Sushmita Crm Asgnmnt

CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT PRACTICES IN ITC HOTELS

Submitted To:

Prof. Thirumal Reddy

Submitted By:

Sushmita Rani

20087

Customer Relationship Management:

CRM entails all aspects of interaction a company has with its customer, whether it is sales or service related. It even uses technology to streamline processes that impact customer loyalty, service delivery and quality management.

Today, businesses are facing an aggressive competition and they have to make Efforts to survive in a competitive and uncertain market place. People have realized that managing Customer relationships is a very important factor for their success. Customer relationship management (CRM) is a strategy that can help them to build long-lasting relationships with their customers and increase their profits through the right management system and the application of customer-focused strategies.

This explosive growth of CRM reflects the intersection of genuine market need and enabling technology. And, in this growth period, the impetus for CRM is shifting from an emphasis on efficiency, i.e., doing more things faster with less cost, to effectiveness, i.e., doing things better for increased revenue with a high "return on relationships (ROR)".

According to Chaudhuri and Shainesh (2001)-A CRM programmer requires a clear understanding and commitment to the company's customers, vigilant adherence to detailed goals, commitment from both executives and line workers, and a constant awareness of the customer's view point. Customer relationship management is about more than simply managing customers and monitoring their behavior or attitude. CRM has the potential to change a customer’s relations with a company and increase revenues in the bargain. Furthermore it helps to know the customers well enough to decide whom to choose and whom to lose.

The generally accepted purpose of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is to enable organizations to better serve its customers through the introduction of reliable processes and procedures for interacting with those customers.

ITC WELCOMGROUP HOTELSITC hotels stepped into the hospitality industry in 1975 and are one of the most upcoming hotel chains in its class. They started their first hotel in Chennai and now they have 66 hotels across more than 50 destinations in India. ITC collaborated with Sheraton hotels, which is a part of Starwood hotels and resorts and is a well-known global hospitality chain. They were the first ones to adopt this exclusive

logo which has not been thought or taken by anyone to match this – The “Namaste-Nobody gives you India like we do”.It is represented by four distinctive brands serving the needs of the travelers, namely: -

ITC Hotels – Super deluxe and premium hotels in strategic business location.

WelcomHotels – Five Star first class hospitality for business and leisure travelers.

Fortune Hotels and Resorts – Full service hospitality at mid-level prices for business travelers and leisure travelers.

Welcome Heritage – Palaces, forts, havelis, resorts and homes that bring alive the history and romance of India’s heritage

ITC MAURYA SHERATON DEFINES CRM AS:

“Customer Relationship Management is a process of managing customer relations in an organized way”. They aim at managing each “Moment Of Truth” that is experienced by the customer. There are various contact points where the hotel

comes in direct contact with the customer which are known as ‘Touch points’ in the CRM language. These touch points are considered important as there is direct interaction with the customer and they provide valuable input to the hotel. The input provided by the customer has to be captured in such a way that it becomes information and can be used by various processes within the hotel. This can be done with the help of technology and the aim is that whenever there is a customer interface with any of those processes they are able to use that information in servicing the guest in at most efficient manner.Customer Service is now more fashionably called Customer Relationship Management. ITC Maurya Sheraton has been following an unstructured form of CRM with a narrow focus of serving the customer well and in a most efficient manner. The concept of Customer Relationship Management has a broader focus of not only serving the customer but also creating the customer and retaining him for measurable and substantial returns. CRM is a vast subject where the concept of one to one marketing issupported by Database Marketing.

