Brief summary - Swiss CRM 2014 study

Swiss CRM 2014 Application and Trends in Swiss Corporations From Transaction to Relationship.

Crossing Borders.

A study by F. Hannich, B. R端eger, C. Scherrer, B. Gehring, R. Seiler, S. M端ller, M. H端ttermann, D. K端bler and M. Stadelmann sponsored by the Swiss Post Office

Main sponsor

Industry sponsors Turning Opportunities into Profit

Brief Summary of CRM Study

Brief Summary of CRM Study

In the context of the eighth “Swiss CRM” Trend Study, the

CURRENT STATUS OF CRM IN SWITZERLAND

Institute of Marketing Management of the School of Man-

As the findings of the 2014 CRM Study indicate, Swiss

agement and Law at Zurich University of Applied Sciences

companies are well aware of the significance of CRM for

(ZHAW) surveyed a total of 467 decision-makers in Swiss

the success of their business ventures and their competi-

companies about their customer relationship manage-

tiveness, and that they are committed to CRM. Invest-

ment (CRM).

ments into CRM are still growing, as is the number of companies using a CRM software solution in their customer

As in previous years, the first two chapters are an over-

relationship management activities.

view of the status quo in Swiss companies and of current developments in CRM. Chapter 3 deals with the current

Compared to previous years, there has been a slight in-

CRM trend issues in Switzerland, while chapter 4 focus-

crease in the importance of the software perspective of

es on collaborative CRM as a key subject area. Chapter

CRM. 22.7% of all the companies surveyed stated that

5 contains an interview describing the development

they use CRM as a company-wide system linking all cus-

steps taken by Poinz, the previous year›s CRM Innova-

tomer data by means of special software packages. In the

tion Award winner.

previous year, this definition was only selected by 17.2%,

Figure 1: Perspectives of CRM

STRONGER PERCEPTION OF CRM AS LINKING ALL CUSTOMER DATA USING SPECIAL SOFTWARE PACKAGES 2012 2013

Frequencies in %

2014

50

50,9 50,4 47,4

60

29,7 32,4 29,9

40

19,4 17,2 22,7

30

20

10

CRM is a company-wide organizational and leadership principle which encompasses all measures to be taken to achieve improved customer orientation and customer satisfaction

CRM describes process improvements which are designed to increase the efficiency of operational customer management activities in marketing, sales, and service

CRM is the company-wide linking of all customer data using special software packages

3

4

and in the year before that only by 19.4% of the compa-

the coming year, the majority of companies (81.5%) wants

nies surveyed. This result points to a higher awareness of

to focus on acquisition and on the development of their

the significance of data as a result of the data scandals of

customer lifecycle. Only 18.5% of the companies are plan-

the past year. At the same time, the figures also show that

ning to expand mainly their activities in the area of cus-

Swiss companies believe that there is considerable poten-

tomer retention in the coming year. Even if attracting new

tial in their customer data, which is why they are interested

customers is a key issue, the question that must be raised

in analytical CRM. Process improvements aiming to in-

in this context is whether companies have actually recog-

crease the efficiency of operational customer manage-

nized just how important customer retention is. A possible

ment activities are considered as important by some 30%

explanation may lie with measurability, which on the whole

of those surveyed. By far the most frequently named item

has not yet been implemented.

was the belief in CRM as a company-wide organizational and leadership principle (47.7%).

CRM TRENDS IN SWITZERLAND Three data issues, i.e. individual customer care according

With regard to software, there has been a rise in industry-

to customer value, the personalization or individualization

specific solutions (+11 percentage points). CRM software

of services, and the integration of CRM and ERP software

providers have been successful: more than half of the

are the top trends emerging from the study. Efficiency, to-

companies surveyed (59%) are quite happy or even very

gether with customer communication, constitutes a key

happy with their CRM solution.

topic for companies and “communication efficiency� is the biggest newcomer of the 2014 CRM Study.

Again, decision-makers consider operational customer relationship management to be a key area to invest in. De-

With regard to CRM trends, it is remarkable how little at-

spite expectations of budget increases, a lack of funds and

tention is paid by companies to global CRM trends. This

the absence of clear processes were identified as the

area has potential for Swiss companies prepared to iden-

greatest challenges. Significant room for improvement can

tify and downscale useful data and adapt it to their own

also be said to exist in the area of customer loyalization. In

needs.

