Agile CRM System Implementation Project

The application of information technology (IT) in customer relationship management (CRM) is growing rapidly as many companies implement CRM systems to support their numerous customer facing activities. However, failure rates of CRM projects remain notably high as they deliver scant solutions and poor user acceptance. As a consequence, it is justified to study previously researched CRM success factors and apply them to CRM system implementation. The aim of this master’s thesis was to get acquainted with relevant academic theories, frameworks and practices concerning CRM and agile development, and use them to generate a modified CRM project strategy to support the successful execution of the case company’s, Process Vision Oy, CRM implementation project. The empirical CRM system implementation project was conducted simultaneously with writing this thesis. Its theoretical findings could be transferred into practice through active participation in the CRM system development and deployment work. The project’s main goal was to produce and take into use a functioning CRM system. The goal was met, since at the time of printing this thesis the first system release was successfully published to its users at Process Vision’s marketing and sales departments. The key success elements in the CRM project were cyclic, iterative system development, customer oriented approach, user inclusion and flexible project management. Implying agile development practices ensured being able to quickly respond to changes arising during the progress of the CRM project. Throughout modelling of the core sales process formed a strong basis, on which the CRM system’s operational and analytical functionalities were built. End users were included in the initial specification of system requirements and they provided feedback on the system’s usage. To conclude, the chosen theoretical CRM roadmaps and agile development practices proved as beneficial in the successful planning and execution of the agile CRM system implementation project at Process Vision.

Customer consciousness in the production process of a steel factory

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the level of customer consciousness of the production process employees in a steel factory and to investigate the methods of internal marketing in order to propose development practices to enhance the customer consciousness of the case company employees. The significance of the level of customer consciousness is discussed and practices already implemented affecting the level of customer consciousness in the company are examined. The literature review gives an insight to the role of customer consciousness in the CRM philosophy of a manufacturing company and examines the means of internal marketing in enhancing customer consciousness. In the empirical part of the study, the level and significance of customer consciousness is determined by conducting individual and focus group interviews. The interviews are also used to examine the practices that could function in enhancing the customer consciousness of the employees. Development suggestions to improve the level of customer consciousness in the production process are given based on the results. The level of customer consciousness is at a poor level in the production process and influences above all on work motivation and job satisfaction, but possibly on customer satisfaction as well. The enhancement of customer consciousness in the production process should be done e.g. by ensuring the distribution of right knowledge coherently to all of the employees, gathering large customer reference database to exploit in work and in training, using visual illustration in presenting the customer information, training proactively and letting the employees to participate in the customer oriented development activities. Customer satisfaction focused reward system can be considered.

The key practices of customer portfolio management (CPM) process in the medical and healthcare B2B industry

The goal of this study is to deepen the understanding of the customer portfolio management process. There are many models for the process, and they are not necessarily exclusive of each other. Consequently, the inclusion of many models might even prove out to be beneficial. Other theoretical framework include the current economical situation and its propose on customer portfolio management. With an understanding of the theoretical models as a background, the empirical part of this study compares Finnish multinational medical and healthcare technology companies’ customer portfolio management practices. The empirical research was carried out with theme interviews held with 11 sales and marketing managers or directors from four different companies. The goal was to discover the most essential practices of the process steps in the companies. The result of this study is that there is a lack of systematic customer portfolio management, but most companies are aiming to improve this in the near future. The most essential practices are analysis of sales, communication level, learning, and commitment to strategy of the focal company. Special characteristics of this industry include large business networks that include customers, professional end-users, institutions, universities, researchers, and key opinion leaders. The management and analysis of this comprehensive network has been seen to be extremely important for this industry.

Propuesta de estrategias CRM en la Estación de Servicio Acacias

Esta tesis pretende mostrar y describir la situación del sector de hidrocarburos, teniendo como objetivo la fidelización y la recompra a partir del concepto de CRM, queremos mostrar este sistema de información como una herramienta que permite a las a organizaciones tales como las estaciones de servicio, a mejorar su productividad a partir del uso de estrategias basadas en el CRM.

