Social marketing: strengthening company-customer bonds

Purpose - This article discusses optimizing customer retention using customer relationship management (CRM) linked with social cause-related marketing (SCRM). Establishing a socially responsible synergy between company and customer is targeted to managers seeking creative and innovative approaches that strengthen the value equation.Design methodology approach - The discussion focuses on the progression of CRM from early links to basic database information to its current complex form whereby customers may be outsourced if they do not meet loyalty and mutual value parameters. A ten-question test for testing CRM strategy is included, along with the steps required for adding SCRM to the company-customer relationship.Findings - CRM maximizes customer satisfaction while SCRM maximizes customer loyalty. Together, CRM and SCRM can optimize customer retention by sharing socially responsible activities. Tremendous goodwill with customers and in the marketplace can be generated from the synergy of CRM and SCRM.Originality value - Increasingly, it is the customer that is "setting the pace" in the company-customer relationship. Implementing a SCRM strategy strengthens the business bond while facilitating the transition from the company being dominant to the customer driving the relationship process. The successful integration strategy includes: identify; integrate; switch; shift; choose; and measure.