General CRM Picture

CRM SUB-PROCESS OF ITC HOTELS:

CRM PROCESS IN ITC HOTELS:

CRM process at ITC Maurya Sheraton has been divided in 2 steps:-

1. Identification of all Customer Relationship management ‘vehicles’2. Integration of these Customer Relationship management ‘vehicles’

DATA CAPTURE VEHICLESMaurya Sheraton has identified 5 such vehicles (from marketing point ofview) which are also the touch points for the hotel in the process ofmanaging its Customer Relationship. These vehicles are:-o Field sellingo Loyalty Programso Distribution Pointso Webo Call Centers

Field Selling: When a sales group or a marketing executive of the hotel makes a sales call to a corporate, then it is called Field Selling. Field Selling includes Prospecting which

means searching and seeking for new customers. Current Accounts are one of the best sources to uncover new business that is within these current accounts, as they harbor many sources of untapped business potential. They also provide Leads and referrals. Leads are potential customers with whom no contact has yet been made and learning of potential customers from current customers is called Referral. Field selling is considered the most important vehicle for the CRM function as the initiative is on the part of the hotel to contact the prospective guest. Since the representative of the hotel meets the customer personally, he is able to strike a chord instantly and has a fair chance of representing the hotel. The difference between the customer and consumer is apparent at this stage as, the person who uses the hotel is a consumer (guest) and the person who helps him make this choice is the customer (link), this link, in most cases, is the administration personnel who are responsible for making reservations. So with the help of field selling, the executive is able to make a direct contact with the ‘link’, the administration person and is able to take the feedback on a continuous basis and helps to customize the offering. The main objective of this is to maintain ‘one to one’ contact with the customer on a regular basis and also to maintain reasonable visibility so that whenever there is a requirement, the hotel is the most obvious alternative for the customer to consider.

Loyalty Programs: Second vehicle for CRM identified by Maurya Sheraton are the Loyalty Programs. These programs are designed to reward the loyal guests of the hotel. Every time a guest checks in the hotel at his every touch point or interface with the hotel, every time he spends on a service provided by the hotel (use of Room, Restaurant, Laundry, Telephones etc.), the transaction is recorded at each individual point and is added to the final bill presented to the guest at the end of the stay. There are certain points attached to the number of rupees spent by the guest. Therefore higher the amount of the bill, the higher will be the number of points attained by the guest. These points are credited to the account of each guest with the help of technology.These are called Loyalty points. These accounts having the loyalty points are unique to every guest. Therefore, whenever after the first time that guest checks into the hotels, the guest history also affects the loyalty points. The higher the number of points, more loyal is the guest. The points can be redeemed by the guest for either free stays at the hotel or free gifts as listed by the hotel or free meals depending upon the number of points accumulated. The objective of having a loyalty programme is not only to make the guest feel rewarded for his stay but also providing a chance to the guest to reduce them at the hotel, they essentially “gross self” the other services which would be used & paid by the guest. In case he redeemed (for example) his points for a free stay, he would spend on the supporting services like laundry, telephones, restaurants etc. and the revenue generated from these could be earned by the hotel. Therefore, instead of loss of revenue by providing free stay, they actually gain the revenue as well as certain customers for life with the help of the loyalty. The Loyalty Program is called welcome avail which is for the consumer. They have another loyalty programme for the link. The administration personnel, who is called welcome link, is motivated to provide more business to the

hotel. Therefore, the more the number of bookings the links gives to the hotel, the more number of points are credited to his accounts which are again redeemable at the hotel either by way of free stay or gifts. This is seen as an important way to keep the source of business motivated towards a long term relationship.

Distribution Points/ Central Reservation System : A customer can simply make a call at the reservation centre to make a booking with the hotel. It sounds simple but it could get complex in case he does not receive the expected or the desired response. Therefore, Maurya Sheraton sees this distribution point as an opportunity to establish CRM as the respondents at the reservation centre could turn a prospective customer into a ‘sale’ or could let go off the opportunity to do so by not being polite enough or not giving out the information as desired by the guest. The information regarding all guest reservations is managed through computer software, therefore, when a customer make calls to query about a reservation, all his hotel usage history pops up in the system which gives a chance to the executive at the reservations to instantly recognize the customer and address him by his name. This moment of truth is experienced by the customer with a feeling of recognition and feels it as good service at the first touch point itself. The input or instruction received from the customer at the stage is recorded in the reservation system for further reference by the hotel operations. Therefore the wheel does not get reinvented every time a standard instruction is to be followed. This leads to removal of an irritant and that ultimately leads to a satisfied customer willing to return.

