Q.
How does a sales agent create value and achieve customer satisfaction in a house sale promotion? How customer relationship management plays its role in your answer?
(M2022-1 Q5, 25 marks)
A.
The initial read of the question might give you the impression that the question has 2 parts - (1) create value and achieve customer satisfaction, and (2) CRM. Nonetheless, when you read the question many times, you will realize that the question actually asks about CRM in creating value in customer satisfaction. The focus is NOT on the first part of the question. Instead, it is the second part relating to CRM which is the emphasis of this question.
Updated 15 Sep, 2022
Customer relationship management (CRM) is a combination of practices, technologies, strategies that a company uses to manage its interaction with its customers.
Through interaction with customers, CRM system gathers a large amount of data of the customers, analyze and study them. The findings of this study could greatly help in creating value for customers, now and into the future. As the business owes to its customers, achieving customer satisfaction is its primary objective.
Sales force are people directly dealing with customers. Hence, CRM plays an important role in helping the sales force to interact with customers and vice versa, the sales force plays an important role to execute CRM effectively while interacting with customers.
Understanding the customer as origin of CRM
CRM stores information about target customers. It profiles each individual, understanding their unique requirements, preferences, opinions, purchasing behaviors.
These customers can also be segmented according to their characteristics into different groups. Thereafter, appropriate strategies can be drawn up to treat each group differently as according to their needs. While interacting with the customers, the sales agents can retrieve the customer profile easily from CRM. The convenience of such system to retrieve customer data would enhance effective promotion of the products. Hence, making the customers felt valued and satisfied during the process. This is the most significant process of CRM enhanced system and how it is able to help the process of selling to achieve its goal.
Example of CRM in a selling process for real estate
In a house sale promotion during open day activity the trained sales agents are equipped with CRM database to handle target specific customers. When a repeat customer walks in, the agent will know how to serve the customer as information relating to this customer is in hand.
The sales agent will know what kind of house that the customer prefer base on past pattern. Therefore, the agent could accurately promote houses matching their preferences and requirements. For example, for customers that want a luxury house, the sales agent can promote to them houses with the latest features like 5G lock system, the best aesthetics using the best materials, occupying large land areas with gardens, pool, etc.
In this way, customers objections could be addressed in the proper manner, avoiding abrupt conflicts and inappropriate delivery of information. The ultimate goal is to let customers feel that they are being valued and satisfied with the services provided. Hopefully, a planned engagement with a willing buying customer will result in a sale.
Efficient communication with customer
CRM also provides a system of updating to interact with the customers. CRM emphasizes on the interaction with customers constantly updated to reflect current position.
CRM is a tool which integrates with product guides, brochures, offers and strategies. It supports the agent how to talk to customers, obtaining their information and promoting specific products to them suited to their current state. Over and above, some enhanced CRM also provides customers a channel to communicate with the company.
This feedback mechanism will further assist the management in crafting suitable product lines for the future launches. It also keeps voices of the customer within control of the company. This is especially so as customer getting feedback will usually not lodge their complaint through public media. CRM can also deliver its value as a buffer zone for a disgruntled customer.
Example of how CRM can deliver feedback mechanism
During a house sale promotion, the sales agents may offer customers to fill up a form about their personal information, requirements for a house as CRM capture.
It is to understand the customers better and serve them well. This definitely will make the customers felt valued. Moreover, it there are issues or complaints, it is not being ignored. Furthermore, despite not having products that the customers want during a particular sales promotion, this information can be stored for future follow-ups, particularly when there are future projects that fit the customers' preference.
Upon new launches, the customers can be easily contacted and communicated. The CRM could retrieve information of specific customers to notify them, e.g. via email blasting or SMS, giving them early-bird offers. This could build exclusivity with customers and established certain rapport with them through past interactions.
For example, base on record, customer was looking for condominium instead of landed house. The sales agent can easily contact the customer when the company launches a condominium project in the near future. Conversely, the sales team could pass on the information to another project team that is responsible for condominium sales. Such prompt service to a specific customer will make the customers feel valued, hence achieve satisfaction and closing a sale.
Gaining customer's insight
Sales agents are an integral part in executing CRM as they are the ones directly dealing with customers. They are the ones that knows the best about customers' needs and wants, and can receive feedback from the customers regarding the company's product.
While executing CRM, they can obtain these information about the customers which can be passed on to the company data repository. These information can be studied to identify the purchasing trends, patterns of the customers, understanding their wants for the company's products. Thus, produce improvement that better satisfy the customers in time to come. Customers will also feel being valued as their opinions are being taken seriously to improve the product to their requirements.
Example of CRM and Strategic Planning
For example, during a house sales promotion, sales agents working through CRM collected information that majority of customers want to buy Smart House. The CRM system gather these data and report back to the company top management.
Upon business considerations, the management could craft out products to tap the market potential of Smart Home Concept. Of course, the management ought to carry out other marketing research to ascertain the potential of this market segment. Consequently, when a Smart House project is launched during the company's next house sales promotion, it would be a success. The customer who contributed to this idea originally might be given a discount and immediately becomes a ready buyer.
Conclusion
In the modern day of selling, tools like CRM has become indispensable for a successful sale. This is also greatly due to advancement in technology where capturing customer data and upkeep is now possible. Imagine keeping huge hand written notes in the old days, where there was no hand phone or tablet, yet laptop computers. The advent of new technology has facilitated the CRM system to store and retrieve information of customer in mobile gadgets, in a sales presentation in front of a customer. At time, the customer can even participate in the CRM system, voicing their opinion and grievances.
All this has made understanding customer an ongoing process over time, for current engagement or for future potential sale. Definitely, CRM system enables the selling process be conducted more efficiently in a rightful customer. This hopefully will result in a yield of sale by a satisfied customer. Moreover, CRM also enhance capturing of market feedback for the development of future product lines in the strategic planning of an organization.