ABSTRACT
This project
topic"Customer Relationship Management System" was carried out with a
view to creating an application that will be used to keep, collect information
of customers such as basic information, educational background, and service
preference. The current process of customer relationship management is being
operated manually and due to this procedure numerous problem are been
encountered. A design was taken to computerized the manual process in order to
check this problem.The project developed a system that lets management
efficiently manage customers and its transactions with the company. The system
was developed using visual basic 6.0 programming language. This language was used
because of its easy syntax and structure for developing graphical user
interface windows based application...
CHAPTER ONE
1.0
INTRODUCTION
CRM
(customer relationship management) is an information industry term for
methodologies, software, and usually internet capabilities that help an
enterprise management customer relationship in an organized way.
For example, an enterprise might build a database about its
customers that described relationship in sufficient detail so that management,
salespeople, people providing services and perhaps the customer directly could
access information match customer needs with product plans and offerings,
remind customers of services requirements, know that other products a customer
had purchased and so forth.
1.1 BACKGROUND OF STUDY
Customer relationship management system
came into existent when companies were intent on developing stronger bonds with
their customer. According to Kenbrell P (2002) CRM is the process of managing
detailed information about individual customers and carefully managing all
customer “touch point” to maximize customer loyalty.
A
customer touch point is any accession on which a customer encounters the brand
and product from actual experience to personal or mass communication to usual
observation.
Its’ impossible to state precisely what
customer relationship management (CRM) means to everyone. The term has been
applied to almost every element of business. In its infancy, by Koch
Christopher (2004) CRM system was a series of mainframe or server based
applications specific to sales marketing and support business functions.
The application was high weight by today’s
standards and did little more than capture and file critical data. But as
cultural boundaries within organizations weakened individual freedoms of
information gave way to sophisticated applications that could span business
functions. By doing so, these applications created the vision of a single viexi
of the customer.
For the first time, organizations could
track and analyze shifting customer needs, link marketing campaigns to sales results,
and monitor sales activities for improved forecasting accuracy and
manufacturing demands.
CRM EVOLUTION
Patton
(2005) says that CRM has evolved since its earliest incarnation, originally
driven by an inside out focus, through three phases of evolution: technology,
integration and process. Recently we have seen a major leap forward to a full
version of a fourth phase: customer driven CRM an outside in approach that has
intriguing financial promise.
Technology: In its earliest incarnation,
CRM meant applying automation to existing sales, marketing, decision support
and channel processes as organizations attempted to improve communications,
planning opportunity and campaign management, forecasting, problem solving and
to share best practices. To some degree it worked. However, automating poorly
performing activities or processes revelry improves the quality of the outcome.
So, for the most part, the quality of the return on investment (ROI) was meager
if measurable at all.
The promise of the technology was there,
but few organizations were realizing
the panache of performance. The metric of success was increased
efficiency in sales, marketing and support and channel process.
Integration: By developing cross,
functional integration, supported data warehousing and shared roles and
responsibilities organizations began to create a customized view of the
customer. Support issue, web hits, sales calls and marketing inquires started
building a deeper understanding of each
customer and allowed aggressive organization to adapt their tactics to fit
individual needs. Integration focused around two primary components.
Make it easier to do business with the
seller. Instead of operational silos that inhibited superior customer
relationship, the organization as a whole took ownership and responsibility for
customer satisfaction. With a single view for the customer, it was much easier
for anyone to respond to sales opportunities or impending support issues and
take appropriate steps expected benefits are to improve retention and lower
support costs.
Prediction modeling: Data mining of an
aggregate of corporate knowledge and the customer contact experiences was used
to improve operational and sales performance. By applying complex algorithms to
a history of purchasing or inquiring characteristics, it became practical to
predict the demand of individual customers. Up –selling, cross selling, even
the ability to preempt potential problems was now possible for all customers.
Facing representatives. Expected benefits are to have better cross, selling up
selling and improved product offerings or delivery.
Process: By rethinking the quality and
effectiveness of customer related processes many organization began to
eliminate activities, improve outdated processes, and redesign activities that
had failed to deliver the desired outcomes. Then, by re0creating the process
through an understanding of capabilities of the technology the outcomes were
more predicted able are the promises for a meaningful ROI more substantial and
realistic. The metrics for success become the improved effectiveness in serving
the customer.
