Consumer Relationship Management: Fashion Industry - Coursework Example

Consumer relationship management: Fashion industry Introduction Consumer relationship management (CRM) has received elevated attention in the recent past both from scholars in diverse realms of academia as well as practitioners. It has also become one of the most important part in marketing research (Vignali et. al., n. d., p. 70). As a result, more and more companies in different industries are increasingly adopting consumer centered strategies tools, programs as and technology aimed at enhancing their consumer relationship management practices. This is against the backdrop of the cognition of the fact that a greater and more comprehensive knowledge of consumers is fundamental in building closer partnership and cooperation with the consumers. Additionally, it is imperative to note that new technological fronts which have emerged in the recent past have posed an overall impact of altering the ways in which different companies interact with consumers. This development has brought a more in-depth integration between the sales and marketing as well as consumer service functions in different industries (Parvatiyar& Sheth, 2002, p. 1). One of the contemporary technological developments in CRM has been the social media whose popularity has also increased in the recent decades. This technology has not only enhanced consumer relationships but also impacted on the performance of different companies through informing operations like sales and marketing. This fact is supported by Assaad and Gomez (2011, p. 13) who cited that the extension of Web 2.0 and social network best epitomized by Facebook and Twitter has greatly impacted on the way different companies in diverse industries undertake their marketing operations. Against this background, this paper will critically examine the theme of social media in the topic of improved customer relationships and business performance through Customer Relationship Management. It will debate onits usefulness, relevance and implications for marketing strategy among the players in the fashion industry. Usefulness According to Milovic (2012, p. 26), the modern day global competition among different companies obliges these firms to engage in practically everything which can be instrumental in reaching new consumers and more imperatively, retaining the profitable and loyal consumers. Towards this end, the social media has come in handy in the achievement of this desired outcome. This is best epitomized whereby through the utility of social network platforms like Facebook and Twitter, the companies in the fashion industry are strategically positioned to develop robust marketing strategies. This is whereby the companies are able to understand the market segmentation and the preferences of different consumer categories. In this case, their production process is informed by the information they get from the consumers. By the virtue of producing products which suit the preferences of the consumers, they are able to maintain the loyalty of the current consumers as well as attract new ones. This has the overall impact of enhancing the performance of the company as well as improving their relation with their consumers. Additionally, social media plays a key role in contacting potential consumers (Milovic, 2012, p. 28). This can be achieved through creating the presence of the company in major social networks like Facebook and Twitter. Subsequently, the companies in the fashion industry can be able to sponsor events and groups in different regions as a way of attracting new consumers and rewarding the old ones. Moreover, these companies can promote new products in the market through these platforms. In this case, it is apparent that the social media is a key platform of enhancing the relationship with consumers from different segments as well as improving the performance of the companies in the fashion industry. This is also key in enhancing the positive reputation of different companies in this industry. Nonetheless, the companies in the fashion industry ought to be wary of over-relying on the information they get from the social media in boosting their consumer relationship management processes. This is founded on the background that some members of their market segment can have limited presence in the social media, for instance, the older members of the population. Relevance Understanding the needs of the consumers and presenting them with value added products has been acknowledged by academicians and practitioners in CRM as a key factor which determines the success or failure of companies in different industries (Mishra, 2009, p. 83). In this case, the intrinsic analysis of the theme social media in the marketing strategy of companies in the fashion industry is endowed with elevated relevance in the contemporary world. This is based on the fact that the utility of social media in different companies has been cited as being integral in boosting different operations which are key in CRM. These include but not limited to facilitating the processes of developing brand awareness, conducting market research and brand intelligence as well as finding talent and new consumers (Bolotaeva &Cata, 2011, p. 2). In this case, the use of social media in different operations of companies in the fashion industry can be perceived as being paramount in not only enhancing the performance of these companies both at the short and long-term but also in enhancing the relationships of the consumers and the company. This trend has been apparent in the contemporary market whereby traditional designers like Louis Vuitton have been revealed of providing live broadcasts on fashions shows on Facebook. This is an addition to many luxury houses which have increased their presence in the social media through creating accounts in