What is Customer Relationship Management (CRM)?

CRM is a business, marketing and communications currently

revolutionizing the company-customer relationship. It is a
concept for managing customer relationships across the
different points of customer contact.

In essence, CRM is about retaining customers and customer

lifetime value, maximizing new business opportunities, and
sustaining profitability. It is a business philosophy that is
successfully implemented by installing and utilizing CRM
technology and by developing a customer relationship strategy
and executing it. In many cases, an enterprise builds a
database about its customers. This database
describes relationships in sufficient detail so that
management, salespeople, and customer service reps
can access information; match customer needs with
product plans and offerings; remind customers of
service requirements; know what other products a
customer had purchased; etc.

There are three parts of application architecture of

CRM.

1. Operational CRM

Operational CRM means supporting the so-called

"front office" business processes, which include
customer contact (sales, marketing and service).
Tasks resulting from these processes are forwarded to
employees responsible for them, as well as the
information necessary for carrying out the tasks and
activities are being used for further reference.

2. Analytical CRM

In analytical CRM, data gathered within operational

CRM are analyzed to segment customers or to identify
cross- and up-selling potential. Data collection and
analysis is viewed as a continuous process. Ideally,
business decisions are refined over time, based on
feedback from earlier analysis and decisions.
Business Intelligence offers some more functionality
as separate application software.

3. Collaborative CRM

Collaborative CRM facilitates interactions with

customers through all channels (personal, letter, fax,
phone, web, e-mail) and supports co-ordination of
employee teams and channels to retain their
customers. The data/activities can be structured,
unstructured, conversational, and/or transactional in
nature.

Collaborative CRM provides the following benefits:

• Enables efficient productive customer

interactions across all communications channels.

• Enables web collaboration to reduce customer

service costs.

• Integrates call centers enabling multi-channel

personal customer interaction.

• Integrates view of the customer while interaction

at the transaction level.

CRM has to two typical implementation

methods: on-premise and on-demand/hosted.
Each method has its advantages and disadvantages
as described below.

On-premise CRM is appropriate for:

• Companies seeking to implement highly
customized customer-management practices
 • Companies that need specialized data structures

On-demand/hosted CRM is appropriate for:

• Customers seeking to implement standard
processes from a variety of industries and
companies

• Companies that are able to use standard data

structures

What is CRM Strategy?

A company employing CRM manages relationship with the

customers of the company through the manipulation of
information about them. The information is shared and
transformed into knowledge. Knowledge enables the company
to understand the customer, and this information in turn is used
to align the organizations capabilities in order to deliver better
value to customers.

Effective CRM strategy has a multi-channel focus. Companies

will have to effectively manage all customer communication
channels including traditional letters, fax, and branch/retail
outlets through to call centers including IVR and speech
recognition and the emerging channels including email, the
Internet, Video Kiosks and in the near future Interactive TV.

Implementing CRM Strategy

To satisfy customer needs in these situations requires a
technological architecture which when utilized properly results
in successful CRM practice. Technology is essential to the
implementation of a CRM strategy as it underpins the business
process.

However, the integration process is difficult and many

companies will fail to successfully implement effective CRM due
to strategic, organizational and process deficiencies. Some of
these reasons include a misunderstanding of CRM goals,
unconnected processes, incompatible IT systems, lack of
expertise and resources and confusion over what technologies
to use.

The Research
The objective of this research was to produce a study to assess
the development and implementation of CRM strategies and to
assess the affect these strategies will have on call centre
operations.

The industry sectors covered in this research will be banking,

finance, insurance, telecommunications carriers, utilities and
outsourcing bureaus.

T he Histor y of Mer cedes- Benz

Gottlieb Daimler and Carl Benz were born only 60
miles apart in southern Germany. Daimler was born
March 17, 1834. A decade later, on November 25, Carl
Benz was born.

Both boys were fascinated by machines from an early

age. Because their approach to building cars was
quite different, it is doubtful, though, that they met
or even knew what the other was doing.

In 1886, Carl Benz built a motorized tricycle. His first

four-wheeler, the Victoria, was built in 1893. The first
production car was the 1894 Benz Velo which
participated in the first recorded car race, the Paris-
Rouen race. In 1895, Benz built his first truck.

