INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT

NIRMA UNIVERSITY

MBA (FT) 2016-18

Customer Relationship Management

(Individual Assignment 1)

Digital Marketing & CRM

Submitted to: Submitted by:

Prof. Tripura Joshi Shailendra Garg (161349)

Date of Submission: - 19/02/2018

Report

Customer relationship management means to build strong customer relationships and in

contemporary business world, as digitization has taken every domain under its shadow, CRM is
no different. Today digital marketing has become an important requirement for almost every
business to grow and compete in the international market. And because maintaining long term
relationships with customers (both B2B and B2C) is a key to sustain business over long period of
time, convergence of CRM and digital marketing is inevitable.

This report build on analyzing five papers related to how digital marketing and CRM connect
together. In the first paper, new digital marketing tools are discussed that micro-enterprises can
utilize to build strong customer relationships. There are five key aspects of customer relationship
development as follows: Attracting customers, Engaging customers’ interest and participation,
Retaining customers, Learning customers preferences and Relating to customers

New digital marketing tools affect these five key aspects individually. The digital tools are blogs,
social media (Facebook, Twitter etc.), content marketing, e-commerce, e-mail, search engine
marketing (SEM) and websites.

The digital marketing model’s first element, attracting customers, covers how companies can
persuade customers to, for example, visit their website. One of the most beneficial tool in applying
this strategy is search engine optimization. The next element, engaging customers’ interest and
participation, has the objective of promoting interactions and transactions after customers have
been persuaded to visit the website. For example, content marketing and e-commerce can be
used as instruments to create interest in engaging in sales transactions and newsletter subscriptions.
The third element, retaining customers, focuses on getting customers to return to company
websites. Constant maintenance of communication is necessary when building customer
relationships and therefore websites, blogs and social media are essential in this category.
Learning customer preferences involves collecting information on present and potential
customers with, for example, online surveys. Relating to customers means individualized
communication, which is a key strategy in providing superior value to customers. E-mail is an
example of one of the fifth element’s digital tools.
Another paper talks about the impact of three different types of digitization (Internet connected
digital technologies & applications ) on relationships in a business network (B2B exchanges).
In this first type of digitalization, the digital resource is used to optimize already existing activities
by supporting a better (easiest, costless) coordination between them. This digitalization is called
an “activity-links-centred digitalization” because the primary impact of the digital resource is
on the links between activities. Activities that are better coordinated because of digital technology
can be “internal activities” or “external activities”.
Second type of digitalization is mainly characterized by a digital resource supporting the creation
of new activities carried out by already existing businesses. This digitalization of the network is
called a “resource-ties-centred digitalization”. It is the combination of the digital resources
possessed by one business with the resources of another business, which allows new activities to
appear between the businesses. This phenomenon leads to the emergence of digital ecosystems
(different players collaborate to create value). Connected objects are able to communicate to the
manufacturing company information about how they are used by the customer companies. On the
basis of this information, the supplier is in a position to propose new services to the customers
such as optimization of the use of products, training of operators, etc.
In third type of transformation, the digital resource supports new bonds between businesses. This
digitalization is called an “business bonds-centered digitalization” because the primary impact
of the use of the digital technology is to create new bonds between businesses through a new
business taking a position in the network. In that case, the digital systems used by a new business
allow connections between businesses that were not connected before or modify sufficiently
enough the nature of the bonding.
The third paper talks about the inefficiency of service level of contents providers in reaching the
expected level of customers in the context of CRM through internet technology. Therefore, to try
to solve this problem a structural equation model (SEM) has been developed for customer
satisfaction index (CSI) which will measure the level of digital contents service quality. This model
also helps in reflecting the aspects of content quality, service quality and provider quality and is
beneficial in application in various types of content such as on-line games, mobile contents,
internet VOD services and e-music. The results of the model also helps in collecting the
controllable feedback information to effectively improve customer satisfaction for each kind of
digital content industry.
Among all the digital marketing tools used for CRM purposes, social media or social CRM is the
most important one in building long term relationships with the clients. But problems of successful
application of social CRM in the company are still poorly explored and in practice weakly applied
area of marketing management. Managers often do not know modern techniques and metrics for
assessing implementation of social CRM. The main difference between traditional CRM and social
CRM can be seen the way work is done with customer data. Social CRM allows through various
social platforms customers to actively participate in partnership with its suppliers and a greater
chance for the company to know about their customers problems and actively solve those problems
to strengthen the relationships. The fourth paper discusses how a successful social CRM can be
applied in the company based on research.
The research says that there is no single correct answer to developing a Social CRM strategy, but
there are basic components that will enable success. The first step in relationship is traditionally
the campaign (one specific message that is delivered through specific channels in a time frame to
the prospects). The first step using the social networks would be the content as a tool to generate
conversations and meaningful relationships. In the traditional CRM divides the customers in the
sales cycle but in the social CRM is based in a collaborative relationship creating value for
ourselves.
The fifth paper describes another social CRM strategy in the form of a Social CRM house as below:

This Social CRM house takes into account on the first part the level of engagement of the company
with the customers i.e. low or high. Based on that further strategies on how to acquire, maintain
and terminate the relationships will take place. All these strategies are backed up by data and
information technology as its base which will lead to understanding customers and deriving
insights for improvements. The two pillars of this house include organizing people which takes
into account the skills, culture and operational excellence and another is measuring the outcomes
which is necessary for social CRM to measure its efficiency.
References:

[1]. Tuulia Nikunen, Martti Saarela, Eeva-Liisa Oikarinen, Matti Muhos, Lari Isohella. Micro-
Enterprises’ Digital Marketing Tools for Building Customer Relationships. Management 12 (2):
171–188.

[2]. Margherita Pagani, Catherine Pardo Margherita Pagani, Catherine Pardo. The impact of digital
technology on relationships in a business network. Industrial Marketing Management 67 (2017)
185–192.

[3]. Yong Gyu Joo, So Young Sohn. Structural equation model for effective CRM of digital content
industry. Expert Systems with Applications 34 (2008) 63–71.

[4]. Milan Kubinaa, Viliam Lendel. Successful Application of Social CRM in The Company.
Procedia Economics and Finance 23 ( 2015 ) 1190 – 1194.

[5]. Edward C. Malthouse , Michael Haenlein , Bernd Skiera , Egbert Wege , Michael Zhang.
Managing Customer Relationships in the Social Media Era: Introducing the Social CRM House.
Journal of Interactive Marketing 27 (2013) 270–280