Relevance is the key to CRM
Joe Fernandez’ report on CRM (MW 17 September) was eloquently written and covered a lot of ground. But Nik Margolis hit the nail on the head when he said the core concern of a CRM strategy should be relevance to consumers.
So when considering how to manage CRM, it is counterintuitive to begin with a debate over whether to keep it in-house or appoint an agency. Instead, clients need to take an honest look at their internal structure. Is there a culture of shared knowledge, or do brand/product teams operate in virtual isolation?
If it is the latter, the first hurdle is finding a way to pull together the different strands of information and knowledge to create dynamic customer understanding. As for whether that is best done in-house or by an agency, it’s a case of horses for courses.
Heather Westgate
Chief Executive, TDA
