Customer Management and Customer Intelligence

Customer Management and Customer Intelligence Introduction Customer Relation Management (CRM) is an important part of any organisation. Managers utilise it to improve sales and profitability. Any organisation that targets to be successful in any field must place the customer central to its operations. Such organisations should make customers their most important assets.Advertising We will write a custom assessment sample on Customer Management and Customer Intelligence specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Over the years, many institutions have established the study of customer relations in their curriculum. Managers have also been trained on the most effective ways of employing customer-relation tactics in the course of their operations. Although many industries are coming up at an alarming rate, the fashion and design industry stands out based on the way it has applied CRM to boost its sales through guaranteeing clients quality products. In the fashion and design industry, the custo mer is the most important shareholder. Organisations that are able to understand their customers end up being more successful than others that do not have the same policies (Rigby, Reichheld Schefter 2002; Greenberg 2009). The customer management principle that is applied in any organisation is important because it determines the strength of any brand that the company intends to market and/or sell. The following is an assessment of one of the companies in the luxury fashion industry. The paper discusses the customer management practices that the company has applied. Besides, it gives the necessary changes that the company needs to implement. Company Profile The business selected for assessment is the Christian Louboutin Company brand that operates in Spain. Christian Louboutin Spain is a subsidiary of the main company that is based in Paris. It has stores in many parts of the world. The company specialises in the manufacture of specifically branded shoes. Christian Louboutin is cre dited with the revival of stilettos that were popular among women in the past decades, thus making them part of luxury fashion design today. Products As stated above, Christian Louboutin produces expressly branded and internationally recognised shoes. The red-bottomed shoes act as the trademark for the company. These shoes are popular on the catwalks and other fashion events. The company designs shoes with very high heels since many of its customers prefer the high heels o other types of shoes. In fact, the company has produced heels with a height of more than 120mm with the aim of making women appear decent and more attractive by giving an impression of long legs (Greenberg 2009).Advertising Looking for assessment on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The category of shoes that Christian Louboutin makes is usually won with the evening dresses. The brand is associated with prominent personalities an d models. The company also offers low-heeled shoes, although they are not as common as the high-heeled ones. The shoes are in most occasions fitted with jewel straps to give them the elegant look and feel. The other accessories include patent leather, red soles, and bows. The company is well known for its signature red-bottomed shoes. This design is patented under the United States laws. The company has also ventured into the manufacture and sale of women handbags. In fact, the owners expect to increase the contribution of handbags for the total company revenue to increase. Size and Revenue Christian Louboutin has recorded significant growth in size and revenues since its establishment in 1991 by Christian Louboutin. The growth in sales started in the first year after the start of the business. This period was occasioned by the increased publicity that the original outlet in France got. In the first year after establishment, Christian Louboutin sold approximately 200 women shoes, wh ich were sought by some of the rich and famous women in the area. The company currently sells over 700,000 pairs of shoes in a year. These shoes are sold to the rich and famous as a policy of luxury. The company is reported to make over $300 million annually as revenue where the shoe section contributes 95% of the revenue. The growth in revenue from the sale of shoes is significant in the company. It approximates to around 40% annual growth. The prices for individual shoes vary. However, a single pair of shoe can go for as much as $6,000. Most of the shoes in the store have a price tag of over $4,000. Customers can also get a custom-made brand to suit their tastes, although at a higher price. The company has been considered the leading brand in the fashion industry for a long time. It continues to lead in the luxury fashion shoe design. The company makes sales through the many outlets in the world. However, the bulk of purchases from the outlets are wholesale purchases. More than 80 % of purchases from the company are wholesale (Greenberg 2009). Market The company has a significantly large market. The fashion industry contributes much to the