Last and final blog

After a semester abroad in Switzerland (Bern) it is time for me to say goodbye to this wonderful country. Before that, I will write my final blog to you fellows out there. Due to my teacher in the course IMA1 he wanted me to write the final blog in English. Therefore this blog is made with a special thought for you Mr. Bucher so now you don’t need to Google translate my blog posts anymore ;) My last blog will be a short summary of topics we have had in the lectures.

The topics we have had in the class have been new for me to learn about. All the topics have been very interested to learn about especially because I did not know about the content within the topics.

Web 2.0 is a concept that we hear or use everyday but do we actually know what the word means? For me I would immediately say that it has something with technology to do or actually just the Internet in a wider sense. But when having this topic in the lesson it actually appeared for me that my first impression actually was not right. When we talk about Web 2.0 we talk about the social media tools within the Internet. To state some of them it is Facebook, Youtube, Twitter and many many more à this is Web 2.0. According to Amazon.com's CEO Jeff Bezos he has defined the following statement about what Web 2.0 really is:

Web 2.0 is about making the Internet useful for computers. According to me the important thing is that Web 2.0 is not only about making the Internet useful for computers, but for the actual users of the Internet and thus computers. Therefore it can be concluded that Web 2.0 actually can be seen as a system within the computers that let the Internet work more smooth and easier for the normal user to utilize. After the lesson I actually use the term Web 2.0 more in my other courses as the topic is related to all the modules that I take at Berner Fachhochschule.

Staging has for me been the best and most instructive topic in this module. When first hearing the word staging it appeared for me like acting on a stage or in a movie. It was first after the class that I understood what staging actually means. Staging is about how you present yourself or actually how you want to let other perceive you. The way you dress, smell, behave all these different aspect within yourself counts when it comes to staging. But staging is not only that, because the environment that you are in can also be counted as staging. For example when you see an advertisement about a product the things around the products also counts when it comes to staging which could be everything. It is for companies very important when it comes to staging because they need to focus on whom their target group is and stage in the way the target group would prefer. After learning about staging it is really funny to go around the streets and see how people are “doing their thing” because their thing is actually their staging process. But also for myself now before doing something, I actually think before “acting” when I want to say or do something, so the topic actually took hold of me – but in a good way, because before I did not think before doing something and what people will react on it, now I take a second time to think about the things I want to do and say and how I can do it in a more suitable way so that the ones I communicate to understand me and what I want to express.

When it comes to staging we can also stage “online”. The word "online" says itself; it is to be presented on a social network and perform through it. Companies use the online staging to be seen and "recognized" by their target group as it is what they are looking after when they stager. The online staging is to perform through social media tools to reach out with the message you have to the target group. Staging goes back to the Web 2.0 – Online staging can be done in many different ways, especially because there are countless of opportunities within the Web 2.0 such as MySpace, Twitter, Linkdln, Facebook and a lot of other networking sites where you can blog and share opinions and attitudes.

Customer relationship management has not been hard for me to understand like that, because I new very little actually about the concept of this topic before having the class. In general this topic is about how company manage their relationship within their customers and which resources they use to manage it in the profitable way. With all these fancy technological equipment and system that we have today it is easier for companies to collect information from the customers and thereafter they can put the most important customers in a “group” together and then the less important. With computer drivers (not systems) a company collects all the information customers they give about a company or even so about their preferences. In other words you can also say that CRM is competitive strategies aimed at creating value for both customers and business based on an understanding of the client's individual needs and preferences. CRM is ran through the company's culture, its attitude to customers and employees, and the value creation is supported by a number of processes and systems, all aimed at ensuring that the necessary and sufficient knowledge of the customer relationship is present when and where needed. It can also be expressed as a business philosophy, which is strategically embedded and expressed through the culture of the company and supported by processes and measurements, which can be supported by IT tools. After having about this lesson it gives an impression to oneself about how companies handle customers and how they perceive me when I evaluate them.

Now I want to say thanks to the people who made my stay really worth full with really good experiences and fun. Also thanks for the Berner Fachhochschule for hosting me and to the teachers who gave me a lot of new knowledge that I hopefully will give to my Danish colleagues.  And of course to Mr. Bucher for teaching me and give me skills in how to create and use a blog. I hope you enjoyed reading my blog sometimes in Danish and sometimes in English – but this is how to be international!

Thanks for now – maybe you will find me blogging when I am back in Denmark about my studies there.

Worldwide message - Make peace not war !

FKE 

Fredag 2.12.11 - CRM

Så blev det igen tur til at skrive blog fra fredagens 4 lektioner d.2.12.11. I dag startede vores lærer Mr. Bucher med at give teoretisk information i de første 2 lektioner, herefter havde vi en gæstetaler fra virksomheden Teradata. Dagens blog går således ud på at give et referat eller rettere sagt kort opsummering på dagens teoretiske viden. Denne gang er det CRM!

CRM?