Implementação de um CRM analítico na Fundação INATEL

As soluções informáticas de Customer Relationship Management (CRM) e os sistemas de suporte à informação, designados por Business Intelligence (BI), permitem a recolha de dados e a sua transformação em informação e em conhecimento, vital para diferenciação das organizações num Mundo globalizado e em constante mudança. A construção de um Data Warehouse corporativo é fundamental para as organizações que utilizam vários sistemas operacionais de modo a ser possível a agregação da informação. A Fundação INATEL – uma fundação privada de interesse público, 100% estatal – é um exemplo deste tipo de organização. Com uma base de dados de clientes superior a 250.000, atuando em áreas tão diferentes como sejam o Turismo, a Cultura e o Desporto, sustentado em mais de 25 sistemas informáticos autónomos. A base de estudo deste trabalho é a procura de identificação dos benefícios da implementação de um CRM Analítico na Fundação INATEL. Apresentando-se assim uma metodologia para a respetiva implementação e sugestão de um modelo de dados para a obtenção de uma visão única do cliente, acessível a toda a organização, de modo a garantir a total satisfação e consequente fidelização à marca INATEL. A disponibilização desta informação irá proporcionar um posicionamento privilegiado da Fundação INATEL e terá um papel fundamental na sua sustentabilidade económica.

The tenant as a customer: can good service improve real estate performance?

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) theory suggests that good customer service results in satisfied customers, who in turn are more likely to remain loyal and recommend the service provider to others. Proponents of good customer service for tenants claim that landlords should see a return on any investment in their customer service, in the form of enhanced real estate performance. This paper begins by reviewing research on customer service returns in other industries. Through consideration of the characteristics of real estate markets, the paper explains how factors such as (inter alia) lease terms, property market cycles, and property type, might determine the relationship between customer service and real estate performance. The paper concludes that further research is needed to isolate specific aspects of customer service that are most appreciated by customers. It suggests that the financial returns which accrue to landlords adopting a customer-focused approach might indeed be quantified, and suggests an appropriate method for such future research.

Treating the Tenant as a Customer: can good service improve real estate performance?

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) theory suggests that good customer service results in satisfied customers, who in turn are more likely to remain loyal and recommend the service provider to others. Applied to real estate, this theory implies that landlords should see a return on any investment in the service they give to tenants, in the form of increased lease renewal rates and fewer void periods, achieved without compromising rents. This paper examines determinants of occupier satisfaction, and investigates the relationship between occupier satisfaction and property performance, using measures such as capital growth, income return, lease renewal rates and total return. The analysis is based upon a pilot study using occupier satisfaction responses from around 2500 interviewees based in multi-tenanted offices, shopping centres and retail warehouses on out-of-town retail parks in the UK. The analysis is being extended to cover a larger sample for the author’s PhD. Part 1 of the analysis examines occupier satisfaction, whilst Part 2 considers its impact on property performance.

Implementação de CRM para viabilização de marketing de relacionamento: um estudo de caso

Foco em estratégias empresariais para a longevidade da relação com clientes, comunicação personalizada bidirecional, múltiplos pontos de contato, novas formas de segmentação de mercado, estrutura organizacional descentralizada e mensuração em tempo real da satisfação dos clientes, são exemplos que indicam a existência de uma forma de marketing diferenciada, denominada de marketing de relacionamento. Motivada pela crescente demanda empresarial por tecnologias mercadológicas, a indústria de softwares criou, em meados dos anos 90, um sistema denominado de Customer Relationship Management (CRM) com a promessa de gerenciar, de forma integrada, todos os relacionamentos com os clientes. Gradativamente, novas funcionalidades foram incorporadas ao sistema que alcançou ampla difusão no meio empresarial, responsável por investimentos na ordem de bilhões de dólares ao ano. Enquanto os fabricantes de CRM anunciam crescimentos significativos de vendas, o mercado vem apresentando sinais de insatisfação. Há dúvidas se a implementação do sistema seria suficiente para viabilizar o marketing de relacionamento e quais são seriam suas potencialidades. Pesquisar a teoria do marketing de relacionamento, levantar qUaiS são os seus elementos determinantes e investigar as possibilidades do CRM poderá contribuir para proporclOnar beneficios mútuos para as quatro partes envolvidas no relacionamento: os clientes, as empresas que comercializam produtos e serviços, fabricantes e implementadores de CRM.

