Made-in-Canada CRM Benchmark Study Reveals a Work in Progress

     TORONTO, Nov. 26 /CNW/ - The Canadian Marketing Association (CMA) today

released the results of a national research study on customer relationship

management practices in Canada. The study, CRM Benchmarks: Canada 2002 Edition

- A Roadmap for Improving Customer Relationships, establishes an action

continuum of CRM practices that companies can apply against their own business

operations and use to measure progress and success.

    The study is the result of a joint partnership between CMA, the Carlson

Marketing Group and The Loyalty Group, two leading Canadian providers of CRM

services. The study was conducted by Decima Research Inc. in partnership with

Deloitte Consulting. The study sample included interviews with the most senior

person responsible for CRM in 160 of Canada's largest companies. It is

accurate to within plus or minus 6.3 percent, 19 times out of 20.

    "We are very pleased to be able to bring to the marketplace a study that

provides a uniquely Canadian perspective on CRM," said John Gustavson, CMA

President and CEO. "Together with our partners, we felt that the Association

needed to undertake research that would help Canadian companies understand

what is happening in their own marketplace, whether in their particular sector

or in others and, examine how the CRM activity already underway is reshaping

the experiences and expectations of Canadian customers."

    The study focussed on nine key sectors in the economy including

automotive, financial services, packaged goods, pharmaceuticals, retail,

technology, telecommunications, travel and tourism and utilities. The results

will provide organizations with a basis for comparing their CRM practices

against those in their own sector and in others, and a better understanding of

the key factors that lead to success.

    "At the heart of customer relationship management is the need to create

consistent and engaging customer experiences that will spell future

profitability for companies," said Bryan Pearson, President of the AIR MILES

Reward Program which is managed by The Loyalty Group.

    The study reveals that while most Canadian companies are now practising

some form of customer relationship management and are actively investing in

developing their capabilities to strengthen ties with customers, only a third

have made the link between CRM and how it can improve operational efficiencies

and strengthen the bottom line.

    Companies that take an enterprise-wide approach to CRM and have the

active support of senior management are most likely to succeed in delivering

their CRM strategy, says the CMA study. These same companies are also more

likely to have identified and profiled customer segments, integrated customer

data across services channels, have strong technology support and an employee

strategy in place to align the workforce, and measure CRM success in terms of

the return on investment to the company.

    "Customer relationship management is all about the fundamental re-

alignment of your business," said Robert Clarkson, President of Carlson

Marketing Group Canada Ltd. "We believe there is a clear roadmap to success."

    The detailed study report is available from the CMA at the cost of $559

for CMA members and $899 for non-members.

        Canadian Marketing Association -- With more than 800 corporate members,

the Canadian Marketing Association is the largest marketing association in

Canada. Its members include corporations and organizations which encompass

Canada's major business sectors and which represent the integration and

convergence of all marketing disciplines, channels and technologies. CMA

members make a significant contribution to the Canadian economy, supporting

over 482,000 jobs and generating more than $51 billion in overall annual sales

through various marketing channels.

    The Loyalty Group -- The Loyalty Group creates incremental value for

clients by enhancing their customer relationships through loyalty marketing

programs and advanced customer relationship marketing practices. Founded in

Canada in 1991, The Loyalty Group created and manages the AIR MILES Reward

Program, Canada's premier coalition loyalty program. More than 60 percent of

Canadian households, or 12.5 million Canadians, actively participate in the

AIR MILES Reward Program.

    Carlson Marketing Group -- Carlson Marketing Group is a Relationship

Marketing company that helps global Fortune 1000 clients solve their critical

business issues and increase ROI by designing marketing strategies that build

better relationships with the audiences that clients depend on for their

success: employees, channel partners, and consumers. In today's increasingly

complex marketplace, one thing is clear: Relationships always drive business

results. Carlson Marketing Group helps its clients see that building

relationships must be seen as a business strategy, which often requires a

wholesale shift in thinking across an organisation. Examples of Relationship

Marketing initiatives delivered by Carlson Marketing Group include Performance

Improvement programs for channels and employees, Consumer Loyalty programs, as

well as Marketing Services solutions.

    Decima Research -- Established in 1979, Decima Research is one of

Canada's most respected research consulting firms. Decima has achieved an

outstanding reputation in the field of public affairs and public policy

research and offers over two decades of benchmark data on Canadian social and

marketing trends. Decima's combined expertise now spans many of the fastest

growing market segments, including telecom, IT and financial services, energy,

consumer, health care and packaged goods.