market. Many fashion events that display luxury designs use Christian Louboutin shoes and handbags, which are mainly rented from the company. Many celebrity women are known to purchase the brand, although most of them come from different parts of the world to purchase the products. The company also has international distribution centres in different parts of the world. Most of the markets for the items are in the United States.Advertising We will write a custom assessment sample on Customer Management and Customer Intelligence specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The United States forms the largest market for Christian Louboutin, with 52% of sales for the company being in this country. The company also has a presence in almost all continents. The European and Russian bazaars in combination with markets from the Middle East countries contribute to over 30% of the company’s revenue. The Asian market makes up the rest of the proportion of the sales. Some of the personalities that form the market for Christian Louboutin include Angelina Jolie and Nicki Mina. Most of the catwalks in the US and Europe market the products as a way of promoting the company on the local and global front. Operation Country The country in which the organisation in focus is located is Spain, which is known for its appetite for luxurious items such as those offered by Christian Louboutin. The company has the store being located in Madrid, Spain. It is renowned for its luxurious items. The country has a favourable macro-environment for any luxury fashion company. It has many centres that are considered the fashion capitals of the world. Companies that work here also enjoy organisational cultures that are favourable in the production of the luxurious items. Madrid offers a large m arket for the company. Dozens of celebrities visit the city as well as other areas in Spain, thus ensuring a constant supply of customers, and hence the positive performance from the company in the country and the region compared to other subsidiaries elsewhere. The country also has an operating environment that allows companies to operate with autonomy. It has also managed to market itself in the fashion industry (Greenberg 2009). Many fashion companies operate within Spain. The companies have utilised the existing policies on different fields. Customer Management and CRM use Customer management is one of the most basic functions of any organisation. Christian Louboutin has adopted a number of strategies to that effect. In the operations that the company has in Spain, it ensures that the specific needs of each customer are met. This strategy reveals why the company allows customers to specify the designs that they require. It is able to offer different prices for items in relation to the customers’ buying ability. According to Peppers, Rogers, and Dorf (1999), an organisation should adopt a one-to-one marketing strategy, which is the change of behaviour in an organisation to suit the needs of the individual customers. This plan allows the organisation to develop goods and services that are customised to the clients’ needs, including the provision of luxurious services.Advertising Looking for assessment on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The concept of one-to-one marketing is heavily employed in Christian Louboutin. The organisation has dedicated its services to the satisfaction of the customers’ needs. The company made adequate preparations to the one-to-one marketing strategy, which in turn led to its success. Peppers, Rogers, and Dorf (1999) confirm that most companies that have adopted the one-to-one marketing strategy have not succeeded because they took it without prior preparations. The company specialises in the manufacture of products that are described by many professionals as being luxurious and state-of-the-art. However, this outcome is only because the company involves customers in the development and marketing of these products. Some of the customers for the organisation frequently shop at the Spanish outlets because they are renowned for their quality and exceptional designs. The prices of the company are also custom-made, and that only a few individuals can afford some of the luxurious items o n offer. This situation has ensured that some of the categories of products are only available to a particular class of customers, and hence the reason why they are sought by these customers. According to Peppers and Rogers (2011), the price of a product in the fashion industry is important in determining the class of customers that buy these products. In Spain, the company has managed to apply specific forms of marketing. These forms include the use of the internet and social sites. According to Lent and Tour (2009), the use of these forms of marketing is favourable for any fashion company that targets to attract any class of customers. Christian Louboutin has traditionally not used print media in the marketing of its products because of the tradition that has been held for a long period. This situation has further contributed to the segmentation of its market, with