Closed Loop Marketing: In this article, we are covering the fourth part of Customer Relationship Management Complete Notes which is important for different competitive exams like Business and Marketing Exams, Management and Leadership Exams, Information Technology Exams, Sales and Customer Service Certification Exams, MBA Entrance Exams, Industry-Specific Exams etc.

Notes on Closed Loop Marketing

This is the fourth part of CRM Notes – Closed Loop Marketing where we are going to cover Introduction of Closed Loop Marketing, 360 Degree Marketing and Concept of 360 Degree Marketing.

Introduction of Closed Loop Marketing

The significance of CRM solution lies in its ability to store and retrieve data. The processes that are followed, the systems that are designed and the methods and equipment used all have to be synchronized to deliver the best output to the executives of CRM for realizing the fruits of effective e-CRM. Data mining and knowledge discovery are receiving increasing attention in the business and technological press, among industry analysis and among corporate management.

Along with the study of closed loop marketing, the study of other marketing techniques acquires the status of 360-degree marketing.

Most companies already collect and refine massive quantities of data. Data mining techniques can be implemented rapidly on existing software and hardware platforms to enhance the value of existing information resources and can be integrated with new products and systems as they are brought online.

360 Degree Marketing

The concept of 360 Degree Marketing implies developing holistic marketing campaigns that reach all points of contact that surround potential customers. It’s the next step in the evolution of cross-channel marketing, dealing mostly with client-centered media strategy and media integration. A full 360 Degree Marketing strategy must include a heavy component of online marketing initiatives, encompassing all aspects of internet marketing, such as SEM and SEO, social media optimization and mobile web applications and technologies, but it also needs to rely on traditional offline marketing strategies, including television, radio, print advertising, promotional events and other offline media.

Eric Grenier says, “The 360-degree marketing concept looks holistically at all of the touch points surrounding the consumer, wherever they are. You can think of it as the next evolution of “cross-channel” marketing, as it’s less about media integration and more about a consumer-centric media strategy. It not only includes a heavy online component, but also television, radio, print, events and other offline media.”

Concept of 360 Degree Marketing

Markets are all around us. The idea that, as marketers, we simply need to focus on our external customers and prospects is mistaken, because in this connected world of ours, markets go way beyond this limited view. Think of the whole market and look around you all 360 degrees. It might help to think of it in terms of an old-fashioned ship’s compass (or a high-tech one if you prefer). When you do that, you can plot markets at each point of the compass rose and this is what, for me, that compass looks like in figure.

There are, then, four distinct points that we need to consider in 360 Degree Marketing and they consist of:

1. External markets (our traditional market focus)
2. Internal markets (our own organization)
3. Suppliers (their support and continued faith in our organization is key)
4. Stakeholders (the many organizations that influence the well-being of our business)

In a connected world, they are all interrelated and networked up. So, what we say to one part of this 360 Degree market has impact and implications on many or all of the others. Yet for most marketers, their focus is almost exclusively the traditional external markets. The other points of my 360-degree compass barely register. So, it may pay to review each of these in turn.

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The External Market

This involves the marketing that all marketers know and love. As you’ll know, the overall approach to make marketing work for you involves understanding your customers and prospective customers (their needs and wants, their aspirations and goals, and their challenges and ‘pain’) and working out what you can make and supply in response to this at a price that they would be willing to pay. Then it is simply about making sure that they know you supply this stuff and persuading them to buy it.

I say ‘simply’ and, put in those terms, it sounds simple enough, but of course, there’s a life’s work involved in learning how to do that well, getting it right, and making it happen. This is why universities and business schools make so much money teaching the topic and why there are endless books, articles, and blogs on how to do it and make it work for you. Incidentally, if you want fresh marketing communications ideas and especially (but not exclusively) on new media, then you could do a lot worse than subscribe to Marketing Profs (you’ll find their home page by clicking here).

The Internal Market

This is solely about marketing to your own organization. It took me a long while to get this, but internal marketing is vitally important. In fact, in sales and service-dominated companies it is probably more important than external marketing. However, in my experience, it is something that most marketers completely neglect or do very poorly.

For some reason or another, when it comes to marketing within our own organization, we just don’t do it. We don’t use our marketing skills and marketing smarts to persuade. Oh, sure we tell people about our campaigns, and we may even flag to sales and other departments what is coming up in our marketing communications schedules.

The Suppliers

They’re our suppliers for goodness’s sake. They should be grateful for whatever orders we give them. It’s them that should be marketing to us not us to them. We control their success. It’s them that should be worried about our issues and challenges not us about theirs.” Well not necessarily. You’ll know from your own point of view that when your customers deal considerately with you, you tend to work harder for them. If they are loyal to you, you tend to be more loyal to them, more involved with and interested in them. So, it will be the same for your suppliers.

If you want them to work with and support you, to offer you the best deals on their products and services, to see you as a key customer that they admire and like and want to go the extra mile for, then you need to convince them of your worth (and that means much more than simply the order value). You need to tell them about your successes and to sell them the idea of seeing you as one of their key customers.

The Stakeholders

You may well recognize this term. It simply refers to all of those who have a stake in your organization. At first sight you may be thinking that this merely means your shareholders, but in fact your stakeholder group is almost certainly wider than this. In fact, the term ‘stakeholders’ classically refers to:

• Staff
• Suppliers
• Shareholders (and the analysts that advise them)
• Other investors and backers (banks and bondholders)
• The local communities in which you operate
• Unions
• Any government organisations and agencies with an interest in your field
• Any professional or industry body you belong to or who has an impact on your business

FAQs on Closed Loop Marketing