Lindsey Houser
9/10/11
Customer Relationship Management Strategy
Case Study Questions
(1) Russia has recently gone from central government control to a market-based economy with large
opportunities for foreign capital and investment. Because of this, there are many opportunities. It will
greatly benefit the company to interact with existing and prospective customers, study, analyze, and
learn about customers’ needs, wants, and expectations. Acquiring and retaining customers will help to
ensure our profitability.
Using CRM we can manage how we get customers, keep them, and service them. First, we should
identify and prioritize our CRM needs, both short-term and long-term. We should also consider how
our tactics fit into the larger, more strategic long-term program. Through social listening, we can find
out more about the customer. Engaging the customer is very important. By analyzing and applying
analytics to develop profiles of participants, we can group them and target the groups. We should
identify/ differentiate the customer to ensure that we are providing services to reach their needs. Also,
we need to make sure we are responsive. Furthermore, we must have a quality IT infrastructure and
provide proper training to ensure the CRM project is successful.
(2) When implementing CRM at Mashkin, files were transferred without chronology. This made users
even more inefficient than before. Mashkin provided no structure to ensure employees completed their
training, and training was only a few minutes long. In addition, financial advisors and sales people still
preferred to use their old technologies.
The IT department was only asked to support Mashkin’s business needs and not the customers’ business
needs. I believe this was a huge reason for the failure. Having a solid IT system as part of the CRM
strategy would have helped increase efficiency. Also, the structure also should have been updated to
support the CRM implementation. If Mashkin bought new equipment and offered more training for the
IT department and sales force I believe it would have helped.
(3) CRM practice in emerging markets has shown to be beneficial. 10-60% customers targeted in well
designed CRM-based companies in emerging markets sign up for the offer they receive. Increasing the
number of customers represents a tremendous branding and sales opportunity (Chung & Sherman,
2002). In Russia, there used to be an emphasis on collectivistic approaches to business and a reliance on
capital and functional aspects over human assets. This places emphasis on supply rather than consumer
demand. However, with CRM, there is more awareness. New services are offered for customers, and
there is more linkage.
(4) Companies in Russia may face challenges in implementing CRM projects. Russians have a very
different culture than Americans. Management needs to understand that CRM systems cannot replace
their involvement in building customer relations. Smaller firms in Russia may need to utilize local talent.
Because local talent may not have leading technology and experience, they may face challenges. Also, if
something goes wrong with the CRM implementation it may be a cause for concern. There undeniably
needs to be backup plans established in order for the CRM project to be successful (Griffin, Curtis, &
Barrere).
Works Cited
Chung, S., & Sherman, M. (2002, May). Emerging marketing. Retrieved September 10, 2011, from
McKinsey Quarterly: http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Emerging_marketing_1164
Griffin, T., Curtis, T., & Barrere, D. (n.d.). CRM in Russia and U.S. -- Case Study from American Financial
Service Industry. Retrieved May 10, 2011, from http://www.aabri.com/manuscripts/08028.pdf