World Wide Web : The World Wide Web is part of the internet. It is a computerized,interactive, multimedia system to import and/or access information worldwide. It is used for both personal and business purposes. But ITC Maurya’s focus is on the business side of using the web. In hospitality, there are several avenues that one can take up to set up a web site to share information and do business with a potential customer. Since the web gives a convenience and allows the access to information at any time, it is considered as one of the vehicles for CRM. Though Maurya recognizes the potential of this system and is in the process of evolving a filing automated system where the reservations can be made by the customers on time and also the confirmation is received back on a real time basis. Presently theyhave an information portal which only allows the customer to request a reservation which has to be checked manually by the hotel reservations and then only the confirmations are given. This is a touch point of customer relationship because a speedy and accurate response could win you a customer. And since it is on an individual basis, it is more personalized and customized because the customer puts in his preferences when requesting a booking. Therefore, once it is entered in to the hotel’s data base the customer does not have to repeat his preference as they are automatically suggested by the reservation form on the net.

Call Centers: ITC Maurya has a Call center dedicated to servicing the loyalty programme members. Here the customers can call in and find out about any information related to their membership. Whether query relates to accumulation or redemption of points, it can be accessed through these centers. This facility has been outsourced by Maurya and is out of the premises of the hotel. This has been done to service the quest in a most personalized and efficient manner. Call centers can now even be accessed via e-mail as it is the most cost effective and time effective way of accessing information. Call centers are seen as CRM touch point because they usually provide solution to a problem that is being faced by a customer. Thereforethe intangibles of listening, understanding and providing a solution to a problem at the right time adds to the process of retaining the customer – There is a rapport which is built between the customer and the respondent which goes a long way in future correspondence with the center.

STEPS IN THE CRM PROCESS The first step in CRM is for the internal customer that is to create awareness

among them towards the concept, advantages and disadvantages of the function. Then equip them by training in their own requisite functions & scope of CRM within that function. At Maurya, they are trained to learn more about the guest and his background so that when he talks to the guest, he can strike a conversation that is of some interest to the guest. That may not be necessarily related to his stay at the hotel but these informal conversations with the guest can help build an excellent rapport with the guest which will lead the guest to know the employee by the name. In future interactions, it is possible that the guest may only wish that most of his work done through that employee. This is also a form of customized and personalized selling within the hotel. Maurya does not have a separate training for CRM. Any time when they have a special promotional scheme for a particular property, the marketing team (which has formulated the promotional scheme) puts together the details of the scheme, clearly marks out what is the customer expecting from the property and also if these are some special arrangements to be made for it. This team briefs the General Manager of the property about the customer expectation. The General Manager then decides the path of trickling down to that information, who should know & how much to know.In Maurya Sheraton, they use a phrase to explain this percolation which is “Nice to know and needs to know” which essentially means that it is nice to know for all employees of a particular property about the running of the promotional scheme at their property but not all need to know about every

aspect of the scheme as it may not be relevant to their scope of work but they do need to know the tier points of the scheme relating to their scope of work.

The second step in CRM process is to integrate the information which is received through touch points. From a marketing point of view, it is important to get the desired input back from touch points in such a way that all the bits and pieces picked up by different touch points can be organized and used as valuable information by various other touch point to offer the right product to the right customer and that too at the right time. All this is done by creating a data base.

Customer satisfaction

Post departure an automated mail from the central server is sent to the guest requesting to fill up a feedback form. There are various heads covering the various stations of experiences which are scored on a Likert Scale.

This information is quantified to highlight the areas of concern. This score is also used as a measure of performance of a hotel unit.

There are few loopholes in the system such as

• Email ids not updated which automatically stops the guest from giving the feedback.

• Guest profile not saved intentionally.

Measuring customer satisfaction

First, the key obstacle to valid data gathering in any hotel based satisfaction feedback initiative is customer participation. Response rates are famously low in hotels; when was the last time you filled out the survey card in your hotel room? Traditional paper based surveys in hotel rooms are notorious for producing statistically insignificant sample sizes.