Twitter and Facebook. In addition, renowned companies like Ralph Lauren, Gucci, Donna Karen and Chanel among others have increasingly worked with Apple in the creation of iPhone applications which are linked to social networks aimed at boosting their presence in the social networks platforms (Kim & Ko, 2010, p. 166). This fact is also revealed by Vignaliet. al.,(n. d., p. 73) who cited that now there are available CRM applications for iPhone, PC pocket and Blackberry. In this regard, it is evident that the theme of social media in CRM is increasingly gaining popularity in the fashion industry aimed at boosting the performance of various players in this highly competitive industry as well as enhancing the relationship between these companies and their consumers. Thus, this theme can be perceived to be highly relevant in the contemporary fashion industry. Despite this extreme relevance of social media in the CRM practices in the modern fashion industry, prior studies have revealed that majority of the firms dive recklessly into CRM projects without profound consideration of alignment of the strategy of the enterprise with the overall CRM implementation strategy (Ou &Banerjee, 2009, p. 59). In this regard, it is integral for the various companies in the fashion industry to profoundly reflect on aspects like consumer differentiation and segmentation as well as their supplement marketing strategies before diving into the utility of the social media in the efforts to boost their consumer relations and overall firm performance. This will be key in ensuring their success in the implementation of this strategy once they have incorporated it in their marketing strategies. Additionally, the companies in the fashion industry ought to assess both the popularity as well as the ‘easy to use’ characteristic of the social media platform which they intend to use in their CRM efforts. This is founded on the assertion by Soliman (2011, p. 166) who determined that the easier a system is, the stronger it can be in helping the establish consumer relationships by various companies. Implications The analysis of the theme of social media in the CRM and marketing strategies of companies in the fashion industries has extensive implications. Firstly, it is bound to increase the utility of social media in the operations of various firms. This is whereby through underpinning the various merits of this platform in enhancing the performance of different companies as well as improving their consumer relationships, it is bound to encourage more companies to embrace this contemporary trend in this operations. Secondly, the critical analysis of social media in the marketing strategies of companies in the fashion industry is also integral in informing the process of aligning the strategies of these companies with the overall CRM implementation strategy. This is principle in ensuring that these companies achieve the desired impact of using this mechanism to boost their marketing strategies without compromising their other marketing operations. This fact is based on the fact that some companies might tend to overinvest in this platform based on its centrality in promoting consumer relationships and firm’s performance and end up neglecting other mechanisms which are key in reaching other consumers who exhibit limited utility of the social media. The last implication of this theme is that it is bound to trigger future research into other ways through which companies in the fashion industry can boost consumer delight through promoting consumer satisfaction and loyalty (relationships) as well as improve the quality of their products and increase value to the consumers (technology) (Lecture notes PowerPoint, p. 8). Conclusion The above analysis has revealed the increased importance of CRM in the contemporary world. It has also explored social media as a primary them within CRM in the enhancement of consumer relationship as well as business performance in the fashion industry. This has been through analysis of the usefulness, relevance as well as implication of social media in the marketing strategies of companies in this industry. However, it has also explored some of the concerns which companies ought to consider while using the social media in boosting their consumer relationship and business performance within their CRM practices. References Assaad, W., & Gomez, JM., 2011, ‘Social Network in marketing (Social Media Marketing): Opportunities and Risks’, International Journal of Managing Public Sector Information and Communication Technologies, Vol. 2, No. 1, pp. 13-22. Bolotaeva, V. &Cata, T., 2011, ‘Marketing Opportunities with Social Networks’, Journal of Internet Social Networking and Virtual Communities, Vol. 1, pp. 1-8. Kim, AJ. & Ko, E., 2010, ‘Impacts of Luxury Fashion Brand’s Social Media Marketing on Customer Relationship and Purchase Intention’, Journal of Global Fashion Marketing, Vol. 1, No. 3, pp. 164-171. Lecture Notes PowerPoint. Milovic, B., 2012, ‘Social Media and eCRM as a Prerequisite for Hotel Success’, Management Information Systems, Vol. 7, No. 3, pp. 26-31. Mishra, AM., 2009, ‘Customer Relationship Management: Implementation Process Perspective’, Acta Polytechnica Hungarica, Vol. 6, No. 4, pp. 83-99. Ou, CX, &Banerjee, PK., 2009, ‘Determinants of successful customer relationship management’, Journal of Information Technology Management, Vol. 20, No. 1, pp. 56-66. Parvatiyar, A. & Sheth, JN., 2002, ‘Customer Relationship Management: Emerging Practice, Process, and Discipline’, Journal of Economic and Social Research, Vol. 3, No. 2, pp. 1-34. Soliman, HS., 2011, ‘Customer Relationship Management and Its Relationship to the Marketing Performance’, International Journal of Business and Social Science, Vol. 2 No. 10, pp. 166-182. Vignaliet. al., n. d, ‘An Essay Approach to Marketing Research Thinking’. Read More