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Strategic CRM for Chinese auto OEMs
(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2008-04-14 16:42

Therefore, the object of CRM is to maximize the customer value of your company by better understand the customers, offer products and services, sell to your customers, and finally retain your customers.

A pitfall in investing CRM

Realizing the importance of CRM and ineffectiveness of traditional marketing weapons like price cut, OEMs decide to invest millions of dollars in improving and upgrading their customer management. Quite a few of them right away believe in system vendors who knocking their doors and simply interpret superior CRM as an IT system supporting CRM activities (Understand, Offer, Sell, and Retain). Therefore, within one night, they built customer center, purchased certain application solution, implemented the system, and thought themselves are far advanced in CRM.

Yes, IT system does facilitate CRM activities in the background. But, CRM is more than that. It is not only a topic of the Infrastructure, but more importantly a concept related to the Strategy, Process, Culture and Organization of a company.

Strategic CRM for Chinese auto OEMs

A CRM initiative should be systematic and sound, concerning requirements at levels of strategy and management rather than only operations and application. Only when a company well understands its CRM issues in terms of all the corporate cornerstones (Strategy, Process, Infrastructure, Culture and Organization), a CRM project then can be successful and generate real value to the company. Without a proper integration and alignment with the other 3 cornerstones, CRM could be just an electronic system only.

This is the reason why the best practicers of CRM often start with a strategic thinking of their own requirement on CRM. Before selecting the application solutions proposed by various vendors, many of them also listen to the management advices and opinions of a 3rd party like Arthur D. Little who is purely neutral from the sales of solution packages. With the unbiased suggestions, they can be crystal clear about their CRM status, problems and issues, and improvement areas. A right selection of solution and vendor then can be made. Ultimately, all the investment in CRM will generate the maximum value for the auto OEMs, in other words good value for money


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