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17.5 Technology and Customer Relationship Management
LEARNING OBJECTIVE
- Understand how technology influences CRM (customer relationship management).
Technology, and especially the technology enabled by the Internet, has had enormous repercussions
for CRM (customer relationship management). In many cases, technology has helped streamline
many CRM processes as well as cut the costs of CRM initiatives.
Talking to Customers: Customer Service
It is amazing how much technology has changed the ways we communicate with each other. In the same
way, it has changed the way that organizations and companies can communicate with us.
Perhaps one of the first customer service developments to come from the Internet is customer service over
e-mail. It is standard for Web sites to have contact addresses as well as telephone numbers, adding an
additional channel for customer contacts. E-mails can also be automated to keep customers informed of
progress of a transaction, whether it is shipping goods bought online or the progress of an insurance
claim. Each action within an organization can trigger an automatic e-mail, serving to ensure customers
feel informed at every step.
Mobile
Similarly to automated e-mails, the mobile phone is also being used to keep customers informed of the
progress of transactions. Short message service (SMS) messages can be automated in the same way that e-
mails are, again ensuring customer peace of mind.