What is the general idea of the service?
Why are we piloting it?
The idea of conducting this pilot is to invite micro, small, medium enterprises and public institutions to test a tool, give the feedback and influence the final version of the tool.
Building a positive and long-term relationship with a client is in fact a never-ending process during which at least several basic conditions must be met. In fact, speaking about remote work there are some challenges to build the trust and connections with clients. The relations marketing we all knew at the beginning of 2020 has much less in common with what we do now. The situation we have been has forced brands to verify their marketing strategies and consider how they should communicate with customers. The aim of the pilot is to support micro, small, medium enterprises, and public institutions in improving their knowledge and position on the market by offering a tool for customer relationship building (theory, case study, quizzes, videos).
Why is your organisation invited to join?
Customer relationship building tool is open for all micro, small, medium, and public entities from different fields and industries from Baltic Sea Programme countries. It is helpful to assess and get the insight on customer relationships in relation to specific remote work.
What do you get?
You get access to online compact learning materials about process and tools on building and sustaining relations with customers in remote work- video lectures, practicing files, lecture slides.
You can learn the service material through book like pdf files or listen to the audio books that are inside the units. Each unit has reading material, audio book and small exercise set.
Click the image below to pop out a book reader. First is English and second is polish
UNIT I. RELATIONSHIP BUILDING WITH CUSTOMERS
You can either read the module or listen to this audio book
Building customer relationships in online business
Unit I. RELATIONSHIP BUILDING WITH CUSTOMERS
Exercises
Think about your customers and try to classify them according to their interest in your company’s offers and their influence, using the following scheme.
Once you have entered their names in the table, evaluate the validity of the proposed action strategies
Interests | |||
---|---|---|---|
Low | High | ||
Impact | High |
Keep happy
|
Key
|
Low |
Monitor
|
Interested
|
Interests | |||
---|---|---|---|
Low | High | ||
Impact | High |
Keep happy |
Key |
Low |
Monitor |
Interested |
Think about your customers and try to list situations in which they have
expressed satisfaction with your company’s offering.
- What made them happy?
- Was this factor repeated with different customers?
- How did they let you know they were happy?
- Did this translate into growth for your business?
Make an initial diagnosis of the way you contact your customers. You can use the table below.
Do all customers use the same communication channels?
Is it possible to segment your customers?
Dimension | Description | Yes/No |
---|---|---|
Increasing Brand Awareness | ||
Social Media Ads | Advertising on various social media platforms | |
Google Ads | Pay-per-click advertising on Google | |
Traditional Print and Media Ads | Advertising in traditional media channels | |
Organic Content | Creating blogs and organic content | |
Acquisition of Customer Data | ||
Internet Data Search | Searching for data on the internet | |
Survey Data Collection | Use of survey after clicking on advertisement | |
Customer Profiling | ||
Media Preference | What type of media do they prefer to interact with? | |
Specific Platforms |
Platforms of interest:
|
|
Active Channels |
Channels they are most active on or likely to see:
|
In its simplest terms, a loyalty programme is an exchange of benefits, so a simple principle can be applied in the form of: customer action – your company’s response.
Try to think about what customer action would be most desirable to you and what you could offer the customer in return. You can use the following table.
Action | Reaction |
---|---|
Spending €20 to buy my product/service | Discount of 2% on purchases. |
Recommending my company on Social Media | More frequent contact on social media and customer promotion. |
UNIT II. LONG-DISTANCE BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT
You can either read the module or listen to this audio book
Building customer relationships in online business
Unit II. LONG-DISTANCE BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT
Exercises
When deciding to use written communication, it is worth considering what will
be better in a given case: a blog or a website.
The following tool can be used for assessment. By inserting the “√” sign closer to a given characteristic that is suitable for your needs, the predominance of characteristics corresponding to the website or blog will be indicated.
