Firstly, one of the primary recommendations when it comes to the use of CRM systems is the interconnection of the latter with Enterprise Resource Planning or ERP systems. It is stated that “using a functional CRM interconnected with an ERP system, enterprises are able to manage the business and direct marketing activities, as well as the company’s overall profits” (Pohludka and Stverková, 2019, p. 1). For example, AirAsia should focus on using its current ERP as a basis for Microsoft Dynamic 365 CRM. It is also suggested that “these functional systems lead to an integrated system called funnel management, which improves customer relationship management and leads to a sustainable business” (Pohludka and Stverková, 2019, p. 1). Thus, resources need to be planned in accordance with customer needs, which is central to the relationship management implementation protocols at the airline.
Lewin’s Model
Secondly, the Microsoft Dynamic 365 CRM integration in AirAsia should follow Lewin’s model. The framework is based on three crucial steps, which include unfreezing, changing, and refreezing (Pour and Hosseinzadeh, 2021). A study found that “organizations should consider contextual, human, and technological issues, as well as the process of change” (Pour and Hosseinzadeh, 2021, p. 70). In addition, “some contextual conditions are essential for making it consistent with the given changes” (Pour and Hosseinzadeh, 2021, p. 70). For instance, AirAsia should focus on properly analyzing its current operational state and its management of customer relationships. A specific plan needs to be developed on the basis of surveys and stakeholder assessments. The change itself, which is Microsoft Dynamic 365 implementation, needs to take place within a context of clear organizational communication channels. If needed, proper training sessions should be provided and even mandated to the affected employees. The last stage of refreezing should focus on the solidification of the established changes by incorporating them into corporate policies, protocols, and procedural workflows.
CRM Priorities
Thirdly, in the case of CRM implementation, it is critical to set a list of priorities depending on the current and future goals of AirAsia. It is stated that “CRM implementations do not equally address the areas of customer acquisition, growth, and loyalty, since this clearly depends on company objectives and also on geographical differences” (Pozza, Goetz, and Sahut, 2018, p. 391). Considering the fact that AirAsia is a large airline enterprise, the main objectives should focus on loyalty, which is followed by growth and customer acquisition. For example, the company already has a large pool of customers, which directly mandates it to have a proper customer management method. Therefore, the main implementation recommendation in this regard is to focus on customer management and organizational alignment with lesser accentuation on the technology or potential for growth. The latter aspects are secondary because the transition process should be as smooth as possible with minimal disturbance and inconvenience for the current customers and employees (Law et al., 2018). CRM needs to serve the existing market base to improve its interactions with AirAsia, which is why loyalty is highlighted on the basis of provided evidence.
Four Essential of Implementation
Fourthly, the process of integration of Microsoft Dynamic 365 CRM should consider four major factors. These include knowledge management, technology-based CRM, CRM organization, and key customer focus, as shown in Figure 1 below (Almotairi, 2017). It is reported that being able to ensure the sustenance of all four leads to a better marketing performance (Almotairi, 2017). In other words, the most important customer needs to need to be identified, where CRM is organized in accordance with these demands. Since Microsoft Dynamic 365 CRM offers some form of flexibility in its use, the given adjustability advantage of the instrument should be used as an advantage. In addition, as was stated in the first recommendation point, the existing knowledge on the basis of collected data should be incorporated through analysis of customer dynamics (Agapitou, Bersimis, and Georgakellos, 2017). For example, technological infrastructure at AirAsia needs to be invested in to ensure the process justifies the change, which is disadvantage. In other words, major social media platforms should also be integrated into Microsoft Dynamic 365 CRM, which is enabled by the tool itself (Tien et al., 2021). These measures not only improve the brand awareness of the airline but also expand its marketing communication abilities as well as lead to an increase in sales.
Evaluation
Fifthly, after the proposed recommendations are implemented, AirAsia should focus on evaluation. It is stated that “measuring the effectiveness of their CRM implementation from the customer’s perspective … provide insights that will help them in bridging the gap between their intended objective and actual implementation” (Dubey and Sangle, 2019, p. 38). Thus, levels of customer satisfaction need to be measured and assessed, where the perspective of the organization itself should not be included. The drawback is that these evaluative frameworks should also be consolidated by top managers’ input. It is reported that “support of top management is essential for successful adoption of … CRM system for better knowledge management to improve the business process” (Chatterjee, Ghosh, and Chaudhuri, 2020, p. 1261). On top of the customer satisfaction analysis, the core metrics should include product implementation depth and acceleration of registration processes. In the case of advantage, it is stated that CRM “system helps bank performance to accelerate the registration process, product implementation, and help customer dealing with various feature offered” (Ongowarsito, Djojo, and Ferino, 2018, p.). Therefore, the effectiveness of the integration of Microsoft Dynamic 365 CRM at AirAsia should consider its customer first, then assess the proposed metrics.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Enterprise Resource Planning should be integrated into the CRM system within Lewin’s model. Customer experience and loyalty should be the focus of CRM. Four essentials of CRM implementation should be followed, which are knowledge management, technology-based CRM, CRM organization, and key customers focus. A proper evaluation needs to take place by measuring customer satisfaction as a prime metric, which is followed by an analysis of product implementation depth and acceleration of registration processes.
Reference List
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Almotairi, M. A. (2017) ‘CRM implementation in Saudi banking sector’, International Business Research, 10(1), pp. 107-115. Web.
Chatterjee, S., Ghosh, S. K., and Chaudhuri, R. (2020) ‘Knowledge management in improving business process: an interpretative framework for successful implementation of AI–CRM–KM system in organizations’, Business Process Management Journal, 26(6), pp. 1261-1281. Web.
Dubey, N. K., and Sangle, P. (2019) ‘Customer perception of CRM implementation in banking context: scale development and validation’, Journal of Advances in Management Research, 16(1), pp. 38-63. Web.
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Ongowarsito, H., Djojo, B. W., and Ferino, F. (2018) ‘The impact of e-CRM implementation to bank performance through e-service quality’, 2018 International Conference on Information Management and Technology, 1, pp. 1-4. Web.
Pohludka, M., and Stverková, H. (2019) ‘The best practice of CRM implementation for small- and medium-sized enterprises’, Administrative Sciences, 9(1), pp. 1-17. Web.
Pour, J. M., and Hosseinzadeh, M. (2021) ‘An integrated framework of change management for social CRM implementation’, Information Systems and e-Business Management, 19, pp. 43-75. Web.
Pozza, I. D., Goetz, O., and Sahut, J. M. (2018) ‘Implementation effects in the relationship between CRM and its performance’, Journal of Business Research, 89, pp. 391-403. Web.
Tien, N. H. et al. (2021) ‘The process of CRM system implementation at Dien May Xanh in Vietnam’, International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Growth Evaluation, 2(4), pp. 761-768. Web.