Customer Relationship Management Emerging Themes Assignment Sample

Introduction

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A workplace becomes a positive functioning environment when the company is providing a proper focal point for maintaining the quality process that directly leads to the client experience. Quality processes within the place of work usually consist of an assortment of principles that are created by a group to facilitate that the items and administration which they are manufacturing are maintaining proper guideless (Cross, 2020).

So, one of the main purposes behind conducting this research study is to focus on the comprehension of the developing themes in the client experience as well as its effect on the strategies and practices of the quality framework to develop the CRM. In order to conduct this study the automobile company that is been selected is one of the luxurious automobile brands named Mercedes Benz.

Mercedes Benz is a luxurious German automobile brand which is founded in the year 1926. Apart from offering high-end cars the company also provides various other services to its clients some of them are, car funding, renting, vehicle subscription, fleet administration, digitalized amenities for car charging and payment, indemnity brokerage along with creative movement administration. Overall the company is known for its superior class of client experience (AG, Mercedes-Benz Group , 2022).

2. Current themes of the company

A. Description of the following themes with organization context

Customer Touchpoints: A customer touch point is identified as straightforward or indirect contact a client has with the product (Aichner, 2017). In particular, at Mercedes-Benz, the client experience group planned different customer touch points. For instance, the group looked at the point of view of a purchaser who tried to rent their most initial Mercedes-Benz vehicle and planned that excursion from item thought by means of post-buy aftercare. In the same manner, these customer touch points illustrated buy and post-buy contact focuses, distinguished decision times, found where the clients experienced torment, and surveyed all business cycles and divisions answerable for tending to client requirements at every single client touch point (Michelli, 2021).

Customer experience and brand experience: Customer experience can be defined as the overall client point of view as well as feelings which come from the communication with a brands items and amenities(Wereda, 2016). Brand experience is defined as a sort of empirical advertising that execute an all-inclusive arrangement of site generated by a firm to persuade the feeling a client has on a definite item(Beig, 2019).

Being one of the top-notch automobile company, Mercedes Benz's customer experience and brand experience is of different level. The company takes its client and brand experience as one of its main objectives and always tries to maintain the connection among them. In order to provide the best client and brand experience, they provide various lucrative offers and also maintain proper CRM to keep every single detail of their clients. The pre and post-purchase service of the company is also maintained in a very proper way which is again an additional client experience point (Scherpen, 2018).

B. CRM policies of the company and how it impacts the customers

In general the client relationship management which is also known as CRM is the technique within which the company manages its communication with the clients particularly deploying data analysis to identify huge amounts of facts (Zamil, 2011). The CRM policies of Mercedes Benz usually focus on two important aspects which are:

• The first CRM policies track the success of the entire facets comprising client satisfaction, client retention, sales performance as well as revenue earning.
• The second CRM policy is focused on measuring the above-mentioned aspects inside the CRM margin, an important segment of the reward framework for MA’s facilitating that three was an overall focal point inside the business (Zoho, 2019).

The CRM policies made by Mercedes Benz provide a great impact on its clients. It has been seen that the above-mentioned CRM policies are playing an important function in augmenting the business sector share as well as also helping Mercedes enhance the efficacy, superior worker’s morale and also helping the client in getting proper knowledge about each model which they want to purchase.

3. Sustainability in customer relationship management of the company

A. what is sustainability in customer services and its components?

Sustainability is a highly important component of today’s modern era, and it is applicable everywhere but environmental issues. A strategy that "respects" the stakeholders and resources used in an endeavour is known as sustainability (Kotob, 2011). In sustainability, long term evaluation of a product or process’ ability to work in taken under consideration. The values of providing excellent service and enhancing the client experience are largely spoken about in the company’s day and age, much talking a meagre outcome. Despite all the hype and the "commitments" that businesses have made, and the quality of services that people used to receive earlier has been degrading over time. This is true even when technology has been added to the mix.

Identification of the CORE components for sustainable customer service

For instance, everything a business does to serve the requirements of its clients must not harm the business. Customer services guidelines MUST take into account both customer needs and business realities. It is useless to try to please the consumer by incurring huge expenses in the services for customers in which the business fails or overcharges itself in a cutthroat industry.

However, there is more. The corporation, with its requirements and realities, is one side of the chain that delivers services to the target customers with the other end of the chain being occupied by rational and needy customers. Line managers, who must plan and coordinate service, and employees who must act as a middleman between these two forces, are present.

For a system to be fully sustainable, ALL participants must have at least some of their requirements met and possibly more. Otherwise, the system fails. Posing a demand which is not reasonable at the end of stakeholders would result in irate, frustrated managers and workers who will then obstruct the provision of services.