Thus far, almost everything about CRM has
focused on improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the seller’s
organization have evolved from sales representatives working from paper notebooks, or a card system, to a tightly integrated network that
sees movement in sales activity, product demand on manufacturing and manages
the logistics of complex terms to serve the buyers and sellers marketing
support services, channel management, forecasting, manufacturing logistics and
even research and development have all seen the benefits of a well – designed
CRM strategy.
However, the past decade of CRM and its
associated improvement have been based on three assumptions.
Ø The
past would be a logical foundation to predict future customer needs and
profitability.
Ø Demand
for traditional value propositions would remain constant
Ø Better
customer relationships would deter attrition.
All three of these assumptions have field
or at least become unstable in a post September II environment. Historical
purchase or inquires are not a clear indication of future needs as buyers are
rapidly redefining requirement to satisfy their current business market or
shareholder demands. Value proposition are changing in highly competitive
markets as sellers are working aggressively to reestablish structural bonds.
And driven by most cost effective solution that promises to stabilize, or
improve, their business performance these factors are driving CRM into a fourth
phase.
1.1.1 HISTOICAL DEVELOPMENTS OF CRM
Http://ezinearticles.com stated that
customer relationship management (CRM) is one of those magnificent concepts
that swept the business world in the 1900’s with the promise of forever
changing the way businesses small and large interacted with their customer
based. In the short term, however, it proved to be an unwieldy process that was
better in theory than in practice for a variety of reasons. First among these
was that it was simply so difficult and expensive to track and keep the high
volume of records needed accurately and constantly update them.
In the last several years, however, newer
software systems and advanced tracking, features have vastly improved CRM
capabilities and the real promise of CRM is becoming a reality. As the price of
newer, more customizable internet solutions have hit the market place;
competition has driven the prices down so that even relatively small businesses
are realigning the benefits of some custom CRM program.
From ww3w.wikipedia.com. in the 1980’s
saw the emergence of database marketing, which was simply a catch phrase to
define the practice of setting up customer services groups to speak to
individually to all of a company’s
customers.
In the case of larger, key clients it was
a valuable tool. For keeping the lines of communication open and tailoring
service to the client’s, however, it tended to provide repetitive, survey like
information that cluttered databases and didn’t provide much insight. As
companies began tracking, database information, they realized that the bare
bones were all that was needed in most case; what they buy regularly what they
spend, what they do.
ADVANCE IN THE 1990’S
In
the 1990’s companies began to improve on customer relationship management by
making it more of a two- way street, instead of simply gathering data for their
own use, they began giving back to their customers not only on terms of the
obvious goal of improved customer services, but in incentives, gifts and other
perks for customer loyalty.
This was the beginning of the now
familiar frequent flyer programs, booms points on credit cards and a host of
other resources that are based on CRM tracking of customer activity and
spending pattern. CRM was now being used as a way to increase sales passively
as well as through active improvement of customer services.
FUTURE DEVELOPMENT
Wikipedia
(2008) stated the time had come where system are being moved from extranets to
the internet. Customers have become a fully integrated participant in the value
chain and have the same customer relation management systems access as
manufactures, supplies distributors, or facilitators.
In future, it is likely that
reengineering principles will be incorporated further into customer management
system. It is said that rather than
organizing a firm into functional specialties and looking at the tasks that
each function performing we would be looking at compete processes from
materials acquisition to serve our subscribers, to marketing and distribution.
More and more software will utilize these approaches ultimately there will be
fully integrated business information system in which all types of business
information are seamlessly moved throughout the firm.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Ø Lack
of good customer record keeping
Ø Inability
to trace customers past records
Ø Inability
to make customer orders available to marketing accounting departments
Ø Duplicate
of send mail shots to existing and selected business customer.
Ø Inability
to trace orders placed by customers
Ø Incorrect
costing of order placed by customers.
Ø Inability
to process and generated monthly bills of business type customers
Ø Inability
of load credit cards.
Ø Inability
to access credit balance
1.3 OBJECTIVE OF STUDY
The
request for better quality information and the rapid advances in technology has
called for the embankment of this project. This project which involves the
development of an automated customer management system is used to develop a
more sophisticated understanding of the relationship between the task of
managing in a large business organization and the technology that has become an
essential part of the task customer management systems.
