Management of an organization’s relationship between employees as well as with the clients is essential for the growth of the business. Customer Relationship Management (CMR) system helps firms to keep customer details up to date, track customer relations with the company as well as managing their accounts (Bhat & Darzi, 2016). Over the recent past has faced challenges in managing clients due to poor record keeping and absence of customer contacts as well as a poor organization of activities. This has resulted in low sales volume as a result of a decreased number of customers as a result of poor service provision. Restoration of the company’s image and ensuring that it meets its strategy of sustaining a competitive advantage and maintaining market leadership calls the Automatic company management to adopt the CRM and social media strategy. The paper aims at explaining the relevance of adoption of CRM and social media system by the Automotive Company to enhance the attainment of its targets as well as describing the challenges and solutions to the use of social media.

Application of CRM System

CRM is essential in deepening relationships between the customers, service users, colleagues, partners and suppliers with the business. Enhancing a positive relationship and following up of customers’ prospects is essential for client acquisition and retention, which is the primary goal of CRM (Bhat & Darzi, 2016). Upon the adoption of CRM, the Automotive Company will be able to benefit in various ways;

The automotive company can use the CRM system in different ways. Firstly, it can use CRM to enhance Cross-team collaboration through the interaction of people from different businesses. Secondly, it can use CRM to update customer data for quick access when a need arises like in situations when employees turnover or resign from duty. Thirdly, the company can use CRM to increase customer satisfaction and retention through the provision of quality services at fair prices and promptly unlike a situation observed in Automotive Company where same products were sold at different prices in the same leadership. Thirdly, CRM improves sales metrics. Its reporting systems provide avenues for conversion of an effective idea into a better sales strategy that meets consumer needs hence improving the company’s revenues. The company can, therefore, adopt it to improve its sales strategy.

Application of Social Media

The automotive company can adopt the use of social media in different ways. Firstly, it can develop a social media page and allow people to follow it. This will allow for easy showcasing of their products. Secondly, social media can be used by the company to advertise its products. Lastly, social media should be adopted by the company as an interactive medium in which clients can suggest their preferences and have them incorporated into the products developed(Heller & Parasnis, 2011). Also, the company can use it to get customer complaints and addressing them timely.

Traditional CRM

It focuses on tracking customers through the use of phone calls, emails and conversation notes from meetings. Traditional CRM has various advantages.it creates a physical touch with the clients hence making it easier to truck them (Heller & Parasnis, 2011). Secondly, the use of phone calls allows the firms to address client’s complaints promptly. Thirdly, the conversation could be preserved for future follow-up and ensuring that the clients’ needs are met.

Social CRM

Social CRM involves the integration of social media data and other conversational platforms to plan for marketing strategies as well as ways mechanisms of meeting consumer needs. Social CRM is essential in different ways. It helps companies to prepare for various campaign initiative, manage marketing campaigns and gain a better insight into the client’s behaviour (Heller & Parasnis, 2011). Also, it gives service teams an opportunity to use social CRM to respond to clients more quickly. Also, social CRM connects the client with the firm hence allowing companies to map consumer trends, follow conversations and ensure that the clients are served better.

Social Media Challenges

Social media plays a significant role in ensuring the success of the business. It provides an avenue for advertising a product, interacting with clients and establishing their needs as well as winning competitors through online marketing strategies. Although social media plays a significant role in ensuring the success of the business, it comes with different challenges that if not addressed may lead to failure of the business.

Firstly, social media requires human and financial resources. It involves the use of high-end gadgets such as mobile phones, computers and tablets which may be hard to afford especially for small businesses (Wang & Feng, 2012). Also, it requires extra human labour that is knowledgeable in creating blogs about the company as well as creating attractive adverts. Such personnel increases business expenses and may also be costly to retain them in business.

Secondly, it is difficult for companies to build a community of clients and followers in social media platforms. Although the platforms are full of people who can be attracted to companies’ products, they are filled with other numerous businesses in the same industry Heller (Baird & Parasnis, 2011). It is therefore challenging to build loyal followers since it is a crowded market with different promotional methods from various competitors.

Thirdly, it is difficult for a business to truck sales in social media platforms. There may be a multitude of followers in a company’s social media page, but that does not tell that the followers are going to be immediate purchasers of the products. This means that the company may find it hard to approximate the number of people in need of the products to allow for the production of good quantities of the commodities.

Recommendation for Managing the Challenges

Addressing the challenges arising from the use of social media will enable companies to reach their sales targets. Solving financial and human resource will require a strong partnership between the business and influencers who will help in promoting the brand (Wang & Feng, 2012). For instance, the influencers can get quality photos in different localities without hiring photographers as well as helping the business to gain followers by posting the photographs on social media.

Building a community of followers is a great challenge. In overcoming it, firms should emphasise on developing and promoting their pages in person. In making strong followers, the companies should advertise their social media pages and allow outsiders to follow them. Interaction should be promoted and salespersons funded to attend shows where they can advertise the company’s social media page to trigger a high number of following.

On trucking results, the company should focus on long term goals to avoid frustrations that result from low sales amidst the high number of followers. Posting on social media may not result in immediate revenue; hence companies should be patient, advertise their products and wait for the right timing when the clients are motivated to purchase the commodities.

References

Bhat, S. A., & Darzi, M. A. (2016). Customer relationship management. International Journal of             Bank             Marketing, 34(3), 388-410. Doi: 10.1108/IJBM-11-2014-0160

Heller Baird, C., & Parasnis, G. (2011). From social media to social customer relationship            management.   Strategy & Leadership, 39(5), 30-37. Doi: 10.1108/10878571111161507

Wang, Y., & Feng, H. (2012). Customer relationship management capabilities: Measurement,      antecedents and consequences. Management Decision, 50(1), 115-129. Doi:      10.1108/00251741211194903