Steve Downton, Downton Service Management Consultants Ltd, Noventum Group
Investment in, and implementation of, customer-focused systems has been regarded by some businesses as a way of leap-frogging the competition and gaining significant competitive advantage and differentiation. In recent years, however, some companies following this path have reported disappointing results, principally because customer relationships processes have not fully permeated the entire organisation; they are traditionally the preserve of the sales and marketing functions. Nearly 50% of companies researched still implement CRM solutions through sales, which would indicate that a large number of companies consider this channel as the most appropriate for developing and capitalising on their relationship with the customer. Disappointing results might indicate that this is no longer a truism.
Recent research has revealed that an increasing number of organisations (21%) are implementing customer solutions through service, indicating a growing recognition that improved Customer Relationship Management through Customer Service is more effective than relying purely on sales as a way of generating revenue.
The significance of the service thrust is most notable in leading companies where service-centricity has become a core strategy, supported by enterprise-wide CRM systems and processes.
This re-alignment of business focus has been driven by a number of factors, like ICT, Just in Time (JIT), Process Engineering, etc, Recent research into the value of the Services offering has highlighted that even highly efficient companies struggle to sustain growth and survive on product sales alone, needing to focus on developing and enhancing the customer-facing role and on the delivery of cost-effective customer satisfaction.
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