B. Sustainability policies of the company and its impacts on clients

The creation of sustainable value that also fits to be highly beneficial to all the participants of the supply chain of the company is among the most crucial principles of the Mercedes-Benz Group. It also has use implications for any newly developed business as well as years old business groups. The road map of Mercedes-Benz Group ensure to maintain the best level sustainability for the company since it is the only way to guarantee company’s capacity to be a successful business in the future. In addition, the strategy helps us to fulfil the demands and expectations of the company’s stakeholders, including clients and every other direct and indirect partner of the business, and society at large. The company have the ability and desire to reshape the sustainable transformation process, actively participate in the solution, and channel the history of mobility in a good manner. The days of success for the company that would turn out to be a change and development at the same time has to be shaped by way of technological advancements. The company has incorporated CO2 neutrality into company’s sustainable business plan as one of the top transformational goals. The "Ambition 2039" and the electric-only strategy at Mercedes-Benz AG reflect this. The company intend to provide all-electric vehicles by 2030.

The Mercedes-Benz Group's business plan includes sustainability issues as a key component. The company is aware and operates business appropriately and, it can only sustain success over the long run. By doing this, the company create value addition for each of the stakeholders, including society at large, as well as the customers, employees, investors, and business partners. For the purpose of achieving these lofty objectives, the company has established six strategic action areas. The company also has the targets to provide active contribution to not damage the environment. To strike these targets, it practices resource conservation and sustainable utilization of supplies. Along with the formerly mentioned, it also pays attention to traffic safety and human rights protection.

There are three tools used by the company to make the work in progress. It includes people, integrity and partnerships. The reliance for the company’s constant motivation is behaviour that is ethical, highly acknowledged and experienced workforce, and partner cooperation with other players in industry, government and society at large on the basis of mutual trust and the pursuit of common goals. Moreover, the company also do not refrain from sharing mutual goals with the society and the government (Cross, 2020).

4. Discussion of two quality models

A. What are quality and its components?

Quality in any product or service must encounter certain values and supplies, which are required by customers, suppliers, and other stakeholders so that they can receive value from the product or service. The importance of understanding what constitutes good quality management practices and what their benefits, as well as risks, are is vital for every organization like Mercedes Benz. The quality management of business mainly makes sure the consistency of products and services (Rangriz, and Bayrami Shahrivar, 2019). The focus of the company is always on the quality of products and services, but they also try to achieve it. There are four different elements of quality which help to measure the consistency of the products and services offered by the company. The elements of quality help to assess the different section of the investigation for the business activities. It provides a detailed analysis for the assessment of performance of business to consider the changes according to the situation (Smith, 2013).

Quality Planning- Planning is the first step and the business needs to take some time to analyze its objectives and baseline. For a company like Mercedes Benz, it is essential to consider the expectations of stakeholders during the planning process. The process of business and its evaluation of improvement is mainly for the business to deal with the quality management process. The planning helps to analyse the future situation for the business and create an appropriate planning for the development of business.

Quality control- During this stage, an individual physically inspect and test the plan outlined to make sure it is attainable. To ensure that all the standards have been met, it is necessary to identify any errors or mishaps that need to be corrected in the management system of Mercedes Benz. After the data collection for the inspection, it is important to bring changes in the display for delivering the aspect of control in the management (Allen, and et.al., 2019). Further, the control activities are important for handling the situation and provide best products to customers.

Quality Assurance- The process of assurance helps to review the process of delivery of services at the company. Proper inspection of products helps to analyze the errors before reaching the customers. Assurance of quality must be performed regularly at Mercedes Benz by independent audits to be effective. It provides a clear idea for delivering the services with an appropriate assurance.

Quality Improvement-In this, after the process of quality control, it is essential to review the findings and provide ideas about the changes in some methods for delivering better products and services. It is worthless to attempt quality control management if an individual does not make changes when they become necessary.

B. Analysis of two quality modules that help in improving the CRM of the company

Businesses must increase CRM efficiency through improvement measures. This part of the study concentrates on including the important aspect using two models which are the IDIC model and Payne’s five Force model for evaluating the different details as well as measures for a business organization to bring the appropriate rate of customer retention. Peppers and Rogers Group developed IDIC to implement CRM functions using the categories of identity, differentiate, interact and customize, all of which are divided into four stages (Thakur, 2019). As well as implementing the IDIC model, Payne's five force model also focuses on gaining information regarding the customers' behavior. Below is a literature review addressing the aspect of using it according to CRM and the most effective ways that Mercedes Benz can continue to improve their customer-focused operations.

