CRM: um estudo de caso do suporte da tecnologia da informação em uma empresa industrial do estado do Ceará

Abstract

The capacity to identify potential clients, conquer markets and customer loyalty are key determinants of success of modern organizations. However, the comoditization of products, easily copied and reproduced by the industry, has been demonstrating an aspect of equivalence of products and services of companies in face of the consumer market. The differentiation is not anymore resumed to the characteristics of products, but in the manner with which the organizations are connected with their customers, offering services and establishing lasting relationships and profitable through the various channels of existing relationships. The Information Technology, when combined with strategies for integrating the organization's relationship with its customers, allows larger companies to increase the front of the competition, making the company more valuable and attractive to their customers. The objective of this work is to find out which tools of Information Technology (IT) are been used and how these tools effectively assist in improving the management of relationships with customers. The study also tried verify the positive results aggregated by the tools of IT to the organization's decision-making process. The theoretical framework is structured in the preliminary investigation of the tools that are available worldwide that, scientifically, have characteristics that qualify as tools to support CRM or Customer Relationship Management. The research method used was a case study in a big company's industrial segment, with headquarters in Fortaleza, Ceara. The methodology involved the application of a questionnaire, interviews, direct observation and analysis of information such as manuals and procedures implemented in the internal processes of the organization. The analysis of the data were based on the model of layers of CRM proposed by Peppers and Rogers, which provides for the classification of the tools of IT in layers operational, analytical and collaborative. The results showed a diagnostic of how IT is supporting the strategies used by the Organization of CRM. It was concluded that some areas of business have been evolving much development in relation to the management of relationships with its customers, while other areas of business are with low or no support from IT. The layers of Analytical CRM Operational and had a high degree of development within the organization, while the collaborative CRM is not widely used by business areas of investigation. Tools like automated sales force, EDI and Data Warehouse, were very present and effective in supporting the CRM. Finally it was found that the use of IT tools for operational CRM ensures quality and reliability of data for analysis by business areas. The use of analytical tools generates gains relevant to the preparation of plans of the organization, and it is a high degree of awareness of the organization about the importance of CRM for financial performance and decision making.