subject: Enrich Demand Generation Services With Customer Insight [print this page] The benefits of focusing on customers to develop and grow profitable business are quite obvious. Companies are increasingly realizing the usefulness of using customer information in improving their demand generation efforts. Today we see companies across industries heavily relying on CRM (customer relationship management) insight to organize and enhance their business processes. Demand generation services are now focused on amassing and analyzing customer data and using it aggressively to improve the effectiveness of demand spending.
Traditionally in the IT industry companies have always used their product or service goals and tactics to establish the demand objectives and expenditures. CRM efforts have hardly been integrated into demand generation services such as brand development, publicity and promotional resources that provide strategic marketing support. Companies have been slow to apply customer knowledge to sales and marketing plan execution. But the scenario has changed now and companies are increasingly turning to CRM for designing and managing marketing campaigns and generating quality leads for the sales team.
CRM approach redefines demand generation services
Marketing expenditure or demand generation costs in general need to be allocated properly in a situation where mass-market strategies are proving to be ineffective and paving way for more complex, integrated approaches across many media channels and outlets. Conventional measurement approaches such as advertising tracking studies, awareness and consideration metrics do not provide enough visibility into balance sheet measures such as unit sales or the number of new customers or accounts. A more rigorous alternative approach pertaining to the deployment of statistical modeling techniques is therefore required to analyze the overall demand spending and effectiveness. Demand generation services can be enhanced by merging this tool with customer and prospect segmentation schemes that will reveal greater insights into advertising and marketing mix effectiveness.
Customer profiling gives boost to demand generation services
The CRM tools can be used in segmenting and categorizing customers, which in turn help in better understanding of their behavioral differences and associated value. Demand generation best practices should include regular comparison of the high performing current customers profile with that of newly acquired clients. This will help you understand whether you are attracting the right kind of customers to meet or exceed your business objectives.
It is often seen that companies fail to take into consideration their existing customers who generate a large portion of their overall annual revenue when it comes to evaluating the demand-spending effectiveness. While the brand building activities of big organization largely affect the existing customers, the marketing departments seldom attempt to understand these customers perception.
Demand generation services often rely on price incentives and concessions to derive volume. In such scenario it becomes important to analyze how existing customers are being influenced by such marketing tactics. Else all your demand efforts may amount to nothing.
Conclusion
CRM knowledge can prove to be highly beneficial in enhancing demand generation services, making the process more efficient and profitable. In fact CRM insight provides the information and processes required to know your customers, understand and identify their needs and devise business strategies to improve overall sales and marketing efficiency.
