Introduction to Customer Relationship Management Systems (CRM) through the business perspective, including its importance in a digital economy, creating a competitive advantage, and a vendor criteria comparison of Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics

1. Customer Relationship
Management (CRM)
Systems
1Stephanie Anagnostou

2. Introduction to CRM
2
● Application for managing
and leveraging customer
data, relationships and
interactions
● Business strategy enabled
through people, processes
and technology
● Customer Centric approach
Wang, Y., Hing, P., Chi, R., & Yongheng, Y. (2004). An Integrated Framework for Customer Value and Customer-Relationship-Management
Performance: A Customer-Based Perspective from China. Managing Service Quality, 14,169-182. DOI: 10.1108/09604520410528590.
Stephanie Anagnostou

3. Business Perspective: The rising cost of consumer attention
● Percentage of ads
being viewed is
decreasing and the cost
of each ad is increasing
● CRM adoption is
necessary to maximize
Customer Lifetime
Value (CLV)
● Emergence of “Woke”
Advertising
3Teixeira, Thales S. "The Rising Cost of Consumer Attention: Why You Should Care, and What You Can Do about It." Harvard Business
School Working Paper, No. 14-055, January 2014
Stephanie Anagnostou

4. Importance of CRM in a digital economy
● No longer just about product quality
● Consumers expect more from firms,
hold more power and make more
demands
● Firms need to adapt and align with
customer needs to gain competitive
advantage in the market
4Gada, K. (2016). The Digital Economy in 5 minutes. Forbes. Retrieved from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/koshagada/2016/06/16/what-is-
the-digital-economy/#5e44987a7628
Stephanie Anagnostou

5. Social Networking
● CRM decreases the time to receive
feedback for product development
○ As the end of 2018 (3rd Q) Facebook
has 2.27 billion users
● Challenges - word of mouth travels
fast and reputations can be ruined
○ Damage control and de-escalate issues
which arise immediately
● CRM on mobile devices and
provides real-time data
5Statistica. (2019). Number of monthly active Facebook users worldwide as of 3rd quarter 2018 (in millions). The Statistics Portal. Retrieved from
https://www.statista.com/statistics/264810/number-of-monthly-active-facebook-users-worldwide/
Figure 1: Number of monthly active Facebook users worldwide as of 3rd quarter
2018 in millions (Statistica, 2019)
Stephanie Anagnostou

6. CRM creates competitive advantage in the mass market
● CRM is necessary to survive in the
dynamic, competitive and technology-
driven mass market
● Ability to leverage current technology
to enable firms to capture their
customers data in real-time
● High-level strategic goals and
objectives align with customer needs
● New tech ecosystems thrive
6Stevensonfinancialmarketing. (2018). The inconvenient customer: Strategic CRM and customer centricity. Retrieved from:
https://stevensonfinancialmarketing.wordpress.com/tag/crm/
Stephanie Anagnostou

7. Company Consciousness
● Increased health and
sustainability consciousness
● Responsible operations which
address social and environmental
issues
○ goals must match the brand, must be
credible and well implemented
● Less processed, healthy and fresh
options
○ For example, Millenials prefer Organic
foods
7Realomat. (2018). How can you reduce manual work on your CRM by 15%. Retrieved from: https://becominghuman.ai/how-you-can-reduce-manual-work-on-
your-crm-by-15-pipedrive-example-9cf708107b39
Stephanie Anagnostou

8. Company Consciousness
8
"As more consumers come to expect brands to
reflect their moral and political values, a brand that
takes a side on a controversial issue can
strengthen its bond with a consumer segment,
making them willing to buy more or to buy at a
higher price." - Josh Barro, Business Insider
Rapier, G. (2018). Nike’s Controversial Kaepernick ad has millennials snapping up the stock. Markets Insider. Retrieved from:
https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/nike-stock-price-kaepernick-ad-millennials-snapping-up-shares-2018-9-1027507438
Stephanie Anagnostou

