CRM/BI can give us useful information. Customer Relation Management data can be very helpful when given to the appropriate user at the appropriate time. For the consumer that is a bit paranoid, we actually have had this type of data forever. Don't think so, look back to the early community store in a small town. The shopper walks in, the store owner knows the shopper knows what the shopper usually obtains and their particular habits. The owner can recommend the weekly special because the owner knows the consumer. Today we are to large to do that on a regular basis so we do it or can do it through the use of CRM data.
So let's look at a simple example of a good use of this type of information. A large grocery store chain and a large cereal processor know that consumers use milk when they use the cereal that the processor produces. Now they two partners in this venture can look at this data, run a marketing campaign for the product and give away (loss leader) some milk to entice the consumer. After the campaign they can look at the data gathered from consumer and see how the promotion actually went.
A better example and use. The large store chain looks at previous data from their data warehouse the database that stores the business intelligence gathered previously and by sharing that information with the purchasing agents in the corporation they can purchase the correct amount of milk and cereal for the promotion.
And a Priceless example is share that information with the computer assisted order system at the particular store level so that the particular store knows to bring in two pallets of fat free milk, two pallets of 1 percent, one pallet of 2 percent and a half of a pallet of whole milk or whatever combination of that mixture is correct for that particular store based on crm data gathered over time for that store and then the store does not run out nor does the store need to mark down milk at the end of the promotion. Then based on how the promotion went and based on the crm data that particular store can bring in more of the cereal that was purchased most and less of the cereal that was purchased less.
And to think, as consumers we thought is was just a sale.