Specification | Website | My preferences | Company blog |
---|---|---|---|
Content strongly related to the essence of the company's activities | any, unlimited | author unknown, content prepared anonymously | |
Author | author unknown | author known by name or nickname | |
Comments | no ability to comment on content | commenting is an integral part of the blog | |
Technology | often complicated | simplified, easy to use | |
Context | marketing and offer material | diverse material, without direct promotion | |
Scope of functionality | wide | specified | |
Complexity of navigation and structure | high | low |
When deciding on a particular form of content marketing, it is worth analysing your potential before deciding. You can use the table below to do this:
Form | Description | Time [1-5] | Idea [1-5] | Ability to use [1-5] | Average |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Guide | aims to educate consumers, dispel doubts and provide knowledge, while also supporting website positioning | 0.00 | |||
Company blog | is used to publish guides, news, updates and other useful content for users, supporting communication, loyalty building and SEO activities | 0.00 | |||
Expert article | reliable and specialised content created by experts and published on the company's website, blog or external services | 0.00 | |||
Sponsored article | is intended to promote a brand, product or service in a subtle way; often used as a source of links for SEO campaigns | 0.00 | |||
Interview | allows a brand to be presented in the form of a conversation with its representative; most often published in online trade magazines | 0.00 | |||
Product description | presents the benefits of buying a particular product and supports the positioning of the online shop | 0.00 | |||
Category description | allows for a better understanding of the online shop's offer and the selection of individual products, thus supporting the positioning process | 0.00 | |||
Review | presenting the strengths and weaknesses of products, services, their application, distinctive features compared to the competition | 0.00 | |||
Ranking | product and service comparisons published on the company blog or external services | 0.00 | |||
Newsletter | sending valuable content to the e-mail addresses of subscribers to the shop or company database | 0.00 | |||
e-book / audiobook | e-books or listening books which convey valuable information about the brand | 0.00 | |||
Social media content | allows direct communication with the audience and the building of long-term relationships | 0.00 | |||
White Papers | specialised studies on a specific problem or issue, often used in industrial and technological sectors | 0.00 | |||
Case Studies | descriptions of positive experiences of cooperation with clients, illustrating the effectiveness of the solutions offered | 0.00 | |||
References | testimonials and recommendations written by clients cooperating with the company, usually posted on the company's website | 0.00 | |||
FAQ | question-and-answer databases, which provide customers with knowledge and allow them to avoid many repetitive queries | 0.00 | |||
Infographics | the combination of text and graphics makes it possible to convey a lot of interesting content in an original way | 0.00 | |||
Video | videos posted on the company website, video blogs, YouTube videos on the brand and its products | 0.00 | |||
Podcast | includes interviews, tutorials and instructions made public in the form of streaming (to listen, watch) | 0.00 | |||
Topical social media groups | provides opportunities to reach audiences, establish communication-based relationships with them, promote products or materials | 0.00 | |||
Own online forum | discussion forums on industry or specific products | 0.00 | |||
E-Learning | provision of electronic training materials for customers, employees or business partners | 0.00 | |||
Online games (gamification) | use of games for business purposes, e.g. product promotion or education | 0.00 | |||
Photo-sharing | posting photographs (e.g. on Instagram), particularly attractive for fashion, beauty or interior design industries | 0.00 | |||
Social bookmarking | light, entertaining content (e.g. Wykop.pl), which aims to attract the audience's attention | 0.00 | |||
Webinars | a video presentation, interview or online mini-training course that aims to educate, inspire and develop | 0.00 | |||
Rebus, quizzes, puzzles, tests | lighter forms that catch the audience's attention, allow them to test their own knowledge and have fun at the same time | 0.00 | |||
Research reports | the results of surveys, research or studies that may be of interest to clients or the industry are developed and published | 0.00 | |||
Microsites | a separate page highlighting, for example, the history of the brand, its specific activities (involvement in certain projects) or promotions | 0.00 | |||
Mobile application | a simple mobile application made available to recipients of the corporate website, which may facilitate the use of services, promote products or offer additional functionalities | 0.00 |
Collect the results about your company (this can be information gathered on the internet, but it is important that a specific question is asked:
“How likely are you to recommend the company to a friend?” on a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 means “most unlikely” and 10 means “most likely”). Place the values indicated by the following respondents in the table and they
will be automatically assigned groups.
An automatic NPS summary will appear in the final table.
Net Promoter Score (NPS) Survey
No. | Respondent | Value [1-10] | Category |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Respondent 1 | ||
2 | Respondent 2 | ||
3 | Respondent 3 | ||
4 | Respondent 4 | ||
5 | Respondent 5 | ||
6 | Respondent 6 | ||
7 | Respondent 7 | ||
8 | Respondent 8 | ||
9 | Respondent 9 | ||
10 | Respondent 10 |
NPS Summary | |
---|---|
% of Promotors | 0% |
% of Passives | 0% |
% of Critics | 0% |
Net Promoter Score | 0% |
UNIT III. CUSTOMER SERVICE RELATIONSHIP MARKETING
You can either read the module or listen to this audio book
Building customer relationships in online business
Unit III. CUSTOMER SERVICE RELATIONSHIP MARKETING
If you want to build a CRM strategy, you can use the following 7 steps.