Application of IDIC model for improving CRM of Mercedes Benz

IDIC's main functionality falls under the category of identifying customers and their demands, while the second stage is about identifying customers with the most and least value related to the business. In the third stage, the process of locating and determining the needs and wants of the customer. In the fourth stage, the process of communication with the customer and lastly, it can be seen that customizing the service to meet the customer's needs. The model of IDIC mainly possesses some advantages while identifying the CRM so that the initiative facilitates the initiation of thorough research to develop new forms of innovative means for creating new products to satisfy the growing demands of customers. It also includes that a company like Mercedes Benz require to assess and dissect the data collected on the buying pattern of the customer for developing a positive level of outlook (Lee, and et.al., 2020). It is believed that the management of Mercedes Benz needs to follow and listen to the feedback along with the opinion of people regarding the products that help to improve sales. With the use of the IDIC model and the CRM, Mercedes Benz can visualize positive results with the implementation of different forms of strategic measures.

Despite its potency, the IDIC model presents major disadvantages that can adversely affect Mercedes Benz's ability to practice effective customer relationship management. Customer relationship management faces major obstacles when proper leadership isn't committed to the products or changes aren't implemented, leading to the loss of customers' trust and excess financial losses.

Use of Payne’s Five Forces Model for improving the CRM of Mercedes Benz

• Payne's five force model aims to analyze customer behavior by conducting data collection from the customer's perspective. Applied to the Automobile industry, it contributes to better market responses and improves value propositions on an overall basis. In this model, 5 subparts can be distinguished in terms of conducting strategic development processes, creating value, integrating multichannel systems, and conducting performance evaluation processes. CRM practices at Mercedes Benz are directly related to all of these stages. During a detailed analysis of Payne's five force model, he added new advantages, such as providing offers of discounts to customers, providing priority shipping, and providing a rewards program to customers (Peppers, and Rogers, 2016). Additionally, when analyzing this model in detail, the author noted that the model provides good customer service, gains customer feedback, and provides a return policy for products. Managing customer relationships is extremely important when it comes to enhancing and boosting the company's market share. It also improves the understanding and perception of the customer, with their different needs and wants. Payne's model describes the stages that maintain direct linkage to CRM-oriented business practices. As part of strategic development, the organization needs to identify potential points of contact with the customers to locate their questions, product information, and overall satisfaction with the organization.
• Multichannel integration is the third stage, at which the supermarket must find suitable channels so that it can maintain steady customer contact. Both parties can access and understand information and communication using a uniform and common process. There are two other steps in Payne's model including information management systems that are used by Mercedes Benz to keep data up to date, as well as analytics-driven tools to help store data over time (Jerry, and Ayuba, 2019). In the absence of a proper repository, the entire collected and gathered data is susceptible to being lost in the future. Last but not least, performance assessment tools help monitor whether a customer has received proper and satisfactory service from the supermarket. To predict the desired outcome, Payne's five force model utilizes various strategies and measures of Mercedes Benz' HRM practices.
• In the literature review above, both CRM practices and improvement scopes in Mercedes Benz are critically analysed for their advantages and disadvantages. High company expenses and excessive time consumption are the most critical problems addressed. Based on the model's extensive technology, it can measure and analyse a customer's potential requirements thoroughly (Latta, and et.al., 2018). Aside from its positive benefits, the company may face major drawbacks in the form of increased expenses due to the addition of technological advancements and training procedures for employees, to conduct better customer service. Thus, both of the models helps to make improvement in the Customer Relationship management at Mercedes Benz, which helps the company to make certain changes for eh development in the business. They consider the requirements of customer and make changes as per the demands and desires of the people. It will create a valuable impact on the business practices so that they are able to deliver better product to the customers (Rafii-Tari, and et.al., 2016).

Conclusion

So, from the overall study, it can be concluded that sustainability policies provide a great impact on the CRM framework of the Mercedes Benz. It can be identified from the above study that the CRM policies of Mercedes Benz are particularly focussed on both clients and employees this shows that a company can achieve its goal when they are giving equal importance to both its clients and workers. Also, from the sustainability part of the company it can be seen that they are mixing technology and innovation altogether to provide the best services to its clients for the long run

Recommendation

Based on the above study below mentioned are a few of the recommendations that will help Mercedes Benz in getting more clients and keeping the CRM intact:

• The first recommendation is particularly for the CRM segment and in order to develop it in a better way, it will be important for the company to monitor the client's attitude pose service also which help the customer to solve their issues at any point in time.
• Managing carbon footprints plays a very major role in shaping the sustainability of any company thusly, it will be important for Mercedes Benz to do proper measurements as well as work on decreasing the carbon footprints at the time of manufacturing the vehicle.
• It will be also important for the company to deploy sustainable materials while promoting the cars and also at the time of packaging and delivering the products.

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