What are CRM and Brand Management in retailing? How does CRM give an advantage in retailing? To know more about these, just keep on reading the article until the end.
What Does CRM and Brand Management Mean?
The term CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management. It is not just the activity to maintain a relationship with the customers, but the managing of the relationship in a way that the business benefits are assured. It could be defined as the entire process of understanding, retaining, and developing the customer base effectively. The main focus is on how to handle customer relationships in a way that benefits the business. It encompasses all aspects of customer service management.
On the other hand, brand management is about the management of the brand and its perceived value. It is the art of building, protecting, and promoting a brand. Brand management is a relatively new concept that has taken shape in the last few years.
In short, we can say that CRM is about managing the relationships with customers, and brand management is about managing the brand value.
What Are the Advantage of CRM and Brand Management in Retailing?
Some of the benefits of CRM and brand management in retailing are as follows:-
Increased Sales
The customers are the king of the business. They are not only a source of income to the business but also an asset. Without customers, the business will not be able to survive. Customer relations management is all about how to interact with the customers, and how to keep them satisfied so that they keep coming back for more. It is about building a strong relationship with them to get their loyalty, trust and repeat purchases.
Brand management helps in promoting the brand, which ultimately helps in increasing sales and profit margins. The initial investment that is made in marketing and advertising of the products can be recovered by the addition in sales.
Better Customer Service
Better customer service is one of the major benefits of CRM and brand management. It helps in determining the needs of customers and catering to those needs. This ensures that customers get what they want, or something better than what they expect. Customers are satisfied with the services and products offered by the business, which ultimately leads to repeat purchases and brand loyalty.
Minimized Marketing Costs
It is well known that a strong brand will benefit the business in many ways. The company will have to spend less on advertising, as they can get more inquiries and sales through word of mouth publicity generated by its existing customers.
Better Integration With Other Departments Within the Company
The CRM and brand management will help in integrating the customer service department with other departments of the business. As the whole process is more systematic, the business can benefit from a strong customer relationship that is backed by the processes. Brand management also helps in building up a stronger brand image, which can be integrated with other departments as well. For example, if there is a customer loyalty program implemented, it will be easy to integrate it with other marketing activities.
Conclusion
We have seen what CRM and brand management are and how they benefit retail businesses. These two concepts have become an integral part of retailing these days.