9. Social Media affect on CRM: Social CRM House
● Empowerment for companies
capturing data through social media
● Value Fusion - value derived for the
customer and the company
● Linking data and privacy implications
● Measuring Key Performance
Indicators (KPI)
● Further integration of social media in
ROI statistics
9
Malthouse, C., Haenlein, M., Skiera, B., Wege, E., & Zhang, M. (2013). Managing customer relationships in the social media era: Social
CRM House. Journal of Interactive
Marketing, 27, 270-280.
Stephanie Anagnostou

10. Convenience, Self-Service & Experience
● Time poverty
○ 50% of women work and households are busy
○ For example, trend in outsourcing activities
such as cooking or buying groceries
● Increasing consumer heterogeneity
○ Dating apps and searching for emotional value
● Self service options
○ For example, in retail there is self-check out
● Individualized experience
○ Demand for self-realization
10Stevensonfinancialmarketing. (2018). The inconvenient customer: Strategic CRM and customer centricity. Retrieved from:
https://stevensonfinancialmarketing.wordpress.com/tag/crm/
Stephanie Anagnostou

11. Convenience, Self-Service & Experience
● CRM systems allow firms to synchronize
with self service applications
● Ensures firms are ahead of the game
and predicting where the market is
shifting
● Emerging technologies, innovations and
untapped niches are discovered from
data collected
● Differentiate through experience and
service
11
CTwo, J. (2014). CRM and Content Management - Self-Service and Personalization. C2 Software. Retrieved from:
https://www.c2software.com/c2-blog/crm-content-management-self-service-and-personalisation.aspx Stephanie Anagnostou

12. Industry Ecosystem 4.0
● Purchase history and
social media behaviour
leading to mass
customization
developments
● Internet of things allows
capture of real-time data
● Improve service and
provide better value to
customers
12Faraci, G. (2019). The Industry 4.0 Ecosystem. Supply Chain Game Changer. Retrieved from https://supplychaingamechanger.com/industry-
4-0-ecosystem-infographic/
Stephanie Anagnostou

13. CRM Landscape
13News Desk. (2018). Artificial intelligence and CRMs. Industry Pulse. Retrieved from: https://industrypulse.com/2018/06/20/artificial-
intelligence-and-crms/
• Overview of the CRM
landscape evolution over the
years
• New developments every year
with over 600 applications
currently available
• AI functionality helping
companies stand out and have
a more tailored experience for
their customers
Stephanie Anagnostou

14. CRM Vendor Criteria
1. Data Analytical Functionality (such as big data, data mining)
2. Networking and Collaboration functions (such as virtual
collaboration, messaging, knowledge sharing and cross
departmental access)
3. Integration with existing organization system (such as ERP, finance)
4. Ease of use (user interface)
5. Software Training, support and maintenance (over the long term)
14Stephanie Anagnostou

15. CRM Vendor Comparison
15
Microsoft Dynamics Salesforce
 Best for large
organizations
 Cloud-based
 Integration with
existing Microsoft
software
 More complex
functions
 Low user friendly
 More flexible
subscription offerings
 Lower price
 Access
 Less complex
functions
 Geared toward
SME’s
 User friendly
Stephanie Anagnostou

16. Vendor Comparison: Research
16Knasys, M., & Vugt, T.V. (2015). Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Systems in Higher Education. Study Portals. Retrieved
from: https://www.studyportals.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/CRM-Systems-in-Higher-Education-main-report.pdf
● Studied CRM systems in higher
education
● Microsoft Dynamics
○ scored high in Recruitment &
Marketing, User management
and Help & support
○ Low in Ease of use
● Salesforce scored higher overall
○ High in Ease of use and Contact
Management
Stephanie Anagnostou

17. Conclusion/Summary
● Changing how businesses
operate and interact with
customers
○ Industry Ecosystem 4.0
○ Growth in big data, data
mining, predictive modelling,
virtual collaboration
○ Internet of things
○ Mass customization
● CRM with integrated analytics
enables access to customer data
when the information is needed
17Atkins, C., De Uster, M., Mahdavian, M., & Yee, L. (2016). Unlocking the power of data. McKinsey&Company. Retrieved from
https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/marketing-and-sales/our-insights/unlocking-the-power-of-data-in-sales
Stephanie Anagnostou