Unfortunately, alternative methods like web based surveys and email surveys are almost as ineffective as paper surveys. Typically, only the most unsatisfied customers are moved to participating.

The second most difficult aspect of measuring hotel satisfaction is the very nature of the service being rendered. A hotel guest's perception of quality depends on an extremely broad variety of factors ranging from a receptionist's smile to the type of pillows on the bed or even the selection of items in the breakfast buffet. Very few industries need to measure such a wide spectrum of different variables, all of which contribute significantly to overall customer satisfaction.

Finally, the most significant challenge hotel administrative staffs are the difficulties associated with geographical disparity of hotel companies. With hotels usually spread out over large areas (often worldwide) the ability to collect and process surveys only adds further complexities to the mission. Given that this task often falls on the hotel staff that is being evaluated, most corporate offices reasonably doubt if all the opinions reach the home office. If incentives and variable compensation depend on satisfaction scores these doubts multiply substantially.

Fortunately for hotel operators, Gustometria solves all three of these management challenges.

Following our proven methodologies, hotels will achieve extremely high participation levels. Instead of a few surveys per week, a typical hotel will achieve hundreds of monthly surveys using Gustometria. This enormous amount of data is collected instantly by the Gustometria servers and is processed and tabulated in real time.

The second important advantage Gustometria brings to the table is the ability to measure a large variety of factors without inconveniencing the customer. Gustometria surveys can be divided into fixed and variable pages, thus management can efficiently track hundreds of important indicators while guaranteeing high participation levels. Completion of the survey generally takes less than 90 seconds and is usually completed at checkout while waiting for the invoice and receipt. Consequently, no single customer has to answer a large number of questions. The high participation levels assure that the number of responses to each question is statistically significant.

Finally, Gustometria eliminates the need to collect surveys and send them to a central point for data entry and report processing. Customers use their fingers to answer the survey on the Gustometer touch screen and our innovative technology does the rest.

Gustometria's online analysis system, based on leading edge business intelligence reporting tools, automatically allows managers to study all the varied aspects of customer satisfaction in the context of their own custom profile questions. Consequently, the hotel administration can decide which measures should be taken to improve satisfaction in the most important customer segments. The corporate office can benchmark results from different hotels and identify best practices which should be deployed throughout the organization.

However, for a hotel company, Gustometria also provides two additional and very important benefits.

Gustometria also enables the customer to provide direct and personal feedback to the organization via submission of suggestions, complaints or testimonials providing a direct line of communication between administration and customers in any location. Gustometria is like having eyes located in each and every department of every hotel.

Finally, once put into place, the Gustometria infrastructure can be used not only for essential customer satisfaction measurement, but also to add value to other parts of the hospitality business.

In hotel companies where food and beverage services are a key contributor to revenue, wait staff engages the customer with a handheld gustometer at the table at the end of the meal. Again, the compnay receives detailed feedback on their food services initiatives and can analyze in real time.

In companies which do a large amount of business organizing and hosting special events, Gustometria can be an added service which can be "resold" to the end customer. As events are concluded, or at the end of each conference session, participants answer a brief survey in a Gusto meter, always placed in high traffic areas. Immediately after the event's closing, the hotel can deliver a detailed and sophisticated business intelligence report regarding event participant's satisfaction.

Effectively evaluating customer perceptions of the hotel experience requires powerful and sophisticated management tools. Until now, the hotel industry has been void of any truly innovative customer feedback management system. Gustometria has raised the bar for companies all over the world.

Consumer Satisfaction Levels for Features

Authenticity / Transparency / Ethics

Comfort

Customer Friendliness / Loyalty & Promotio...

Experience / Ambience

Hygiene

Infrastructure / Facilities

Professionalism / Qualification of Staff

Safety

Value for Money

Consumer Satisfaction Level Summary

Consumer Report of Products and CSL

ITC Luxury Hotels

Fortune Hotels

WelcomHotel Rama Inter...

WelcomHotel Grand Bay,...