Brief Summary of CRM Study

Figure 2: CRM Trends in 2014

CRM TREND BAROMETER

Integration of CRM and ERP Systems

Multiple answers, in %

36,8 (2013: 44,7)

ì +2

Individual customer care according to customer value î –1

35,3 (2013: 55,3)

Personalization/individualization

î –1

35,1 (2013: 52,7)

Return to personal contact

ì +2

CRM distribution support

ì +5

Customer portals

î –1

Communication effectiveness

è0

Analytical CRM to analyze potential Time-to-market / reaction speed

34,5 (2013: 34,4) 32,5 (2013: 27,5) 32,3 (2013: 38,1) 27,8 (neu)

è0

23,3 (2013: 31,1)

ì +2

23,1 (2013: 26,7)

Apps for customers*

î –1

22,7 (2013: 30,0)

Customer dialog management

î –4

22,5 (2013: 34,1)

Recommendation marketing

ì +1

21,0 (2013: 24,9)

Measuring marketing efficiency Internal mobile CRM*

21,0 (neu) 20,6 (2013: 39,6)

î –10

20,6 (neu)

Customer intelligence Loyality programs

î –6

14,6 (2013: 25,3)

Cross-channel management*

î –2

14,3 (2013: 12,5)

Data protection

î –4

Emotionalization of CRM

î –6

Social CRM

î –4

13,1 (2013: 15,0) 12,2 (2013: 19,0) 9,9 (2013: 10,6)

Backend excellence

8,8 (neu)

Big data

î –4

Internet of things

î –8

8,4 (2013: 5,1) 2,6 (2013: 5,1)

0 * new formulation compared to prev. year

20

40

60

Comparison to 2013, incl. change in placement: Trend increasing ì

Trend stable è

Trend decreasing î

New

5

6

COLLABORATIVE CRM

Cooperation with other companies is common among

The 2014 study focuses on collaborative CRM as a trend

Swiss companies. On the other hand, it is no sufficiently

issue. Compared to “collaborative CRM”, which is found

implemented with regard to CRM because companies are

frequently in the literature and which mainly reflects the

still blocked by their efforts to achieve internal cooperation

technical side, collaborative CRM focuses predominantly

(see Figure 3).

on a comprehensive approach encompassing both the strategic and the operational perspectives. Collaborative

Although external collaboration is not yet that common

CRM can be an effective future solution in the face of rising

with regard to CRM compared to internal collaboration, the

customer expectations and increasing pressure from com-

customers and their needs are clearly at the focus of com-

petitors. The coordination of channels throughout the

panies› efforts: Cooperation drivers are not so much inter-

company and sustainable collaboration with other organi-

nal aspects but rather customer-specific benefits such as

zational units can offer consistent customer experiences

more individual and more comprehensive offers to custom-

and address customer’s needs on an individual basis.

ers (51.6% and 46.5%, respectively), as well as more customer intimacy through integration of channels (46.5%).

Companies are afraid they might become too dependent on CRM, which impedes their efforts to concentrate on

Figure 3: The Collaborative CRM Perspective

THE MAJORITY OF COMPANIES REGARDS COLLABORATIVE CRM AS INTERNAL COOPERATION

their core competencies in CRM. Fear of loss of control

Collaborative CRM is understood to mean the customer-oriented and customercentered coordination of customer contact across several channels

58,6 %

all companies surveyed define their customer processes

Collaborative CRM is understood to mean the interaction with other organizational units or companies (partners) in customerrelated processes

26,8 %

Collaborative CRM is understood to mean the integration of new technologies into CRM systems in order to achieve an improvement of the interaction among all those involved

14,6 %

also explains why companies (still) hesitate to outsource customer-related activities: About three fourths (74.8%) of as core processes that are carried out and monitored by the company itself.

Overall, the study shows that Swiss companies are increasing their CRM measures. On the other hand, many opportunities still remain untapped. These include, among others, the utilization of CRM solutions as tools to systematically tie customers to the company, the use of global CRM trends to benefit one›s own company, and collaborative ventures involving CRM across companies. The Institute of Marketing Management looks forward to following these developments in future studies.

N=314 Exact question: What perspective of collaborative CRM is relevant for your company?

Brief Summary of CRM Study

Figure 4: The Benefits of Collaborative CRM

COOPERATIVE CRM SHOULD MAINLY CREATE VALUE FOR CUSTOMERS

Individual customer offers

Frequencies in %

51,6

Comprehensive customer offers

46,5

More customer intimacy through integration of channels

46,5

Cost savings

39,1

Higher market presence

38,1

Higher flexibility

36,9

Focus on core competencies

36,5

Improved service

32,1

Faster information transmission

27,6

Emotionalization/customer loyalty through integation of channels

24,7 22,8

Knowledge transfer

21,8

Increase of transparency within the collaboration processes Reduction of error rate through outsourcing of specialized CRM providers

7,7

Risk reduction

7,4 6,4

Decreasing need of capital 0,6

Others

0

20

40

60

80

7

Zurich University of Applied Sciences

School of Management and Law St.-Georgen-Platz 2 P.O. Box 8401 Winterthur Switzerland

June 2014

www.sml.zhaw.ch