From 1904 until a fire in 1907, Steinway produced

Mercedes passenger cars, Daimler's light trucks, and
his engines on Long Island.
On March 6, 1990, Daimler died, leaving control of his
company to his chief engineer Wilhelm Mayback.

By November 22 of that year, Daimler-Motoren-

Gesellschat had produced a special car for Emil
Jellinek. Jellinek named the car after his ten-year-old
daughter Mercedes. Lighter and smaller, the new
Mercedes had 35 hp and a top speed of 55 mph!

The 1903 Parsifil was Benz's answer to Mercedes. A

two cylinder vertical engine produced a top speed of
37 mph in this car.

At the beginning of the First World War, both factories

were converted into production sites for war
materials, although both resumed producing cars
after the war.

In 1924, from sheer economic necessity, Benz and

DMG signed an "Agreement of Mutual Interest."
Although both companies retained their identities,
the agreement was valid until the year 2000. The two
companies merged with relative ease on June 28,
1926.

Mercedes-Benz from the Mercedes-Benz Merger

Through the 20 s

A symbol was chosen for the combined products of

DMG and Benz. The new insignia was a three-pointed
star wreathed with laurel. The word "Mercedes" was
at the top and the word "Benz" was at the bottom.

Then merger did the new company well. Production of

Mercedes-Benz rose to 7,918 Mercedes-Benz
automobiles in 1927. The Mercedes-Benz diesel truck
was put into production in 1927, also.

Mercedes- Benz 1930 and beyond for Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes-Benz launched their biggest and most
prestigious car to date in 1930. The 770 Grosser was
powered by an 8 cylinder, 7.6 liter engine. A car for
the truly wealthy of the world, it was quite an
automobile for showing off in a world economy still
reeling from the Wall Street Crash of 1929.

The cars of the 1930s produced great racing success

for Mercedes-Benz. The silver metal bodywork gave
rise to the name Silver Arrows when the W25 racer (of
Rudolph Caracalla fame) had the white paint removed
to lower its weight.

W125 (200 mph top speed) won seven out of thirteen

races in 1937 followed by the successful W154. In
1939 Mercedes-Benz built a small V8 races
specifically to win the Tripoli GP It did win!

The Mercedes-Benz 170V gave Mercedes the

capability of surviving and then recovering from
World War II.

Mercedes-Benz Classics produced from 1930 -

1970.

Lengt
Productio Weight:
Mercedes Benz Type h:
n: Years Pounds
Inches

Mercedes-Benz 770
1930-37 210 6000+
Grosser

Mercedes-Benz 1933- 185- 4500-

380K/500K/540K 1939 205 5100

Mercedes-Benz 770 1938- 7600-

246
Grosser 1940 8100
 1951- 3860-
Mercedes-Benz Type 300 195
1962 4400

Mercedes-Benz Type 1952-

186 3600
300S/Sc 1958

1955-
Mercedes-Benz 190SL 169 2515
1963

1963- 218- 5445-

Mercedes-Benz Type 600
1980 246 5820

Mercedes-Benz 1963- 2855-

169.5
230/250/280SL 1971 2900

Mercedes-Benz 300SEL 1967-

196.9 4010
6.3 1972

Models of Mercedes Benz Cars in India

With the aim to serve the customers in India with the

latest products and technological excellence from the
Mercedes-Benz, Daimler Chrysler entered the Indian
market and set up Mercedes-Benz India Ltd. way back
in 1994. In January 2000, Mercedes-Benz E-Class (W
210), 'Top of the line' E 240 Petrol and E 220 CDI
Diesel versions were launched with several advanced
technology and mentionable, high end features. It has
a long-term commitment to the Indian market and has
full support of its parent company for its future plans
in India.

Here, These are the models of Mercedes-Benz:

A -Class AMG-SL 65(Black Eddition)C-Class CL-
Class CLK-Class CLS-Class CLS-Class (2007) SIS-
AMG(2009)
More Super Luxury Cars in India
• Audi Q7 Audi TT Coupe Bentley Azure
• Audi R8 Bentley Continental GTC Porsche Panamera
• Volkswagen Bettle Volkswagen Passat Volvo 880
• Volvo XC90 Rolls Royals

MERCEDES BENZ SIS-AMG

It is launched in india with the highest prize by Mercedes-Benz

Make to every journey an experience. The SIS-AMG has standard
with the '7G-TRONIC' 7-speed automatic transmission that is
unique worldwide. Driving Mercedes Benz SIS-AMG feels like
flying first class.