Sheraton Park Hotel an...

WelcomHotel Vadodara

Fortune Resorts

Sheraton Chola Hotel, ...

Sheraton Rajputana Hot...

Sheraton New Delhi Hotel

WelcomHeritage Hotels

Consumer Satisfaction Level Summary

Complaint Handling

• This is another important tool in improving the service of the hotel and to capture guest complaints. If a complaint is registered by a customer it is updated on the software.

• Gradually as the time lapses the status displayed turn from green to yellow and ultimately red. This status can be seen by any of the managers as the software is connected to the central server. A daily Action Taken Report is generated which is signed by the operational head.

Privacy Policy

ITC Hotels welcomes you to its website and looks forward to a meaningful interaction with you.

ITC Hotels respects your right to privacy. Any personal information that you share with us, like your name, date of birth, address, marital status, telephone number, credit card particulars and the like, shall be entitled to privacy and kept confidential.

ITC Hotels assures you that your personal information shall not be used/disclosed by it, save for the purpose of doing the intended business with you, or if required to be disclosed under the due process of law.

ITC Hotels assures you that in the event of your personal information being shared with its subsidiaries, business associates etc., such sharing of information shall be for the purpose of doing the intended business with you.

ITC Hotels reserves its rights to collect, analyse and disseminate aggregate site usage patterns of all its visitors with a view to enhancing services to its visitors. This includes sharing the information with its subsidiaries, and business associates as a general business practice.

In the course of its business ITC Hotels may hold on-line contests and surveys as permitted by law and it reserves its right to use and disseminate the information so collected to enhance its services to the visitors. This shall also include sharing the information with its subsidiaries and business associates as a general business practice.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your privacy issues, please do not hesitate to contact ITC Hotels at [email protected]

While ITC Hotels assures you that it will do its best to ensure the privacy and security of your personal information, it shall not be responsible in any manner whatsoever for any violation or misuse of your personal information by unauthorised persons consequent to misuse of the internet environment.

Cookies :- To personalise your experience on our website or to support one of our promotions, we may assign your computer browser a unique random number called a cookie. "Cookies" enhance website performance in important ways like personalising your experience, or making your visit more convenient. Your privacy and security are not compromised when you accept a "cookie" from our website. ITC Hotels does not us "cookies" to collect personal information. "Cookies" cannot read data from your computer’s hard disk or read cookie files from other websites.

ITC Hotels reserves its rights to revise this privacy policy from time to time at its discretion with a view to making the policy more user friendly.

In the design of our website, we have taken care to draw your attention to this privacy policy so that you are aware of the terms under which you may decide to share your personal information with us. Accordingly, should you choose to share your personal information with us, ITC Hotels will assume that you have no objections to the terms of this privacy policy.

INCENTIVES TO THE CUSTOMERS BY ITC WELCOMGROUP HOTELS

Welcome Award - Rewarding Relationships:Welcome Award has earned the distinction of being India's premier and most powerful frequent guest programme. The Welcome Award programme recognizes

customer as a business traveler and through its strategic alliances with travel partners endeavors to build a rewarding relationship customer.As a Welcome Award member customers can earn 'Stars' on every aspect of their business trip…hotel stays, business entertainment, Car rentals and even air travel.

Welcome Link- Bring home the rewardsWelcome Link, India's most popular programme for key professionals offers many value-added benefits. It is designed to help members in making reservations for their company executives. For every materialized room night booked by a member at ITC-Welcome group Hotel, points are earned that can be redeemed for a wide range of rewards. With Welcome Link, the member can look forward to many exciting promotions and prizes coming their way plus an exciting range of rewards... complimentary dining, free holidays, air tickets, car rentals and privilege shopping with Citibank Diners Gift Vouchers countrywide.

Sheraton Plus- The art of fine dining with a special edgeWelcome group Sheraton Plus brings the pleasures of the palate, in a truly rewarding manner. As a member, customers can savour the finest in cuisine ranging from authentic Indian, Mughlai and Chinese specialties to Continental fare in a selection of over thirty ITC-Welcome group restaurants. From 24-hour coffee shops to the specialty restaurants such as Dum-Pukht, Bukhara, Dakshin and West View, members get to dine and entertain.

