Page 186 - DMGT308_CUSTOMER_RELATIONSHIP_MANAGEMENT

Unit 7: Electronic-CRM

transparent and accessible. When you load and unload applets each time you need a specific Notes
function, you feel less in control of your Internet CRM destiny.

Did u know? While e-CRM is considered a front office technology, meaning that the
applications are both available to the customer (customer-facing) and impact the customer,
there is a back-end to the from office. In other words, to put up the “event” in e-CRM, the
development tools for the Web have to be used. Such tools as Java, Enterprise Java Beans
(EJB), Perl, and CGI are the ground work for the “webfication” of CRM.

E-CRM and Portals

With the emergence of the Internet, enterprise portals took on a whole different meaning. They
have now become the gateways to entire Web-based communities and customer activity.
As portal is a gateway to an array of services to an optimal community. It is a centralised entry
point, usually centred on a Web server that links multiple information and interactivity sources,
and allows a personalized view of any or all of the services according to the requirements of the
user who is entering. The personalization is accessible through a password and user ID. Each
user has a different view of the array of information, goods, and services available to them. This
is any easy going concept that personalizes the view of each person using the portal. Yet the
collection of goods, services, and information is universal and available on multiple servers
sitting behind the portal doors. This way, thousands of users can get what they need, with all the
universal links available to all people and with workflow and security built in. Probably the
best example of a portals-building product is ‘Plumtree’, a corporate portal 4.0 tool, released at
the end of 2000. Plumtree’s tools allow the creation of interlinked portals combined with devices
portal add-ins in multiple locations, through the use of their portals and massively, by letting a
portal user access multiple portals, increasing the selections of good, services, information and
portals. One has to decide the benefits to an organisation.

As a good CRM portal aggregates all relevant customer information within a single application
or desktop in a format that is customized and personalized for the department or individual
interacting with the data. An ideal portal doesn’t just provide access to customer data, but
becomes a knowledge base that is tailored to the needs of each different audience, with Web
content, third-party applications, reference materials, and detailed customer information. Portals
thus contain anything within or outside of the enterprise that customer-facing groups can utilise,
to enhance their understanding of a customer’s experience and needs.

Several things are important for a highly successful CRM portal strategy; the system should be
the architect around the customer, instead of around specific job functions. By putting the customer
at the applications core, no matter who is viewing, using or sharing the information, companies
are assured a sample customer interaction process.

Deploying a CRM portal solution only in one department or one business unit will not yield the
same results as an enterprises-wide solution, which gives every front-office employee access to
the critical customer data and knowledge base.

A thin-client or Web-based portal system saves millions of dollars in time, employee turnover,
and other costs by greatly reducing system implementation and management time. While there
is still a need for client/server technology, and onyx still supports it, the future is on the Web
where installations, upgrades, and expansions can be managed from one location, on one server,
and all end users need to gain access is a browser. Different audiences require different views
and different types of information, making it absolutely necessary to provide the right content
and structure to each.

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