The architecture of an integrated CRM

system

Prof. coordinator:
D.Pavaloaia
Student:
Monor Eduard-Andrei

What is a CRM system ?

A CRM(Customer Relationship Management) is a business strategy, that optimizes the
profitability, and the income of a company, by defining customer segments , customer
satisfaction practices, development and implementation of customer oriented processes.
The change from traditional business to electronic types of business has brought significant
changes in the administration of crucial relationships between companies and their customers.
Customer relationship management (CRM) is one of the concepts fashionable in the new digital
economy, but it is far from an innovation of recent years. Historically, it exists ever since the first
customer somehow put the question of the relationship between him and those who provide a
particular product or service.
This relationship was administered over time in many different ways, but in the traditional way,
by involving direct contact between a company's sales representatives and its clients. If until
recently a letter, a mailed catalog, a phone or an elegant restaurant were instruments more than
sufficient to maintain a close relationship with the customer and his loyalty with the advent of
Internet things have changed . What the new digital revolution has brought was unprecedented
widening client base of companies, and therefore exponential issues involving the relationship
with them. CRM has become a priority for companies that have sought to have an advantage in
today's stormy economy.
Different ways to define a CRM system:

extension of the concept of selling a continuous process, considered equally art and science,
collection and use of customer information in order to induce loyalty - which is impossible
without the use of appropriate technology;
manages all interactions with customers, to extend its customer base by bringing new
customers and fulfilling ones needs;
orientation process of the whole company to its exterior, the clients, which involves
understanding customer needs and process management within the company, to develop and
maintain customer relationship.
a term specific to the information domain, on the potential of methodologies of software
packages offered by the Internet, to help a firm conduct customer relationships in an organized
manner ;

The objectives of CRM

Most CRM initiatives are related to increasing profitability. Most are short-term visions.
Sometimes the target is to reduce costs, in other cases, the main purpose is to increase revenue.
Cost reduction:
Minimizing acquisition costs;
Reducing the loss of clients
Increasing client loyalty
Increase income:

Contracting new clients

Selling additional services/produces to existing clients

How?
In order to achieve these goals the CRM systems objectives are to assure client benefits, to
consolidate the relationship with existing clients that are making profit for the company and to
create an emotional link between the client and the company.
The aim could be even more subtle in what looks on the customer-oriented companies , such as
increasing customer loyalty and dedication that would lead to long-term profitable growth .
These objectives are more difficult to measure. They are usually represented by a combination of
methods to reduce costs and increase revenue.
CRM objective is to help all types of businesses use technology and human resources to gain
new insights on customer behavior and value. Having a functional CRM strategy, a company can
increase revenues by:
providing the products and services that the customer needs;
providing improved customer service;
cross-selling products;
faster deal making;
keeping old customers and attract new customers;
These benefits cannot be obtained just by buying and then installing the software. For CRM to be
truly effective the organization must first clarify which customers and what is their value. The
company must determine what the needs of the customers are and which are the best solutions
for these problems. For example, many financial institutions monitor client ages and offers them
banking services when it is most likely that they would need these services.

Then the organization must examine ways in which customer information involved in business
processes are used, where and how are they stored. Companies have many ways to interact with
customers, such as mail campaigns, Web sites, call centers, marketing and advertising efforts.
CRM systems made connections between all these modes and the data collected is shared
through different operational and analytical systems that can search through the data to try to find
new patterns. Analyst companies can explore in detail the data to get an overview of customer
segments and indicate what services are lacking. A bank, for example, may be interested to
preferentially treat a loyal customer that has many business ties because it can bring more profit
then a less influent client.

How should the data be stored

Information about customers is the essence of CRM. Although the development and maintenance
are important, clear and well-structured data about customers is vital.
Many leaders of companies have considered the topic of data management as boring, until they
realized how high the stakes are. When a critical project cannot come to life because of problems
with the clarity of the data or when they realized how much it will cost to clean up the data
institutionalized, the negative effect of neglect data management has become clear.
The existence of poor quality data means weak analysis and performance indicators, which
makes the management incapable of taking appropriate decisions in order to correct the problems
encountered by the company. When it comes to customer information, poor quality data can lead
to problems that would require a lot of money to be solved. The quality of customer data is not a
joke, they are absolutely necessary for the company to develop and maintain operational and
analytical CRM systems, so consistent and qualitative data is a critical component of the CRM
system.
Customers require easy and convenient access via the channels they choose. Creating multiple
contact points to serve the clients is essential. Unfortunately, creating multiple contact points
increase the risk of interactions to appear inconsistent. The companies cannot reconcile to the
same customer information in different contact points, it creates dissatisfaction.
Creating a single universal database is not, unfortunately, feasible for most large companies, due
to the diversity of portfolio applications and associated databases. However, a broad integrated,
multichannel customer is feasible and is one of the main advantages of CRM applications. To
achieve this, these applications must be integrated efficiently, using intermediary components
with intermediary applications, each dealing with a portion of the database.

