RELATING TO YOUR CUSTOMERS.

• Author: BORT, JULIE

CUSTOMER - RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT OFFERS A POWERFUL WAY TO BETTER YOUR BUSINESS, BUT ONLY IF BOLSTERED BY SOUND SERVICE PRACTICES.

Saturn Corp. reigned supreme on the J.D. Power and Associates Sales Satisfaction Index study from 1995 to 1998. But in 1999, Saturn slipped to No. 6. Management gasped, and its customer service staff hunkered down to improve its customer relationship management (CRM) systems.

"In the last J.D. Power sales and service index, we regained the No. 1 ranking, beating out Lexus and Cadillac," said Ross Miller, manager of saturn's Customer and Retail Support Team in Spring Hill, Tenn. He attributed the feat in part to the company's interactions with customers via its automated CRM system. "Its important that we can talk to our customers in a way that's most efficient for them," said Miller

Saturn's CRM system uses a single electronic history file to track all of the company's communications with its customers, whether those interactions occur via the web, e-mail or phone calls. With the help of systems integrator EDS in Louisville, Colo., Saturn is working to add support for additional types of communications, including Voice-over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and real-time written communications via the web, known as "chat" sessions.

CRM lets Saturn quickly respond to routine questions about its cars and direct hot prospects to dealers. Whether customers are surfing car Web sites at midnight or on the phone at noon, Saturn is available to them. And whether the customer wants to expedite the handling of a repair or find a specific car color, through its CRM system, Saturn customer representatives know the customer's history. This, Miller says, leads to outstanding customer loyalty.

THE POWER AND THE PROBLEMS

CRM systems often are the edge a corporation needs in a competitive environment, says Dick Lee, principal for High Yield Marketing, a CRM consultant in St. Paul, Minn.

"The balance of power has shifted from sellers to buyers. Use of computers in product design has increased capacity faster than demand," he says. "Customer loyalty is starting to drive business. Compared to even five years ago, you earn the right to a customer's business."

No wonder CRM software has become one of the hottest technologies around, a $5.2 billion market this year, according to Aberdeen Group, a Boston-based market research firm. With the touch of a keypad, CRM allows a customer service representative to view a customer's complete history, including incoming and outgoing phone calls...