Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
32-37
Abstract
In this article, the study of customer knowledge management is developed from the acquisition, sharing and innovation of customer knowledge; and the classification of customer knowledge and its management process are also discussed. As to the application of customer knowledge in CRM, this article investigates it from the following aspects: enterprises personalized customization to increase customers loyalty, and the interaction with customers to access customers needs, and t he elevation of product design to enhance their service capabilities and to lock customers. In order to create and maintain their competitiveness, enterprises should hold customer knowledge as their core assets. Keywords: Customer Knowledge; Knowledge Management; CRM; Application
1 INTRODUCTION
Due to the intensification of market competition, the customer demand is becoming more and more personalized. Thus, it is particularly important for enterprises to master customer knowledge. And the studies of how to obtain, share, innovate, and utilize customer knowledge are becoming important issues for scholars on enterprise management. After years of research, Gebert and Blosc maintained that customer knowledge is exactly the dynamic combination of experience, value, contextual information and expert insight produced in the exchange process between customers and enterprises. The framework of customer knowledge constituted is able to provide and absorb new experiences and value. With the development of information technology, some experts have more complete understanding and innovation ideas of customer knowledge management. Wayland and Cole held that customer knowledge management refers to the source and application of customer knowledge and how to create a more valuable customer relationship by using information technology. And in the process of acquisition, developing and maintaining profitable client portfolio, customer knowledge management act as the leverage for related information and experiences. Michael and other scholars believed that customer knowledge management is about the activities of acquisition, sharing, and extended customer knowledge. However, Luo Shuzhang, an earlier domestic introducer of customer knowledge management, held that customer knowledge management is to effectively acquire, develop and maintain knowledge and experience what benefit customer portfolio, and to obtain maximum value as far as possible. Customers, knowledge and management must be in a closed circulatory system, so enterprises can use customer knowledge in this system to gain maximum benefits in their relationship with customers.
2 CUSTOMER KNOWLEDGE
Customer knowledge comes mainly from activities of corporate sales, marketing and customer services etc. Enterprises overall operation processes are customer-centric. And companies obtain customer knowledge from their enterprise activities. The followings of this article explore which and how to acquire customer knowledge from the perspective of the customer knowledge acquisition.
the main message of the customer knowledge, which is the basis for operational decisions. In addition to the transaction information when customers purchase goods, basic information also contains customers basic situation and consumer conditions, which mainly includes customers home address, telephone, education and earning levels of their family members. Information, such as customers basic family situation, their regional environmental conditions as well as their previous consumer complaint information and their credit data, is an important foundation for enterprises analysis of customers, which can help enterprises to accurately analyse and target their customer resources and have a better understanding of their customers. (2) Knowledge of Customers Needs. This kind of knowledge is prepared to meet the needs of customer knowledge, including companies products, services, and market conditions. It is passed by the company to the customer, to make adjustment and transformation in the process of interaction with customers. It aims to help customers have a better understanding of the products and services from enterprises, in turn; this can also make the products meet customers needs more effectively. How to make this type of knowledge not only acceptable to ordinary customers, but also offer each customer specific knowledge is the focus of the management of such knowledge. Through the communication of such knowledge, enterprises can have a better understanding of customers needs, thus developing personalized services to customers or formulate one-to-one marketing strategy accordingly. (3) Knowledge from Customers. This type of knowledge is the feedback for the products and services of enterprises and their competitors. By interaction with customers, enterprises can obtain such knowledge to improve their services, innovative products and make responses to the changes of customer demands timely and adjust their marketing strategies accordingly.
Sharing
Customer knowledge management enables competitors to obtain and use customer knowledge more quickly, thus providing better services for customers. And through constant interaction and learning, enterprise can build a barrier and win comparative advantage, and thereby increasing customers switching costs and competitors entry barriers. By using customer knowledge in this loop system, enterprises can take actions which gain the largest benefits.
personal values lie, thus they are reluctant to share with others. While on the other hand, some employees are afraid of being considered as incompetent and ignorant, thus unwilling to accept or use other peoples ideological achievements. In addition, there are also obstacles in knowledge sharing between different professional backgrounds, thus having large differences and lacking communication backgrounds. The conditions in which employees agree to share knowledge are reciprocity, reputation and selfless attitude. In fact, there is a kind to internal knowledge market in enterprises. Knowledge is exchanged between demand-side and supply-side, and mentalities, such as reciprocity, reputation and selfless, playing a dominant mechanism in which trust is a necessary condition in the smooth functioning of market. By using CRM concepts and appropriate tools, enterprises can effectively solve the problems appearing in the process of transfer and sharing of customer knowledge, thus improving their competitiveness and their ability to adapt to the market.
customers, then provide products or services which meet customers specific requirements according to their mastered information. In enterprises interaction with customers, every exchange must promote enterprises ability to meet customers current and potential demand.
5 CONCLUSION
Customer knowledge management is a hot research field of customer management in the future. By using the theories and methods of knowledge management administer customer relationships make customer knowledge to become the core assets of enterprises. Thus, it makes customers no longer to be the passive recipients of corporate knowledge, but knowledge creator and sharer. In the process of interaction, it achieves the maximum value of the customer knowledge. Customer knowledge application is an important issue in the management of customer knowledge. With the advancement of customer knowledge, it has been extensive and deep understanding on this study, but the acquisition, sharing, and innovation of customer knowledge and knowledge of customer needs are still in the exploratory stage. This paper does some useful researches from the perspectives customer knowledge classification, customer knowledge sharing and innovation, as well as customer knowledge applying.
REFERENCES
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] Guo Guoqing, General Theory of Marketing[M], Beijing, Renmin University of China Press, 2009 Huang Tiyun, Management Information Systems[M], Beijing, Higher Education Press, 2003 Hao Yufeng, Large Customer Market and Customer Management[M], China Economic Publishing House, 2005 Ma Gang, Li Hongxin, Customer Relationship Management[M], Dalian, Dongbei University Press, 2006 Ma Gang, Li Hongxin, Customer Relationship Management[M], Dalian, Dongbei University of Finance and Economics Press, 2009 Zhang Hui, Customer Loyalty-oriented Gap Analysis Model of Customer Knowledge[J], China Paper Download Center, 2008.8.12 Zhou Xiaoning, Research on the Acquisition of Customer Knowledge in CRM[J], China Paper Download Center, 2008.8.12
- 36 -
1968-
Email: wanghualin2002@163.com
- 37 -