No. | Step | Description | Action |
---|---|---|---|
Step One | Define your vision and outline your goals | Make sure the goals of your CRM strategy align with the organization's overall business strategy. Use the SMART goals method to ensure goals are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-sensitive. | Your goal specification:
- Measure (indicator):
- Achievability:
- Relevant:
|
Step Two | Identify Your Audience | Understand who your customer is by finding out the characteristics that define your recipients to effectively reach them with your marketing content. |
|
Step Three | Conduct Customer Acquisition Mapping | Understand all possible initial touchpoints in the customer acquisition process. Capture data at every stage to provide insights into audience details and buyer profiles. |
|
Step Four | Organize CRM Components | Analyze conclusions and identify areas for improvement. Ensure each CRM strategy component can solve specific customer problems. |
It takes into account the following elements:
|
Step Five | Get to know the market | Compare your plan's effects to the competition and determine your market position. |
Questions to ask:
|
Step Six | Consider adding technology | Enrich your CRM strategy with innovative technologies to make team tasks easier. Use AI and automation to improve customer interactions and free up team resources. | Determine technology for implementing strategy elements |
Step Seven | Invest in CRM Software | Implement CRM software that evaluates current processes, meets organizational requirements, and drives the company's CRM strategy. |
1. Specify a CRM system 2. Estimate usage costs 3. Identify system users |
If you want to implement a CRM system, you need to take further steps, starting with planning.
You can use the following tool to describe the actions taken at each stage.
STEP 1: Pre-implementation analysis
Determining the needs of your company Members of the analytical team, separated from the company’s structures, should include representatives of all departments in the company. Later, selected employees will participate in talks with system suppliers and actively supervise the CRM implementation. The team’s tasks include analysing three elements:
step 1
• list of business processes, arranged by priority,
• list of hardware and software requirements,
• short list of requirements (introduction to defining the functionality of the system),
• list of requirements for staff.
STEP 2: Planning the budget, estimating the expected ROI (rate of return on investment)
You should establish the financial framework within which you can operate when choosing a system, then estimate how the implementation will affect cash flow, the company’s quotations, its brand, reputation, and what other financial implications the CRM implementation brings. The option of a failed deployment should also be considered.
You need to answer the following questions:
step 2
Such an objective analysis is extremely important and is worth spending time on before making the final decision to implement a CRM system.
STEP 3: Implementation/adaptation, tests, correction
This is the longest (proper, fundamental) stage of implementation, in which the supplier prepares the system according to the prepared analysis. Then, it tests them internally in terms of ergonomics, technical and logical aspects, and in this form it passes the system on to the end customer for testing. This is also the time to implement corrections reported by customers. It is therefore worth working closely with the implementation team at the testing stage to avoid any misunderstandings and shortcomings. In this aim you can use the following table:
step 3
step 4
If you want to implement a CRM system, you can use the alternative steps in this
process. In this purpose use the following tables
No. | Step | Action | Result |
---|---|---|---|
STEP 1 | Identify your business needs |
Analyse of:
|
Checklist: Identification of specific features your CRM system should have. |
STEP 2 | Choosing the type of CRM software |
Identification of the main application of the CRM system:
|
Checklist: Identification of specific purpose of your CRM system and sales decision
|
STEP 3 | Development of a CRM strategy |
Development of a CRM implementation strategy:
|
Checklist: Plan of CRM system development |
STEP 4 | Gathering the development team |
Establishing a team to develop CRM:
|
Checklist: CRM system development TEAM |
STEP 5 | Development and adaptation of the CRM platform |
Project milestones check:
|
Checklist: Achieving of CRM system development milestones |
STEP 6 | Implementation and training of the sales team |
Implementation:
|
Checklist: Users' ability to operate the system |
STEP 7 | Monitoring and optimization |
Monitoring and evaluation:
|
Checklist: Summary report for a given period of system use |
If you want to conduct preliminary audit of CRM system using, you can use the following tool. Assign a weight to each aspect so that the sum of the weights is 1.0. Give each aspect a rating, where 1 is the lowest rating and 5 is the highest.
