Customer knowledge

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Customer knowledge (CK) is the combination of experience, value and insight information which is needed, created and absorbed during the transaction and exchange between the customers and enterprise. [1] Campbell (2003) defines customer knowledge as: "organized and structured information about the customer as a result of systematic processing". [2] According to Mitussis et al. (2006), customer knowledge is identified as one of the more complex types of knowledge, since customer knowledge can be captured from different sources and channels. [3] [4]

Contents

Classification

Various classifications exist: Gebert et al. (2002), classified customer knowledge from an organization's perspective into three types: [1]

  1. knowledge about customers: is gained mainly by service management, offer management, complaint management and, if available, contract management. The main user processes of knowledge regarding the customer are campaign management and service management, because both processes personalize their services based on user criteria. Knowledge about the customer must be transparent within the company; although its distribution beyond the border of the company must be controlled, as this type of knowledge can often be directly transformed into competitive advantages. The development of such knowledge is also expensive, because knowledge revelation is quite time-consuming.
  2. knowledge for customers: is mainly developed in processes within the company, for example, the research and development section or a production department. Collecting this knowledge is the responsibility of campaign management. It should be refined according to the customer requirements. It is then disseminated to the other customer relationship management (CRM) processes, mainly: contract management, offer management, and service management. CRM manages knowledge, transparency and dissemination of knowledge for customers. Maintaining the balance between comprehensibility and precision is the main challenge when managing this kind of knowledge.
  3. knowledge from customers: can be obtained in the same ways as knowledge about customers. Capturing knowledge from customers is based on the important fact that customers who obtain their own expertise when utilizing a service or product can be seen as equal partners. This concept is not regularly understood in the business world and its effects have been poorly researched in academia (Garcia-Murillo and Annabi, 2002). [3]

The same categorization of customer knowledge has been made by others such as Bueren et al. (2005) and Feng and Tian (2005). [5] [6] In another categorization, Crié and Micheaux (2006) divide customer knowledge into two types, namely: "Behavioural" (or Quantitative) and "Attitudinal" (or Qualitative). Behavioral knowledge is easy to acquire and is basically quantitative by nature; that is, containing a customer transactional relations with the company. On the other hand, attitudinal knowledge is difficult to acquire because it deals with a customer's state of mind; but meanwhile it is an important factor for enhancement of customer knowledge because they are directly related to a customer's thoughts and insights.

Customer Knowledge Management

Customer Knowledge Management (CKM) concept emerges as a crucial element for customer-oriented value creation. CKM is important for collecting, collaborating, compositing and communicating customer knowledge. [7]

See also

Journals:

Related Research Articles

Customer relationship management (CRM) is a process in which a business or other organization administers its interactions with customers, typically using data analysis to study large amounts of information.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marketing</span> Study and process of exploring, creating, and delivering value to customers

Marketing is the process of exploring, creating, and delivering value to meet the needs of a target market in terms of goods and services; potentially including selection of a target audience; selection of certain attributes or themes to emphasize in advertising; operation of advertising campaigns; attendance at trade shows and public events; design of products and packaging attractive to buyers; defining the terms of sale, such as price, discounts, warranty, and return policy; product placement in media or with people believed to influence the buying habits of others; agreements with retailers, wholesale distributors, or resellers; and attempts to create awareness of, loyalty to, and positive feelings about a brand. Marketing is typically done by the seller, typically a retailer or manufacturer. Sometimes tasks are contracted to a dedicated marketing firm or advertising agency. More rarely, a trade association or government agency advertises on behalf of an entire industry or locality, often a specific type of food, food from a specific area, or a city or region as a tourism destination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sales</span> Activities related to the exchange of goods

Sales are activities related to selling or the number of goods sold in a given targeted time period. The delivery of a service for a cost is also considered a sale. A period during which goods are sold for a reduced price may also be referred to as a "sale".

In sales, commerce, and economics, a customer is the recipient of a good, service, product or an idea - obtained from a seller, vendor, or supplier via a financial transaction or exchange for money or some other valuable consideration.

A management information system (MIS) is an information system used for decision-making, and for the coordination, control, analysis, and visualization of information in an organization. The study of the management information systems involves people, processes and technology in an organizational context.

Personalized marketing, also known as one-to-one marketing or individual marketing, is a marketing strategy by which companies leverage data analysis and digital technology to deliver individualized messages and product offerings to current or prospective customers. Advancements in data collection methods, analytics, digital electronics, and digital economics, have enabled marketers to deploy more effective real-time and prolonged customer experience personalization tactics.

Salesforce management systems are information systems used in customer relationship management (CRM) marketing and management that help automate some sales and sales force management functions. They are often combined with a marketing information system, in which case they are often called CRM systems.

Database marketing is a form of direct marketing that uses databases of customers or potential customers to generate personalized communications in order to promote a product or service for marketing purposes. The method of communication can be any addressable medium, as in direct marketing.

Marketing Communications refers to the use of different marketing channels and tools in combination. Marketing communication channels focus on how businesses communicate a message to its desired market, or the market in general. It is also in charge of the internal communications of the organization. Marketing communication tools include advertising, personal selling, direct marketing, sponsorship, communication, public relations, social media, customer journey and promotion.