Referred as the "best car in the world" by motoring magazines,

the vehicle is elegant and offers visionary technology
innovations. The interior of the car allows you to reach
everywhere effortlessly. It has electrically adjustable seats. The
steering wheel glides up when the key from the ignition is
removed in order to allow easy exit and entry.

Company Segment Maximum Power

Mercedes-
Sedan 272 bhp @ 6000 rpm
Benz

Striking Features of Mercedes Benz

• Very luxurious saloon.

• Has lowest drag ratings of any luxury car i.e. 0.27 Cd.
• 400 Horsepower

• Exceptionally streamlined.
 • At higher speeds, the body of the car is lowered
automatically to reduce air resistance.

Technical Specifications of Mercedes Benz SIS-AMG

 Mercedes
Benz SIS-
AMG

Dimensions And Weights

Kerb Weight (kg) 1985

Gross Vehicle Weight

2565
(kg)

Height (mm) 1473

Length (mm) 5206

Width (mm) 1871

Wheel Base (mm) 3165

Front / Rear Track

1600 / 1606
(mm)

Ground Clearance
146
(mm)

Trunk Volume (litres) 560

Fuel Tank Capacity /

90/11
Reserve (litres)

Engine

No of Cylinders /
8/V
arrangement

Engine Displacement
5461
(cm3)

Bore and Stroke

98.0 x 90.0
(mm)

Maximum Power 285 / 388 @

(kW / bhp @ rpm) 6000 rpm
Now, CRM uses four best bets to retain customers;

Customer Service
It stands to reason that getting it right in customer service leads
to better financial performance. a customer may tell a few
friends about a truly satisfying experience with a company, that
same customer would tell many more about a customer service
failure.

This is why companies like Marriott invest heavily in new

capabilities to enhance customer service.

Motivating and Rewarding Employees

Just as important to profitability is the ability to motivate and
appropriately reward the people involved in customer
relationship management. This isn't just "showing them the
money." Often the rewards that make the difference are more
psychic in nature.

Converting Information into Insight

The third CRM capability in our study is strictly related to the
new economy-the ability to take the overwhelming amount of
transaction data and other information companies now capture
about customers and transform it into real insight. The highest-
performing companies give their frontline employees quick,
easy access to critical data—purchases, contact history and
product inquiries, as well as demographic and lifestyle data. For
example, Mercedes-Benz has built a sophisticated database of
10 million customers across Europe to support dealer activities,
customer assistance, marketing analysis and pre-launch
targeting.

Attracting and Retaining Personnel

Best-practice companies attract the best people by targeting
specific traits, often including passion for the product or
service. Attracting and retaining employees "is an art, and you
have to do it one person at a time.

Strategies of Michael Porter

Michael Porter has described a category scheme
consisting of three general types of strategies that
are commonly used by businesses to achieve and
maintain advantage these three generic strategies
are defined along two dimensions: strategic scope
and strategic strength. Strategic scope is a demand-
side dimension (Porter was originally an engineer,
then an economist before he specialized in strategy)
and looks at the size and composition of the market
you intend to target. Strategic strength is a supply-
side dimension and looks at the strength or core
competency of the firm. In particular he identified two
competencies that he felt were most important:
product differentiation and product cost (efficiency).

Differentiation strategy is an effective way of

matching your firm’s product strategy (supply side) to
the characteristics of your target market segments
(demand side). But combinations like cost leadership
with product differentiation are hard (but not
impossible) to implement due to the potential for
conflict between cost minimization and the additional
cost of value-added differentiation.

Contents
1 Cost Leadership
Strategy

2 Differentiation
Strategy

3 Focus Strategy

Cost Leadership Strategy

This strategy emphasizes efficiency by producing high
volumes of standardized products, the firm hopes to
take advantage of economies of scale and experience
curve effects. Maintaining this strategy requires a
continuous search for cost reductions in all aspects of
the business. The associated distribution strategy is
to obtain the most extensive distribution possible.
Promotional strategy often involves trying to make a
virtue out of low cost product features.