Data Mining for Software Development Life Cycle Quality Management

Computer software plays an important role in business, government, society and sciences. To solve real-world problems, it is very important to measure the quality and reliability in the software development life cycle (SDLC). Software Engineering (SE) is the computing field concerned with designing, developing, implementing, maintaining and modifying software. The present paper gives an overview of the Data Mining (DM) techniques that can be applied to various types of SE data in order to solve the challenges posed by SE tasks such as programming, bug detection, debugging and maintenance. A specific DM software is discussed, namely one of the analytical tools for analyzing data and summarizing the relationships that have been identified. The paper concludes that the proposed techniques of DM within the domain of SE could be well applied in fields such as Customer Relationship Management (CRM), eCommerce and eGovernment. ACM Computing Classification System (1998): H.2.8.

Using text-mining-assisted analysis to examine the applicability of unstructured data in the context of customer complaint management

Double Degree

Angariação e retenção de clientes numa maternidade privada

Este trabalho apresenta o caso de um prestador de saúde privado, com maternidade, da zona da grande Lisboa, cujo número de partos tem vindo a decrescer. Trabalhou-se um conjunto de dados da especialidade de Ginecologia/Obstetrícia (GIN/OBS), a partir do qual se construiu uma metodologia de análise inovadora na aplicação de Customer Relationship Management (CRM) a esta especialidade, e que permite extrair conhecimento útil sobre o seu comportamento. A criação de perfis de utente, através da construção de métricas agregadas, permitiu aferir condicionantes do negócio, como a utilização de Entidades Financiadoras de Referência (EFR’s) e o desempenho de médicos em número de partos, a georreferenciação de utentes, e a segmentação de clientes por valor. Este conhecimento, em conjunto com dados da literatura e da análise do mercado das maternidades privadas, permitiu definir diretrizes de atuação de marketing que podem ser aplicáveis a vários níveis da organização, visando o aumento da quota de mercado de partos do prestador. Organizações de saúde que sigam esta metodologia poderão conhecer melhor os seus clientes, criando uma estratégia de CRM, com vista ao aumento do número de partos.

Asiakastiedon hallinnan kehittäminen terästehtaassa

Tämän tutkimuksen ensisijaisena tavoitteena oli laatia terästehtaan käyttöön kriteeristö päätöksenteon tueksi, miten asiakastiedon hallintaa yrityksessä kehitetään. Kriteeristön aikaansaamiseksi tutkimuksessa kartoitettiin erilaisia esimerkin luonteisia ratkaisuvaihtoehtoja asiakastiedon haltuun ottamiseksi. Nykytilan kartoituksessa ja tietotarvevaatimusten määrittelyssä käytettiin haastattelututkimusta. Haastattelujen tarkoituksena oli myöskin selvittää järjestelmän käyttäjien asettamat vaateet asiakastiedon hallinnalle. Diplomityöhön liittyi kirjallisuustutkimus, jossa tarkasteltiin asiakastiedon merkitystä liiketoiminnalle sekä asiakastiedon hallinnan ja hallintajärjestelmien käsitteitä. Tutkimuksessa tarkasteltiin lisäksi asiakastiedon hallintajärjestelmien valinnassa ja käyttöönotossa huomioitavia seikkoja. Kirjallisuustutkimus on tehty terästehtaan liiketoimintaympäristön näkökulmasta. Diplomityön lopputuloksena terästehtaalle luotiin kriteeristö asiakastiedon hallinnan kehittämispäätösten tueksi. Kriteereissä on huomioitu järjestelmästä riippumattomat, ohjelmiston valinnassa huomioitavat sekä ohjelmiston toimittajaan kohdistuvat vaatimukset.