Customer Feedback Program: Regular Feedback Administration Process

1. Feedback questionnaire approved for the quarter by the Feedback Champion

2. Feedback administered to every guest during the car drop-off 3. Feedback link sent to every guest , one day after checkout through

email.• Email also contains ombudsman ID in case guest wants to

escalate4. Feedback Questionnaires compiled. Partly and incorrectly filled

questionnaires rejected5. Data entry of hardcopy feedback6. Standard automatic email response sent to happy and unhappy guests

after feedback is registered in the system by feedback cell• Email response can be customized in case of need

7. Any escalation mail is forwarded to the ombudsman by the feedback cell

• Standard response sent to such mails Fortnightly Feedback from Third Party Forums

1. Fortnightly online visit of third party forums like Trip Advisor by Feedback Officer

2. Attributes scores of self & competition captured for every forum3. Subjective scores on attributes wherever objective data is not

available for every new review/feedback 4. Capture of interesting verbatim comments by bloggers & reviewers5. Report generated with attribute scores & verbatim comments. Report

passed onto improvement teams Monthly/Quarterly Feedback for Strategic Improvement Initiatives

1. Department wanting to pre-test initiatives presents an appendage to regular questionnaire

2. Appendage approved by Feedback Champion and incorporated in the web link by Feedback Officer along with a webmaster

3. Data entry of pre-test or post-test results4. Standard bar charts & table prepared by feedback cell along with raw

data and passed onto the concerned department

Analysis of Feedback 1. Standard reports generated publishing attribute scores. 2. Reports linking feedback to various drivers like guest segment, stay,

room type etc.3. Reports linking customer segments and other customer data to various

drivers4. Standard reports and verbatim feedback based on attributes passed to

cross functional teams for analysis 5. Data of pretest passed to the concerned department for analysis6. Cross functional teams analyze feedback, decided attribute based

targets and initiate improvement projects7. Departmental teams conducting pre-test or post-test analyze feedback

and present steps to augment the strategic improvement initiative

Communication of Feedback : Feedback Cell runs an Internal Portal to publish the following

1. Standard Feedback Reports2. Third Part y Forum attribute scores & verbatim comments

3. Pre-test Results & Post-test Results of strategic improvement initiatives

4. Monthly stretch targets for various attributes and action plan by cross functional teams

5. Success achieved by various teams 6. Teams that have got quarterly rewards7. Good practices shared by successful teams8. Number of escalations received by Ombudsman, cause of escalation,

current status of resolution9. Interesting stories and anecdotes relating to guests and guest feedback

CONTACT WITH CUSTOMER

Websites Permission based email: It's the most personal and efficient way to have 2

way communications with your customers in between visits. Unlike traditional advertising, email campaigns allow you to track and verify everything. Not only will this information help you with your email campaigns but it will ensure that you are taking full advantage of your traditional advertising as well. With email there is no guessing how well a campaign may have been received. You will know who opened your email, what they liked about it, whether or not they printed out an incentive and even if they told a friend about you.

FREQUENCY

Like if your competitors are promoting themselves very frequently, it will be your need to communicate again & again.

Culture in ITC Hotels:

Individual Initiative: ITC Ltd provides high freedom, less responsibility due to set procedures.

Direction: Organizational objectives are very well defined and practiced.

Management Support: Highly supportive management towards employees &their families.

Identity: High degree of ident i f ica t ion towards the organiza t ion , especia l ly by workers.

Conflict Tolerance: ITC Ltd offers high tolerance, newer divisions averse to conflict tolerance.

Risk Tolerance: Independence to employees in older divisions like ITC Ltd, less in FMCG.

Integration: Due to interdependent products, high degree of integration.

Control: Exerts high degree of control due to highly competitive market.

Reward System: Employee performance highly valued for reward allocation. Communication Patterns: High degree of formal i ty exis ts

Complaint Handling Process: