Transformation of Marketing Processes

INTRODUCTION With the objective of achieving greater customer satisfaction in every stream of its business, public sector gas major GAIL (INDIA) LTD. has launched an aggressive quality management involving its grass root employees. GAIL has initiated a series of pilot projects whereby it motivates its employees to take a small but important problem and wield all quality management tools learnt by them to develop a solution. The framework which has been put in place includes benchmarking, daily management plan, and customer on-line for capturing customer feedback on on-going basis and monitoring Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI). In addition to this, GAILs Customer Relationship Management (CRM) also plays a significant role. It is a broadly recognized, widely-implemented strategy for managing and nurturing a companys interactions with clients and sales prospects. It involves using technology to organize, automate, and synchronize business processesprincipally sales activities, but also those for marketing, customer service, and technical support. The overall goals are to find, attract, and win new clients, nurture and retain those the company already has, entice former clients back into the fold, and reduce the costs of marketing and client service. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Customer Relationship Management is a broadly recognized, widely-implemented strategy for managing and nurturing a companys interactions with clients and sales prospects. It involves using technology to organize, automate, and synchronize business processesprincipally sales activities, but also those for marketing, customer service, and technical support. The overall goals are to find, attract, and win new clients, nurture and retain those the company already has, entice former clients back into the fold, and reduce the costs of marketing and client service. Once simply a label for a category of software tools, today, it generally denotes a company-wide business strategy embracing all client-facing departments and even beyond. When an implementation is effective, people, processes, and technology work in synergy to increase profitability, and reduce operational costs. Objective of CRM The objective of Customer Relationship Management is as follows: CRM aims at integrating all business strategies that places the customer at the centre of a business consciousness. Aligning of organization towards customers. Integrating your customer touch points. Knowing and understanding your customers and potential customers. Establishing and managing relationships with customers.

CRM in B2B Managing Buyer-Seller Relationships Buyers and sellers craft different types of relationships in response to market conditions and the characteristics of the purchase situation. To develop specific relationship marketing strategies for a particular customer, the business marketer must understand that some customers elect a collaborative relationship, whereas others prefer a more Distant or Transactional Relationship. Transactional Exchange Customers are more likely to prefer a transactional relationship when a competitive supply market features many alternatives, the purchase decision is not complex, and the supply market is stable. This profile fits some buyers of office supplies, commodity chemicals, and shipping services. In turn, customers emphasize a transactional orientation when they view the purchase as less important to the organizations objectives. Such relationships are characterized by lower levels of information exchange and are less likely to involve operational linkages between the buying and selling firms. Collaborative Exchange Buying firms prefer a more collaborative relationship when alternatives are few, the market is dynamic (for example, rapidly changing technology), and the complexity of the purchase is high. In particular, buyers seek close relationships with suppliers when they deem the purchase important and strategically significant. This behavior its some purchasers of manufacturing equipment, enterprise software, or critical component parts. Indeed, say Cannon and Perrault, the closest partnerships ...arise both when the purchase is important and when there is a need from the customer s perspective to overcome procurement obstacles that result from fewer supply alternatives and more purchase uncertainty . Moreover, the relationships that arise for important purchases are more likely to involve operational linkages and high levels of information exchange. Switching costs are especially important to collaborative customers.

METHODOLOGY The analysis is based on the study of the existing customer satisfaction and customer relationship management practices at GAIL. Collection of primary data /information regarding the topic in the form of interview. Collection of secondary data from reliable internet sites, journals, survey reports and latest trends in gas marketing. Reaching out to GAILs head office to collect data about GAILs current CRM trends. Studying relevant official GAIL documents to understand the organizational functioning.

ANALYSIS GAILs CRM SYSTEM GAIL started implementing CRM from 2005 onwards. As mentioned GAIL has monopoly in most of its product offerings and is mostly in B2B sales. After implementing CRM, GAIL benefitted a lot as their customers are fragmented i.e in India and abroad. Before the implementation of CRM, GAIL had difficulty in managing its customer base as it includes Small, Medium and Micro Enterprise (SMME), Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) and large corporations, and their relationship with each of them various. GAIL Key CRM principles: Differentiating Offerings Low value customer requiring high value customer offerings Low value customer with potential to become high value in near future High value customer requiring high value service High value customer requiring low value service Keeping Existing Customers

Grading customers from very satisfied to very disappoint should help the organization in improving its customer satisfaction levels and scores. As the satisfaction level for each customer improves so shall the customer retention with the organization. Maximizing Life time value

Exploit up-selling and cross-selling potential. By identifying life stage and life event trigger points by customer, marketers can maximize share of purchase potential. Thus the single adults shall require a new car stereo and as he grows into a married couple his needs grow into appliances. Increase Loyalty

Loyal customers are more profitable. Any company will like its mindshare status to improve from being a suspect to being an advocate. Company has to invest in terms of its product and service offerings to its customers. It has to innovate and meet the very needs of its clients/ customers so that they remain as advocates on the loyalty curve. Referral sales invariably are low cost high margin sales.

e-CRM As the internet is becoming more and more important in business life, many companies consider it as an opportunity to reduce customer-service costs, tighten customer relationships and most important, further personalize marketing messages and enable mass customization. Together with the creation of Sales Force Automation (SFA), where electronic methods were used to gather data and analyze customer information, the trend of the upcoming Internet can be seen as the foundation of what we know as eCRM today. We can define eCRM as activities to manage customer relationships by using the Internet, web browsers or other electronic touch points. The challenge hereby is to offer communication and information on the right topic, in the right amount, and at the right time that fits the customers specific needs. CRM - Sales Process in GAIL Order to cash cycle in SAP consists of following steps:o o o o Order creation Delivering Billing Receipt of payment

GAILs CRM system resembles below displayed flow chart:

INSIGHTS / DISCUSSION Greater the scope of CRM program and associated tasks, and the more complex is the composition of the relationship management team; the more critical is the role specification decision for the GAIL partnering firms. It is essential to establish intra-company communication particularly among all concerned individuals and corporate functions that directly play a role in managing the relationship with a specific customer or customer group. With mass-market customers frequent face-to-face interactions will be uneconomical. Thus GAIL should create common bonds through symbolic relationships, endorsements, affinity groups, and membership benefits or by creating online communities. Involving GAIL customers in the planning process would ensure their support in plan implementation and achievement of planned goals. All customers are not willing to participate in the planning process nor is it possible to involve all of them for relationship marketing programs for the mass markets.

CONCLUSION Benefits to GAIL: o Increased agility, productivity and profits o Reduced costs and risks in todays diverse environments o Unified customer data across multiple business units and diverse functional systems, in order to provide reliable sources of customer information across enterprises o More efficient service, higher customer satisfaction, and reduced churn o Enhanced customer experience and increased revenue through improved crossand up-selling o Superior customer experience assured at every touch point leading to enhanced customer loyalty and increased brand image Gails CRM offerings have been organized to cater to the complete life cycle of the CRM process.