely seriously: at the core of CRM, the expansion to include the field of "email" was probably the groundbreaking innovation). In the past, target groups were selected, a communication was launched, responses were waited for and follow-up activities were planned with a corresponding time lag - if at all. Only the marketing or CXM clouds of renowned software manufacturers enable corresponding modelling of customer journeys, interaction in real time via the most diverse channels, marketing automation and, in addition, the use of new AI and deep learning technologies for intelligent data use.
The consolidation and collection of customer-related data in the CRM or in the sales or service cloud, as some providers call their programmes, is the basis for successful and customer-oriented communication. It is therefore crucial how this foundation is built and how the corresponding CXM solutions are introduced.
New software, new integration - it all costs money. But it is worth it. Modern, up-to-date communication offers competitive advantages and strengthens brand perception. Once set up, it also works in an automated and resource-saving way. Conversion rates can also be optimised with marketing automation and CXM solutions, and X-sell and up-sell opportunities can be exploited. Finally, customer loyalty communication, which often falls victim to the red pen, can be mapped in a cost-effective and target group-oriented manner.