Service product structure supported by remote diagnostics

Työn tavoitteena oli määrittää etähuoltokonseptin yleinen rakenne sekä selvittää asiakkaille tarjottavia modulaarisia palvelutuotteita. Aluksi selvitettiin huoltokonseptin rakennetta kirjallisuuden ja asiantuntijoiden haastattelujen avulla. Asiantuntijoiden haastattelut toteutettiin vapaamuotoisesti kysymyslistaa apuna käyttäen. Tämän lisäksi työssä pohditaan KM, CRM ja PDM rooleja etähuoltokonseptin kannalta sekä tutkaillaan etähuollon tulevaisuuden näkymiä.Diplomityössä käsitellään modulaarisuutta yleisellä tasolla. Moduularisuus on moniulotteinen termi. Usein sillä tarkoitetaan yrityksen sisäistä tuotekehityksen hallintaa. Toisaalta se voidaan nähdä myös asiakkaalle tarjottavina tuotteina ja tässä diplomityössä on keskitytty tähän puoleen. Loppuosa diplomityöstä käsittelee palvelutuotteiden tuotteistamisprosessia.Diplomityön tuloksena hahmoteltiin etähuolto konseptia ja tutkittiin mahdollisia palvelutuotteita, joita voidaan sisällyttää etähuoltokonseptiin. Tämän lisäksi toteutettiin osa tuotteistamisprosessista. Etähuollon kehittäminen on haasteellista. Haasteeksi jää tuotekehitystoiminnan ja palvelupuolen toiminnan tehostaminen, jotta tuotteita voitaisiin jo suunnittelupuolella kehittää etähuollon tarpeisiin. Kehittäminen vaatii molempien puolien aktiivista osallistumista.

Asiakkuudenhallinnan tukeminen neuroverkkoteknologian avulla

CRM on yritysten tietojärjestelmä, jolla voidaan tukea asiakkuuden hallintaa ja kehittämistä. Monilla suuryrityksillä on paljon asiakkaita ja niiden on mahdotonta tunnistaa asiakkaitaan yksilöinä. Kuitenkin asiakkaat arvostavat yhä enemmän henkilökohtaista palvelua ja kontakteja. Yritysten asiakastietokantoihin kertyy runsaasti tietoa asiakkaista ja heidän ostokäyttäytymisestään. Suuresta informaatiomäärästä johtuen tarvitaan kehittynyttä tietotekniikkaa asiakkaiden tyypittelyyn ja asiakastarpeiden tunnistamiseen. Tässä diplomityössä kehitetään neuroCRM-teoriaa määrällisesti suuren ja monimutkaisen asiakasinformaation hallintaan. Teoria perustuu itseorganisoituvien neuroverkkojen käyttöön asiakasinformaation analysoimiseksi CRM-järjestelmässä. Asiakkaat segmentoidaan ja personoidaan iteratiivisia SOM-analyysejä suorittamalla. Tulosten perusteella kehitetään asiakkaiden yksilöllisyyttä huomioivia markkinointikeinoja ja käytetään uusia kanavia, esimerkiksi mobiilia viestintätekniikkaa asiakkaiden tavoittamiseen. Asiakaskannattavuuden parantamiseksi voi- daan tehdä strategisia valintoja ja päätöksiä markkinoinnin kohdentamista varten.

Tullin tuonnin palvelujen epäyhtenäisten käytäntöjen analysointi

Työn tarkoituksena on analysoida Tulli tuonnin palveluissa esiintyviä epäyhtenäi siä käytäntöjä Tullihallituksen Ulkomaankauppaosaston asiakas- ja luotonhallin tayksikölle. Tutkimuksen pohjustamiseksi työssä on ensin määritelty palvelu, asiakashallinta ja Customer Relationship Management (CRM) kirjallisuuden pe rusteella sekä tutkimuksessa käytetty SERVQUAL-työkalu ja kuiluanalyysimalli. Näiden perusteella on luotu tutkimuksessa käytetty kysely. Kyselyssä kysyttiin missä tuonnin palveluissa epäyhtenäisiä käytäntöjä on havait tu, mistä ne johtuvat ja mandollisia keinoja niiden poistamiseen. SERVQUAL työkalulla tutkittiin koetun palvelun laatua 19 kysymyksellä Tullin tuonnin palve luiden odotuksista ja kokemuksista. Kyselyn tuloksista havaittiin Tullin tuonnin palveluissa olevan koetun palvelun kuilu eli odotettu palvelu ei ole vastannut ko kemuksia. Myös organisaatiosta johtuvia kuiluja havaittiin Tullin työntekijöille osoitetussa kyselyssä.