A well-organized objective reduces the effort required to develop a document and encode
interfaces between systems, reducing redundancy in integrating technologies and shortening the
time needed for changing existing applications.

How is CRM implemented

CRM is not a technology but a process of collecting and retaining customer information and
interactions with the company. Implementing CRM tends to be a complicated and expensive
trial. While the money will be exhausted, many companies will not be able to determine what
kind of return on investment are obtained in their system beyond a record.
Significantly, companies that have implemented successful CRM solutions do not see CRM as an
IT project unrelated to the specific of the department - they see CRM as a wide initiative.., CRM
needs to be transferred at all levels across the organization. Marketing will be able to formulate
answers and provide results to specific promotions or campaigns for target customer segments.
The employee dealing with relations with customers will be able to provide superior service and
support and increase customer satisfaction.

Steps required to a successful CRM implementation

it is necessary to build a customer-oriented strategy before deciding what technology will

be used;
the division of the CRM project in manageable components by starting pilot programs
and introduction of short-term goals;
starting a pilot project that incorporates all necessary departments but small enough to
allow changes over time;
is necessary that the CRM plans include a scalable architecture;
do not underestimate the amount of data that will be collected, and provide the possibility
of expanding the capacity of the systems, if needed;
there will be an analysis of data that will be collected and stored. The first impulse will be
to store all the data you can collect, but often many of them are unnecessary and
unnecessary data storage means time and money spent in vain.

The advantages of using a CRM system

How quality date can improve your profit

Using data integration solutions can produce a significant return on investment. The benefits are:
better "cross-selling" and "up-selling;
improve customer retention;
attracting new customers;

Competitive advantage through CRM

CRM is defined as a strategy to manage relationships with customers and interacting with them
in the most profitable way. These solutions are supported by typical strategies focused on how to
make services, sales and marketing departments more efficient, thus increasing the profitability
of their organizations and customers.

In recent years, the market for on-demand CRM applications has suffered especially on the small
and medium companies, because of fears the cost and complexity of on-demand deployments.
CRM on demand is a good choice for companies that want to implement standard processes, data
structures that can be used with less internal IT support and does not require complex integration
and real-time systems.

However, on demand CRM software is not always as simple as sellers will make you think. For
example, customization can be problematic and interface tools of CRM vendors cannot provide
desired levels of integration. Implementing a hosted CRM should not take so much as with
traditional software packages, but in very large and complex cases, it may take a year. Although
this option reduces the need for internal technical support, upgrade can involve quite a few
problems. In addition, some companies that hold valuable data, such as financial services and
health services, could refuse to entrust control of these data with third parties for security
reasons.
6

CRM components
The technology

Technology refers to the ability to allow a company to collect , organize , save and use its
customer data . Technology is a catalyst for CRM systems to achieve the objectives of collection,
classification, and saving valuable data about customers. Technology integration allows
organizations to develop a better relationship with customers by providing a broader vision of
customer behavior. Thus, organizations are required to integrate IT to improve the ability to
understand customer behavior to develop predictive models to build effective communications
with their customers and to answer customers questions in real-time with accurate information.
The people
Employees and customers are the key to successful CRM projects. CRM is built around
customers to manage healthy relationships by acquiring information on various aspects of the
customers. The main goal of CRM is to transform information obtained from customers,
customized products and services that meet the evolving needs of customers in order to gain their
loyalty. However, the full commitment of staff and the organization's management is essential for
effective implementation of CRM and to meet customer needs.
Business processes

CRM is a business strategy that is formed on a philosophy based on relationship marketing.

