文章基本信息

标题：Study Reports Integrated CRM Strategy Increases Revenue
期刊名称：Enterprise Networks and Servers
出版年度：2004
卷号：Feb 2004
出版社：Publications & Communications, Inc.

Study Reports Integrated CRM Strategy Increases Revenue

An IDC study sponsored by Unisys Corp. finds that businesses see a greater boost in customer satisfaction if they integrate their sales, marketing, customer service and operations functions, and then use integrated customer relationship management (CRM) strategies and systems.

"With competition just a call, click or visit away, businesses recognize the need to continually evaluate the best way to attract and retain customers," said Brian Bingham, program manager for CRM and customer care services research at IDC. "CRM lets many organizations address the key issues and better understand the channels that directly impact customer relationships."

IDC surveyed businesses worldwide in a variety of industries, including financial services, public sector, transportation and consumer packaged goods, with 82 percent of respondents from companies with annual revenue greater than $5 million and 18 percent from companies with annual revenue in the range of $100-500 million.

IDC compared businesses that integrate sales, marketing, customer service and operations with those that do not, and it measured how much those businesses benefited from a CRM implementation. IDC found that both types of business structures realized measurable results from CRM implementations. However, businesses with integrated strategies, processes and systems benefited most.

For example, nonintegrated businesses saw CRM increase their number of satisfied customers by 22 percent while integrated businesses realized an increase of 28 percent. Overall, integrated businesses using CRM strategies have 14 percent more satisfied customers than nonintegrated businesses. With a nonintegrated CRM solution, businesses increased cross-selling and upselling revenue from 7 percent to 8 percent of overall sales revenue. But integrated businesses saw this revenue increase from 13 percent to 16 percent of sales revenue.

On average, businesses witnessed non-integrated CRM approaches decrease their marketing-related operational costs by 9 percent. But integrated businesses decreased their marketing-related operational costs by 15 percent. Overall, integrated businesses employing CRM have an average marketing-related operational cost that is less than one-fourth that of nonintegrated businesses with CRM.

Nonintegrated businesses saw CRM decrease their average cost to resolve a customer inquiry by 4 percent compared to integrated businesses, which saw CRM decrease their average cost to resolve a customer inquiry by 17 percent. In general, integrated businesses with CRM have an average customer inquiry resolution cost that is 17 percent less than nonintegrated businesses with CRM.