Management homework help

Week 3 Management information system

Instructions: Students will complete the (case study) questions in a PowerPoint. 

• Slide 1: Title Page: Name of Case Study/ Course Name/College Name/Student’s Name/Date/Professor’s Name
• Slides 2-5: Answer the four (4) questions. Transform the question into a title

• Slide 6: Include an image or slogan that represents the case study title. 

PowerPoint Format

Important: Select a design that is compatible to the (title). Please pay close attention to grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure. 

Each question must be (specifically) answered in a form of on of the following :

• 3-4 bullet points in complete sentences
• 1-2 paragraphs. Each paragraph must have a minimal of 5 complete sentences
• Develop a diagram (SmartArt) or flow chart, explaining the process or steps

Resting on Electronic Mail for Effective CRM

For service industries, providing the customer with a great experience is key to success. Very often, very small details are what surprise customers and create a lasting positive impression. The foundation of CRM methodologies focuses not only on maintaining relationships with customers, but with profitable customers.

When email adoption increased significantly in the 1990s, many businesses shifted their marketing and communication focus from direct mail to electronic mail. This new technology was viewed as a low-cost, efficient method to communicate with customers. However, the benefits of communicating by email quickly became a “double-edged sword” to consumers. Overusing email could quickly create overcommunication with their customers that would result in customers becoming turned off.

The combination of government regulation and the popularity of social media have reduced the reliance on electronic mail. A 2010 report by Nielsen confirmed that the share of time relating to email has declined to 28 percent, while time spent with social media increased to 43 percent. Ironically, while social media may be popular, consumers remain loyal (42 percent) to email as the source to obtain information about specials and advertisements. An eConsultancy study found that only 3 percent use social-networking sites and 1 percent use Twitter. Forrester Research’s 2011 report found that consumers delete fewer emails without reading them.

The hotel industry continues to provide properties with amenities that are desired by customers. With over 7,000 hotels, Wyndham Hotel Group has more than 8 million members in its loyalty program. Wyndham wanted to use email campaigns to increase revenue and occupancy at their properties as well as promote their brand. However, it would be important to balance their campaigns so they did not overcommunicate with members. The competitive nature of the hotel industry creates a fickle customer. The promotions offered by a hotel can often complicate the issue of coordinating email campaigns. However, an effective email campaign requires the same approach as for any other business: discipline.

Although Wyndham implemented many email promotions, they were not receiving the results that they planned. Coupled with the effort needed to implement these campaigns, they knew that a new approach was needed. Working with a marketing firm, Acxiom, a more targeted approach was developed. With the outside consultants, they applied best practices to determine the timing and sequences of messages. They created webpages and various email versions along with custom Subject text. These emails would be sent to a subset of their rewards members in the United States.

It was important to tailor future emails to customers based on their past actions. Wyndham developed an automated email engine that operated based on such data. For example, a confirmation email was sent based on the completion of a registration. A variety of emails would be sent to rewards members based on a specific purpose, ranging from free nights to vacation specials to reward point specials. With the focus on email distribution, Wyndham continued to offer members the ability to opt out of receiving emails.

Their strategy and use of email technology was successful compared with their previous email campaigns. Wyndham’s total revenue linked directly from email solicitations increased by 187 percent. Various other metrics showed positive gains as well. The rate of emails that were opened by users increased by 8.2 percent while registration rates for a summer promotion increased by 43 percent over a previous campaign.

Sources: Aquino, J. (2012). Don’t count out email yet. Customer Relationship Management, 16-19. Aquino, J. (2012). Wyndham hotels’ targeted emails break records. Customer Relationship Management, 16, 37. Rubel, S. (2010). Hot or not: Email marketing vs. social-media marketing. Advertising Age, 81(29), 16.