only a specific group of customers being targeted in the marketing campaigns. Expected Changes There are many expecte d changes in the market developments in Spain for luxurious items. These changes are occasioned by the changes on the national economic front and the change in demand for the luxurious goods. There are also expected changes in the rules and regulations that govern the industry in Spain. After the global economic crisis, the numbers of people participating in the fashion industry were noted to decrease (Greenberg 2009). Customers also reduced in this industry because the Spanish economy was also affected. The effects of the crisis have constantly disappeared with time. The economy is now performing better in Spain and elsewhere in the world. The expectation is that more customers will be able to afford the products that are provided by the company. Advice for the Company The company needs to invest in more customer-relations management practices, with the management being involved directly in these strategies. The other possible advice for the company is that it should engage its cus tomers more through the internet marketing since the move is likely to improve its performance. Seybold (2001) observes that the internet is an important tool in the delivery of information to customers. It provides a cheap means of helping customers carry out a number of activities. Although the company has not established itself on the print media, largely preferring one-to-one marketing, it should also embrace this form of marketing, as it is likely to grow its customer base (Yastrow 2007). Fournier, Dobscha, and Glen Mick (1998) claim that organisations can create friendly relationships with their customers. However, they assert that the very things that organisations are doing to improve relations with their customers are the ones destroying these relations (Fournier, Dobscha Glen Mick 1998). Christian Louboutin may ensure that it gets to learn the customers before it can engage in creating any form of relationship with them. Fournier, Dobscha, and Glen Mick (1998) observe tha t the organisation can embark on the creation of a healthy relationship that is intimate between it and customers. In any relationship, input is from both sides. Customers can be allowed to provide input for the product development and marketing at the Christian Louboutin Company in Spain. This move is in line with the suggestions that are provided by Fournier, Dobscha, and Glen Mick (1998) in their article. The institution can develop and maintain trust between itself and customers. Many of the customers buying from any particular company do so because they consider the company trustworthy in quality, design, and pricing. This case also applies for Christian Louboutin. According to Fournier, Dobscha and Glen Mick (1998), this company needs to provide privacy emotional support and confidentiality to its customers. Customer behaviour is an important part of marketing in any luxury company, and before development of a product, there should be adequate consultation between the customer and the developers. According to Fournier, Dobscha, and Mick (1998, p. 4), â€Å"For contemporary consumers, product satisfaction is linked inextricably with their satisfaction, and companies must attend to both these dimensions if they expect to win.† Christian Louboutin may participate in assuring customers the satisfaction that they deserve in purchasing their products. Conclusion In conclusion, the luxury fashion industry is very competitive. Organisations that want to survive need to ensure that they apply effective customer-relations management. This report has looked at a company operating in the luxury fashion industry in Spain. It has provided a look at the profile of the company and the operating environment in the industry and the country in general. Christian Louboutin is a fashion company providing the best shoes in the luxury industry, as it is known for producing custom-made shoes for her customers. The company utilises some useful CRM measures. However, it sh ould guarantee customer satisfaction and more use of technology in the production and marketing processes. References Fournier, S, Dobscha, S Mick, D 1998, preventing the premature death of relationship marketing, Harvard Business Review, vol. 76 no. 1, pp. 1-6. Greenberg, P 2009, CRM at the Speed of Light, Social CRM Strategies, Tools, and Techniques for Engaging Your Customers. Fourth Edition, McGraw-Hill, New York, NY. Lent, R Tour, G 2009, Selling Luxury. Wiley, New York, NY. Peppers, D Rogers, M 2011, Managing Customer Relationships: A Strategic Framework, Wiley, New York, NY. Peppers, D, Rogers M Dorf, B 1999, ‘is your company ready for one-to-one marketing?’, Harvard Business Review, vol. 77 no. 1, pp. 151-160. Rigby, D, Reichheld, F Schefter, P 2002, Avoid the Four Perils of CRM, Harvard Business Review, vol. 80 no. 2, pp. 101-109. Seybold, P 2001, ‘Get inside the Lives of Your Customers’, Harvard Business Review, vol. 86 no. 1, pp. 80-89. Yastr ow, S 2007, We: The Ideal Customer Relationship. Selectbooks, Washington, DC.