CRM success requires a change of business processes to the customer - central approach . So , all
business processes involving both direct and indirect interaction with customers should be
analyzed and assessed. Although CRM has an impact across the organization, the process that
has direct interaction with customers should be treated as a priority. The main business processes
that should be addressed in the implementation of CRM are marketing, sales and services.
The posible failure of implementing CRM
7

Various reasons cause the failure of CRM and prevent goals. While some of these reasons are
unavoidable, many can be avoided. The limited CRM is caused by the complexity of technical
and organizational issues that are closely related to the implementation of CRM. Studies on the
causes of CRM failure provided a wide range of possible causes, leading to the identification of
solutions to this problem that prevents a large number of implementations to achieve their goals.
Lack of factors, such as support by top management, internal alignment of processes, linking
CRM strategies to project, higher level of organization, focuses on ROI (Return on Investment)
achieving success at the beginning of the project. We can identify the following factors as
potential causes the failure of CRM implementation:
1. Approach CRM as a pure technology;
2. Lack of management support;
3. Lack of culture where the customer is prioritary;
4. Lack of preparation process;
5. Poor quality data;
6. Lack of change management;
7. Lack mission and strategy;
8. Lack of end-user involvement in designing CRM solutions.
Success factors
1. Top management commitment;
2. CRM Strategy;
3. Data Management;
4. Changing the culture;
5. The process of change;
6. IT Systems;
7. motivated and trained staff;
8. Customer Involvement;
9. Monitoring , measurement, control and feedback;
10. inter- departmental integration;
Links between the success factors and the CRM components

The main components of CRM, previously identified are: people, technology and processes.
Success factors are related to the components identified in order to determine whether each
factor of success is really linked to CRM. Through this association, it is proposed also to provide
a clear path for managers at different levels in adopting and maintaining these factors within their
existence and their area of responsibility because there is no evidence, including studies of
success factors on their operational and management factors. However, it aims to help managers
control such factors with a clear vision.

CRM success factors are bonded of its components directly or indirectly. Each factor may be
defined to identify the nature of the factor in relation to the CRM component, since more than
one component may dominate a factor.
Top management commitment
This factor focuses on senior management desire to provide sufficient resources for
implementation.
CRM Strategy
This factor focuses on clearly defining CRM strategy and its alignment with the overall strategy
of the organization.
Data management
This factor focuses on the acquisition and analysis of qualitative and quantitative informaiillor
about customers to help meet customer needs.
Cultural change
Its capacity to develop into a customer oriented and looking at CRM as a philosophy throughout
the organization.
The process of change
This factor focuses on developing the necessary changes in organizational structure and related
processes to ensure compatibility CRM.
Computer systems
This factor focuses on the availability and resource management technology, including data
warehouse management, ERP capabilities, internet facilities as well as selecting and configuring
the software.
Personal skillful, motivated and trained
This factor focuses on the availability of experienced personnel, qualified and capacity to deliver
training programs.
Customer involvement / consultation
This factor focuses on consultation, interaction and communication with customers through
increased interaction between the organization and customers.
Monitoring, control, measurement and feedback
This factor focuses on the creation and implementation of CRM implementation measurements
and CRM impact on organizational performance and developing appropriate channels to obtain
the necessary feedback to improve learning for CRM implementation.
Integration Interdepartmental
This factor focuses on integrating the different departments and areas of the organization to meet
the overall objectives of the company's CRM and main goals and objectives of these
departments.
CRM solutions for customer relationship management
In the last decade, CRM products constituted a market with a strong development, which has
attracted a lot of companies, causing them to create their own CRM solutions. They were formed
either in solutions "pennant" of small companies specializing in such services or solutions
belonging to specialized divisions of large solutions providers such as SAP, Oracle, Microsoft.