To be successful, this strategy usually requires a

considerable market share advantage or preferential
access to raw materials, components, labour, or some
other important input. Without one or more of these
advantages, the strategy can easily be mimicked by
competitors. Successful implementation also benefits
from:

 Process engineering skills

 Products designed for ease of manufacture
 Sustained access to inexpensive capital
 Close supervision of labour
Examples include retailers such as Wal-Mart and
KwikSave as well as IT firms such as Dell and Lenovo.

When a firm designs, produces and markets a product

more efficiently than competitors such firm has
implemented a cost leadership strategy Low costs
will permit a firm to sell relatively standardized
products that offer features acceptable to many
customers at the lowest competitive price and such
low prices will gain competitive advantage and
increase market share

Differentiation Strategy
Differentiation is aimed at the broad market that
involves the creation of a product or services that is
perceived throughout its industry as unique. The
company or business unit may then charge a premium
for its product. This specialty can be associated with
design, brand image, technology, features, dealers,
network, or customer’s service. Differentiation is a
viable strategy for earning above average returns in a
specific business because the resulting brand loyalty
lowers customers' sensitivity to price. Buyer’s loyalty
can also serve as entry barrier-new firms must
develop their own distinctive competence to
differentiate their products in some way in order to
compete successfully. Examples of the successful use
of a differentiation strategy are Hero Honda, Asian
Paints, HLL, Nike athletic shoes, Perstorp
BioProducts, Apple Computer, and Mercedes-Benz
automobiles.

Focus Strategy
In this strategy the firm concentrates on a select few
target markets. It is also called a segmentation
strategy or niche strategy. The firm typically looks to
gain a competitive advantage through product
innovation and/or brand marketing rather than
efficiency. It is most suitable for relatively small firms
but can be used by any company. A focus strategy
should target market segments that are less
vulnerable to substitutes or where a competition is
weakest to earn above-average return on investment.

Examples of firm using a focus strategy include

Southwest Airlines, with provides short-haul point-to-
point flights in contrast to the hub-and-spoke model
of mainstream carriers, and Family Dollar, which
targets poor urban American families who cannot
drive to Wall-Marts in the suburbs because they do
not own a car.
S.W.O.T. ANALYSIS
SWOT has a long history as a tool of strategic and marketing
analysis. No one knows who first invented SWOT analysis. It
advocates say that it can be used to gauge the degree of “fit”
between the organisation’s strategies and its environment, and
to suggest ways in which the organisation can profit from
strengths and opportunities and shield itself against
weaknesses and threats.

Strengths

Determine an organisation’s strong points. This should be

from both internal and external customers.

a. Mercedes-Benz produces best quality to retain the

customers.
b. It always uses different kinds of unique elements like 7G
TRONIC.
c. It launches only luxuries cars with help of providing good
services.

Weaknesses
Determine an organisation’s weaknesses, not only from its point
of view, but also more importantly, from customers.
1. It manufactures only luxuries cars which is not valuable for the
middle class level.
2. Mercedes-Benz branches are not available in the every state or
countries.

Opportunities
Another major factor is to determine how organisations can
continue to grow within the marketplace.
1. Mercedes-Benz always takes the opportunities to changing in the
technologies.
 2. According to the customer demand, they tries to produces best
qualities as customers want.

Threats
No one likes to think about threats, but we still have to face
them, despite the fact that they are external factors that are out
of our control.

1. Mercedes-Benz cars are too costly and no cheapest cars

are being produced.

2. In the today’s scenario, there are so many companies are

being entered into target market.

Summary: It is crucial for a company to identify which

are its most valuable and least profitable customers so
that appropriate customer-specific marketing strategies
can be developed and put in place. Through CRM
develops a comprehensive customer lifetime value
(CLV) measure model. The model not only combines the
up-selling, cross-selling, and network influence
opportunity, but also considers the churn risk. By
regarding the market as a social network, the social
influence role of a customer is explicitly modeled into
the CLV evaluation. The result from the CLV model is
used as a metric for customer selection. That is why
CRM is being used by all small and large scale
companies.