    For more information on the study findings, please see the accompanying

backgrounder.

    BACKGROUND:

    -----------

    The Canadian Marketing Association's signature study on customer

relationship management practices in Canada -- CRM Benchmarks: Canada 2002

Edition - A Roadmap for Improving Customer Relationships -- provides a

uniquely Canadian perspective on CRM.

    Conducted by Decima Research (in partnership with Deloitte Consulting),

the study is the result of a joint partnership between CMA, the Carlson

Marketing Group and The Loyalty Group, two leading Canadian providers of CRM

services.

    It is the first study of its kind to evaluate CRM practices in Canada,

and is designed to:

    -  identify CRM benchmarks in key business sectors

    -  describe common CRM practices in Canada today

    -  provide context for Canadian decision-makers investing in CRM

    -  establish a CRM continuum and baseline for mapping progress by sector

       over time

    The study included interviews with the most senior person responsible for

customer relationship management in 159 of Canada's largest companies. Nine

business sectors were represented in the sample size: automotive, financial

services, packaged goods, pharmaceuticals, retail, technology,

telecommunications, travel and tourism, utilities. The study is accurate to

within plus or minus 6.3 percent 19 times out of 20.

    KEY FINDINGS:

    -------------

    -  CRM is alive and well in Canada and is widely practised in all nine

       sectors included in the study sample. In fact, most Canadian companies

       (86%) are now practising CRM in some form and senior management is

       engaged in most CRM programs.

    -  The study outlines a CRM action continuum that companies can use to

       benchmark their own practices against categories such as strategy and

       organization, functional involvement, customer experience management,

       technology integration and support, sectors and measurement and

       implementation.

    -  While the use of CRM is healthy in Canadian companies, the study also

       reveals that only a third of Canadian businesses have made the link to

       how CRM can improve operational efficiencies and strengthen their

       bottom line shareholder value. In addition, only 38% of Canadian

       businesses have made major changes to their organizations'

       infrastructure to make them more 'customer centric'.

    -  More than 60% of Canadian companies have a CRM implementation strategy

       in place, but only half have a specific timetable for achieving their

       CRM objectives.

    -  The marketing and technology infrastructures are the highest priority

       areas for implementation; biggest challenges are ensuring sufficient

       funding, establishing ownership and organizational alignment.

    -  Companies that take an enterprise-wide approach to CRM and have the

       active support of senior management are most likely to succeed in

       delivering their CRM strategy. These same companies are also more

       likely to have:

       -  Identified and profiled customer segments;

       -  Integrated customer data across services channels;

       -  Strong technology support and an employee strategy in place to

          align the workforce; and,

       -  Measure CRM success in terms of the return on investment to the

          company.

    -  On a sector-by-sector basis:

       -  The retail and financial services sectors tend to be at the

          forefront of CRM because of the rise of multi-channel media and

          need to standardize customer experience across service channels.

       -  The technology sector is also among the most actively engaged

          because CRM is already embedded into the dominant business model

          and these companies are most familiar with information management

          tools.

       -  CRM is relatively new to packaged goods and pharmaceutical sectors,

          which tend to take a more narrow focus on sales due to nature of

          their business models and lack of direct exposure to end-use

          customers.

       -  The utility sector is a relative newcomer to CRM with a current

          focus on marketing initiatives and investing in front-end

          components of CRM (customer information and segmentation).

   -   Almost half of Canadian businesses are developing their CRM technology

       in-house. Others are relying on purchased products, either primarily

       or in conjunction with their internal development. This trend appears

       to be driven in part by the high cost of purchased technology, along

       with the need for specialized data requirements that cannot be easily

       or cost-effectively addressed through purchased solutions.

    -  More than 60% of Canadian companies have a CRM implementation strategy

       in place, but only half have a specific timetable for achieving their

       CRM objectives. Marketing and technology infrastructures are the

       highest priority areas for implementation; the biggest challenges are

       ensuring sufficient funding, establishing ownership and organizational

       alignment.

    -  The study provides some key areas of activity against which companies

       can compare their own practices and measure their progress in

       implementing effective and successful CRM programs:

       -  Involved senior management

       -  Enterprise-wide approach

       -  Identify/profile customer segments

       -  Integrated customer data across service channels

       -  Have adequate (if not strong) technology support

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