Question | Rating [1-5] |
Weight [0.1-0.9] |
Average |
---|---|---|---|
• Do CRM system users actively use it? | 0.00 | ||
• Are the purchased CRM functionalities fully used? | 0.00 | ||
• Does the CRM system fulfill its functions? | 0.00 | ||
• Has there been a change in the business strategy that requires modification of the CRM solution? | 0.00 | ||
• Is there a need to optimize work efficiency in the CRM system? | 0.00 |
0.00
0.00
If the average value is between 4,1 and 5,0 – it means that the system fulfils its function.
Average between 3,1 and 4,0 – system or some processes needs a correction.
Average between 2,1 and 3,0 – the system must be subjected to detailed analysis.
If you want to decide which type of solution use in your company, use the
following table.
Cloud CRM System Evaluation Survey
UNIT IV. CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT IN THE CRISIS
You can either read the module or listen to this audio book
Building customer relationships in online business
Unit IV. CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT IN THE CRISIS
Consider the following example of using a voicebot. Which elements support its choice or vice versa. Try to evaluate them.
Case Study 1. Voicebot – Scheduling appointments for a large healthcare provider
Challenges | Rating [1-5] |
Weight [0.1-0.9] |
Average |
---|---|---|---|
High cost for a very simple task | 0.00 | ||
Long waiting times to be connected to a consultant | 0.00 | ||
Hotline only open at certain times | 0.00 |
0.00
0.00
Average | Weight [0.1-0.9] |
Rating [1-5] |
Challenges |
---|---|---|---|
0.00 | Hotline available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week | ||
0.00 | Instant appointments without queuing (the bot can handle an unlimited number of calls simultaneously) | ||
0.00 | Increased customer satisfaction as a result of these changes |
0.00
0.00
Consider the following example of using a voicebot. Which elements support its choice or vice versa. Try to evaluate them.
Case Study 2. Voicebot – customer satisfaction research for a major insurance company
Challenges | Rating [1-5] |
Weight [0.1-0.9] |
Average |
---|---|---|---|
High cost of interviewers | 0.00 | ||
Limited number of surveys conducted | 0.00 | ||
Extended duration of surveys | 0.00 |
0.00
0.00
Average | Weight [0.1-0.9] |
Rating [1-5] |
Challenges |
---|---|---|---|
0.00 | Unlimited number of surveys conducted per day | ||
0.00 | Shorter call times - less hassle for the client | ||
0.00 | Maintained levels of accuracy and responsiveness to interviewers |
0.00
0.00
If you want to create a crisis management plan, use the steps below.
Remember, the most important thing is to make everything concrete. The best way is
to write them down. You can use the table below.
No. | Step | Action | Result |
---|---|---|---|
Step One | Select the members of the crisis management team | Before you start planning for a crisis, select a team of leaders who will work together to produce this document. The team should include people who will carry out specific actions in the event of a crisis. Create it early so that everyone knows the details of your strategy. | |
Step Two | Assess the risks | Start by brainstorming what risks could threaten your business. As mentioned above, you can begin this session by discussing common risks in your industry. Use a threat register to identify and analyse the likelihood of a particular threat. A threat register will help you avoid delays and prepare for potential complications. It will also help you visualise the most serious risks and prepare an appropriate strategy. | |
Step Three | Identify the impact on the business | Once you have identified the risk with the highest probability of occurrence, work with members of the crisis management team to determine how it will impact your business. Each risk will have a different impact, so analyse them separately. The potential impact on the business could include customer churn, reputational damage, delayed sales, loss of revenue or fines. | |
Step Four | Plan a strategy | For each threat detected, determine what action your team should take to deal with it. Let's say you work in the software industry and your company becomes the victim of a cyber-attack. In this case, you may need to appoint people to secure the network, inform customers and assess the damage that has occurred. | |
Step Five | Concretise the plan | Once you have discussed the risks to your business and their impact on your business, and planned for action should they occur, it is time to put the plan into action. A crisis management plan is more than a written or verbal strategy. It should include key elements such as an activation protocol and who to contact in an emergency, which we describe in detail below. It will also need to work with key stakeholders so that everyone knows what needs to be done and when. | |
Step Six | Review the plan and update it as necessary | When the emergency management plan is complete, review the final version to ensure that nothing has been left out. Review the plan carefully and update it at least once a year, as potential risks may change over time. |