Ja CRM, hvad er det? Godt spørgsmål for jeg vidste det ikke selv før dagens lektion. CRM er en forkortelse af det engelske ord for Customer Relation Management oversat til dansk kunderelationsstyring. Det der menes med begrebet er at CRM er et system der indeholder relationer og transaktioner om kunderne. Ofte er det data om kunderne der er ”gemt” ind under CRM. Det skal dog understreges at CRM ikke er et IT-system, selvom mange ofte vil sætte et lighedstegn mellem disse to begreber. CRM er dog IT-drevet og derfor gælder der at rundt omkring 50% af alle implementeringer er forkerte eller har diverse fejl registreringer. Det gælder nemlig sådan at CRM projekter bør eller rettere skrevet skal drives fra forretningen og ikke IT. Det mest udbredte CRM system i verdenen i dag er Microsoft.

Man kan med andre ord også sige at CRM er konkurrencestrategier rettet mod at skabe værdi for såvel kunde som virksomhed baseret på en forståelse af kundens individuelle behov og præferencer. CRM drives gennem virksomhedens kultur, dens holdning til kunder og medarbejdere, og værdiskabelsen understøttes af en række processer og systemer alle rettet mod at sikre, at den nødvendige og tilstrækkelige viden om kunderelationen er tilstede, når og hvor der er behov for den. Det kan også udtrykkes som en forretnings filosofi der er strategisk forankret og som kommer til udtryk gennem kulturen i virksomheden og som understøttes gennem processer og målinger og som kan understøttes ved hjælp af IT-værktøjer.

Skabelsen af CRM-systemer

Hvorfor er det at CRM er blevet opstået og hvad er det skabt til? Altså CRM opstod ikke for 10 år siden. CRM går helt tilbage til teknologiens opståen, da CRM bliver gjort gennem IT-netværk. CRM systemer er skabt for at gøre det nemmere for en virksomhed at holde styr på de relationer og transaktioner til og med sine kunder. For at man kan holde styr på sine kunder sker dette ved at man benytter CRM systemet til at indsamle, bearbejde og dele og anvende viden om kunder.

CRM bruges for at det er at man kan bibeholde og udvikle de gode kunder man allerede har i virksomheden i stedet for at bruge energi på at skaffe nye kunder, hvilket vil skabe omkostninger i form af høje finansieringer. Grunden til dette er at prisen for at skaffe en ny kunde til virksomheden ofte overstiger prisen for at en eksisterende kunde er tilfreds. Det gælder sådan at det er nemmere og billigere for en virksomhed på at tilfredsstille de nuværende kunder man har i stedet for at gå ud og ”investere” i nogle nye fordi det netop er dyrere for virksomheden. Derfor er det altid en fordel for en virksomhed at bibeholde de kunder man har og bruge flere ressourcer på at tilfredse dem og imødekomme deres behov og præferencer. Det er jo trods alt dem som skaber at der stadig er liv virksomheden, end hvis man skulle ud og finde nye kunder som ofte vil ende med ikke at blive ens faste kunder.

P’erne

CRM skal ses i mange brancher som markedsføring overfor eksisterende kunder, dvs. en styring af det traditionelle marketingmiks overfor kunderne. Det traditionelle marketingmiks er de 4 P’er som McCarthy bragte på banen. De 4’Per er som sådan: Product, Price, Place og Promotion. Dog er det traditionelle marketingmiks blevet videreudviklet siden hen af Kotler som har indført 3 ekstra P’er til mikset hvilket er People, Physical Evidence og Processes.

Fokus

Mange virksomheder som er meget produktorienteret fokuserer meget på promotion delen. Derimod fokuserer de virksomheder der er kundeorienterede på et bredere udsnit af marketingmikset, herunder tilbyde specielle produkt tilbud og eller også specielle priser foruden generelle promotion tiltag samt hele service delen, med udgangspunkt i at skabe værdi for kunden og dermed også for virksomheden.

I en bredere forstand så er CRM at opnå det nødvendige kendskab til ens kunder, for netop derigennem at kunne servicere dem optimalt. At kunne servicere dem optimalt er at leve op til de præferencer og behov kunder vil imødekommes med virksomheden. CRM kan således faktisk munde ud i programmer som Tesco, hvorigennem kunderne bliver præsenteret for løsninger, der har til formål at få kunden til at føle at sig speciel i forhold til leverandøren, samtidig med at leverandøren virkelig forstår kundens behov.

For at kunne opsummere dette kort med et par sætninger så gælder det altså at CRM er et system som gemmer data om kunderne for at kunne imødekomme deres behov og præferencer således at de fortsat vil være ens kunder. Det gælder sådan at virksomheder skal prøve at fastholde nuværende kunder og således tilfredsstille dem end at bruge ressourcer på at finde nye da dette er spild af tid og penge.

Jeg siger tak for denne gang og håber I fik noget ud af mit indlæg denne gang J  

FKE

Kilder: CSO survey 2008, Mr. Bucher præsentations slides samt lidt andet basic viden fra andre fag jeg tager her i Bern, Wikipedia.