By Tomas Koshy Modavil, Wilson Rebello, Preet Javiya & Rahul Pereira.

y Information management (IM) is the collection and management of

information from one or more sources and the distribution of that information to one or more audiences. This sometimes involves those who have a stake in, or a right to that information.
y Throughout the 1970s this was largely limited to files, file maintenance, and

the life cycle management of paper-based files, other media and records.
y

By the late 1990s when information was regularly disseminated across computer networks and by other electronic means, network managers, in a sense, became information managers by almost anyone.

y No longer was information management a simple job that could be performed

Collect

Process

Analyze

Disseminate

y Identifying information requirement y Evaluating existing information y Designing a methodology for data y Designing data collection form/tool

y Entering, reformatting and cleaning data. y Compiling y Verifying quality y Storing, archiving

y The skill of recognizing the underlying details of

important facts or patterns that are not always readily visible. y Separate the matter into key parts, essential elements y To scrutinize information or data with the intention of identifying patterns or trends.

y Hard copy y Soft copy y Email(individual, listservers, mail groups) y Website y Also consider copyright, language, security.

y Investor relations is a company department whose job is to

maintain continuing relations with financial market professionals y It is that department of a company devoted to handling inquiries from shareholders and investors, as well as others who might be interested in a company's stock or financial stability. y The department reports to the Chief Financial Officer(CFO) or Treasurer.

In some companies, investor relations is managed by the public relations or corporate communications departments, and can also be referred to as "financial public relations" or "financial communications".

y Many larger publicly-traded companies now have dedicated IR officers

(IROs), who oversee most aspects of shareholder meetings, press conferences, private meetings with investors, investor relations sections of company websites, and company annual reports.
y The investor relations function also often includes the transmission of

information relating to intangible values such as the company's policy on corporate governance or corporate social responsibility.

y IR often has a role in crisis management of, for example,

corporate downsizing, changes in management or internal structure, product liability issues and industrial disasters.
y In a difficult time such as the bear market of 2008-09, IROs

will want to stay visible and build relationships, be factual in tone and not too quick to make promises, aggressively refute rumors and answer concerns of investors, and coordinate media relations and investor communications

y CRM is a business strategy that aims to understand, anticipate and

manage the needs of an organisation s current and potential customers (1). y It is a comprehensive approach which provides seamless integration of every area of business that touches the customernamely marketing, sales, customer services and field support through the integration of people, process and technology (1) y CRM is a shift from traditional marketing as it focuses on the retention of customers in addition to the acquisition of new customers (2) y The expression Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is becoming standard terminology, replacing what is widely perceived to be a misleadingly narrow term, relationship marketing (RM) (3).

CRM is concerned with the creation, development and enhancement of individualised customer relationships with carefully targeted customers and customer groups resulting in maximizing their total customer life-time value (2).

y The focus [of CRM] is on creating value for the

customer and the company over the longer term (3). y When customers value the customer service that they receive from suppliers, they are less likely to look to alternative suppliers for their needs (3). y CRM enables organisations to gain competitive advantage over competitors that supply similar products or services (1)

y Today s businesses compete with multi-

product offerings created and delivered by networks, alliances and partnerships of many kinds. Both retaining customers and building relationships with other value-adding allies is critical to corporate performance (3).
y The adoption of C.R.M. is being fuelled by a

recognition that long-term relationships with customers are one of the most important assets of an organisation (2)

CRM developed for a number of reasons:

y The 1980 s onwards saw rapid shifts in business

that changed customer power (4) y Supply exceeded demands for most products (4) y Sellers had little pricing power (4) y The only protection available to suppliers of goods and services was in their relationships with customers (4)

CRM involves the following (4):

y Organisations must become customer focused y Organisations must be prepared to adapt so that it

take customer needs into account and delivers them y Market research must be undertaken to assess customer needs and satisfaction

Customer relationship management focuses on strategically significant markets. Not all customers are equally important (3). Therefore, relationships should be built with customers that are likely to provide value for services Building relationships with customers that will provide little value could result in a loss of time, staff and financial resources

Here are examples of how technology can be used to create personalised services to increase loyalty in customers: services (2): Having access to customers contact details and their service or purchase preferences through databases etc can enable organisations to alert customers to new, similar or alternative services or products - Illustration: When tickets are purchased online via Lastminute.com, the website retains the customers details and their purchase history. The website regularly send emails to previous customers to inform them of similar upcoming events or special discounts. This helps to ensure that customers will continue to purchase tickets from Lastminute.com in the future.
y Phone calls, emails, mobile phone text messages, or WAP

y Cookies

A cookie is a parcel of text sent by a server to a web browser and then sent back unchanged by the browser each time it accesses that server. HTTP cookies are used for authenticating, tracking, and maintaining specific information about users, such as site preferences and the contents of their electronic shopping carts (5). - Illustration: The online store, Amazon, uses cookies to provide a personalised service for its customers. Amazon requires customers to register with the service when they purchase items. When registered customers log in to Amazon at a later time, they are greeted with a welcome message which uses their name (for e.g. Hello John ). In addition, their previous purchases are highlighted and a list of similar items that the customer may wish to purchase are also highlighted.

y CRM can also be carried out in face-to-face interactions

without the use of technology y Staff members often remember the names and favourite services/products of regular customers and use this information to create a personalised service for them. y For example, in a hospital library you will know the name of nurses that come in often and probably remember the area that they work in. y However, face-to-face CRM could prove less useful when organisations have a large number of customers as it would be more difficult to remember details about each of them.

Benefits of CRM include (8):

y reduced costs, because the right things are being done (ie., y y y y y y y

effective and efficient operation) increased customer satisfaction, because they are getting exactly what they want (ie. meeting and exceeding expectations) ensuring that the focus of the organisation is external growth in numbers of customers maximisation of opportunities (eg. increased services, referrals, etc.) increased access to a source of market and competitor information highlighting poor operational processes long term profitability and sustainability

y The campaign aims to instigate the city dwellers to switch

off their television sets and do something worthwhile and memorable. y In order to encourage more people to take up the cause, HT Mumbai has lined up a host of activities for that day, ranging from free helicopter rides over the city to painting competitions for school children, y exclusive discount deals with about 100 restaurants in the city, laser and fireworks shows, y entertainment activities, heritage rides in south Mumbai, and many other interesting activities.

y The campaign has been well-publicized in the digital

medium with a dedicated website and an engaging Facebook Page. y The site gives a live countdown of the number of hours remaining till NO TV day and the number of Mumbaikars who have joined the movement which at current count is a whopping 270,426! y The Facebook community is also a massive one with 2,34,045 fans and 68,320 talking about it. y The tagline of the campaign is 'Switch on Mumbai, Switch off TV'.

y It emphasizes how people have very less time to spare

with their family and friends after almost whole day in office be it in the form of outing, playing with your kids, chatting with your loved ones including parents, going for an after-dinner stroll or even socializing