The aims of this project however, are to
seek and play an important role in the development of customer relations
management systems and increase the productivity of the case study business
organization (intercellular Nig Ltd) through the managed use of the technology
of the organization.
Ø Develop
a customer information systems to ensure proper management of customer details
record
Ø Ensure
that ordering is made easier for customer by sending complete detailed list of
available artist and items to call center department.
Ø Ensure
that all customer order are processed efficiently
Ø Ensure
increasing customer record is taken care of using the Microsoft access database
for its customer records.
Ø Improve
company and advertising and marketing through the use of the mail shots.
Ø Boost
sales by sending mail shots during exhibition and sales
Ø Ensure
correct and complete payment of orders by all business customers.
Ø Ensure
accurate data connectivity between departments of the organization.
Ø Ensure
customer particular interests are met by sending mails during sales and
exhibitions
Ø Save
time and efforts for the member of staff currently performing the task of
customer details keeping, accounting and marketing manually.
Ø Provide
better service to customers, staff of the organization and anyone else affected
by the new system developed.
Ø The
cut cost and save money thereby increasing the productivity of the organization
through the managed use of the technology of the organization.
Ø To
create a user friendly system given enjoyment and entertainments to the users
of the system by the use of visual basic which has a friendly graphical user
interface.
1.3.1 AIM OF CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP
MANAGEMENT
According Bligh, Philip (2004) CRM in its
board sense, means managing all interactions and business with customers. This
includes, but is not limited to, improving customer services. A good CRM
program will allow a business to acquire customers, services the customer,
increase the value of the customer to the company, retain good customers, and
determine which customers can be retained or given a higher level of services.
A good CRM program can improve customer service by facilitating communication
in several ways.
Ø Provide
product information product use information
and technical assistance on web sites that are accessible 24 hours a day
7days a week.
Ø Identify
how each individual customer defines quality and then design a service strategy
for each customer based on these individual requirements and expectations.
Ø Provide
a fast mechanism for managing and scheduling follow up sales calls to asses
post purchase cognitive dissonance, repurchase probabilities repurchase times
and repurchase frequencies.
Ø Provide
a mechanism to track all points of contract between a customers and the
company, and do it in an integrated way so that all source and types of contact
are included, and all users of the system see that same view of the customers
(reduce confusion).
Ø Help
to identify potential problems quickly, before they occur provide a user
friendly mechanism for registering customer complaints (complaints that are not
registered with the company cannot be resolved and are a major source of
customer’s dissatisfaction).
Ø Provide
a fast mechanism for handling problems and complaints (complaints that are
resolved quickly can increase customer satisfaction).
Ø Provide
a fast mechanism for correcting service deficiencies (correct the problem
before other customers experience the same dissatisfaction).
Ø Use
internet cookies to track customer interests and personalize product offerings
according.
Ø Use
the internet to engage in collaborative customization or real- time
customization.
Ø Provide
a fast mechanism for managing and scheduling maintenance, repair and ongoing
support (improve efficiency and effectiveness).
Ø The
CRM can be integrated in to other cross functional system and thereby provide
accounting and production information when they want it.
Govond
scrivstava (2002) stated that the effective use of customer management system
is critical to organizational success. These systems are wider ranging and
include for example accounting customer management system, management
information systems, decision support systems, database management system
enterprise information systems and knowledge based systems.
The quest for better quality information
and the rapid advance in technology brought about the continual evolution of
business information systems. Business information managers are faced with many
complex technical, financial and social decisions. However, the major aim of
information systems is to seek and play an important role in the development of
business information systems.
1.3.2 GOALS OF CUSTOMER RELATION
MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
Ø RELEVANCE: The CRM developer should identify one
important priority that requires investment in computer and /or human
resources. The developer then proposes a specific initiative that addresses
this priority. The resource should meaningfully address the issues and
opportunities facing the organization for instance, billing system that only
processes individual invoices may not be relevant in a world of complication
payment options.