Dynamics CRM Mycrosoft

Microsoft Dynamics CRM is a CRM solution that provides the tools and capabilities needed to
create and easily maintain a clear picture of customers from first contact with these acquisitions
and after-sale service. With modules for sales, marketing and customer service, Microsoft
Dynamics offers a quick, flexible and accessible CRM system that cause substantial and
measurable improvements in every business process, enabling closer relationships with
customers and achieve new levels of profitability.
Even for companies with complex sales processes, Microsoft Dynamics CRM provides easy-touse features and capabilities that help improve the way sales and marketing departments
addressing new customers, manage marketing campaigns and lead sales activities.
Siebel
Siebel Systems was acquired by Oracle in 2005 and is the leading provider of solutions that help
organizations of all sizes to optimize their workforce, processes, and technology around their
customers available, leading to excellent quality in customer service and results superior
business.
Chordiant CRM
Chordiant Software Inc. It provides software applications to companies that offer consumer
goods and services worldwide. Organizations working in areas such as banking, cards, financial
services, insurance and telecommunications rely on Chordiant for help in developing excellent
capabilities in customer service, generating increasing customer loyalty and profitability.
SAP CRM
The largest supplier of enterprise solutions in the world and third in general provider of software
solutions, SAP CRM provides turnkey solutions are easy to use web platform available based on
subscriptions.
Used by more than 3,200 customers worldwide, mySAP CRM includes capabilities to support
key business processes such as marketing, sales, service, e-commerce and customer contact
channel management.
Differences between CRM and ERP or ERP vs CRM
Both are software systems that allow information sharing between employees and also provides
performance reports for managers. Developing a company in order to increase profits can be
achieved in two ways: by increasing sales and by lower costs.

10

CRM systems have as main goal to increase sales

ERP systems are mainly aimed lower costs and control spending.
CRM Customer Relationship Management
Most new business start-ups since are simple enough that it does not require an integrated
process management. At this stage, the more important first customers contracting and checking
business model adopted.
However, as long as the acquisition of new customers bring a pretty big cost to the company
from the beginning, we can find justification in implementation of a customer management
software. This system will centralize information in Marketing, Sales, Contact Management and
customer support. When this information is centralized in a single system in real time, the vision
of the real situation on the market will be at a high level.
You cannot improve a process or product that is not measured. You cannot measure without
making recordings.
A good CRM system will have to help you create new forecasts based on records and reports.
Many CRM systems offers proven marketing automation and sales processes, such as sending
e-mails automatically.
ERP enterprise resource planning
Once the company has reached a solid level of development, cost reduction method is generating
much higher profits than sales growth method. It is easier to lower costs by 5% than sales grow
by 5%.
Another challenge for large companies is insufficient organization and coordination processes in
real time, with direct effect on customer satisfaction. Basically, most often, after a report of
customer satisfaction, big companies decide the implementation of an ERP system.
ERP management systems exist for a long time. But the latest ERP systems are focused more
clearly on the departments of Human Resources Management, Finance (accounting,
management), production and management of orders and deliveries.
ERP systems help standardize business processes, providing a usable and stable structure of
information. This criteria is very important when you get to own five separate departments, each
with 10 employees who together generate critical information for the development and the
business's operation.
Using an ERP system, employees throughout the organization can find, store and share
information in a centralized and in real time. This ensures effective internal processes,
eliminating the need to transfer, reintroduction or duplication of data.
11

For managers, ERP system brings clarity on the company's situation, bringing information about
new opportunities to streamline and improve productivity.The true value of an ERP system is the
ability to help the company management to achieve strategic objectives.
Although traditional ERP systems only achieve internal operational processes, current ERP
systems, and in areas pass customer management processes. Basically combining CRM with
ERP functions. Many components of current ERP systems are designed to be integrated with the
systems of external entities such as banks or suppliers of goods.Basically both are needed but
adoption will be gradual systems as they reach the pinnacle of the problem of organization.
Conclusions
Customer relationship management is expanding in many areas of marketing but also as regards
its strategic decisions. Its appearance, relatively recent, is facilitated by the convergence of a
number of other paradigms of marketing and corporate initiatives that were developed around the
theme of cooperation and collaboration of organizational units and their stakeholders, including
customers. CRM refers to a broad conceptual phenomenon on the activity of a company and
where the phenomenon of cooperation and collaboration with customers becomes the dominant
paradigm and practice of marketing research, CRM has the potential to emerge as the
predominant marketing perspective. In terms of implementation at the corporate level, CRM
should not be misunderstood to mean simply and implementation of a software project. Building
customer relationships is a fundamental business of each company therefore requires a
comprehensive strategy and process for success.
From the academic point of view, an important question is whether the discipline CRM will
become a highly respected, independent, distinct marketing. In my opinion, CRM definitely has
potential, and I want to be, because the market will benefit enormously from it.
Finally, the implementation proved to be feasible and provided valuable guidance for the
successful implementation of CRM projects. Other factors, such as cultural impact on the
implementation of CRM, particularly those related to human components of CRM have a
significant effect on the implementation. Such factors involving several investigations especially
in developing countries.

12