CBIS from Functional View Point

CBIS can be divided into subsystems based on how the users

are grouped in the organization. This grouping of users is in
terms of related tasks that are performed.
These conceptual systems are mirror images of physical
systems that are present. These systems are collectively called
Organizational Information systems (OIS).
12.1 Organizational Information Systems (OIS)
The term OIS views organization as a combination of process
oriented groups whose information needs are related but
independent.
All functional systems should work together for problem solving
since each system specializes in specific domain of information.
12.2 Marketing Information Systems (MKIS)
MKIS is a type of Information System that helps the firm to achieve
following objectives:
o Identification of customers for firm‘s products and services.
o Development of those products and services to meet customers’
needs
o Promotion of the products and services, and
o Provision of after sale customer support
Types of Marketing Information
Every information system is designed to capture some sort of
information. Information requirements need to be defined before the
systems are made. While designing marketing information system,
following types of information should be designed.

• Marketing Intelligence – information flowing from environment into

the environment
• Internal Information – gathered within the firm
• Marketing Communication – Info flowing from firm to external
environment
12.3 Benefits of Marketing IS
MKIS helps organizations in efficient channel management. Following
can be identified as some of the benefits of MKIS.
1. Customer profiles need to be maintained focusing on their habits
and spending patterns. MKIS helps in maintaining these profiles.
2. Information on what competitors have been upto is also a critical
marketing information. This should not be taken as espionage on
competitors.
3. Forecasts of demand is also a critical part of marketing analysis.
MKIS helps in achieving this as well.
4. Field sales can also be monitored where sales agents are used to
market products.
5. Customers can be quickly updated based on their information kept
in MKIS.
6. Dealers involved in sale of product can also be monitored to help
enhance revenue's
12.4 Management Levels in MKIS
MKIS should cater for information requirements at each level, for
instance
Strategic Level
1. Formulation of new sales products, and identifying new sales
opportunities.
2. Planning support for new products and services
3. Monitoring competitors
Knowledge Level
1. Market analysis based on demographics and customer behaviour
Management level
1. Sales performance analysis is required to monitor how to enhance
sales and address related issues.
2. Sales staff analysis is important to see how much of the sales portion
has been contributed by each of the employees.
Operational Level
1. Taking comments from customers for measuring satisfaction is a
responsibility of the managerial level.
12.5 New Dimensions in MKIS
Through extensive use of computers in marketing field, newer concepts
are emerging in marketing field, which are revolutionizing the way
customers were dealt with.
o Customer Relationship management (CRM)
o Sales Force Automation (SFA)
o Call Centers

Customer Relationship Management

• Businesses increasingly talk about fostering relationships with their

customers. This is important because some modern businesses have
literally millions of customers. Hence keeping personal touch with every
individual customer is getting difficult to achieve.

• Companies are clearly eager to nurture relationships with their

customers. Businesses need to understand the extent to which
consumers want to engage with their brands. For some businesses
there is

• Either a strong natural need – banks

• Or an emotional attachment – Fashion retailer, car manufacturer
Benefits of CRM
• Maintains and enhances customer base
• Encourages customer loyalty
• Gaining more customers’ wallet-share
• The more effective a company's customer retention and defection
management strategy, the less they need to plug the gap with new
customers, who are expensive to recruit.
• CRM help in establishing communication to encourage customers to
share information about their
• Habits,
• Tastes and preferences
• Interests in Co’s brand extension initiatives
• CRM is a business strategy that goes beyond increasing transaction
volume.
• Its objectives are to increase profitability, revenue, and customer
satisfaction.
• To achieve CRM, a company wide set of tools, technologies, and
procedures promote the relationship with the customer to increase
Reasons for adopting CRM
• Customers now prefer to execute transaction in an electronic
environment through online-trading. Also the establishment of
customer services centers has also removed the inconvenience to
access vendor’s physical locations.
• Due to absence of physical contact, companies are curious to keep a
soft touch in an efficient manner. This requires keeping a customer-
wise online track of past correspondence and transactions.
• CRM reduces cost of sales and distribution by
• Targeting advertising to customers to increase the probability that an
offer is accepted.
• Using web applications to decrease the number of direct sales people
and distribution
channels needed
• Managing customer relationships rather than manage products (a
change in marketing)
• CRM minimize customer support costs by
• Making information available to customer service representatives so
they can answer any query
12.6 Key CRM Tasks
• Customer Identification -- Identifying customer through
• Marketing channels,
• Transactions,
• Interactions overtime,
• Customer Differentiation – Segregating customers, with respect to.
• Their lifestyles
• Attitudes
• Perception about Co.’s products
• Customer Interaction – Efforts made to retain customers for long-
term profitability and relationship.
• Customization / Personalization
“Treat each customer uniquely” is the motto of the entire CRM
process. Through the personalization process, the company can
increase customer loyalty.
12.7 CRM Issues
• Customer Privacy
Customer privacy is an important issue in CRM. CRM deals with large
amounts of customer data through various touch points and
communication channels. The individual firm is thus caught in an ethical
dilemma – collecting as much information as possible but still respecting
limits for personal privacy.
• Software issues
There is little standardized technologies and protocols for CRM
implementation in the market. Vendors publish new versions of CRM
software as frequently as they can thus adding to client’s expenses.
CRM software requires highly integrated environment for high
productivity, which is rarely available.
Sales Force Automation
It automates some of the company's critical sales and sales force
management functions, for example,
• Customer account management,
• Forecasting sales,
• Sales administration,
• Keeping track of customer preferences,
• Sales staff performance.
SFA empowers the sales force to close deals at the customer’s office
and to configure marketing strategies at home. SFA is providing tools
for very highly evolved sales organizations, organizations that are
basically marketing machines.
12.8 Call Center
Due to its direct contact with customers, call center is widely gaining
popularity. It refers to a department within a company or a third-party
organization that handles telephone sales and/or service.
Call centers use automatic call distributors (ACD’s) to route calls to
the appropriate agent. In addition to a call centre, collective handling
of letters, faxes, and e-mails at one location is known as a contact
centre. As computers gain more and more involvement in marketing
field, presence of a highly efficient and integrated call center has
become inevitable.
Call centers should have direct access to every customer’s track
record so as to help them handle queries in an efficient manner.
Modern day call centers, record the telephonic conversation with the
customers, extract a summary of it, and display it every time the
Call Center-Challenges
Call centre agents are challenged daily to navigate disparate, non-
integrated applications as they attempt to resolve customer service
requests.
The call centre should offer an integrative solution so that customers
can be responded efficiently. Call canter should help cut long processing
times which add to customer frustration and dissatisfaction with the
company.