Relationship marketing is a form of marketing developed from direct response marketing campaigns that emphasizes customer retention and satisfaction rather than sales transactions. It differentiates from other forms of marketing in that it recognises the long-term value of customer relationships and extends communication beyond intrusive advertising and sales promotional messages. With the growth of the Internet and mobile platforms, relationship marketing has continued to evolve as technology opens more collaborative and social communication channels such as tools for managing relationships with customers that go beyond demographics and customer service data collection. Relationship marketing extends to include inbound marketing, a combination of search optimization and strategic content, public relations, social media and application development.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brand loyalty</span> Marketing term for a consumers emotional attachment to a given brand

In marketing, brand loyalty describes a consumer's positive feelings towards a brand, and their dedication to purchasing the brand's products and/or services repeatedly, regardless of deficiencies, a competitor's actions, or changes in the environment. It can also be demonstrated with other behaviors such as positive word-of-mouth advocacy. Corporate brand loyalty is where an individual buys products from the same manufacturer repeatedly and without wavering, rather than from other suppliers. Loyalty implies dedication and should not be confused with habit, its less-than-emotional engagement and commitment. Businesses whose financial and ethical values rest in large part on their brand loyalty are said to use the loyalty business model.

The eCRM or electronic customer relationship management coined by Oscar Gomes encompasses all standard CRM functions with the use of the net environment i.e., intranet, extranet and internet. Electronic CRM concerns all forms of managing relationships with customers through the use of information technology (IT).

A target audience is the intended audience or readership of a publication, advertisement, or other message catered specifically to said intended audience. In marketing and advertising, it is a particular group of consumer within the predetermined target market, identified as the targets or recipients for a particular advertisement or message. Businesses that have a wide target market will focus on a specific target audience for certain messages to send, such as The Body Shops Mother's Day advertisements, which were aimed at the children and spouses of women, rather than the whole market which would have included the women themselves. A target audience is formed from the same factors as a target market, but it is more specific, and is susceptible to influence from other factors. An example of this was the marketing of the USDA's food guide, which was intended to appeal to young people between the ages of 2 and 18.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Retail marketing</span>

Once the strategic plan is in place, retail managers turn to the more managerial aspects of planning. A retail mix is devised for the purpose of coordinating day-to-day tactical decisions. The retail marketing mix typically consists of six broad decision layers including product decisions, place decisions, promotion, price, personnel and presentation. The retail mix is loosely based on the marketing mix, but has been expanded and modified in line with the unique needs of the retail context. A number of scholars have argued for an expanded marketing, mix with the inclusion of two new Ps, namely, Personnel and Presentation since these contribute to the customer's unique retail experience and are the principal basis for retail differentiation. Yet other scholars argue that the Retail Format should be included. The modified retail marketing mix that is most commonly cited in textbooks is often called the 6 Ps of retailing.

Customer intelligence (CI) as part of business intelligence is the process of gathering and analyzing information regarding customers, and their details and activities, to build deeper and more effective customer relationships and improve decision-making by vendors.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to marketing:

Customer engagement is an interaction between an external consumer/customer and an organization through various online or offline channels. According to Hollebeek, Srivastava and Chen S-D logic-Definition of customer engagement is "a customer’s motivationally driven, volitional investment of operant resources, and operand resources into brand interactions," which applies to online and offline engagement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Customer experience</span> Interaction between an organization and a customer

Customer experience, sometimes abbreviated to CX, is the totality of cognitive, affective, sensory, and behavioral consumer responses during all stages of the consumption process including pre-purchase, consumption, and post-purchase stages. Nihat Tavşan and Can Erdem bring an extensive elucidation to the customer experience, encompassing the dimensions of consciousness, subjectivity, and interactional nature and define customer experience as the sum of subjective ideas regarding a product or service that occur at a conscious or subconscious level due to direct or indirect interaction of a customer with brand-related stimuli. Pine and Gilmore described the experience economy as the next level after commodities, goods, and services with memorable events as the final business product. Four realms of experience include esthetic, escapist, entertainment, and educational components. Tavşan and Erdem divided the customer experience into four categories based on the levels of cognitive and physical involvement of customers. These four categories are euphoric experiences, captive experiences, mellowing experiences, and conductive experiences.

Business Relationship Management (BRM) is viewed as a philosophy, capability, discipline, and role to evolve culture, build partnerships, drive value, and satisfy purpose.

Marketing automation refers to software platforms and technologies designed for marketing departments and organizations to more effectively market on multiple channels online and automate repetitive tasks.

References

  1. 1 2 Gebert, Henning; Geib, Malte; Kolbe, Lutz; Riempp, Gerold (2002). "Towards customer knowledge management: Integrating customer relationship management and knowledge management concepts" (PDF). The Second International Conference on Electronic Business (ICEB 2002). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-05-14. Retrieved 2017-03-13.
  2. ↑ Campbell, A. J. (2003). "Creating customer knowledge competence: Managing customer relationship management programs strategically". Industrial Marketing Management. 32 (5): 375–383. doi:10.1016/S0019-8501(03)00011-7.
  3. 1 2 Khosravi, Arash; Che Hussin, Ab Razak (2014). "A Review of Customer Knowledge Management Importance". Journal of Soft Computing and Decision Support Systems. 1 (1): 45–52.
  4. ↑ Darryn Mitussis; Lisa O'Malley; Maurice Patterson (2006). "Mapping the re-engagement of CRM with relationship marketing". European Journal of Marketing. 40 (5/6): 572–589. doi:10.1108/03090560610657840.
  5. ↑ Bueren, A., Schierholz, R., Kolbe, L., and Brenner, W. (2005). "Improving performance of customer processes with knowledge management" (PDF). Business Process Management Journal. 11 (5): 573–588. doi:10.1108/14637150510619894.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ↑ Feng, T., Tian, J. (2005), "Customer knowledge management and condition analysis of successful CKM implementation", Proceedings of the fourth international Conference on machine learning and cybernetics, Guanghou, August 18–21.
  7. ↑ Lim, Amanda (January 2015). "A theoretical framework of customer knowledge management for value creation: A study integrating the concepts of customer knowledge management and customer engagement". Change Management. 15: 17–27 – via SCHOLAR, Researchgate.
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