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Application of CRM (Customer Relationship Management) in Libraries

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Libraries Service Centers Aim to provide quality services to its customers/readers Readers in an era of profusion of information resources & services have become more knowledgeable & demanding Challenge meet user expectations while dealing with budget constraint & competitive environment

Answer….. • Add value to services

• Apply Marketing strategies • Better relationship with users • Maximum utilization of existing resources • Add variety of new resources

Build up an excellent relationship with readers- is need of time.

CRM is a process used to learn more about customer’s requirements & behaviors to develop stronger relationship with them. “A business strategy that aims to understand, anticipates and manages the needs of an organization's current & potential customers.” “A customer-focused business strategy that aims to increase customer satisfaction and customer loyalty by offering a more responsive & customized services to each customer.”

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Information User’s profile & their preference data

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Process

Methods & inputs for service

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Technology

Tools/system that enables CRM easily

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People

Customer ♫ skilled library personnel

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Challenges to meet customer expectations Readers have too many choices to get inf. rather than visiting a library While almost everything is available at the click of the mouse, work towards satisfaction of users is needed CRM offers integrated approach to achieve

good relationship with users

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CRM could help library materialize the goal of increased no of satisfied users Addresses users need directly, improves service quality and add value for library use. Technology oriented library process New analytics and new strategies that enables lib. Personnel to work harder & smarter to capture customer information.

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Access CRM Needs Understand user Involve staff Motivate the staff Communication with users Avoid overspecialized solutions Be critical in choice of methods, tools equipments

Factors to be considered while selecting a CRM solution…..     

Flexibility Interactivity Product reliability Information security Economy & user friendliness

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Open source CRM solutions, designed to cater the needs of non profit seeking org. can be better alternatives for service sectors like LIC; as most of the established CRM solutions are highly expensive & require technical expertise for customization. Some well known open source CRM software are.. CiviCRM (http:/www.civicrm.org) MPower (www.mpoweropen.com) Ubercart (http:/www.ubercart.org)

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Increases the usage of library Helps to match the tastes, preference & requirements of users with library collection. Improves loyalty & contribution of user community. Compliance & cooperation between users & library staff. Encourage feedback & suggestions from the users Quality service to users Financial benefit from mgt. Gain trust & loyalty from the valued customers

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British Library decided to have a CRM system that would help record information on interactions with customers . British Library’s executives streamlined all systems into one single point of customer contact. “We are now able to tailor our service provision to achieve the aim of delighting customer, not just go through the mechanics of responding to the customer.”  -

Team members of CRM Project

The result of these system improvements, is that….  less time is spent on retrieving files, and history of each customer can be accessed every time they call.  Better understanding of the customer.  Better level of service to customers, as queries are handled faster & more efficiently  Business progresses, while keeping customers happy.

1.Value added services  To

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be value added service provider, librarian need to add value to the reader’s contact by.. Asking questions to understand user’s inquiry or situation Determining if there is more service to offer Asking about the satisfaction

2. Quality Services  Raise satisfaction level of readers by offering good services consistently.  Use creativity in promoting library collection  Library atmosphere should be clean & inviting. 3. Leadership  Any query should be satisfied, as a friendly partner of users.  User should like to approach the librarian

4. Perceived value  Promote what makes library special.  e.g. information service, reference service, Ask librarian service etc. 5. Personality  Hard working, pleasant, communicative, soft spoken, updated.. 6. Organizational issues  Trust, reliability within library’s system.  Let customer know what else library can do for them.

Measuring reader satisfaction Think upon these questions  Did I completely understand what the user wanted?  Was presentation of information in a clear manner  Quality service was provided?  Whether user was satisfied?

Steps to measure user satisfaction Following statistics should be analyzed.  No of new Readers per month  Readers lost per year  Average usage of library usage  Cost per reader  Reader testimonials & endorsements  Reader satisfaction survey score

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We are here to help Fulfilling Expectations Interaction=profitability Put the book in hand Information needs of user---build library collection accordingly Cooperation & Resource sharing Think before saying no to user

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What are needs & expectations of users? How do you define an ideal service interaction? Do you resolve problems efficiently & courteously? How to personalize interactions to foster relationship ? What services could set us apart as caring about quality & users How to get feedback from users?

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Successful CRM is about

competing in the relationship dimension. Not as an alternative to having a competitive product or reasonable price--- but as a

differentiator”

-Smallbiz-CRM