How to Add Privacy and Security to Your Coschedule Account + Content

How to Add Privacy and Security to Your Account + Content We’ve all heard stories about [insert any terrible instance of brand sabotage]. Stories of a little too much trustand not enough security. The stories of users deleting content or publishing a blog post too soon (by accidentor not) or someone with incorrect permissions seeing something they shouldn’t†¦ And the worst casesomeone leaving a company (usually not by choice)  and doing everything they can to take it down with them. Not cool. How To Add Privacy To Your Calendar and Secure Your [Awesome] ContentThe information age can be a scary place, one where your brand’s reputation is always on the line. Here at , we want to give you peace of mind and know that the security of your calendar is our absolute *TOP*  priority. Plus, we make it easy to manage your calendar’s users, roles, and permissions. With you can: Add multi-layered privacy to your calendar with custom user + role permissions. Know exactly what each team member has access to (at any given moment). Limit  the visibility of content on your calendar  by managing the access of multiple teams or users, so they can focus on the content that matters to them (nothing more, nothing less). Control your content  by granting users read only, drafting or full editing rights. Easily restrict publishing rights to specific users, so you can rest assured your content gets published (the right way) every time. Because our goal is to keep your calendar marketing efforts†¦ †¦AND your brand’s reputation as secure as possible. ðŸ‘Å' Add Multi-Layered Privacy To Your Calendar You’ve got quite a few people inside your calendar. †¦.with each person contributing in a different way. Which is great! But, since they aren’t all in the same  roles, each person on your team might need varying permissions when it comes to accessing your calendar. With , you can easily create + edit custom user permissions based on the level of access you want a specific person to have. For example, your intern probably needs WAY less access to all the content on your calendar than your marketing manager. Or if you work in an agency with multiple clients on the same calendar, you can easily set up both your clients and agency team members with custom user permissionswithout making it difficult for everyone to work inside your calendar. And creating a layer of privacy, especially when there may be confidential items that may be listed on your calendar, is a nice option to have. It’s real nice. Get Started Using Custom User Permissions For example’s sake, let’s pretend you’ve just hired a new employee. To invite a new user and customize their permissions, head into your Settings, and select â€Å"Team† from the left hand side bar.  Once you get to the Team Page, select â€Å"Invite New User.† Choose â€Å"Invite via Email† and add an email address. (skip the WordPress Author piece for now. If they end up being able to post blogs through your calendar, you can add a WordPress Author at a later time). Then, select the role (or level of access), you want to give each new team member. If you’re just starting with team permissions, the only option you’ll have is to assign the new person as a â€Å"User† or a â€Å"Guest.† Once you start creating custom roles, that’s where you can get really specific with access levels. For a breakdown of the difference between a â€Å"user† and a â€Å"guest†Ã‚  check out the comparison below: If you choose to give â€Å"user† access, your team member can also be given â€Å"admin†Ã‚  access by turning the button from â€Å"OFF† to â€Å"ON.† Users without admin access can only access Social Profiles in the calendars settings (no other settings options will be visible). So, they won’t even be able to see the Team Settings page that you’re in now unless they are given â€Å"admin† access. Once you have successfully added a new user, you will be directed back to the main Team page. Here you will notice that you can view all the varying levels of access each current team member has, and easily edit the permissions of a specific user if needed. For instance, if you have to let someone go from your team, you can use the team permissions page as a kill switch by quickly editing their permissions to â€Å"read-only† so you can protect your content and your calendar. *whew* With , you can even create custom role permissions  within your team settings. Basically, custom role permissions allow you to create a permissions template if you have (or are going to have) multiple people you consider to be in the same role. This saves you time from having to manually assign the same permissions in the future. ^^#timesaver So by creating custom roles, the next time you hire a project manager or social media intern, it’s quick and easy  to set them up with specific levels of access in your calendar. Besides being able to add internal users (and customize their permissions) to your calendar, you can also add an outside user as a â€Å"Guest† within your calendar (Team Pro or Multi Calendar plans only). Why is that awesome? If someone is added as a â€Å"Guest† the only thing they can view and edit is the project they have been assigned to by a user inside the calendar. For instance, if you are working with another company on a single campaign or blog post, you might not want them to see everything your team is working on. Easily set up custom user and role permissions within your calendar to give yourself peace of mind. Waithow