The foundation of Consumer Relationship Marketing (CRM) is a marketer in possession of data that enables the marketer to address a consumer not as an anonymous member of a mass audience but as a unique individual. However, CRM is about more than just data. A precise definition of CRM is:
Consumer
A marketer’s customers
- Prospective
- Current
- Past
Relationship
- The marketer can address the consumer specifically as an individual or a household through addressable consumer data
- The marketer has the consumer’s explicit or implicit permission to communicate with and deliver marketing messages to the consumer
- The marketer and consumer engage in targeted, one-to-one communications facilitated by both interactive and non-interactive media, where appropriate
- The marketer transmits personalized content or messages to the consumer based on known consumer data, predictive model results, or estimated lifetime value to the marketer
- The marketer optimizes the relationship by taking into account content, messages, and cadence across brands and touch points
Marketing
- To set the consumer’s expectations for a future brand experience
- To mentally condition the consumer for a sales transaction
- To physically position the consumer for a sales transaction
- To increase the likelihood that the consumer will purchase the marketer’s product in a competitive, free choice situation
This definition of CRM applies to a marketer’s entire portfolio of brands and to each individual brand within the portfolio. This portfolio approach enables the marketer to manage a cross-brand relationship with an individual as his or her lifestyle — including product needs and brand preferences — changes over time.
