Customer centricity has long been a direct standard for many businesses. However, these standards are typically restricted to marketing existing goods with strong client focus. Corporate strategy remains essentially product-centered. "Customer relationship management (CRM), which is built on an integrated view of the customer across the whole organization, is currently being used as an appropriate concept for achieving this complete view of the company" (Puschmann, Alt, 2001. p1).Tera Tech in the past has had success with their existing CRM product and in the Pharmaceutical industry.
As the market has changed the company needs to begin looking for growth opportunities. The demand for a new product line has Tera Tech looking to develop a new product that goes beyond the basic functions to a more analytical model that will give the company a more competitive product (Tera Tech Scenario, 2008, p. 1).As competition increases and sales decline, Tera Tech needs to develop innovative products to stay ahead in the industry and retain their clientele.
Currently Tera Tech's network serves 150 leading companies. The consultants are linked by the industry and functional practices to bring the expertise to the clients wherever they do business. To retain and add to their customers' database the company must stay a leader in the industry (Tera Tech Scenario, 2008, attachment).Location/GeographyGeographically Tera Tech's network needs to extend across the globe, serving leading companies on all six continents. Whether they are located in a small town or in Manhattan Tera Tech's service needs to be above the rest and afford globally. More often in the CRM industry the actual office location is not a priority since representatives would be available, in other communication forms then just in-person service.
Logistics InfrastructureLogistics entails those actions that center on obtaining the correct quantity of the correct goods to the correct location at the correct time at the cheapest rate. This performance is called logistics management, which is "the practice of organizing the cost-effective flow of raw materials, in-process inventory, finished goods, and related information from point of origin to point of consumption to satisfy customer requirements" (Kerin, Hartley, Berkowitz, & Rudelius, 2005, p. 422).Tera Tech (TT) needs to know exactly what their customers need is so that they can produce the right program, for the right customer, at the right time, for the right price.
If they fail in any of these areas, they could possibility lose customers and decrease the organizations revenue. If a customer does not have a need and Tera Tech tries to market them a product they have no interest in or are not ready for, they could possible push this customer away to the competitor who understands their need (Tera Tech Scenario, 2008).Communications InfrastructureOne of the four P's of marketing, Promotion is a means of communication between the seller and buyer (Kerin et. al.
, 2005, p. 14). Communication infrastructures include telephones, cable television, broadcast radio and television, computer, satellite, and wireless telephone. In order for the information to reach the audience, the organization has to learn how to get the message across in their marketing efforts.
For example, Generation Y uses wireless communication as their means of communication to friends and family. They have been the first generation to use text messaging, cell phone games, and built-in cameras (Kerin et. al., 2005, p. 76).
Understanding the audience is half the battle; Tera Tech needs to find out what is need is from their current customers so they can produce their new product and use their current customers to advertise the new merchandise. The company will be able to cater the product specifically to each of the customers need and will give access to the right contact within each of the organizations (Tera Tech Scenario, 2008).DemographicsDemographics describe a group of people according to specific characteristics. For example, age, gender, ethnicity, income, occupation, disabilities, educational attainment, home ownership, employment status, and even location are all samples of demographics (Kerin et. al., 2005, p.
74). Marketers usually mix more than a few variables to identify a demographic profile. A marketer may speak of the married, male, middle-class, age 21 to 35, college educated demographic.Tera Tech uses demographics in their product so that customers can use the information both for targeting and measuring results. The pharmaceutical companies use the information to identify trends, understand customer behavior, explore what-if scenarios and predict outcomes. By using demographics in their software, the company is able to provide a unified customer view by transferring raw data to actionable information (Tera Tech Scenario, 2008).
CultureAccording to Kerin, Hartley, Berkowitz, and Rudelius, culture is a social force that incorporates a set of values, ideas, and attitudes that are learned and shared among the members of a group. Many aspects of culture sway consumer-buying patterns, watching national and global cultural trends is essential for marketing (2005, p.78).According to Betsy Spethmann, "consumers have become participants, controlling their interactions with brands and marketing messages (think TiVo)" (2005). Tera Tech's customers need to be able to control their interaction with the software to get actual treatment success rate and side effects.
The culture at the company has to be flexible and adaptable to the customers need to be successful (Tera Tech Scenario, 2008).Political, Legal and RegulatoryWith respect to marketing the politics both internal and external to the organization; Tera Tech's internal politics will need to be addressed to ensure that all members/teams associated to the CRM project are included. An example of this inclusion could be to design a cross-functional team that includes the various segments of the organization that will be involved in the project. The cross-functional team will need to address the external politics as they arise. The legal and regulatory (e.g.
Sarbanes-Oxley act, etc.) issues are going to be addressed and compliance ensured.EconomicEconomics play a major decision role for all companies. Should Tera Tech create their own proprietary CRM design or are there less costly approaches to solve this deficiency? Tera Tech has clearly stated that their budget for this project is limited.