Ø ACCURACY:
Any system that is relied on the
estimating financial data is allowed a range of estimation error. The resources
should compile and report summary data in a logistically accurate fashion for example sales orders are initial
recoded in the field or over the telephone retrospective data input procedure are often notoriously
inaccurate
Ø VALIDITY: The underlying systemic assumptions should be
consistent with the nature of the organizations business. For instance, a financial
accounting program, that calculates costs per unit in accordance with
traditional retail product transaction may not be valid for private services
contracts. Through the cost information may be relevant, and the calculations
may be accurate, the nature of the information may be invalid for purposes of
managing a service business.
Ø RELIABILITY:
The information should be made
available when expected. Many companies have failed to develop flat fee
guaranteed services contracts because they
could be process cost and utilization on a reliable basis and thus could
not decide in a prudent pricing schedule.
Ø ACCESSIBILITY: The appropriate end user should get to the
information when needed. The world’s
finest internet based application may be useless if its cable connection
or dial- up modern is constantly off- line if employees do not understand how
to develop data queries.
Ø SPEED:
The information should be able to be analyzed and conclusion drawn quickly
enough to justify the investment in maintaining the management information
system. For instance, end users must be able to retrieve review revise and
replicate information within minutes.
Ø COST:
The resources should be affordable to the organization and/ or users of the
system. Affordable must encompass all the benefits and costs of the CRM system,
strategy such as the benefits derived from becoming more efficient and the
costs required to train employees to use the new system developed.
I.4 SIGNIFICANT OF THE STUDY
This
project would be useful in communication system with the following advantages
it possesses.
Ø It
saves time
Ø It
I efficient
Ø It
is modern and reliable
Ø It
is very fast, accurate and security conscious.
1.5 SCOPE OF STUDY
The
study of the information system will be narrowed down to a selected telecommunication
organization. Which is the case study; intercellular Nig Ltd. The system to be
developed is a customer relation management system and is intended to enhance
rather that to replace the current system of recoding transactions purchase and
accounting it will include;
Ø Record
keeping of the call center department: The recording of all customer
information details.
Ø Order
processing of the sales department: The processing of customers orders
Ø Bill
generation and processing of the accounts department the tracking of payments
by customers and generation of documents in connection with the preparation of
bills for each business type customer.
Ø SMS
message shot generation of the call center department: The generation of mails
for all the customers to boost sales, advertising and improve marketing.
1.6 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
Ø Expenses incurred by transportation typing and
photocopying materials reduced of extent of details information presented. I
was restricted to some equipments used in the organization
Ø System
does not encourage customers complain carefully consider the complains you get,
if there is nobody to get it across us, these are the thing that matters. It’s
often much easier for your customer to just get up and walk away
1.7 DEFINITIONS OF TERMS
CUSTOMER
A
person or an organization who buys and services from a store or shop or
business
RELATION/ RELATIONSHIP
Ø The way in which two
people group or countries behave towards each other or deal with each other.
Ø The
way to which to or more things are connected
MANAGEMENT
Ø The people who run and control a business or
similar organization
Ø The
act of running and controlling a business or similar organization
Ø The
act or skill of dealing with people or situation in a successful way.
SYSTEM
Ø An
organized set of ideas or theories or a particular way of doing something
Ø A
group of thing pieces of equipment e.t.c that are connected to work together.
INFORMATION
Consist
of data that have been processed and are meaningful to a user.
DATA WAREHOUSE
A
data warehouse is a repository of an organization’s electronically stored data.
Data warehouse are designed to facilitate reporting and analysis. This classic
definition of the data warehouse focuses on data storage. However, the means to
retrieve and analyze data, to extract, transform and load data, and to manage
the dictionary data are also considered essential component of a data
warehousing system.
DATA FLOW DIAGRAMS
Data flow diagrams illustrate how data is
processed by a system in terms of inputs and output. Data flows are pipelines
through which packets of information flow label the arrows with the name of the
data that mores through it.
RETURN ON VESTMENT
In
finance rate of return (ROR) or return on investment (ROI) or sometimes just
return is the ratio of money gained or lost on an investment to the amount of
money invested. The amount of money gained or lost may be refereed to as
interest, profit loss, gain/ loss or net income loss. The money invested may be
referred to as the asset, capital principal or the cost basis of the
investment. ROI is usually given as a percent rather than decimal value.