does it do that?! Because now you will know if each person in your calendar has the correct amount of access they need to effectively work on their content saving you time AND your precious mental energy. No more worrying for you! And that’s pretty awesome. Limit The Visibility Of Content On Your Calendar You use your calendar for EVERYTHING. Every marketing campaign, every blog post, every social promotion, and every task. But sometimes†¦ there might be private or confidential information  that you still have to plan for†¦ or you want to limit who can see what because it’s not relevant  to them†¦ And that’s when the idea of sharing everything on your calendar with everyone†¦ suddenly becomes a little less than ideal. But luckily, with you can easily  limit the visibility of content on your calendar. For instance, if you work at a company with multiple teams, you may want each team to see only their specific content (to eliminate clutter on their calendars, or, I don’t know, to actually keep a top secret project, a secret). And if you’re an agency with multiple clients on your calendar, you can use this feature to easily adjust each client’s visibility settings so they can only see the content they should seeand nothing more. For example, if your client is â€Å"Pho Shizzle†Ã‚  you are able to create a new role within your team permissions and actually call it â€Å"Pho Shizzle† Once you’ve given the role a name, simply select the permission settings that will work best for you: Content: Decide what they can see (content they own or are following versus  all content on the calendar), if they can create content, edit it, delete content, or if they can publish the content. Social Messages:  Decide which profiles they are allowed to see or post from. Events + Notes:  Decide if they are allowed to create, edit, or delete events or notes. ReQueue Groups:  Decide if they will be able to add, modify or delete ReQueue Groups AND ReQueue Messages. Team Filtering:  Decide if they can interact with other team members (and who). Admin Settings:  Decide if they are a social, team, or full admin of the calendar. And while using a single calendar and creating custom roles is pretty darn effective, if you are an agency with a lot of clients, we recommend a Multi-Calendar plan as your simplest + easiest solution for keeping client work separate from  other  client work. The the biggest perk of being able to create custom roles? As the admin, you can still see EVERYTHING that is going on within your calendarwhile everyone else can only see the specific content that matters to them. Sometimes there are things you don’t want everyone to see. Like a top secret feature launchor another client’s marketing campaign†¦ or that super-hilarious blog post called the â€Å"Top 10 Reasons to Open a Hot Dog Stand† you’ve been planning†¦(no judgement here). Whatever your reason, easily limit the visibility of content on your calendar with . ðŸ™Å' Control Your Content Remember when it was just you managing your calendar? Every editpublishing date†¦social messageit was up to you to make the final call. Times may have changed (or maybe never existed if you’ve always worked in a large team), but that doesn’t mean you need to give up complete control of your content. With , you can grant users read-only, drafting or full editing rights  when it comes to your content. For instance, if you work in an agency and have a client who has access to your calendar, you can easily control the amount of access based on what works best for your partnership. Or, if you work in a large company and your boss (or bosses) only needs to be able to view documents (but will never make any edits directly in the calendar), it’s simple to give them â€Å"read-only† access. You can even restrict publishing rights  to specific users (or single user) so you can rest assured your content gets published the right way,  every time, by someone you trust. Simply find the user you want to adjust within your â€Å"Team† page, and decide the level of publishing access you want to give them throughout your [entire] calendar. Why are restricted publishing rights useful? Let’s say you have an intern and want them to have the ability to draft content, but unable to publish to your blog or social accounts. (Recommended!) Or you want to limit the users who can publish (for accountability’s sake), because you’ve established a good amount of trust in them and don’t want so many hands in the mix. And let’s be realyou’re also trying to avoid some pretty terrible marketing mishaps: *like when Rhode Island accidentally posted a promo video about their state with footage from Iceland on their Twitter account* (someone could have checked, right) OR *when someone accidentally posted on the US Justice Department’s Twitter account instead of their own*  (signing in and out of accounts could be avoided if you scheduled your social through just saying) Tisk, tisk. Plus, as an extra level of control, you can easily check and see who posted any  of your content using our handy Security Access Logs (located within your Team Settings). We know that the security of your calendar is SUPER important†¦ and we also know how much of a task it can be just managing all the settings on your calendar. Which is why we make it EASY to manage your permissions. Set it and forget it OR easily update a user at a moment’s notice. Just call yourself Security Captain†¦ because with , your marketing calendar (and your brand’s reputation) has never been safer.