The company's CEO has suggested that he would like the company to create their own CRM product, but offers no additional resources. This kind of thinking indicates that the CEO has wants but may not be behind the project.Trends and ProjectionsTrends for many companies are to be acquired by other companies through acquisitions or mergers. Other trends that are becoming the norm are to integrate the company's products with other company's products in order to satisfy a customer's need.
This concept can have two different effects on the program. The company (Tera Tech would not have total control over the end user product. However, this concept would reduce research and development costs, but the trade-off would be less product revenue and control. Tera Tech would like to offer a customer management system that would create additional revenue to help with the bottom line. The company will research both sides to determine advantages and disadvantages and how they relate return on investment (ROI).Market ResearchAn ever-increasing demand and market volatility have made it extremely challenging for Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solution providers to succeed in the CRM industry.
In a struggle to survive, senior executives at Tera Tech, Inc. have implemented a planned strategy surrounding goals around new technology for their CRM product and services. Tera Tech must ensure their success by conducting further market research to collect data, analyze it and make newer recommendations. Tera Tech is currently offering a true CRM which looks beyond the technical solution and ensures that the entire business is focused on serving the customer (Micro, 2009). However, they need to look at other alternatives and options to offer customers such as additional modeling capabilities as well as analytics and ROI.
"People want ROI with business sense rather than 'if you spend this much money you'll save this much" (Micro, 2009).Market SegmentationWhat will it take for CRM solution providers to increase their profit, market share and reliability in the marketplace today? In segmenting the marketplace, enterprises must look within order to see what input they have from the inside. One certainty is that employees from the bottom up are being included in the process of how to make the enterprise better by asking from the lower ranks first. This also helps with segmenting the marketplace when looking at new offering and products.
For example, one of the ways to answer these questions is by looking at a market-orientated culture. A market orientation is valuable because it focuses the organization on first, continuously collecting information about target customers' needs and competitors' capabilities and second, using this information to create continuously superior customer value (Micro, 1995).Market Sales PotentialThe main challenge for Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solution providers today is to provide their current and potential customers with exceptional products and services and well as an ROI. Customers are no longer looking for just the CRM product and services that but the all round value or package. The current economy is dictating that enterprises look at all aspects of their spending even in the products that help them save money. In order for Tera Tech to keep their sales initiatives and goals they must be sensitive to the wants and needs of the customers.
This includes being sensitive to all the requests their customers ask for. Tera Tech will not be successful unless the ROI model fits their customer expectations. What is meant by this is that CRM solutions in the past have been solved as one size fits all. What customers have taught CRM providers is that their software must be expandable to their needs and future wants. This has prompted CRM solution providers such as Tera Tech to re-think their marketing sales strategies and add new or revamped products to their customers.
Product Specific GroupsTera Tech has multiple options when determining how to group the intended new CRM product line should the company choose to develop their own system. Tera Tech is researching and leaning toward using products line grouping along with market-based grouping. When market-based grouping method of organizations is combined with product line grouping, the result is a matrix organization. (Kerin, Hartley, Berkowitz, ; Rudelius, 2005, p.
601) This type of organization can allow for more latitude when approaching the customer's needs.Specific competitorsThere are plenty of CRM companies in the market. After a few years of research:"AMR Research reported the worldwide CRM market was worth US$4.8 billion in 2005, up from $4.
4 billion in 2004. On-demand CRM -- a model in which a third-party provider hosts the software and delivers it as a service over a network -- posted a growth rate of 50 percent between 2004 and 2005" (Leclaire, 2006.� 8).The Forrester Research survey of CRM customers in 2005 announced that only 29% of customers were content with the ease of their CRM applications integrating with existing data applications and sources.
In addition less than 50% were satisfied that the CRM software met their business needs. AMR reports that Microsoft has an upper hand and could see greater adoption in the current market conditions. The firm's customer management surveys find that Microsoft desktop tools consistently rank as the most pervasive customer management technology (Leclaire, 2006.� 10).Distribution points/methodsCustomers are the life source of a business and they determine the extent of the company's success.
CRM, allow customers to maintain their databases with contact information and additionally the marketing campaigns. This helps the companies stay informed of their customers they also have interaction to identify current activity and future opportunities. This will not only impress the customers but increase the bottom line profitability with each customer. For this reason distribution and method vary depending on the nature and identification of the business relationships between the customers.ConclusionTera Tech needs to develop a new product to maintain a competitive advantage, ensure future profitability and reach satisfactory customer service levels.
Tera Tech plans to propose a new product that would combine Tera Tech's CRM expertise with analytics and modeling; the results would allow pharmaceutical companies to maximize the value of their data and refine their marketing efforts for maximum effectiveness. There are many challenges and opportunities to view and outline in order for the company to reach their objectives but analyzing all the key elements will assist Tera Tech in reaching their goal.
